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Entire Thesis (pdf)

Chapters:

  1. Summary of Known Information
  2. The Order of Aurelius
  3. An Alternate Theory of Vampirism
  4. Appearance and Habitat
  5. Feeding Habits
  6. Preferred Victims
  7. Sexual Idiosyncrasies
  8. Torture
  9. Other Known Idiosyncrasies
  10. Pre-Death Biography
  11. Summary of Strengths and Weaknesses
  12. Conclusions

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CHAPTER NINE: Other Known Idiosyncrasies

Introduction

As I mentioned in the introduction to Chapter 4, it is imperative for all organisms to adapt over time to different conditions, or disappear. William the Bloody has attained a particularly high level of adaptation, which combined with a unique joie de vivre, makes his case particularly interesting to the investigator.

The task of analyzing his behaviour is made more difficult by the diversity of his interests, the enormous range of his movements over one hundred and twenty years and particularly by the paucity of easily accessed information. One of our weaknesses as an organization has been our reluctance to acknowledge the individuality attained by some vampires. This strategy has been dictated by our first priority, the requirement to devote our major resources to protecting humanity from vampire predations. We may also have shied away from detailed studies of vampire psychology to avoid acknowledging that we may be killing sentient beings.

To obtain details of William the Bloody's interests, I have pored over the journals of field Watchers and whatever journals were left by Slayers. In the course of developing material for other chapters, I kept voluminous notes as to the timelines of the wanderings of William the Bloody and Drusilla. Many hours were spent in the library correlating these notes with unsolved murders and other mayhem in the given locations. When possible, I made use of the excellent connections that the Council of Watchers has with many police organizations around the world. This allowed me access to police files otherwise off-limits to the public. This method fails where his interests and actions may have not been associated with activities that would have been brought to the attention of the police.

In this section, I will explore some of his other interests and the particularly idiosyncratic manner that he employed and continues to employ in pursuing these interests.

Dinner and theater date

William the Bloody's long term consort Drusilla has always had a dramatic flair. When not employing these powers to dazzle and confuse her prey, she has shown a marked fondness for the theatre. In particular, she appears to enjoy the ceremonies attending show premieres, especially as expressed in the Victorian, Edwardian and Belle Epoque periods. Victorian London contained many opportunities 'to see and be seen'. Always interested in pleasing his consort, William arranged their attendance at many a premiere in the most glamorous of the world's cities. How he might have paid for these extravaganzas can be illustrated by one reasonably well-documented example.

Following the enormous success of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Mikado', which opened on the fourteenth of March in 1885, the next operetta of this much acclaimed lyricist and composer 'Ruddigore' was scheduled to premiere on the twenty-second of January in 1887 (1). London society was eagerly awaiting the new offering. The newspapers were rife with rumors that the Prince of Wales and his entourage would also attend the performance. As the performance hour approached, the streets near the entrance to The Savoy Theatre were jammed with carriages and spectators waiting for a glimpse of the Prince. (2)

Because of the attention surrounding this performance, there was a plethora of reporters on hand. An ancillary benefit to us is an abundance of first hand reports on attendees and the particulars of their arrival, appearance and later departure. In the line of carriages waiting to discharge their passengers was a particularly handsomely equipped brougham bearing no livery, drawn by a gray Andalusian with plumed black feathers in its headpiece. The driver was noted as a man of great height, ferocious appearance and demeanor. (3) He discharged two passengers: a man of medium height wearing suitably fashionable evening wear and a dark haired young woman, whose gown was covered by a dark red velvet coat. The driver, after escorting the couple to the entrance, returned with the velvet coat.(4)

This elegantly attired couple were not recognized by the reporters or the spectators who turned their attention to the occupants of the next carriage.(5) Some knowledgeable spectators assumed the two must be foreigners.(6) After the performance, the theatergoers returned to their waiting carriages to a much diminished number of spectators and reporters. After the theatre was completely cleared, the cleaning staff commenced its activities. As box A13 was entered, much tumult erupted. Found still sitting in their chairs were two couples, elegantly attired but dead. All jewelry, watches and money had been removed from the bodies. The manner of their deaths was both puzzling and gruesome: their necks had been snapped and there were trademark (to us) bite marks on their throats.(7) The Metropolitan Police quietly brought in representatives of our organization to verify the cause of their deaths. Extensive interviews of bystanders and reporters were carried out by the police, who with the help of the Council, led to the tentative identification of William the Bloody and Drusilla as the perpetrators.

William and Drusilla did not immediately repeat this escapade in London. Reports of murders with similar modus operandi did filter in from Turin(8) and St. Petersburg(9) to mention but two diverse cities.(10) The London public quickly lost interest in these cases, especially after the notorious killings of prostitutes in 1888 by the dread 'Leather Apron', who in our time is better known as 'Jack the Ripper'.

