The Allure of Vampires
Overview
AI generated. See: National Geographic, University of Victoria, and Britannica
The enduring fascination with vampires stems from their ability to represent complex themes like mortality, sexuality, and societal taboos, making them a captivating and adaptable figure in popular culture. 1. Symbolism of Mortality and Immortality:Vampires, with their eternal existence, challenge human limitations and explore the fear of death and the allure of immortality. 2. Eroticism and Desire:The association of vampires with blood and lust, as well as their often-portrayed physical attractiveness, taps into primal desires and societal taboos, making them a compelling subject for exploration. 3. Power Dynamics:Vampires often represent power, whether it's the dominance of the vampire over humans or the internal struggle of a vampire character with their own nature. 4. Adaptability and Evolution of the Vampire Myth:The vampire myth has evolved over time, with vampires being portrayed as everything from terrifying monsters to tragic, sympathetic figures, allowing for diverse interpretations and stories. 5. Exploration of societal taboos:Vampires allow for the exploration of societal taboos that are otherwise difficult to discuss, such as desire for forbidden things or demon lovers. 6. Diversity in Vampire Portrayals:The vampire archetype has been expanded to include a wide range of characters, from child vampires to psychic or olfactory vampires, allowing for a diverse range of stories and interpretations. 7. Historical Context:The vampire myth has roots in folklore and cultural beliefs, with stories of vampires and vampire-like figures appearing in various cultures and time periods. 8. The "Other" and Social Commentary:Vampires often represent the "Other," allowing for exploration of societal anxieties and prejudices, as well as social commentary on issues like class and power. 9. Continued exposure in Popular Culture:Vampire stories have been a staple in popular culture for decades, with books like "Dracula" and "Interview with the Vampire," as well as TV shows like "True Blood" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and films like "Twilight" continuing to captivate audiences.
Recommended Media
Web Resources: Print
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire
OVERVIEW: https://www.britannica.com/topic/vampire
OVERVIEW: https://www.history.com/articles/vampire-history
OVERVIEW: https://mythos-and-legends.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire
ON-GOING APPEAL: https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/the-eternal-appeal-of-vampires/
ON-GOING APPEAL: https://rogue-magazine.medium.com/the-eternal-allure-of-vampires-babe8a0246b0
ON_GOING APPEAL: https://medium.com/@opheliakee69/the-allure-of-the-immortal-why-do-vampires-remain-a-popular-trope-in-paranormal-romance-898abe6f350e
ON-GOING APPEAL: https://today.ucsd.edu/story/the-curious-allure-of-gothic-gore-and-vampire-lore
DEVELOPMENT: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/01/12/books-first-vampire-in-literature
DEVELOPMENT: https://curiosity.scholasticahq.com/article/22205-a-history-of-vampires-and-their-transformation-from-solely-monsters-to-monstrous-tragic-and-romantic-figures
DEVELOPMENT: https://skemman.is/bitstream/1946/20944/1/Berglind_Gudmundsdottir_BA_Thesis_The_Vampire%27s_Evolution_in_Literature.pdf
DEVELOPMENT: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/504/
HISTORY OF VAMPIRE FICTION: https://www.wired.com/2012/04/vampire-fiction-history/
HISTORY: https://mspublishing.blogs.pace.edu/2022/11/04/vampire-literature-through-the-ages/
TOP TEN BOOKS: https://happygoathorror.com/2024/09/20/my-top-10-horror-vampire-novels/
TOP TEN BOOKS: https://www.carolmckibben.com/blog/the-10-best-vampire-books
BEST FILMS: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls025655661/
BEST FILMS: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-vampire-movies/
BEST FILMS: https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/essential-vampire-movies/
Web Resources: Video
OVERVIEW (TEDEd): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0ThKRmySoU
DRACULA (TEDEd): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uiyz3139tE
THE HISTORICAL DRACULA (VLAD): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MH69FjA6OI
VAMPIRES OF IRELAND: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K23T3WXtqqE
DRACULA (novel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UYAI2Vswus
‘SALEM’S LOT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwxI2iLGd0w
CARMILLA (audio): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1mwzxCbCI8
I AM LEGEND: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8G9qQF8_Jc
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (novel; film): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocJ2WnP7294
NOSFERATU (1922): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vP2whYFAKI
WHY “UNDERWORLD” WORKS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLzZou4WPSI
Selected Novels
1. "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
(1897): A cornerstone of vampire fiction, this novel introduced the world to the iconic Count Dracula. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dracula-novel
2. "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice
(1976): A captivating exploration of the vampire experience through the eyes of the undead.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interview_with_the_Vampire
3. "’Salem's Lot" by Stephen King
(1975): A chilling story of a small town taken over by vampires, blending classic horror with a modern setting.
