A "Murder" of Vampires?

Anyhows, these terms of venery traditionally pertain to the objects of such (in either sense of the word, not that the difference is all that significant), with the critical qualification being that such is pursued for "sport" or "fun," and not out of necessity.
So people go hunting a clowder of cats, a labor of moles, or an exaltation of larks, for sport and fun?

Point being: who "hunts" vampires for shits and giggles?
They only exist in fiction, so shits and giggles would be the only reason to hunt them.

And I don't own any of those sparkly vampire books, and neither have I seen any of those sparkly vampire movies. The fact is, vampires ceased to be attractive at some point in the late 70's/early 80's.
"Once Bitten" with Jim Carrey and Lauren Hutton: now that was a hoot! "Love at First Bite" with George Hamilton: Another!

As for TV: "Angel," with David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter, ran from 1999 to 2004. That was one of the three best fantasy shows ever. (The other two were "Highlander" and "Witchblade," which unfortunately self-destructed when Yancy Butler couldn't stay sober.)

. . . . and then there are those odious fucks who insist upon denoting what is rightly philosophy as "literary studies." . . . . they don't even use words like "striated" correctly!
The dictionary only lists one definition: furrowed, striped, streaked, i.e., marked with striae. What other definition is there that would be approved in edited writing? Even Wikipedia doesn't list an alternative and it has no standards at all. (It can't: I've written Wikipedia articles.)
 
So people go hunting a clowder of cats, a labor of moles, or an exaltation of larks, for sport and fun?

I've wondered about that too. Perhaps such terms came about much later.

My understanding is that this trend of giving ridiculous names to clusters of animals stems from old English hunting traditions--and the ridiculous bit is partly intentional! See Terms of Venery. The sort of thing Christopher Lee and Ingrid Pitt might have sung a jaunty tune about, were The Wicker Man to have taken a different direction.

They only exist in fiction, so shits and giggles would be the only reason to hunt them.

C'mon! Being fictional has never stopped people from taking things too seriously.

"Once Bitten" with Jim Carrey and Lauren Hutton: now that was a hoot! "Love at First Bite" with George Hamilton: Another!

As for TV: "Angel," with David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter, ran from 1999 to 2004. That was one of the three best fantasy shows ever. (The other two were "Highlander" and "Witchblade," which unfortunately self-destructed when Yancy Butler couldn't stay sober.)

Still, I maintain that vampires ceased to be attractive by the early 1980's--it's partly the hairstyles, but also the fact that Hammer ceased production for a couple of decades.

The dictionary only lists one definition: furrowed, striped, streaked, i.e., marked with striae. What other definition is there that would be approved in edited writing? Even Wikipedia doesn't list an alternative and it has no standards at all. (It can't: I've written Wikipedia articles.)

That's the one, albeit used in very different contexts. The term was first employed in philosophy, probably by Brian Massumi (translating Deleuze), but quickly spread to psychology, political science, architecture and, of course, literary studies. I maintain that the literary studies folk--some of them, not all-- misuse the term. Speculation: they do so deliberately--I will not elaborate upon this.

Here's a brief, slightly incoherent primer:

"Smooth space" exists in contrast to "striated space"— a partitioned field of movement which prohibits free motion. Smooth space refers to an environment, a landscape (vast or microscopic) in which a subject operates. Deleuze and Guattari explain:

Smooth space is filled by events or haecceities, far more than by formed and perceived things. It is a space of affects, more than one of properties. It is haptic rather than optical perception. Whereas in striated forms organize a matter, in the smooth materials signal forces and serve as symptoms for them. It is an intensive rather than extensive space, one of distances, not of measures and properties. Intense Spatium instead of Extensio. A Body without Organs instead of an organism and organization. (479)

Conducive to rhizomatic growth and nomadic movement, smooth space consists of disorganized matter and tends to provoke a sensual or tactical response rather than a starkly rational method of operation or a planned trajectory.
(from here)

If you should pursue the matter, you'll find many a parallel with the curious literary habits of habits of late medieval landed sorts.
 
I've wondered about that too. Perhaps such terms came about much later.
"Clotter" is a variant of "clot" meaning "to clump together," which shifted phonetically to "clowder." So a clowder of cats is a clump of cats.

C'mon! Being fictional has never stopped people from taking things too seriously.
Of course not. The full-size Kermit the Frog in my back seat once cajoled a policeman into not giving me a ticket. Brought back fond memories of his buddy in the Air Force, a pilot who took Kermit with him on every flight.

Still, I maintain that vampires ceased to be attractive by the early 1980's--it's partly the hairstyles, but also the fact that Hammer ceased production for a couple of decades.
Trends come and go. When I was a kid, everyone but me learned to work a hula hoop. Now they're oddities.

That's the one, albeit used in very different contexts. The term was first employed in philosophy, probably by Brian Massumi (translating Deleuze), but quickly spread to psychology, political science, architecture and, of course, literary studies. I maintain that the literary studies folk--some of them, not all-- misuse the term. Speculation: they do so deliberately--I will not elaborate upon this.
Philosophy and philosophers give me a headache. I avoid them at all costs.

That's not true. You could also hunt them to frighten off women, or become incarcerated.
That seems like only a slight (and twisted) variation on "shits and giggles."
 
How about a collective. Or a gathering. Or a gang...
 
While "Coven" is correct, "Blood sucking" get's used in films... well I think at least the Lost Boys.
 
While "Coven" is correct, "Blood sucking" get's used in films... well I think at least the Lost Boys.
I never read the book, but like most of us I've seen several film adaptations--both faithful and fanciful. It seems like there was only one vampire in Bram Stoker's story, so he never had to think up a word to describe a group of them. Leaving us in the lurch!

So what do we call a group of bats? That might work.

Aha! The venerable United States Government tells us that a group of bats is called a COLONY.

So: A colony of vampires?
 
I never read the book, but like most of us I've seen several film adaptations--both faithful and fanciful. It seems like there was only one vampire in Bram Stoker's story, so he never had to think up a word to describe a group of them. Leaving us in the lurch!

Dracula also featured the the trio of female vampires, traditionally referred to as lamia--though not by Stoker. Lamia are, by definition, female, but usually appear in groups. Actually, I'm not entirely sure about that, but I'm gonna look it up after I complete this post.

I don't recall any other pluralities of vampires in any of Stoker's stories, although I do believe there were lamia (plural) in Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla." Of course, that may have just been the Hammer film, and not so in the original story.

Edit: Ok, not originally a vampire proper--Lamia. Nevertheless, Neil Gaiman interpreted them in this fashion. Peter Gabriel, Keats certainly in mind, may or may not have interpreted them as vampires, but that's what I always took from it. ... Still, an encounter with vampires typically doesn't leave one looking like this:

circus375d.jpg
 
Another one to consider, if you have "Schools of Fish", does that mean you'd have a "School of Merpeople(Mermaids)"?

Perhaps others would be:
  • a Faculty of Tutors
  • a Flight of Passengers
  • an Invasion of Aliens
 
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