Vampires in literature, film, and television

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Vampiresin literature, film, and television

• Stephen Wall-Smith
• ALFA/Fitchburg State College
• Fall 2008

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First Meeting

• Vampires who, what, where, when, and why

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Introductions

• Name
• Home town
• Favorite vampire venue (literature, film, TV)
• Favorite vampire story

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Definition

• A revenant, i.e., a being returned to life
  after human death (often a violent or suspicious
  one).
• Must take life from others in order to sustain
  itself.
• Usually associated with night and darkness may
  be associated with demonic/evil forces.

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Vampires through the ages

• Mesopotamia ekimmu
• Mesoamerica camazotz and choncon
• China chiang shih
• India Kali
• Palestine Lilith
• Europe Hundeprest (12th C) Vlad Tepes
  (1431-1476), aka Vlad the Impaler, aka Dracula

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Dracula

• Son of Vlad II Dracul, ruler of Wallachia (in
  Romania)
• Constant warfare with Turks, intrigues with
  Hungarians. Vlad imprisoned at various times by
  both.
• Exceptionally harsh and cruel when in power.
  Impalement a favorite means of execution.

From Wikipedia Vlad III The Impaler
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Early vampire stories

• John Polidori, The Vampyre (1819).
• Adapted into plays and stories popular throughout
  the 1800s, incl. The Vampire (1820) and The
  Vampire Bride (1825).

From Dark Dreams website

• Theophile Gautier, La Morte Amoreuse (1843).
• Bram Stoker Dracula (1897).

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Mars and Venus with fangs

• Spike Network Vampires are a terrible threat.
  They must be defeated through cunning and
  violence. Women are often in the way at key
  moments in the struggle.
• Lifetime Network Vampires are a scary menace.
  They may be destroyed if necessary but should
  be understood and tamed if possible. They may
  need protection from men.

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The vampire story arc

• What motivates the vampire (or vampires)?
• Who are the vampires victims, and what options
  do they have?
• Who are pro-vampire characters, and what
  motivates them?
• Who are anti-vampire characters, and what
  motivates them?
• What means do they have at their disposal?