- Vampire

Vampire

Vampire – From Count Dracula to the Littlest Vampire

The very word “vampire” conjures up a variety of images. Over the decades of vampire portrayal in Hollywood, there have been as many kinds of vampires as there are directors and writers to imagine them. Whether you find vampires frightening or intriguing, there’s no doubt that the concept of vampires continues to attract the attention of many.

Count Dracula

Dracula was by no means the first vampire, but he is arguably the most famous. He was made so by Braum Stoker in his 1897 story of Count Dracula.

Stoker was apparently inspired to use the name Dracula by a historic account of the war between the Wallachia and the Turks. It seems that Stoker read that Dracula was the Wallachia word for “devil.” Though this isn’t true, Stoker’s use of the name seems to us to have been a good choice.

The Dracula of history wasn’t a count and he had no association with vampires. It was simply a case of Stoker’s search for an appropriate name for his vampire when he came across the historical accounting of that war.

You’ll find more about this at http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/count.htm.

Dracula, as portrayed by the film industry, is typically a very elegant gentleman. Except for his tendency to drink the blood of innocent maidens (and anyone who happens to get in his way), he is very refined.

Hollywood Vampires

By contrast, the vampires of some other movies have been crude gangs that often exhibit the mob mentality. They gather, gorge themselves on innocent blood and wreak havoc. There’s a fear here that is not quite the same as the fear invoked by Dracula and his kind.

Though some might say that Hollywood has done vampires “to death,” there are some vampire movies that stand out above the others. The original Dracula is sometimes listed on top ten Halloween movie lists.

Another of that ilk is “Interview With a Vampire.” In this movie, the vampires have the money to lead an elegant lifestyle. They stay in the finest hotels and dress like aristocrats. The twist in this movie is the fact that a young girl is bitten, thereby turning her into a vampire. Though she lives for many years, she never ages. The child’s body harbors a woman vampire.

Not all vampires are cast in an evil light. In “The Littlest Vampire,” those who were so unfortunate as to become vampires only seek to find a way to end the curse.

How To Be a Vampire

There are several trains of thought regarding the actions of vampires. Some say that one must be bitten to become a vampire. Others say that the dead can be fed the blood of a vampire, thereby becoming a resurrected vampire.

There is also the belief that a person bitten by a vampire bat becomes a vampire.

Vampires – The Mystery

There are several reasons that vampires attract our attention. The ability to change form – becoming a bat and therefore being able to fly – is no doubt one of the attractions. Who hasn’t wanted to be able to escape detection by changing form? And flying without mechanical aid has always been a dream of mankind.

The elegance, the fear and the mystery will likely continue to attract our attention. And as long as we’re attracted, Hollywood will undoubtedly keep finding new twists to put on our old favorite – Count Dracula.

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