Vampires : The Myth, Legends, And Lore

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

In the text “Vampires Never Die,” by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, the authors main purpose is to tell the origin of vampires and how the perception of vampires has changed throughout history. Although the myth of an undead monster was created before the word “vampire” ever was, this text begins with a story told by John William Polidori that created the two main branches of vampire fiction known today. These branches include the vampire as a romantic hero and the vampire as an undead monster. Moreover, Polidori’s creation was widely accepted as being based upon Lord Byron, a superstar in the era of the 1800s. This new twist to an old idea was thought of by Polidori because he was a doctor and friend to Lord Byron. Nonetheless, Polidori resented Lord Byron 's charm, physique, and brilliance thus creating the alter egos. However, this text also suggest vampires may have originated from the repressed memories humans had as primates. Therefore, out of necessity, people may have been cannibalistic. In addition, this text suggest that vampires do not wish to destroy human lives but rather live for eternity. Furthermore, vampire characters are often used today in a variety of media ranging anywhere from cereal boxes to romantic fiction. Additionally, Polidori’s “Dracula” vampire movie was a success due to the featuring of new technology at the time including telegraphs, typing machines, and blood transfusions. Today, the world is exposed to wireless technology and is

Ever since my middle school friend introduced me to Twilight, I have been obsessed with vampires. With my obsession came a need to share my interest with other people. After my friends got sick of listening to my constant chatter about vampires, I turned to my mom to talk about my interest. When I told my mom about modern day vampires, she laughed and told me that the creatures I was talking about were not vampires. She said that vampires are bloodthirsty evil beings that are not handsome and certainly not sparkly. Through my conversation with my mother, I found out that the views of vampires have changed greatly throughout generations. I found that cultural and societal changes that occur throughout history has changed our image and perspectives of vampires.

Does Dracula, Queen of the Damned, or Anne Rice sound familiar? Surely, they must, but not just for one person. In fact, for people all over the world! The three terms expressed all have one thing in common; vampires. These mythical creatures are one of the most popular horror-related figures. Vampires may be a frightening subject for most, but that does not take away from the fact of their popularity throughout. The fascination of vampires has greatly affected past, present, and future cultures all around the world.

In the late nineteenth century vampires started to evolve into to what is the modern day vampire. Although they were still seen as “evil”, the vampires of the late twentieth century were no longer creepy creatures that would crawl out of their coffins to seduce women and feed from their blood. This was the start of a new period of

The original myth about vampires came from the man known as Vlad the Impaler. Vlad Tepes would impale his enemies to show their leaders that they cannot win and he drank their blood as a victory celebration. He was the model for the most famous Dracula character. Most people saw him as a blood drinking sadists, while Romania thought of him as a hero defending his empire from Ottoman Turks.

If someone said the word vampires, what immediately comes to mind is the “classic “ image of one with fangs and a cape that feed on innocent lives. Although you can have your classic vampires in books and movies, not all are portrayed like that. As Foster explains in How To Read Literature Like A Professor, usually in literature, the portrayal of a vampire is used to signify the evil and pure, and when the sinister succeeds he takes that purity and vitality away from the victim. A Thousand Splendid Suns, a novel by Khaled Hosseini, follows the journey of two women who are married to the same man, and how he exhibits those traits of a vampire and attempts to take that vivacity away from them.

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

Dracula has been described in many ways as a young man or even as an old grumpy man. In this book, Bram Stoker described Dracula by stating, “Within, stood all man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere”. He described a man who looked neat and clean but with no color as in he looked pale. As we get to know more of Dracula’s appearance in this novel he seems more unique and not so much like a human. (Stoker 160). The writer also stated, “His face was a strong-a very strong-aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils.... cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth”. (Stoker 18). Back in the old centuries people really did not know how vampires looked but now in modern days as we hear the word vampires we imagine a man dressed in black with pale skin and sharp teeth. Count Dracula was seen an evil creature who bit people and took their soul.

As Dracula and various vampiric stories relate, “the undead returns in slightly different clothing, each time to be read against contemporary social movements or a specific, determining event,” (Cohen 5). Vampiric figures are found worldwide, from the ancient Egyptian deserts to “modern Hollywood, each reappearance and its analysis are still bound in a double act of construction and reconstitution.” Vampires in ancient Egypt differ from the modern vampires constructed in Hollywood: modern vampires changed drastically since the ancient times because new societies tend to portray new ideas of vampire structures and the like. Because of this occurring theme dealt with

Legends about vampires have been traced back to several countries in Europe: no one is sure just where and when the myth began. a vampire, as almost everyone knows is one of the "living dead." the most famous vampire is Count Dracula. Like all the others, he lives on human blood, it is the only food that can satisfy him. He sleeps all day in a coffin at night he roams around the countryside searching for new victims. When the vampire finds his victim, he plunges his fanglike teeth into his or her neck and creates another

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

Halloween is on its way and as it nears many people let their imaginations grow. The one thing that has scared many people and delighted horror movie fans is the fear of vampires. I will tell you one thing though if you really think about it you can spot a vampire for miles, you know what one looks like, Hollywood has made them famous and you have been well informed about what to do to protect yourself but a crazy maniac or a serial killer looks pretty much like everyone else and isn’t that a much scarier thought? Anyway let’s get back to vampires.

In today’s society there is a greater than usual detachment from reality. With all the movies and T.V. shows featuring vampires, and how glamorous and wonderful it would be to be one with not a care in the world, and all the wealth you could ever want. Vampire stories have been around since the dawn of man and will continue until the end of mankind and they will continue across the millennium of time, but not in fact based reality

The vampires had not been within the walls of the workhouse a quarter of an hour, and had scarcely completed the demolition of a second pint of blood, when Mr. Bumble, who had handed him over to the care of an old woman, returned; and, telling him it was a board night, informed him that the board had said he was to appear before it forthwith.