...Today’s modern day vampire is considered one of the most notorious and iconic figures all over the world. With the steady stream of vampire novels, films, and television shows being produced, it is fair to say that the vampire has become the dark horse of literature, every enthusiasts dream. Yet this wasn’t always the case, because vampires were once considered the stuff of nightmares. Every culture has stories of these once terrifying ‘bloodsucking demons’ that, according to literary historian Brian Frost, “may go back to prehistoric times”. However, many of the myths surrounding such creatures emerged mainly during the 18th century particularly arising in Eastern Europe in areas such as Serbia, Roma, and Slovakia. The major paradigm shift from the early 19th century to the early 21st century is a complete change in attitude and definition of a vampire from a terrifying creature of the night to a romantic and beautiful almost-human, resulting from a change in religious and societal beliefs. These myths sparked a mass hysteria throughout most the 18th century, with frequent reported sightings of alleged vampires. Most famous of which was the case of Serbian peasant Arnold Paole who is believed to be the first man accused of being a vampire (Marx). It was supposed he had killed 17 people from his village during the night, later returning to his coffin. Government officials who ordered his coffin to be opened believed at the time the body (which looked perfectly fine apart from...
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...Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, and in spite of speculation by literary historian Brian Frost that the "belief in vampires and bloodsucking demons is as old as man himself", and may go back to "prehistoric times",[7] the term vampire was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe,[8] although local variants were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. While even folkloric vampires of the Balkans and Eastern Europe had a wide range of appearance ranging from nearly human to bloated rotting corpses, it was the success of John Polidori's 1819 novella The Vampyre that established the archetype of charismatic and sophisticated vampire; it is arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century,[9] inspiring such works as Varney the Vampire and eventually Dracula.[10] However, it is Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula that is remembered as the quintessential vampire...
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...I'm going to talk about Vampire [ˈvæmˌpaɪə]. There are six part of this presentation, which are What's the vampire, The history of Vampires, The vampire's features and fears, Vampire's propagation [ˌprɔpəˈgeɪʃən], The reality of Vampires and Vampires on the movies. So, to begin with, let's look at what's the vampire. Vampires are mythological or folkloric[ˈfəukˌlɔ:rik] creatures who subsist[səbˈsɪst] by feeding on the life essence [ˈesns] of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. In other words, vampires are the creatures that feed on with blood. The first vampire is named Cain[kein], he is one of tow sons of Adam [ˈædəm] and Eva [ˈi:və] ,but he killed his brother Abe [eib] and refused to amend [əˈmend]. So he was punished to become vampire by god. Cain created the second generation of vampires which have 13 laters as the third generation. The 13 members founders their own clans and held strong powers. thousands of years later, the vampires have increased to 15th-16th generation. Next, I'd like to look at the history of vampires. It can date back to the early nineteenth century when vampires were recorded in the folkloric tales. And then in 1891 year, The fascinating ˈ[fæsineitiŋ] and sophisticated [səˈfistikeitid] vampire of modern fiction was born with the publication of The Vampire by John Polidori. In 1897, Bram Stoker[ˈstəʊkə] wrote a novel named Dracula. It is remembered as the typical vampire novel and provided the basis...
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...The Diversity of the Mythological Creature Vampire Through Time and History It’s been a hundred years since Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and the vampire and its tales have swept the world in a whirlwind craze. Since, there has always been a fascination with the mystery of a vampire. Someone wearing plastic fangs, a cape, and black evening clothes will instantly remind you of the mythological creature. The much feared creature is and was portrayed in a number of ways. In the early days when they were just folklore, vampires were blood sucking predators and feared pale stalkers. In Vampire God: the Allure of the Dead in the Western Culture (2009), discussing the popularity of vampires in society, Mary Y. Hallab says that the folklore vampire is constantly compared to the other supernatural beings like witches and werewolf’s, and today’s concept is also a confused being, a zombie? A lover? Hallab states that “vampires are only those figures—folkloric, mythical, or literary—who are dead humans who are still capable of behaving as though they are alive.” Today, vampires have become a culture of their own, and are a huge part of mainstream pop culture. The Twilight Cullen’s and Sesame Street’s Count Dracula have a whole new appeal on adults and children. The appeal is not always good. According to Vampire Gothic, which is about vampire gothic cultures in United States, Teresa A. Goddu discusses a teenage vampire clan that was discovered in Murray, Kentucky, that was found...
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...when I was watching tv, A vampire movie actually. My brother was sitting next to me so he was so scared and he asked me what happens when a vampire makes a women fall in love with him, I told him I think that he might turn her into his slave, when I said that he got so scared that that might happen to our mother so he went crying and screaming I am not surprised actually he is 6 years old, my Sister she is 17 years old she spent the whole day talking on the phone doesn’t do any homework so the school called my mother. We where all grounded for what we did. The problem was that we had plans we where going out I was going to the concert and she was going out to have a sleepover with her friends so we had to do something to make sure that mum isn’t at home so we can go, She asked us why are we so sad I told her that we want to go buy stuff from the super market that was the plan to find a guy that can go out with her, we kept looking but we didn’t find anyone so she asked us if we were finished my sister said no we have to get icecream so when we rushed her and she accidentally hit a guy with the shopping bike or whatever they kept talking like half an hour then he finally asked her out and she said one night wouldn’t hurt, So we all were going out from the super market and Michale the guy that my mom is going out with left my brother was chasing his toy and he saw Michale changing into a bat, He also heard a man saying I am the vampire hunter the vampire is in the supermarket and...
