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Vampires are a popular group in our literary and cinematic lore. Vampires seize our imagination, entrance us, and allow us to believe in beings outside of our normal lives. The vampire has changed from a once maligned, often hated and feared, always undesirable being into a loved creature that embodies superhuman power and eternal life. During the middle ages, vampires were most of the time apparitions. They were the embodiment of a soul not at rest. Normally a vampire would attack or haunt its former family members. To stop these attacks, village folk would exhume the vampire body, stake it through the heart, and decapitate it. Oftentimes the corpse was also incinerated. By staking the corpse it was thought a vampire would be pinned in its coffin and it could not rise again. Cutting off the head was a method to separate the body from the brain. In the worst cases, fire was used to annihilate a vampire corpse. Vampires were only spotted after sunset, so it was naturally believed that they couldn't stand the sun. Additionally, darkness is equated with evil things whereas sun, and the light, is equated with things good. Vampires were not witnessed attacking their former family members in the day time so the myth of sunlight aversion was born. In 1897 Bram Stoker released Dracula, the now iconic, revered, and timeless vampire tale. Stoker redefined what the vampire was. The vampire took on charisma, charm, and personality. They were no longer mechanical apparitions bent on annihilating their past loved ones. Vampires represented eternal life and power. Stoker planted the seeds that would grow into an attraction with all things vampire. Today there are an untold number of books about vampires. Vampire TV shows such as Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Hunger, and Forever Knight found widespread success. Showing that vampire television shows aren't dead, new series like HBO's True Blood continue to gain viewers. Vampire movies are also familiar productions by Hollywood. In the last few years we've seen the release of 30 Days of Night, the Evolution trilogy, Twilight, I Am Legend, and many more. Vampire groupies, fans, fanatics can't get enough of Hollywood vampire movies and Hollywood is more than willing to release several new vampire films each year. We love vampires. Until the vampire is enduringly redefined once more, it is doubtful that vampire popularity will decrease. We cannot help but love the idea of power, strength, immortality, and eternal life. Vampires embody these attributes. Vampires will forever be a fashionable form of fiction.
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Gen Wright is a contributor to the online community Vampire Rave, a social network with a vampire theme. He also contributes to SciFi Section, a science fiction community.
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