As of late, society has stolen the traditional idea of a vampire. These undead creatures are manipulated in countless genres and media, ranging from comedic reliefs and complex villains to sparkly heartthrobs. Songs, video games, movies, books, and TV shows all are guilty of this. Movies in particular have done the most with vampires, and clearly show their evolution in society’s eyes. In the earliest movies such as Nosferatu; directed by F. W. Murnau, and Dracula; directed by Todd Browning and Karl Freund, vampires are used as devices of horror. They are meant to be unhuman and terrifying. As time passes, they become portrayed in sympathetic lights and with more human traits. Emotions such as love, guilt, and fear were added to vampire vocabulary, …show more content…
Bram Stoker’s Dracula has increased the number of vampires in media exponentially, partly because of one man: Vlad the Impaler. He, as well as other various sources, led to what is known as the vampire today. To understand how one person inspired so much, one must start at the life of Vlad III Dracula, famously known as Vlad the Impaler. Vlad was born in Signisoara, Transylvania in 1431 (Goldberg 18). His father, Vlad Dracul, was a knight in the Order of the Dragon under Emperor Sigismund (Goldberg 19). Dracul gained political power, and eventually the throne to Wallachia (Goldberg 25). After failing to help the Turks obtain new territories, they made him give up his throne unless he sacrificed one thing: his sons (Goldberg 31). At the age of 12, he was sent to the city of Adrianople (Goldberg 33) and was raised with violence. Meanwhile, Vlad Dracul’s rule was threatened once again. Local leaders known as boyars (Goldberg 12) rebelled and killed Dracul (Goldberg 13). As a result, Dracula was sent into the Turkish army as an officer and began to thirst for power (Goldberg 41). When Wallachia was temporarily unoccupied in 1448, Vlad Dracula claimed it for two short-lived months and was only 17 when he did this. When the previous ruler returned, it was reclaimed almost immediately (Goldberg 46). Vlad the Impaler took the throne again from 1456 to 1462 (Wertsman 1996). In fact, he attempted and failed to hold onto Wallachia …show more content…
Upon its release, it performed mediocrely, and was not even one of Stoker’s best works (Stepanic 3:38). It was only mentioned briefly in Stoker’s obituary (Stepanic 3:40). Without the events that followed, Count Dracula would have been lost to history, sitting on a shelf collecting dust. 25 years after the novel was published, a German studio adapted the story into the famed Nosferatu in 1922 (Stepanic 3:55). It was a silent black and white film, and was directed by F.W. Murnau (Wertsman 1996). The plot followed Stoker’s novel to a tee, except for the name and some minor events, and because the studio did not pay royalties, they were sued to bankruptcy (Stepanic 3:55). Stoker’s widow, Florence Balcombe Stoker, sought to avoid the copyright issue from occurring again. She gave the stage production rights to a family friend, Hamilton Deane (Stepanic 4:21). Deane’s play was a major hit, and had over 391 performances at the Little Theatre in London (Wertsman 1996). It also played at the Lyceum Theatre and Grand Theatre Derby (Wertsman 1996). The major success could be credited to Bela Lugosi, who played the vampire in the stage production as well as the Universal Studios’ film (Stepanic 4:40). Lugosi’s incredible acting helped make Dracula (1931) known as “the first horror film” (Wertsman
Vlad would punish his enemies for not only war crimes but for crimes against God for not remaining pure such as cutting off the breasts of women for not remaining virgins. This was an extreme version of what the Victorian era was about, despite his drastic measures, Vlad and most of the society during this era had the same values. Stoker used the identity of Vlad Dracula to create this monster who lusts for women and men alike for their blood as a way to let out his own sexual frustration. As he was unable to let them out himself due to the type of society he was placed in, where he would be chastised and judged he did this in his own way to let out the inner battle he was facing within himself. From being a war hero in Romania to being a sadist, Vlad Dracula was a real person who became the model of what the Victorian era could use to scare people into remaining
Florescu, Radu, and McNally, R. T., Dracula: A Biography of Vlad the Impaler, 1431-1476 (1973)
In the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, there is much evidence of foreshadowing and parallels to other myths. Dracula was not the first story featuring a vampire myth, nor was it the last. Some would even argue that it was not the best. However, it was the most original, using foreshadowing and mood to create horrific imagery, mythical parallels to draw upon a source of superstition, and original narrative elements that make this story unique.
Vlad the Impaler was once one of the most ruthless and evil men ever to live. But each crazy and insane ruler has a reason why they are insane. Many factors throughout Vlad III's life contributed to his inanity.
While growing up with such a name would normally present problems for most of us, Vlad certainly did not seem to mind, as he really did live up to his title; but before we look upon the exploits of the son, let us learn a bit more about the father. In 1436, Vlad Dracul took over the throne of Wallachia, taking up residence in the palace of Tirgoviste. It was there young Vlad Dracula would get his first taste of the opulent lifestyle, and perhaps also where the beast within would begin to grow. Merely two years later, in a strange turn of events, Vlad II betrayed the Order of the Dracul, forming an alliance with the Turks. He even went as far as allowing Sultan Murad II to keep his two sons, Vlad Dracula, and his younger brother Radu, as "insurance" that he would not plan to strike against the Turks.