A Sampling of His Tastes in Popular Music

It is difficult to definitively encapsulate William's tastes in art, literature and music. This corresponds to the difficulties in separating fact from fiction in all aspects of his human and vampire life. Who was he? What were his class origins and educational background? How do we separate his predilections from those of Drusilla, Angelus and Darla? As we know the group operated as a foursome, however sporadically, until Angelus dropped out in the late 1800s. At that point Darla also disappears from view, presumably to join a Vampire task force dedicated to the resurrection of The Master.

William and Drusilla apparently made the United States their main base of operation starting in the 1930s.(11) By the celebrated Hippie era, they had started frequenting the many festivals that differentiated that period from the more staid 50s. The personal abandon of the participants, lack of major police presence and lax security procedures made these festivals ideal for vampire predation. As recounted in a 1994 commemorative article in an upstate New York newspaper, "Woodstock has become an instant adjective denoting youthful hedonism and 60's excess." .(12)

This famous festival was uniquely suitable for the adventurous and flexible vampire couple. It can easily be appreciated that Drusilla with her taste for empire waist dresses in filmy materials would blend very nicely. William with his well-documented ability to blend in in different circumstances and milieus would have been the perfect escort. Thirty years later, he was fond of retelling the unique repercussions of consuming the blood of intoxicated flower children.(13) Although only two people were reported to have died at Woodstock, there may indeed have been many more whose bodies were never recovered. More research will have to be conducted to trace his movements through the summer of rock festivals.

William, who appreciated the bad boy image of the Rolling Stones, was a likely participant in the infamous Altamont concert, which effectively closed the very brief peaceful season. Although responsibility for the death of a young black man was given to members of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang, few people noticed in their midst the presence of a trim young blond man. Although we do not have completely incontrovertible evidence, the descriptions and some blurry photographs are quite convincing about his presence with the Angels.(14) In particular, several individuals stand out in the photographs as being similar in appearance to some of his known minions at the time.

In the 1970s William and Drusilla surfaced in New York City.(15) The East Village with thousands of young people squatting in abandoned tenement houses would have been a happy hunting ground for vampire groups. In 1973 the famous music club CBGB opened in the ground floor level of a Bowery flophouse, originally as a haven for country, blue grass and blues. The owner, Hilly Kristal, finding it difficult to find enough new talent to fill the club, turned to showcasing new rock bands. Two bands which appeared in 1974 would later become some of the most important and influential punk bands: Television and The Ramones.(16) Within a few years the 'street bands' as they originally called themselves were part of an international rock movement, enthusiastically picked up in the UK and extended with bands like the famous Sex Pistols.(17) It was in this period, the mid to late 1970s, that William the Bloody metamorphised into his trademark appearance. So congenial has this persona been for him that he has maintained this look for over twenty years.

In the next ten years, William and Drusilla spent considerable time in South American and Europe. They returned to New York City in 1990. By this time musical taste among black youth had turned to rap music. There is little to indicate that William has any interest in rap music. But rap concerts with their history of violence and their 'bad boy' image attracted his attention. City College of New York was the setting for an ill fated benefit rock concert. (18) Tickets to this concert were oversold. In the rush to enter the gym, nine people were trampled underfoot and twenty-nine people were injured. By careful perusal of the press photographs and videotapes in police custody the presence of William at this concert can be discerned. (19) At other Madison Square Garden rap concerts William and Drusilla attracted quite a lot of attention since it is easy to see how they would stand out in the crowd.

Sports Interests

I have only investigated a subset of William the Bloody's interests in sports. Two very different interests of his revolve around football(20) and dog racing(21). Some of the stadiums for both spectator sports have been roofed or have evening hours played under flood lights. Whereas the greyhound races are not known for mass violence, football crowds have indicated a distinct taste for a 'spot of mayhem'. In particular, our British football fans have pioneered the bad crowd behavior known as soccer hooliganism.(22) Although the violence at British matches is largely under control, in its heyday an evening's amusement could have been combined with an easy meal.

William is known to be an avid fan of Manchester United.(23) Recently a kindly colleague brought some unpublished photographs to my attention that show a man strongly resembling William at a party in Manchester with David Beckham.(24)

Dog racing has become an international spectator sports with clubs and tracks in Sweden, Finland, Australia as well as in the United States. Southern California, which has been a primary residence for William the Bloody since 1997, has a multiplicity of such tracks.

