Brooks 1 Ashley Brooks Robin Kramer CAS 137H 30 October 2013 Vampire: Loathed or Loved Gruesome, horrific, immortal,

blood-sucking creatures of the night. Vampires. Tales of vampires have been depicted as far back as 4000 B.C (Bane 7). Tales of shapeshifting demonic looking creatures who prey on whomever they so please instilled fear in the hearts of the listeners. Now, thanks to Stephanie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, and L. J. Smith, author of the Vampire Diaries series, tales such as these no longer exist in American society. What happened to the vampires like Dracula and the ones such as Mormo, an ancient Greek vampire who was covered in blisters and blood with the ability to shape-shift into 1,000 hideously deformed creatures (Banes 103)? Humans everywhere feared and loathed these demonic creatures that fed on the blood of humans. From ancient Greece, to Bulgaria, to Persia, millions feared the demons of the night. Vampire used to be a word that invoked fear in the hearts of those who heard the tales. Tales of dark, bloodthirsty, viscous creatures that prey on humans and animals alike reigned across the world for centuries. Vampire folklore consists of many vampires who preyed on children, flew around with the intestines of their victims hanging around their necks like medals, and have long black tongues and backwards feet. The description of a vampire has changed drastically from: bloodsucking, demonic, hideously deformed monster, to: seductive, unearthly beautiful, compassionate, sparkling creature. Vampires in todays society still suck blood, and possess incredible

Brooks 2 speed and strength; however, they show compassion for the humans by drinking the blood of animals instead. These vampires also sparkle in the sunlight, can walk around in the sun thanks to daylight rings, protect those they love, and loathe themselves because of their desire to harm humans. Not all folklore of vampires disintegrated over the years, but the way in which they are perceived has changed drastically. Thanks to new television series and authors such as Stephanie Meyer, vampire is now a word that no longer instills fear, but rather draws in humans to lust after blood-sucking, murderous beasts. Legends of vampires have been around for centuries. In 1897, the most infamous vampire from myths and books came around. Dracula was tall and thin with canine-like teeth. He also had overgrown nails and eyes that changed to blood red when he was enraged. Bram Stoker, creator of Dracula, also enabled him to: control the weather and certain animals, morph into a bat, dog, or wolf, and walk in daylight (Bane 37). Bram Stoker managed to create a vampire that tied together many of the legendary vampires from across the world. Dracula horrified readers, and provided a few nightmares as well. At the time that Dracula came around, vampires were still feared creatures. Vampires had long fangs, drank blood, turned into bats, and as if that was not enough, vampires were also very cunning. These vampires also appeared gruesome and horrifying. One particularly gruesome vampire comes from Ireland. The Sile na Gig has, an extended vulva, pot belly, twisted face, and withered breasts (Bane 126). Sile na Gig is just the tip of the grotesque nature of these undead creatures. The variety of ways in which a vampire could torture, maim, and suck the life from its victims was enormous. Some vampires hid behind street corners and simply

Brooks 3 surprised their victims, while others specifically sought at their victims, raped, tortured, and finally killed them. Some vampires preferred quick, easy snack, while others preferred to slowly suck their victims dry. Each tale managed to accomplish the same task however, to bring nightmares to villages full of humans. Humans, who now became prey for these vampires, stood very little chance in defeating them. Some trends of the vampire tales have managed to stay in the current depiction of vampires, such as: incredible strength and speed, the ability to attract their victims, and of course, their need to drink blood. However, vampire stories are no longer told to invoke fear. Somehow, our culture took these legends, and modified them, to bring slight fear, but to also be romanticized about. Before, a vampire was not something to be swooned over. Vampires were soulless, ruthless creatures who would not think twice before biting into your neck to slowly suck the life out of you. Now, these vampire legends have a romanticized twist to them. Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight book series, created a family of vampires who enjoyed the company of humans, preferred to pray on animals alone, and lived in peace with the humans. The protagonist Bella, a human, found herself incredibly attracted to the vampire Edward. Edward, like the rest of his vampire family, swore to drink only the blood of animals. These vampires sparkle in daylight and are often extremely kind to humans. These vampires even saved Bella on more then one occasion. Stephanie Meyer described, in her book Twilight, the gorgeous features of each of the Cullens. The Cullens are a family of unearthly beautiful vampires who sparkle when exposed to daylight and have flawless, porcelain-like skin. Edward is the vampire in which Bella find herself attracted to on her first day at Forks High School. In Twilight,

