As a lifelong fan of vampire stories, and author of two vamp novels (DANCE WITH THE DRAGON and ONE BLOOD), I’m intrigued by the way pop culture keeps revisiting the legends every decade or so, always with a new twist. Lately, the trend has been towards romantic bloodsuckers, whether G- or X-rated.<\/p>\n
This is really nothing new. The first well-known literary vampire, Lord Ruthven of John Polidori’s THE VAMPYRE, was more obviously a seducer of women than a drinker of blood. Dracula, in the original novel, was not depicted by Bram Stoker as a romantic figure, but he evolved into one through the Hamilton Deane stage play and later books and movies. TV’s Barnabas Collins and Anne Rice’s Lestat and Louis all had romantic and\/or sexual appeal for their victims.<\/p>\n
Side-by-side with these rather sympathetic characters, we also see a tradition of the vampire as a demon, the personification of evil. This is clearly how Stoker viewed Dracula and Stephen King his Kurt Barlow in ‘SALEM’S LOT. (For some reason, male authors don’t seem as fond of sauve, mysterious guys who sneak into women’s bedrooms by night and hypnotize them into betraying their human husbands or boyfriends… Wonder why?) The ’80s and ’90s often saw armies of vampires violently battling humans and each other in horror novels and the movies. <\/p>\n
In the latest series TWILIGHT, TRUE BLOOD and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, vamps are much more integrated into society and indulge in frequent and passionate relationships with humans. Each of these sagas also has its villains, which are more or less nasty depending on the target audience…and sometimes still considered very sexy.<\/p>\n
More than the Edward-vs.-Jacob or Bill-vs.-Eric controversies, I’d like to hear whether you prefer your vampires sensuous or scary. Do you feel the new sweetened interpretations take all the shivers out of the legend? Do you prefer your bloodsuckers more humanized and sympathetic?<\/p>\n
Or do you like characters and stories that blend both elements?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a lifelong fan of vampire stories, and author of two vamp novels (DANCE WITH THE DRAGON and ONE BLOOD), I’m intrigued by the way pop culture keeps revisiting the legends every decade or so, always with a new twist. … Continue reading