https://stephenking.com/works/novel/salems-lot.html
4. "Carmilla" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
(1872): A precursor to Stoker's Dracula, exploring the themes of female vampires and Gothic horror. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmilla
5. "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson
(1954): A post-apocalyptic story about a man trying to survive in a world overrun by vampires.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/I-Am-Legend-novel-by-Matheson
6. “Let the Right One In” by John Ajvide Lindqvist (2004)
The story centers on the relationship between a 12-year-old boy, Oskar, and a centuries-old vampire child, Eli.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_the_Right_One_In_(novel)
7. “Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries” [True Blood] by Charlaine Harris (2001—2013)
https://charlaineharris.com/books-by-series/sookie-stackhouse/
8. "The Vampyre" by John Polidori (1819)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vampyre
Selected Films and Television Series
• Nosferatu (1922): https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nosferatu-film-by-Murnau-1922 • Interview with the Vampire (1994): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interview_with_the_Vampire_(film) • Dracula (1931): https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-dracula-1931 • Twilight series (2008—2011): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Saga_(film_series) • 30 Days of Night (2007): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_Days_of_Night_(film) • Let the Right One In (2008): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_the_Right_One_In_(film) • Blade series (1998—2004) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_(franchise) • Underworld series (2003—2016): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underworld_(film_series)• True Blood (2008—2014): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Blood • Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997—2003): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer
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Development of the Vampire Legend
© Minnesota Public Radio. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/01/12/books-first-vampire-in-literature
The first mention of vampires in literature seeped through from European folklore. In the mid-1700s, a vampire panic swept the Serbian countryside. Victims reported being visited in the night by their recently deceased relatives or neighbors, who throttled the life from them. Those struck by these visions died within days. When panicked townspeople exhumed the offending corpses, they found "tell-tale" signs of vampirism: hair and nails that continued to grow after death, blood in the mouth, a lack of decomposition. The panic worked its way into poetry. Heinrich August Ossenfelder's 1748 poem "The Vampire,” was one of the first to speak about the nocturnal horror:
And as softly thou art sleeping To thee shall I come creeping And thy life's blood drain away.
When the English got ahold of these tales, however, the vampire genre took root. Notices of the strange deaths in Europe were printed in London papers, according to the Oxford University Press. There they became fodder for several writers. The epic poem "Thalaba the Destroyer," by Robert Southey, is considered to be first appearance of a vampire in English literature. Thalaba, the hero, is confronted by Oneiza, his recently-deceased bride who has risen again as a vampire. This was in keeping with the European tales: Vampires were often related to their victims. The next influential entry in vampire literature came from a familiar source: The same ghost story competition that spawned Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." In 1816, Shelley and her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, gathered with Lord Byron and his personal doctor, John William Polidori, at a mansion close to Lake Geneva. It proved to be a spectacularly rainy summer, and to combat the boredom, Byron proposed everyone write a ghost story. That challenge gave rise to "Frankenstein," a story about a re-animated corpse of a very different kind. Byron's contribution to the competition was an unfinished tale about an aristocrat's mysterious encounters on his travels — that story inspired Polidori, his doctor, to publish "The Vampyre" three years later. (The novella was originally incorrectly attributed to Byron himself, which probably helped sales.) This marked the beginning of vampires with class. The vampires prior had mostly been unremarkable townspeople, climbing from their graves in a manner more reminiscent of modern zombies. But Polidori took Byron as his model for the vampire character Lord Ruthven — a charming aristocrat with dangerous appetites. "The Vampyre" sparked a pop culture phenomenon: There were unauthorized sequels, a flurry of other vampire tales and numerous stage adaptations. Even Queen Victoria saw the vampire plays, according to one of her biographies". Fifty years later, Sheridan Le Fanu gave the world its first favorite female vampire in "Carmilla," which he published in 1872. In "Carmilla," a young woman falls prey to a vampire in an isolated castle. Sound familiar? Scholars have noted many similarities between "Carmilla" and Bram Stoker's vampire masterpiece, "Dracula," which followed twenty-five years later. By the time "Dracula" was published, the reading public was steeped in vampire tales. Stoker drew on the existing tropes to create a lasting horror masterpiece that has become a cultural staple. The character of Count Dracula has since appeared in more than 200 films, including the 1922 German horror film "Nosferatu." The portrayal of vampires in literature has continued to evolve. Richard Matheson gave vampires a zombie bent in 1954's "I Am Legend," where a vampire plague ravaged the planet. Anne Rice, however, is the one who gave vampires a heart. Rice's wildly popular vampire books gave a backstory to the bloodsucking monsters and made them not only sympathetic but sexy. "Interview with a Vampire" is credited with reviving the vampire genre. The mix of vampires, sex, and romance wasn't new — even the 19th-century vampire tales had suggestive overtones — but Rice's spin was sensational. The rise of vampires as objects of romance eventually led to the young adult phenomenon of "Twilight," where Stephenie Meyer made millions reinventing the fanged legends. Meyer's vampires sparkled in the sun and opted for deer blood over humans. (That's a vegetarian as a vampire can get.) So what's next for the fanged legends? Another reinvention is likely waiting in the wings. From undead peasants to dangerous aristocrats to paperback heartthrobs, it seems vampires just won't die.