Brooks 4 Stephenie Meyer describes Edward with phrases such as: beautiful boy, long, pale fingers, perfect lips, noticeably graceful (9-10). The vampires in Twilight in no way resemble old vampires from legends who were horribly misshapen. Twilight is not the only culprit of romanticizing vampire however. The Vampire Diaries, a book series by L.J. Smith and a television show on the CW, also romanticizes vampires. Although Elena, the protagonist in the series, does not dream of becoming a vampire like Bella does in Twilight, Elena still falls in love with not one, but two vampires throughout the series. These vampires, portrayed by Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder, are both strikingly gorgeous men. All of the vampires in The Vampire Diaries are stunning, both men and women alike. Gone are the days of gruesome, gutwrenching creatures that stalk their prey and feed on unknowing victims. Vampires such as Edward, from Twilight, and the Salvatore brothers, from The Vampire Diaries, are completely intact and share beautify beyond this Earth. Vampires no longer have distorted features, partial bodies, or horrid, peeling flesh. This new set of vampires have teeth as white as paper, hair as smooth as silk, features so incredibly defined that mere humans cannot come close to comparison. How did this shift occur? How did society go from grotesque, zombie-like monsters of the night, to alluring, graceful creatures? Tales of vampires may have been inspired by those who suffered from porphyria. Porphyria is, a group of rare disorders passed down through families, in which an important part of hemoglobin, called heme, is not made properly(Dugdale). When people suffering from this disease are exposed to sunlight, their ears and nose get eaten away, and their lips and gums erode to reveal red, fanglike teeth (Lane). These people

Brooks 5 also have skin, scarred with dense pigmentation and deathly pale hues (Lane). Particular characteristics like these are mirrored in vampire mythology. There are also tales of those who suffered from the disease drinking blood in the hopes that it may improve their condition (Lane). Vampire legends and mythology may have used porphyria as a basis for the description of vampires. These old vampire legends evolved from ones such as Sile na Gigs, to Dracula, to Edward Cullen. The transformation to todays depiction of a vampire came about from knowledge gradually gained throughout the years. Scholars studied vampire myths and legends, and discovered that vampires do not truly exist. This knowledge opened doors for new authors over the years to begin describing vampires with more human-like features. Both Twilight and The Vampire Diaries illustrate this shift in the depiction of a vampire. Knowing vampires do not exist took away the fear of the hideous creatures described in old mythology. Todays society no longer fears the grotesque creatures that were vampires because there is no longer a need to. Vampires no longer need to be described as gut-wrenching, distorted creatures because as a society, we do not wither in fear of the vampires that do not exist. Authors and television series continue to keep some aspect of fear and evil alive in the vampire communities who live in their pages and episodes, but the fear is more humanistic, meaning that the audience and readers fear evil beings that now appear to be human-like. Authors like L.J. Smith and Stephenie Meyer can take artistic liberties with the vampire characters of their books because the description of old vampires has been thwarted by science. Society will continue to create books and movies depicting vampires such as Edward and the Salvatore brothers. Vampire will eventually be a term that is no longer

Brooks 6 viewed as fear-worthy. With vampires that love and protect humans, the definition of a vampire will no longer be associated with ones like Dracula. Not all aspects of the vampire legends will change however. Vampires will still suck blood and possess incredible strength and speed. However, with vampires that now sparkle in daylight, future vampires may end up with traits glamorized even more than the ones currently established.

Brooks 7 Works Cited Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2010. Ebook Library. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. Lane, Nick. "New Light on Medicine." Scientific American. Scientific American Inc., 1 Jan. 2003. Web. 23 Oct. 2013 <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id =000B4130-5C6C-1DF7-9733809EC588EEDF>. Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. New York: Little, Brown and, 2005. Print. "Porphyria." MedlinePlus. Ed. David C. Dugdale, MD. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlinepl us/ency/article/001208.htm>.