The Old Vampire Trend Bram Stoker s Dracula - 1856 Words

The old vampire trend, so very 2000s or so very 1890s? In 1897, Bram Stoker took central European folk tales and turned them into one of the most famous horror books of all time. Stoker s Dracula isn t young and sparkly-hot; he s creepy, old, and likes turning into bats and clouds of mist. Just like today, vampires in 1897 stood in for a lot of contemporary fears and anxieties. This is a novel that took a pretty obscure folk tale creep and skyrocketed him into fame and everlasting pop-cultural stardom. It s a novel that used a mythological creature to tap into the fears of a generation, and was so successful that the same exact mythological creature has been doing the same exact thing ever since. Almost every vampire book or movie in†¦show more content†¦To combat Dracula, the Crew of Light is composed of an alliance of British, American, and Western European men. Dracula s invasion of Britain is on a smaller level, similar to his invasion of Lucy s English home. His ability to victimize Lucy Westenra suggests the alarming ease with which he could potentially victimize the entire nation. Second, a theme of addiction is shown in the novel. The vampires need for blood is a form of addiction. After all, vampires could be said to be addicted to blood, they might not want to feed on human blood, but they re physically compelled to do so. Addiction was a hot topic in late-19th-century Britain, it had only recently been defined as a physical condition. Since addiction was a huge topic in England at the time it is very possible that Stoker drew from this and added it to his novel.† I fell to at once on an excellent roast chicken. This, with some cheese and a salad and a bottle of old Tokay, of which I had two glasses, was my supper† (Harker). Again, Harker is careful to tell us exactly what he had to eat and drink, maybe he s anticipating, again, that future readers of his diary might assume that he was hallucinating the strange things he witnessed at Castle Dracula. In Victorian life, many things we now consider drugs were used quite frequently, and see n as normal. There is a lot of opium referenced in Dracula. Casual opium use in the treatment of nerves, insomnia, andShow MoreRelatedVampire Depictions : Dracula Vs. Louis2295 Words   |  10 PagesVampire Depiction: Dracula vs. Louis For years, the vampire has been a mysterious creature. We have all been infatuated with the appeal of immortality and distinctiveness that vampires possess. Many writers have visualized what vampires are supposed to look like and how they act. The common description of a vampire is terror, violence, viciousness, and fear. Nina Auerbach, writes that â€Å"There is no such creature as ‘The Vampire’; there are only vampires† (Saler 218). This statement recognizes thatRead MoreVampire Depiction : Dracula Vs. Louis2305 Words   |  10 PagesWerner 9 December 2014 Vampire Depiction: Dracula vs. Louis For years, the vampire has been a mysterious creature. We have all been infatuated with the appeal of immortality and distinctiveness that vampires possess. Many writers have visualized what vampires are supposed to look like and how they act. The common description of a vampire is terror, violence, viciousness, and fear. Nina Auerbach, writes that â€Å"There is no such creature as ‘The Vampire’; there are only vampires† (Saler 218). This statementRead MoreEffect of Vampires on Society3098 Words   |  13 PagesWhen you hear the word vampire you probably think of today’s modern charters, from Twilight or True Blood. According to the article â€Å"Blood Ties, The vampire Lover† By Helen T. Bailie, Today’s vampires make up book 53% of today’s book sells. Vampires in today’s image have become creatures of lust, the dream man of teenage girls all over the world. Before pop culture took over vampires in stories, were monsters of ho rror. Pre-dating today’s pop culture fad, vampires were used to explain things thatRead MoreEssay about Critical Analysis of Interview with the Vampire1388 Words   |  6 PagesCritical Analysis of Interview with the Vampire Charismatic. Charming. Sensual. Beautiful. Would you ever use these adjectives to describe a vampire? The common theme in portraying vampires in literature has always involved depictions of great violence, ugliness, and fear. Novels involving vampires never portrayed the vampire as a heroic character, but rather as the villain who was then destroyed in the end. Stereotypical vampires terrorized towns, lived in grim, dark, towering castles