And as softly thou art sleeping To thee shall I come creeping And thy life's blood drain away.
When the English got ahold of these tales, however, the vampire genre took root. Notices of the strange deaths in Europe were printed in London papers, according to the Oxford University Press. There they became fodder for several writers. The epic poem "Thalaba the Destroyer," by Robert Southey, is considered to be first appearance of a vampire in English literature. Thalaba, the hero, is confronted by Oneiza, his recently-deceased bride who has risen again as a vampire. This was in keeping with the European tales: Vampires were often related to their victims. The next influential entry in vampire literature came from a familiar source: The same ghost story competition that spawned Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." In 1816, Shelley and her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, gathered with Lord Byron and his personal doctor, John William Polidori, at a mansion close to Lake Geneva. It proved to be a spectacularly rainy summer, and to combat the boredom, Byron proposed everyone write a ghost story. That challenge gave rise to "Frankenstein," a story about a re-animated corpse of a very different kind. Byron's contribution to the competition was an unfinished tale about an aristocrat's mysterious encounters on his travels — that story inspired Polidori, his doctor, to publish "The Vampyre" three years later. (The novella was originally incorrectly attributed to Byron himself, which probably helped sales.) This marked the beginning of vampires with class. The vampires prior had mostly been unremarkable townspeople, climbing from their graves in a manner more reminiscent of modern zombies. But Polidori took Byron as his model for the vampire character Lord Ruthven — a charming aristocrat with dangerous appetites. "The Vampyre" sparked a pop culture phenomenon: There were unauthorized sequels, a flurry of other vampire tales and numerous stage adaptations. Even Queen Victoria saw the vampire plays, according to one of her biographies". Fifty years later, Sheridan Le Fanu gave the world its first favorite female vampire in "Carmilla," which he published in 1872. In "Carmilla," a young woman falls prey to a vampire in an isolated castle. Sound familiar? Scholars have noted many similarities between "Carmilla" and Bram Stoker's vampire masterpiece, "Dracula," which followed twenty-five years later. By the time "Dracula" was published, the reading public was steeped in vampire tales. Stoker drew on the existing tropes to create a lasting horror masterpiece that has become a cultural staple. The character of Count Dracula has since appeared in more than 200 films, including the 1922 German horror film "Nosferatu." The portrayal of vampires in literature has continued to evolve. Richard Matheson gave vampires a zombie bent in 1954's "I Am Legend," where a vampire plague ravaged the planet. Anne Rice, however, is the one who gave vampires a heart. Rice's wildly popular vampire books gave a backstory to the bloodsucking monsters and made them not only sympathetic but sexy. "Interview with a Vampire" is credited with reviving the vampire genre. The mix of vampires, sex, and romance wasn't new — even the 19th-century vampire tales had suggestive overtones — but Rice's spin was sensational. The rise of vampires as objects of romance eventually led to the young adult phenomenon of "Twilight," where Stephenie Meyer made millions reinventing the fanged legends. Meyer's vampires sparkled in the sun and opted for deer blood over humans. (That's a vegetarian as a vampire can get.) So what's next for the fanged legends? Another reinvention is likely waiting in the wings. From undead peasants to dangerous aristocrats to paperback heartthrobs, it seems vampires just won't die.
