Entertainment EarthVampire Tales From Past to Present

Vampire Stories Abound in Horror Fiction!

  I’m not a big vampire fan. I think the vampire is overused and overrated. Even though vampires are supernatural mythological creatures with tremendous powers, they have too many weaknesses. In my opinion, these weaknesses make vampire stories less compelling to me. But, since they are a staple – no, a commodity – of the horror genre, I’m forced to discuss them.

Vampire legends have existed for centuries, and can be found in several cultures. A vampire is an undead creature that relies on blood for nourishment. Technically, a vampire is actually dead, but their bodies and minds are still animate. This type of creature is called a revenant, or an animated dead person.

Let’s discuss the modern understanding of the vampire. Much of our current folklore comes from Bram Stroker’s Dracula, a popular vampire novel published in 1897. The story’s title character, Count Dracula, was an aristocrat who was also a vampire. Count Dracula was very distinguished and sophisticated; however, this was just a façade for his evil plans.

The following are some of the many abilities associated with vampires. Most of these abilities were attributes of Count Dracula.

  • A Vampire has super strength
  • A vampire may possess magical abilities
  • They are nearly invulnerable
  • Shape shifting, especially vampire bats, dogs, and crows
  • A vampire may have the power of Hypnosis
  • A vampire can turn others into vampires

This is where I start getting frustrated with vampires. The list I created above is not exhaustive. Different stories and legends throughout the ages have attributed vampires with varying abilities and powers. But these are the most common.

But what gets me is that, with all the things vampires could do, it is so easy to kill them! All one has to do with a vampire is take him/her into sunlight! Of course, that’s easier said than done, but the fact remains that legendary vampires are ridiculously easy to destroy.

The following is a list of some of the more popular measures of protection against vampires and several of their weaknesses.

  • Sunlight
  • Garlic
  • Stake through the heart
  • Decapitation
  • Crucifix
  • Holy water
  • Silver bullets and knives
  • A vampire can’t enter a house unless invited
  • Fire
And the list goes on and on. I guess these various vulnerabilities were added to them easier to destroy. In my opinion, it just makes them weak characters.

Vampires in Books, Television, and Movies. These Guys Are Everywhere!

Like most mythological creatures, vampires have been incorporated into every form of media. We’ve already discussed the role of the most popular vampire of all time, Count Dracula in the novel Dracula. More recently, there is Stephen King’s novel Salem’s Lot, about a town infested with vampires.

Vampires have also made several appearances in comic books. The character Blade is a popular hero in the Marvel Comics universe. Blade is actually a vampire hunter. Blade’s mother was bitten by a vampire while she was pregnant with him. The enzymes passed through her blood to Blade, giving him several abilities, including super strength, agility, and immunity to vampire bites.

Television also has not shortage of vampire characters. There’s the number loving Count on Sesame Street. And don't forget Canadian vampire detective Nick Knight in Forever Knight. And of course, the short-lived Blade television series which was actually derived from the movie trilogy, which in turn was derived from the comic book.

And who can forget the lovely Buffy the Vampire Slayer series? This series was also a movie spin-off. Surprisingly, this vampire series lasted six years, spawning another spin-off entitled Angel and several video games and comics.

Speaking of vampire movies…this is where the bulk of modern vampire lore originates. The list is too long to mention. I’ll just mention several vampire movies that stand out in my mind.





Where there are vampires, there are vampire hunters. Several of the characters mentioned so far were actually hunters. For example, Blade and Buffy. But there are many others. Van Helsing is perhaps the earliest known vampire hunter in fiction. Van Helsing was Dracula’s nemesis in Bram Stroker’s novel. The character was expanded in 2004, with the release of the movie, Van Helsing. Angel from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series was also a vampire hunter.

In an interesting twist, Selene, the main character in the Underworld movie series was a vampire who was actually a werewolf hunter. Go figure.

Every literary genre has featured vampires to some extent. Like I said earlier, I’m not a fan, so I tend to stay away from most vampire stories. However, I’ve come across enough related media to discuss their role in every genre.

  • HORROR – Always and forever. Vampires and the horror genre are attached at the hip. Horror is meant to scare, frighten, and make one unsettled. Vampires are scary, frightening, blood-sucking revenants. I think that’s unsettling enough.

  • ROMANCE – Thanks to Dracula, many modern vampires are portrayed as suave, debonair, studs. As a matter of fact, I'm writing a novel that includes a wannabe vampire in that same mold. While my novel is not a romance, there have been several romances written that involve vampires.

  • SCIENCE-FICTION – Several modern vampire stories, like the Blade film series and Underworld, utilize strong scientific elements. This is probably because of the sophistication and jadedness of modern audiences. Nonetheless, this trend seems to be push closer to science-fiction, or at least an amalgamation of horror and science fiction. Vampires also in appear in some fantasy fiction.

  • THRILLER/SUSPENSE – The original vampire story, Dracula, was very much a tale of suspense. And with so many movies focusing more on vampire hunters, it is only natural this should spawn several thrilling and action packed stories.

Like most supernatural legends, vampires at one time were thought to be real. Most legends that exist today came from traditional folklore grounded in actual belief. But most sensible people today understand that vampires do not exist outside of our minds.

Still, there are many people today who do drink blood. These people are not real vampires, in that they are not walking dead. They only drink blood for strange and eccentric rituals, usually associated with the occult. My novel will involve a fake vampire with a taste for blood.


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