Vampire Myths

The myth of the vampire existed in a multitude of civilizations and cultures under various names such is strigoi (for the Romanian territory), Apotamkin, etc. But no matter the name, vampires will always refer to gothic creatures that drain the blood of humans, thus being monstrous.

Humans for centuries have been drawn to vampires. From sitting around the fire in the time before the industrial revolution, to sitting around the table and in modern times watching it on the big screen. The folk tales of the undead that hunt at night, sucking the blood of the innocent has haunted and intrigued the human psyche for as long folklore has been in existence. Being afraid of what is being told to them, yet being unable to pull away. The pull and push affect that these mystical monsters have on the human aura is undeniable. Modern day vampires have a cult like following. When the Twilight series came out, the people where divided between team Jacob and team Edward. Teenage girls would swoon over these monsters, dangerous yet alluring.

Vampires have been around for centuries, they represent the fear of many things such as sexuality, race, gender, etc. and above all, they stand for the fear of diseases. Vampires have once been the symbol of horror due to their terrific depictions and were described as a threat to the humanity. Throughout time, the image of vampire has changed dramatically from a monstrous, inhumanely creature that doesn’t belong to human society to such an attractive and adaptive figure that expresses more of the human side than the evil. They developed human feelings, senses, and live within our society. Modern vampire movies are often more romantic and “sympathetic” comparing to the past. Vampires have abandoned their horror and evolved to a more

To be a vampire, you have to take something from someone else to benefit yourself, whether that be anything from blood to money. Vampires weren’t always what we see today in “Twilight. Vampirism does not always have to do with vampires but selfishness, exploitation, and refusal to respect.

 The most famous vampire is Dracula who derived from the book Dracula written  by Bram Stoker on May 26, 1897 (http://www.livescience.com/24374-vampires-real-history.html) To create this legendary character he combined old european folk tales with his own creative thoughts and turned his character Dracula into a world renowned legend. “It's a novel that used a mythological creature to tap into the fears of a generation and was so successful that the same exact mythological creature has been doing the same exact thing ever since.” The vampires that are popular today are much different from Dracula but they all owe something to Stoker's

Representations of the vampire archetype have changed over time. This is because people have different context of vampires due to different eras. The Bram Stoker’s original vampire text “Dracula” is about two men going on a business trip to meet Dracula. He was very welcoming but after a day the two man saw Dracula for who he was really was a vampire. It reflects the context of 1897 by the humans saw the vampire as a demon from the devil. The humans saw the Vampire was a demon because they were evil. In 2008 Catherine Hardwick released “Twilight”. This film is about a family of vampire called the Cullen’s trying to live a normal human live. The Cullen's didn’t feed from humans blood they feeded of animal blood The kids go to a school in a small town called Forks, Washington. The similarities between the archetypes in both text are that the vampire in Twilight and Dracula feeded on blood, don’t go in the sun and wear clothes what are hide most of their body’s. However, the main difference are, In the Cullen's talk to human and live close to him, go to school to with them, whereas Dracula doesn't.

Another one of their greatest advantages is they have their full strength all the time. Vampires are known for their strength to tear humans apart or crush anything that may get in their way. They don’t require any special time of the month to use their powers. Not only do vampires have their strength but like the werewolf, vampires also have keen senses too; sight, smell, and hearing. Their senses do not reach as far as werewolves but they do supersede humans, and that’s really all they concern themselves with. Also vampires also have speed like the werewolf and there is much debate as to which is

Sleep in a coffin. An association with bats. Red eyes. Cold touch. Great strength. Possess a hypnotic power. Have the ability to transform into a variety of animals. They avoid garlic, sunlight, crosses and holy water. May need to sleep on their native soil. Acute night vision. Immortal The History Of Vampires Where The Name Originated The word 'Vampire' is thought to have come from No one is absolutly sure, though. Where The Myths About Vampires First Appeared And Why Where? The myth of the Vampire has popped up in many different cultures over the centuries and it has changed and developed over the years. There have been stories as far back as 600 BC about vampires in Ancient Greece, but most of the tales began in the late eighteenth century. "In China Tsze-Chan reported in the 'Tsachwen' the existence of vampires in 600 BC. This idea was also common in ancient Babylon and Assyria. Most vampire tales originated in Eastern Europe and Balkan countries, such as Albania, Greece, Hungary, and Romania. Why? No one is sure where the myths really first started, but doctors and scientists have discussed actual medical conditions that may have lead to the reason that it carried on. The old reasons that people were thought to be a Vampire are, in suspected corpses, if the body has: No odor, lack of rigor mortis, and an excessive amount of bloating. Internal organs of the 'vampire' are similar in appearance to that of a healthy, living

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

Werewolves, also known as Lycanthropes are one of the primeval legends of human monsters. The first recorded Werewolf sighting took place around the countryside of German town Cologne and Bedburg in 1591. One myth of Lycanthropy is there were many ways to become a werewolf. It was said that you transformed by eating the meat of a wolf mixed with that of a human. However, many centuries later, there were different methods, such as, being cursed, conceived under a new moon, eating certain herbs, or sleeping under the full moon Fridays. People also believed that werewolves could dress in special, protective wolf skin, but they would remove it when the sun rose and hide it.

Some will even supply their own arguments for the metaphorical concept behind the werewolf. The importance of the necessary research into this topic is that it will introduce the idea of history being told incorrectly. If one looks at current interpretations of the werewolf, and the interpretation of werewolves originally, one will notice significant inaccuracies in which mythos between the two do not line up. Since they don’t fall in line with each other, it is highly likely that the original interpretation will be lost, due to being not as popular in popular media, and a piece of important cultural history will be overlooked. The myths and legends of ancient cultures provide a window into the lives of those generations that created the stories, so if those original stories are lost, that window into history is also lost.

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.

Some people say that werewolves are only mythical creatures"stories about humans shape-shifting into wolf-like creatures are contained in ancient folklore of various cultures, while legends about savage, super-hairy, woods-dwelling men known as Wodewose date back to medieval England”(Classic Monsters at Somerset Public Library) Werewolves are the world's most hairy beast that are there in the woods you just have to find them.

They are very hard to kill even when knowing their weaknesses and even more complicated when there are more than just one. They often travel in large quantities and hide in very gloomy areas where ambushes are more than likely to occur. They have the ability to move as well and as quick as humans, but don’t have the rational brains that they do. They have an extremely good learning capacity and get smarter and stronger as each day passes. This is why killing them in their early stages is the best possible time. The most horrid strength that they have is their six foot long stinger that protrudes from their mouth to infect their next victim. The vampires are strong beings with the willingness and capability to inflict mass destruction and have many strengths compared to their minute amount of weaknesses.

One reason vampires and werewolves may be constantly fighting in their realities is because of the large differences between the two of them. Vampires, often portrayed as aristocratic and regal with a large lust for blood, could see werewolves as mongrels, lowly dogs. They fear the beasts inside of the werewolves.