“Oh listen to them, the children of the night. What sweet music they make…”
From Bram Stocker’s Dracula and Nosferatu and of course their film adaptation from Francis Ford Coppola and F.W Murnau till the Twilight Series from American author Stephenie Meyer and the film adaptation from Melissa Rosenberg (and many directors) and of course the Vampire Diaries TV Series based on a series of books of L.J Smith and TV adaptation from Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, people were always fascinated by the vampires myth and all the superhuman powers and of course the immortality that these creatures had. But how was this “picture” changed though all the years that passed from the first Vampire film adaptation till nowadays?
First of all we have to take in mind all the circumstances that occurred in every society. Nosferatu was adapted in film action in 1922 while Bram Stocker’s Dracula was written in 1897 and then released in the big screen later in 1992. So we have to take in mind what the society thought throughout these two centuries of Vampires. The people were horrified in the hearing of the word Undead, Vampire and everything related to it because of the religion fear that was planted and ruled all over the “civilized” world. Especially in Europe where myths for Vampires were often been told from generation to generation, people always had in mind that a Vampire is something similar to a Demon or even they thought that it was Devil or Satan himself. So the Horror that the word Vampire itself created was big enough to make people scared. Of course in 1992 mr Coppola tried to give a more Romantic view to the image of the Vampire and especially count Dracula. It was the beginning of the world’s admiration for the unknown, for the lonely creature of the night, for the Undead. More and more people were fascinated in the idea of meeting a Vampire.
All of the above was the starting point for novels such as Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (written in 1968 and published in 1976) to make their way to the cinemas (rewritten by Neil Jordan and released on cinema in November 1994). Many more movies were written and released and many more books were adapted on screenplays and the world’s admiration and curiosity for Vampires was growing stronger every day.
So we are in the start of the 21st century and film such as Twilight (series) and TV series such as True Blood and The Vampire Diaries has already made a lot of fans worldwide. The things that changed through all these years are not much but are crucial. Vampires have turned out to be very handsome Men and Women and their Immortality and thirst for human blood has turned out to be great Love Affairs and Love Stories throughout the centuries. The Devil figure of the past and the Lonely creature of the Undead is now completely lost, turning the myth as an old fashion fairy tale to scare little children.
In conclusion if we have to compare the past figure of the Vampire and its fans and the nowadays picture of the Undead and its fans we can say just two things. Posters with cruelty and blood on the wall and all the mystery around the face and lust of the Vampire in the first category and posters with handsome boys and beautiful girls with romance and red flowers in the other category. What was horror created was turned out to be the most romantic story of all times. So next time that you will hear footsteps behind you in a dark alley you don’t have to be scared. It won’t be for sure Mr. Bella Lugosi as Dracula but you might see Brad Pitt, Tom Crouse or ever Robert Pattinson seeking for their eternal loved one.
But in every occasion Do Not Forget this:
THE BLOOD IS THE LIFE and who knows? Maybe Vampires do exist…
By George Rachiotis, Truth Inside Of You.
