Monday, September 14, 2009

Vampires: How they've changed over the years

Look at ol' Christopher Lee, dressed up like the stereotypical vampire - black cape, white collar, hair all slicked back and teeth bared as he rasps at his victim. Oh, get back in your dingy coffin, you outdated has-been!

Vampires have come a long way since those old Hammer Horror movies, haven't they? I don't quite recall when the change took place, but I suspect it might have been Buffy and Angel who introduced a more glamorous version of vampire relations to our generation.

OK, there were movie adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire, but Buffy suddenly brought vampires to a whole new audience - lovestruck teenagers. Sure, vampires have been charming humans for years, with a view to emptying their veins. Actually, wasn't it Interview With The Vampire that gave us a first-hand look into the lifestyles of vampires?

Vegetarian vampires...

Back in the Hammer Horror days, Vlad the Impaler was the sinister aggressor. He'd keep entire Transylvanian villages in mortal terror, but you never knew what motivated him beyond blood lust. Anne Rice's vampires had more depth - Louis de Pointe du Lac establishing a vampire character who was horrified by his compulsion to drink blood - the first of the vegetarian vampires?

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