Vampire Myth Research Paper

A key element of the fantasy / horror / gothic genres is to fascinate and intrigue readers through stories that pose the “what if” questions, thereby teaching us something new about the society we live in. Sometimes these stories are helpful in explaining difficult concepts of good and evil, science and religion. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, the mythical horror creatures, the vampires, have many differences in their mythical abilities, functionality and origin; however, they both serve to underline themes that remind the reader of what makes us human and what defines us as ultimately good or evil. Stoker’s Count Dracula is the product of a religious strike against the antagonist whereas the vampires in I Am

Since the beginning of time vampires have been categorized into different "types” and are portrayed in different ways throughout several books. This paper will focus on three vampires from the following books: Dracula by Bram Stoker, and I am Legend by Richard Matheson. Dracula is considered to be the traditional vampire, where it all started, and the vampires in Matheson’s book, follow somewhat Stoker’s concept, but is more of a modern “type” of vampires. Certain vampire elements have been presented, but others have been completely removed or altered. In addition, elements along with appearances are used to infer if the vampire is a form of “the other”. There are two types of vampires; the traditional or modern vampire which can be distinguished based on the elements present in their storyline.

They shun the light and crave the taste of blood. The mere thought of them could make a grown man tremble. But what if a vampire wasn’t just a horrific creature of the night? What if they were completely human, enabling them to hide in plain sight? Wouldn’t that make them more dangerous? Due to popular Gothic literature, vampires are commonly romanticized to be pale bloodsuckers that hide in the dark, waiting for their next meal. This version of a vampire makes them easy to spot in literature, but is also very limiting in that it only lends itself to that specific genre. However, a different version, laid out by Thomas Foster, shows how anyone, whether they be fictional or nonfictional, can be considered a vampire through analysis of

On the basis of the evidence currently available, it seems fair to suggest that Polidori’ s The Vampyre is not just a story of a monstrous figure of the vampire from folklore tradition waiting to be destroyed by a wooden stake through the heart, it is rather that kind of nineteenth century vampire whose literary presence is highly loaded with metaphorical connotations. For instance, Lord Ruthven’s presence in the

For many of us, suicide is an emotionally laden, fear-provoking human tragedy. Even people, who have attempted suicide, often cannot adequately explain their wish to die. Suicide is so perplexing to us because it is incongruent. Reasons and actions of people who commit suicide do not add up.

In this article it shows how the vampire started as a bloodthirsty monster in stories and how the eventually evolved into the modern envisage seen in media. What makes this important for the thesis, is the evolution form the first stories that spurred this villain in the shadows. The evolution of the vampire across the cultures is a very important aspect for research within this paper in order to fully describe how this creature was first envisioned in the early folklore to what we see today in the recent adaptations. Attempting to describe this progression without bringing to the forefront the classics such as Bram Stokers would be a large disservice to this paper.

The generalization for vampires has been displayed in films and literature for hundreds of years. The stereotypical versions of vampires are that they have long fangs, sleep in coffins during the day, and suck the blood out of humans. Both novels contradict those stereotypes in different ways. To understand the diversity of the vampires described in both novels, one must examine the characteristics that the vampires display and the meaning and purpose behind them. David D. Gilmore’s book “Monsters” analyzes monsters and other mythical creatures. Gilmore describes why humanity invented the idea of

which has the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a winged

The Gothic Features of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte A Gothic novel is a type of literature, which became very popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In this time, society was governed by strict moral codes. The "Gothics" would escape into a world of dark, supernatural and wild passions. The word 'Gothic' meant barbarous and wild and many writers liked to involve these elements in their novels.

The word choice here reflects Jane's situation - she is like the ground, 'petrified' under the influence of her aunt, whose behaviour is mirrored in the term "hard frost" because of the icy discipline she bestows. Mrs Reed's attitude towards Jane highlights one of the main themes of the novel, social class. Jane's aunt sees Jane as inferior as she had humble beginnings: she is "less than a servant". Jane is glad to be leaving her cruel aunt and of having the chance of going to school.

As one of the most attractive and enduring figures in the Gothic literature, the vampires have moved from being a peripheral element with the genre to a place near the center and are capable of generating its own massive tradition now. In the recent literary history, they have already been adapted to play a role of a rebel against the moral, social, religious, and even sexual taboos. Put simply, the vampires are now a metaphor of human beings in the modern society and life.

The truly shocking and terrible, blood-sucking-monster we once  knew have now changed into beautiful, perfect,and healthy human beings. This paper will discuss the change and the reason why  the change of idea many still accept and like the modern picture of vampires.In order to answer this, I will examine the differences between Bram Stoker's Dracula , the typical figure of horror before, and the soft light just before sunrise or after sunset's Edward Cullen, the obvious example of the 21st century vampire. From this, I will be able to decide out what changed in the features of the vampires we know today.Many would think about Edward Cullen as a "shockingly disrespectful behavior of the vampire old example" (Mole).

Gothic literature originated and was very strong at the time of the Romantic Writers Movement. They were very popular and had authors such as Horace Walpole who wrote “The Castle of Oranto”, and novels such as “Frankenstein” and “Dracula“. Gothic novels all had a similarity between each other. They always had typical Gothic features which alleviated the novel in one way or another. For example, most Gothic novels involved settings which generally added fear and suspense. They were always quite dark, scary and isolated. Also the characters of the Gothic novels never seemed to fit in the community and the society. They usually were handicapped, disabled or deformed

The legend of the vampire has emerged countless times within human imagination over the past few centuries. The first available representation of the mythical creature in prose fiction can be found in John Polidori’s “The Vampyre” (1810). It was not until eight decades later that Bram Stoker popularized the existence of this figure with the publication of “Dracula” in 1897. The folklore of the vampire has come a long way since and can be found in today’s popular media more frequently than ever before. However, with due course of time, the representation of the creature has taken alternate routes and today’s vampires are noticeable different – socially and physically – from their predecessors. One effective path to trace this

The gothic literary movement is a part of the larger Romantic Movement. Gothic literature shares many of the traits of romanticism, such as the emphasis on emotions and the imagination. Gothic literature goes beyond the melancholy evident in most romantic works, however, and enters into the areas of horror and decay, becoming preoccupied with death. “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe is a powerful example of gothic fiction, whereas James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans serves as the romantic predecessor, illustrating the differences and the similarities between romantic and gothic literature.