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...1 ENGL 101 CPA-CRN The Evolution of Vampire Relationships. When we think about vampires we think about undead beings who suck blood out of living beings. In literature, these beings were depicted as less than human. Authors gave them an ugly face with big fang like incisors and animal type instincts. Within the last few decades however, authors have described vampires as more human. The vampire was given the body of a handsome/ beautiful human; in addition, they were given more human characteristics such as feelings, and emotions. However, the most important characteristic that has been ascribed to vampires is the ability to have relationships with people and other vampires. This characteristic has caused vampires to change from an inherently evil character into one that can make choices i.e based on emotion and not because of primal instinct. This has made vampire books and movies more appealing to the general population. One of the most successful vampire series is the Twilight series. The books and movies thrived because the story was different from other vampire stories. The series focused more on love rather than the killing of humans and other creatures. This causes readers to come up with a question like the following: Are vampires capable of loving someone like humans can? When the concept of vampires was first created, they were depicted as solitary creatures. The closest they came to having relationships was when they went to feed. They usually feed...
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...Brittany Nobrega ENG 201 11/19/12 Essay #3 The Vampire Diaries is a CW television series that revolves around a love triangle between two vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore, and the main character, Elena. The show takes place in Mystic Falls, a small town with many secrets including witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and hybrids. It is a constant struggle for Elena to keep her family and friends alive with all of the violence vampires and werewolves bring to the town; along with the struggle to protect her family and friends Elena struggles to choose which Salvatore brother she wants to be with. The trending vampire craze is a big part of America’s culture today. From television to books to movies the once evil vampire is now a fantasy for most women. These vampire characters may be murderers, they may be deceitful, but through all of the blood and gore we still desire them. What does it say about our culture today that the ideal man for a woman is a violent, murderous, yet gorgeous vampire? As a form of popular art, the CW series The Vampire Diaries reflects American women’s interest in violence, blood, heroes, confused morals, attractive men, and a dramatic love triangle. We root for these characters even though they have killed innocent people; each villain reveals a sensitive side that we are forced to sympathize with. American women viewers want to see more than two guys fighting over a girl, they want to see two heroic yet villainous animals struggle...
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...Vampires and zombies, two supernatural entities that have captured man’s imagination since the legends of these creatures were born. Everyone knows what a vampire is and what a zombie is (at least what they have heard of seen) but are they real? Surprisingly they are to some but no in the sense you would think. If you were to ask someone what a vampire is, you would probably get the standard answer, “Pointed fangs, thirst for blood, undead” etc. According to howstuffworks.com, These legends most likely originated in ancient Mesopotamia, with the Assyrian legend of the Lamatsu. The Lamastu was a demon goddess who would creep into a house at night and kill or kidnap babies and would also suck blood from young men, hence the vampire legend. There are many legends which contain an ancestor to the vampire legend. In Greek mythology, Lamia, a once mortal half woman half snake, would suck blood from infants. These are all examples of “early vampires”, the modern vampire was more directly influenced by the folklore of eastern Europe. One name for an eastern European vampire is Strigoi. These type creatures were also called Vampir, or Vampyr, hence the English word vampire. In the 17th and 18th centuries a wave of vampire hysteria rolled across Europe. During this time people reported seeing dead relatives walking around and attacking the living (howstuffworks). The best block in the evolution of the modern vampire is of course, Dracula, Bram Stoker’s character...
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...Bump in the Night: The Vampire Bat Authors Note This essay of a memoir has been submitted on April 7, 2013 Oh my god! This did not just happen to me. I find myself locked outside of my apartment with just my underoos on. I'm around eleven or years old at this time in my life. My mom and I have been in our apartment for about a year or two at this point so know my neighbors petty well by now. I had just moved to Maryland from Savannah, GA a few years ago. I'm slowly adjusting to being a latch key kid because my mother was a corrections officer and worked odd shifts sometime early morning or the midnight shift. I have two older brothers Mike who is the oldest at 7 years older than me and Toby who is 6 years older than me. They are not living with us at this time. My mom has been working these odd shifts for a year or so at this time so I was used to being home alone. There were rules I had to follow to keep myself safe. I'm pretty sure all latch key kids parents made them live by these rules as well. Never open the door from anyone but my mom or my brothers unless given direct instructions from either one of them. Don't give the impression that I might be home alone. Sometimes I would leave the television on or radio in the living room to give the illusion that there is some activity going on inside our apartment. This being home alone at night had become standard operating procedure at this point. There were just a few things that really bothered me when she...
