Fangs and Blood

Over the past few centuries, there have been several mentions of the word “Vampire” in the form of legends, literature, films and folklore. For me, the word “Vampire” means bloodlust, magic, mysticism and off course inhuman beauty.  From Dracula to Edward Cullen to Damon Salvatore, I have eternally been in love with them.  The pale-bodied, cold and lanky creatures who feed on human blood have become increasingly popular in the recent times. All thanks to the groundbreaking film series and TV shows which have “Vampires” as their main theme.

If we talk about the fictionalization of the folklore or myths associated with “Vampires”, we have to go back as early as 1819 when a book named “The Vampyre” by John Polidori was published. This book was highly successful and was considered to be the first of its kind. It was the first attempt that diffused “Vampire” elements into mainstream literature. However it was the success of Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” published in the year 1897 which helped the creation of a distinctive “Vampire” genre in contemporary cinema which is extremely popular till date.

With books, films and television series, “Vampires” have become a household name. But it is not in the recent times where we find so many depictions of “Vampires”.  In 1913, Robert G. Vignola made a film named “The Vampire” but here the protagonist was more of a human.  The first major breakthrough for the “Vampire” genre in the field of Cinema came in 1922 with the silent movie named “Nosferatu”. It was loosely based on Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula”. This movie is cited as the first proper movie with “Vampire” as the main theme. Unfortunately, due to some legal issues, there are hardly any prints of this film available. 

It was the year 1931, when the audience got a chance to see another “Vampire” movie with Bela Lugosi as the lead. “Dracula”, which was again based on Stoker’s novel, was a little more sophisticated and refined than “Nosferatu”. Lugosi did utmost justice to his role. The success of the film“Nosferatu” and “Dracula” as to which had the best portrayal of “Vampires”

spawned two sequels .There is one thing worth mentioning here that there has been constant comparison between the films,“Nosferatu” and “Dracula” as to which had the best portrayal of “Vampires”

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Films with “Vampires” as the main theme have been quite common since the silent era. In fact, it has been the most common subject of films based on any other fictional characters. But does“Vampire” fiction only consist of ”Dracula”? No definitely not. In the past few years, the entire genre has been completely regenerated with  Stephenie Meyer’s series of novels, “Twilight”. This series is all about fantasy and eternal love.It has been written from a human’s point of view,Bella Swan,who is one of the leading protagonists  of the series . The story revolves around her and her love story with Edward Cullen who is a 104 year old “Vampire”. With the first book getting published in 2005,the series has been extremely popular worldwide. It has  also been very successfully adapted to five films,”The Twilight Saga” with Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen.The films too, have formed its own cult following.

My write up about “Vampires” would be incomplete without the mention of “The Vampire Diaries”, a popular U.S. TV series which started in 2009. This show like “Twilight” is also based on a series of novels of the same name. But the popularity of the TV series has surpassed the novel.  It revolves around Elena Gilbert, a young high school girl who gets caught up in a love triangle with Vampire brothers, Damon and Stefan Salvatore. With Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert, Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore and Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore, “TVD”, now going into its seventh season has made its place in the hearts of viewers all over the world.

There have inevitably been comparisons between “TVD” and “The Twilight Saga”. Here I would like to reiterate that  both of them are very different from one another as far as the plot is concerned. The plot of “TVD” is way more complicated with more characters and other supernatural beings coming into the forefront.  Also the “Vampires” in “TVD” are more human and relatable than the ones in the “The Twilight Saga”. They do not sparkle!

But as much as they are different from one another,  “The Twilight Saga” and “TVD”, have certain facts in common too. The “Vampire” protagonists fall in love with a human being who becomes a “Vampire” as the story progresses. Their eternal youth and lust for blood are the other two common characteristics.

If we see the development of  “Vampire” in the hands of fiction with a cult following ,one can easily  understand that  “Dracula” and its kind focused mainly on blood and gore. On the other hand, the later versions of “Vampire” fiction bring out other facets of them which are not monstrous at all.

Some say “Vampires”  are nothing but a figment of one’s imagination while others believe, they exist for real. But for me, “Vampires” mean a picturesque world where there is no existence of my mortal being.

P.S- The pictures above are sourced from the Internet, the copyright is with the owners.There are also some data that have been googled.

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