Poker

As a serendipitous outcome of other investigations I came across some information regarding William the Bloody's interests in poker.(25) William the Bloody and his minions spent many hours in the back room at Willie's Place, a well known bar in Sunnydale catering to the 'needs' of the demon and vampire communities. There they whiled away many hours playing poker with other demonic species. The strange item about this, is that the currency used in these games was kittens. Pure bred kittens such as Siamese apparently were particularly highly valued. Our informants, when asked what the demons did with these kittens, refused to answer but regarded the interviewer with great disdain.

Foreign and Demonic Languages

Through various different sources, it has become apparent that William the Bloody has acquired proficiency in many human and demonic languages. He is known to speak French, German and Chinese quite fluently, which is no doubt an aid in his travels(26). In addition to the source mentioned in the previous section on poker, he has employed demons as minions. It was apparently practical for him to learn some of the more prevalent demon languages rather than relying solely on having translators available. Rupert Giles has attested to his proficiency in Fyarl, a particularly difficult non Indo-European language.(27)

Drinking Tastes

William the Bloody has had more than a century to sample the various alcoholic beverages popular around the world.(28) Do we know the full extent of his experiments and can we catalog his preferences? The answer to this question is negative. However, we have some evidence on what are his current preferences, possibly limited by his residence in southern California. We have firmly established evidence that his taste in whisky runs to Single Malts.(29) Not all single malts are imported into the US, but there is certainly a broad spectrum available in major markets. The most widely distributed single malt in the States is Glenfiddich and it is well documented that he drinks this brand. Of course, vampires are by nature opportunistic and his favorite brand might be Glenmorangie or Dalwhinnie or perhaps one from Islay like Laphroaig.

In the spirit of 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do', might explain his tastes in bourbon and sour mash whiskies. We have reliable anecdotal evidence that William the Bloody has imbibed Jack Daniels.

There is no alcoholic beverage more universally appreciated than beer. Americans make some of the best and some of the worst of that beverage. Beers such as Budweiser and its competitors have made their mark around the world. All that can be said of the taste of most vampires is that they have none! Fortunately for William, the last fifteen years have born witness to the successful birth of microbreweries in the United States. Throughout the country an array of small breweries has appeared to serve both the local areas and when they are lucky the entire country. California is no exception to this trend. Investigation into the brands carried by The Bronze(30) and by Willie's Place shows that all the mass beers produced by Coors, Annheiser-Busch, etc. as well as most of the big brand name European beers like Amstel, Heineken's, Guiness stout, Newcastle Brown Ale, etc. are available; some on draught and some in bottles. In addition a sampling of microbrews are available like the ubiquitous Sam Adams Boston Lager, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Anchor Steam as are several smaller labels. Witnesses have attested to seeing William the Bloody drink most of the mentioned brews depending partly on who was paying the tab. The most curious note is that his name in several variations has appeared on the mailing lists of several organizations devoted to microbrews and pure beer, both in the US and in the UK.

Smoking

Another topic which encompasses an enormous range of taste is tobacco. All of sources agree that William the Bloody smokes cigarettes. When did he start? That is hard to ascertain. Before the 1880s cigarettes were hand rolled in small factories; mass produced cigarettes became available in the 1880s. One of the elite brands available in London at the end of the nineteenth century was made by the tobacconist 'Benson and Hedges'. As with beer brands, William the Bloody may simply drink or smoke whatever is easiest to obtain in a given venue. Since vampires have the advantage over humans in being immune to the negative consequences of a nicotine addiction, nothing prevents them from smoking whatever cigarette tastes best or has the most impact on their nervous systems. They have the luxury of not caring about filtered or low nicotine or tar brands. Although no precise information is available, we can assume that when in France he would smoke Gauloise or Gitanes. In the US, our informants have stated that he most usually smokes unfiltered brands like Camels or other popular brands like Marlboros.(31)

In Brief

There are many other activities that might have been of interest to William the Bloody and Drusilla. Unfortunately, I can only give a brief overview of some of the possibilities in this section. The intense pressure of deadlines for this thesis and the lack of funds to do the fieldwork that would have been required together prevent more detailed investigations. I hope that the funding might be obtained at a later date for me or other investigators to continue research in this area.

We know that William the Bloody and Drusilla have spent considerable time in Brazil.(32) As I have mentioned in preceding parts of this section, Drusilla has a well-documented interest in theatre, spectacles, masked balls, etc. It is not unreasonable to expect that she and William the Bloody attended the world renowned Mardi Gras festivals in Rio de Janeiro.

Other similar large scale festivals which would offer a convenient venue for frolic and mayhem occur all over the world. Particularly notable festivities are associated in Germany for Oktoberfest and in France for Bastille Day.