Bram Stoker took the legend of Vlad Tepes and used it as an idea for Dracula. He was the ruler of an old country called Wallachia. He is most famous for impaling his enemies on sticks around his castle. He taught himself how to miss vital organs in the body, causing the victim to die a slow painful death. This is why people consider him an ancient vampire. What people don’t know about him is that the rich loved him, but the poor hated him. To anyone that didn’t have to seal to make it by he was great. But to the poor people who couldn’t buy food, they were always in fear of him. He was abused as a child, and this is what is thought to have caused his behavior. (Melton 1053)
Vampires have been a successful and popular form of superstition and entertainment for centuries. The modern vampire legend began in Eastern Europe. Yet many cultures all over the globe have variations of the vampire creature itself. Bram Stoker’s Dracula was the first published and most well known. It is a well known fact that vampire media comes in all forms. Print, picture and film, there is something for everyone and for every age. “You need a very good excuse to dig up the subject of vampires yet again, and filmmaker Alan Ball seems to have one. His "True Blood" is an audacious,
One of the greatest horror stories of all time, Dracula, has changed many different people’s lives, including the life of the man who wrote it. The places that Bram Stoker has visited and experiences the he has gone through can be seen in Dracula as well as in several of his other novels. His experiences have led to a novel that is still widely read and has inspired other author’s works. All of this success from a man who was not expected to live long.
It has been nearly one hundred and seventeen years since Bram Stoker published his ground breaking novel entitled “Dracula” and only twenty-two years since the movie “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, a film based upon the novel, was unleashed upon the world. The book and the movie were a success and influenced the creation of a genre that still is seen today in pop culture. Though many raved about the story, no one ever explored the source of this fantastical tale of blood shed. To understand where his inspiration took flight, one would have to look back five hundred and eighty-three years ago, when a notorious Romanian prince inflicted fear upon the masses. Vlad III, also known as Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler, was a ruthless warrior with an intense blood lust and the sort of person Stoker would have drawn from to create his masterpiece. In exploring why Vlad would make such a likely candidate for Stoker, one need only take a peek into his blood-stained past and it would become quite clear.
Batman beats the Joker. Spiderman banishes the Green Goblin. For centuries story tellers have used the basic idea of good beats bad to guide their tales. Stories of blood sucking, human possessions and other tales have been passed down generations and vary between cultures. Among the creators of the famous protagonists is, Bram Stoker, the creator of Dracula. This fictional character was soon to be famous, and modified for years to come into movie characters or even into cereal commercials. But the original will never be forgotten; a story of a group of friends all with the same mission, to destroy Dracula. The Count has scared many people, from critics to mere children, but if one reads betweens the line, Stoker’s true message can be revealed. His personal experiences and the time period in which he lived, influenced him to write Dracula in which he communicated the universal truth that good always prevails over evil.
In Twilight, Edward Cullen presents the question; “ But what if I’m not the hero? What if I’m the bad guy?” The role of vampires is very controversial. Back in the day they were evil, soulless monsters and people genuinely feared them. However, in the present day it seems that we have grown to love them and even hope to one day be them. There are a plethora of vampire stories and many of them have become immense hits. With so many vampire stories, it is not uncommon that readers are able to identify a vast amount of similarities. Although similar in aspects, there are still many differences between the classic and modern day vampires. Two highly popular stories, in which we can easily identify similarities and differences, are Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight.
The late nineteenth century Irish novelist, Bram Stoker is most famous for creating Dracula, one of the most popular and well-known vampire stories ever written. Dracula is a gothic, “horror novel about a vampire named Count Dracula who is looking to move from his native country of Transylvania to England” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Unbeknownst of Dracula’s plans, Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, traveled to Castle Dracula to help the count with his plans and talk to him about all his options. At first Jonathan was surprised by the Count’s knowledge, politeness, and overall hospitality. However, the longer Jonathan remained in the castle the more uneasy and suspicious he became as he began to realize just how strange and different Dracula was. As the story unfolded, Jonathan realized he is not just a guest, but a prisoner as well. The horror in the novel not only focuses on the “vampiric nature” (Soyokaze), but also on the fear and threat of female sexual expression and aggression in such a conservative Victorian society.
In this paper, the reader will learn about Vlad Tepes, or as we know him as Vlad the Impaler. After reading this the reader will know what made him who he was and what made him terrifying, his wives, children, his accomplishments, as well as a little background information about his father and the man who invented Dracula, the vampire we all know today.
But who was he, and how did he achieve such fame? In his essay “East European Vampires & Dracula” Felix Oinas examined both the resemblance and differences between the well-known Voievode and Count Dracula so as to see if there is a foundation to support such ideas. As he noted, the original Dracula, or Vlad Țepeș, “was devoid of any vampiristic features,” and became famous “because of the way he executed his victims by impaling them on stakes” (1982: 114), acquiring thus the reputation of one of Europe’s bloodiest tyrants. Paul Dukes analyzes thoroughly in his essay “Dracula: Fact, Legend and Fiction,” the story behind the figure of Count Dracula, showing how “there is a basis in fact and Eastern European legend for the ghoul” (1982: 44). As he explains, the vampire that haunts our dreams is inspired in Romanian history, concretely Stoker’s nineteenth century vampire is inspired in the fifteenth century ruler of the Danubian principality of Wallachia, known as Vlad Țepeș, or Vlad Drăculea (alias Dracula). Yet, Dukes’ analysis more than a comparison between the two figures focuses on demonstrating how Stoker’s creation, although inspired by
The author’s op-ed piece was published in 2009, the very peak of the vampire contagion, where one could find these creatures wherever they looked. This pandemonium that arose from vampires is what drove del Toro and Hogan to pen “Why Vampires Never Die.” Furthermore, the purpose behind this essay is to give an abridged description of the past of vampires for the people who had become fanatics of the creatures. Also, this essay showed how vampires have persisted in pop culture. They suggest that vampires have been remade by diverse cultures at different times, and this change echoes that society's angst and concerns. The novelist’s imply that Stroker’s Dracula may mirror an exaggerated human on a prim...