Let Us Die Young or Let Us Live Forever

Yup, I'm quoting the Jay-Z song here.

In today's post, I would like to discuss the idea of character immortality in books and what it is about it that draws readers in. Vampires, Werewolves, Immortals, Angels... just to name a few ;).

There has been a surge in these types of characters recently, but they have existed in stories forever. Many fantasy novels involve at least one type of immortal character, if not more. They are usually young and beautiful, frozen that way, both doomed and destined to roam the world for all eternity. But what makes them so appealing?

Is it that they never get older? They are literally "forever young", and considering the human quest to unlock that elusive fountain of youth, perhaps this is what draws us to them. They don't need to die young to be immortalized or obtain perpetual youth. People will never remember them as old, aged or wrinkly. They get to live forever, never age, never get sick, experience all life has to offer, to do it all with no regrets--because they always have that second, third, fourth chance to make it right. But do they?

Not always.

Perhaps it's the tortured soul that we sympathize with. The lost wanderer who is all alone with no one to turn to because he/she eventually loses the people and things they love, while they themselves continue to merely exist, but not really live anymore.

What do you think? Are your characters immortal and if so, why did you choose to make them that way (of course, depending on the genre you are writing)? And if not, what is your opinion of the appeal of these characters?