Painstaking research into these festivals may yield valuable additional information regarding the movements and activities of William the Bloody.

Conclusions

The purpose of this section is to document various aspects of William the Bloody's unique persona and to substantiate the major thesis proposition that some vampires have developed unique personalities as a corollary of Zeitchmier's Law of Demonic Differentiation.(33) William the Bloody's activities as discussed above illustrate his complexity. How many of these interests are extensions of his human life is difficult to determine. In particular, it is a challenge to separate his unique interests from those of Drusilla. I have discussed his activities and interests in theatre, opera, music, sports, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco products. His pursuits are both the natural aspect of his personality and have helped further develop his persona. Further work is required to investigate all aspects of the phenomenon, unusual even in vampire circles, that is William the Bloody.

NOTES

(1) It may be assumed that the advance notice of the storyline for 'Ruddigore' would have amused William and Drusilla. After all, bad barons, evil curses, ghosts emerging from the family portraits, etc. - what could be a more entertaining theatrical interlude for a pair of vampires? Since then Ruddigore has become a cult operetta with some vampire groups. There is anecdotal evidence that some groups frequently attend performances of Ruddigore dressed in Victorian period costumes.

(2) The Times, 22 January 1887

(3) Unpublished interview with several bystanders. One George Martin from Finchley thought the driver was at least seven feet tall, with green skin and red eyes. Another Alan MacDonald from Kew Gardens corroborated this description.

(4) Edward Pierce, Fashion Editor of The Times 22 January 1887

(5) The eyewitness interviews were very specific that there was only one couple involved. The detailed descriptions match William and Drusilla not Angelus and Darla. Further investigation has indicated that Angelus and Darla were not in the UK at the time of this premiere performance of Ruddigore.

(6) Lady Alice Ashbury-Smythe as quoted in The Times, 22 January 1887

(7) From the police blotter of the Metropolitan Police, Scotland Yard. 23 January 1887

(8) Premieres of Puccini's 'Manon Lescaut' on 1 February 1893 and 'La Boheme' in 1 February 1896.

(9) Premieres of Puccini's 'Manon Lescaut' on 1 February 1893 and 'La Boheme' in 1 February 1896.

(10) Jonathan Hopkins in Punch magazine did refer to the Ruddigore murders as an macabre evening of dinner and the theatre, Feb 1887.

(11) Robert James, A Watcher's Diary, Unpublished, 1920-1956. William and Drusilla continued to appear in European venues, presumably travelling back and forth by special arrangements with crews in tramp steamers.

(12) Eliot Tiber in The Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY, 1994

(13) Interview with fledgling vampire conducted at Willy's Place in 1996.

(14) Many thanks to the Maysles brothers for giving me access to their archives for the film 'Gimme Shelter".

(15) Information derived from interviews with denizens of the East Village.

(16) Information obtained from the CBGB website at http://www.cbgb.com/history1.htm

(17) William the Bloody's interest in The Ramones has been well documented. See Rupert Giles, A Watcher's Diary,Unpublished,1962-1998 and Buffy Summers, A Slayer's Diary,Unpublished, 1996-1998.

(18) December 28, 1991. Sean 'Puffy' Combs was the promoter and Heavy D was the headline performer.

(19) Access to these sources was arranged by Quentin Travers through his extensive contacts with the New York City Police Department.

(20) Soccer to our American colleagues.

(21) Rupert Giles, A Watcher's Diary, Unpublished, 1962-1998.

(22) A German self-described soccer hooligan has recently said that he owes all his inspiration in this matter to the British. From a Special Report conducted by the BBC, 2 June 1998.

(23) Buffy Summers, A Slayer's Diary. Unpublished, 1996-1998. Information corroborated by interviews with known associates of William the Bloody's.

(24) Thanks to George Connors.

(25) Rupert Giles, Interview with Several Demons conducted at Willie's Place, unpublished, 1996.

(26) Quentin Travers, et. al., Who's Who in the World of Damned Creatures. COW Publishing, London, 1988.

(27) Rupert Giles, A Watcher's Diary,Unpublished, 1962-1998.

(28) We know that William, Drusilla, Darla and Angelus visited Mongolia after their brief sojourn in Shanghai during the Boxer Rebellion. Did he or they try koumiss, the fermented mare's milk beverage preferred by Mongolians?

(29) Scotch whisky, as Americans refer to it.

(30) A Sunnydale bar/club catering to both high school and college students, best known as a venue for new and upcoming rock musicians.

(31) Rupert Giles, A Watcher's Diary,Unpublished, 1962-1998.

(32) Ibid.

(33) J.S. Zeitchmier, Aspects of the Demonic Psyche. Unterhimmel Verlag, Berlin,1893.