According to traditional folk-lore, a vampire is a human corpse resurrected from the dead, destined to wander the earth for eternity, sucking the blood from its victims during the night as they sleep peacefully. However due to interest exploding exponentially in recent years, obsessions have taken hold producing stories deviating from typical traditional vampires to a subdivision that has manifested its own diverse mythology. For example, when examining Bram Stoker’s notorious vampire, Dracula, it is clear Stoker embraces such disturbing fundamental features of a typical traditional vampire while incorporating a reclusive personality and unique superhuman abilities to enhance his character. However when observing Damon Salvatore, form the televised T.V show The Vampire Diaries, it is obvious L. J Smith re-vamped (no pun intended) the original version by providing Damon specific adaptations and in a sense, humanizing them. The glorified characters created by writers today have strayed from the original perceptions so much so, that the definition of what it means to be a vampire has changed entirely.
The modern day vampire essentially is not a vampire, but rather a recent manifestation of an obsession. L. J Smith has allotted Damon Salvatore many adaptations which enhance the story, but in turn has completely removed the essential fundamental features of the traditional vampire. While observing Dracula’s physical features, noticeably his fangs are on constant display provoking fear within his victims due to his grotesqueness. Conversely, when observing Damon his physical characteristics are that of an attractive human, but when the anger or thirst takes hold, a primal animal is on full frontal display. His K-9 descend to form...
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...th vampires has spun many different versions, each with their own distinct qualities and characteristics. It is evident that no matter the presentation, they have become a vital part of our cultural stories and will likely continue to far into the future, no matter if they do not possesses all of the general descriptions that a traditional vampire would.
Works Cited
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Ramsland, Katherine. "Dracula." Vampyres Only. The Crime Library, 07 June 2007. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
Smith, L. J. The Vampire Diaries. New York, NY: HarperTeen, 2007. Print.
Smith, L. J. The Vampire Diaries. New York: Harperteen, 2008. Print.
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Florescu, Radu R., and McNally, Raymond T., Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and Times (1989)
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