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...Zombies and Vampires have been part of many legends, but now they are very popular with people and have many stories of their own. Many have seen horror movies, and television shows which we became scared of. The younger generation sees them as ‘awesome ’monsters. They capture our imagination and both are popular amongst adults and teenagers these days. Vampires suck human’s blood, unlike zombies that feed on human flesh. Sure both are incredible creatures that we like, but if a situation were to happen where you can become a vampire or a zombie, who would you be? Vampires and Zombies are creatures that harm humans and show many similarities and differences within them. Vampires are known to drink blood by biting on human’s necks. They have...
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...Comparing Vampires and Werewolves Star Koning Com/170 January 12th, 2012 Karen DeVries Comparing Vampires and Werewolves Vampires and werewolves are ravenous demons that haunt our dreams, and dwell in the dark murky shadows of the night. They like to creep around in the dark, and will attack when least expected. These creatures of the night can live within the human population. They could be your neighbor, your local bank teller, your pastor, your local store clerk, or even your best friend, and in most cases they are never even noticed. That is until one is breathing down the neck of an unsuspecting victim. Vampires are not born, they are human first. They have to be bitten by a vampire who drains their blood, and then they must feed on the blood of a vampire. They then must go through the transition of changing from human to night-creature, and will be in pain for a few days until they become a full blooded vampire. (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_are_vampires_born). A werewolf on the other hand, must be bitten or scratched by another werewolf. It has also been said that werewolves have been known to interbreed with humans and wolves to increase their population. When a werewolf child is born, it is born into the same form as its mother. If the mother is human at the time of the birth, the child will also be born in a human form. If the mother is a werewolf at the time of the birth, the child will be born in a wolf form. (www.weavercraft.org/…/werewolves.html)...
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...Vampire Diaries This is an popular TV series about vampires, werewolves, witches, and hybrids. Full of history, past, present, and future. This is all fiction related, things such as this don’t exist well not in our living world. First let’s start off with the cast, main character Elena Gilbert formal human, friends Bonnie and Caroline, being caught in the trap of two vampires that are brothers, both deeply are in love with her. Stefan Salvatore her first love she fell for. Damon Salvatore as Stefan turned away her love grew stronger for Damon. They both longed to have her as they did with Katherine Petrova (Pierce), ex-lover toying with both the Salvatore brothers. Jeremy Gilbert also a human, turns out to be Elena’s cousin but refers to...
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...Critique of “(Un)safe Sex: Romancing the Vampire” In this article Backstein explains the important shift that occurred during the start of the Twilight Series and similar blood sucking tales. Furthermore today’s vampires are viewed as appealing and moral. The movies likewise portray vampires as having a feeling of discretion. They demonstrate the problems they face to defeat their allurements. Backstein also emphasizes the importance of female roles in these films. Her quality, remarkable abilities, being the object of affection, or a mix of every one of these attributes. She is the concentration of the story. Moreover, the film Twilight consists of the share of blood and savagery from multiple points of view but it also possesses a big deal of romance along with a paranormal curve. The strain, the otherworldly attributes, the danger Edward conveys add new vitality to the teen romance story. It likewise calls attention to the level of realism used, which also causes tension itself due to the supernatural qualities throughout the story....
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...Callan Parker Ms. Faith Dickens English Honors II May 30th, 2014 Vampires: Killing Machines or Sex Machines? The sexualization and carnality of modern vampires can be tied to the commercialization of peoples interest in the supernatural and a contrasting society. In less than a century, vampires have gone from scary and repulsive monsters to beautiful, mysterious creatures. This transformation is brought on by the common advertisement of sex and the attentiveness of people to abstract societies nowadays. The look and feel of vampires has also changed due to the resources of entertainment producers and a capitalist society focused on building revenue. Nosferato vampires compared to modern vampires: In Nosferatu, the most important and popular element in the movie was the accuracy of Dracula/Count Orlok. The description in the book matches the actors portrayal, “…a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white mustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere,” (Stoker, 21). Later in his letter, Jonathan mentions the physical structure of the Count who stands before him: “His face was a strong—a very strong—aquiline, with a high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils …The mouth, as far as I could see it under the heavy moustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality...
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...December 4, 2015 The Transformation of Vampires: from Dracula to Twilight American Gothic is a subgenre of gothic fiction, with elements specific to it such as; rational versus irrational, Das Unheimliche, puritanism, and guilt just to name a few. What really distinguished American Gothic from any other form of gothic fiction is the continuous references to predestination and presence of original sin, simply because the puritans were the first to settle in the new colonies therefore having a profound influence on American gothic writers. However, American Gothic has become much more contemporary beginning in the eighteenth century. In Caroline Spooner’s “Contemporary Gothic”, she explains how gothic has been able to survive in America by “drawing self-referentially on itself, combining sincere nostalgia with a self-aware sense of theatre, even camp.” (Farkas 1). Gothic has the ability to transform depending on the the times and what social issues are prevalent at a specific time period. Many writers are taking it upon themselves to rewrite “the vampire” in a more modern setting. The face of a vampire has changed since Bram Stoker's Dracula, but his novel has influenced our society and will continue to influence our culture as time goes by. Some of Dracula’s characteristics, including his sensitivity to light and thirst for blood, are still present, but have just been tweaked to the writer’s preference. In the time of Dracula, the vampire was more of a villain but in many...
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