Dangerous and seductive: Christopher Lee in “Dracula”.
What: Imago Images
They are considered “undead”, “bloodsuckers” and mystical creatures of the night: vampires. For their immortality they must feed on the blood of living creatures. Once they catch a victim, they suck the blood from his body and the bitten person also turns into a vampire. A bloodthirsty cycle begins – at least in most modern vampire stories.
That wasn’t always the case. From the early 18th century, the vampire myth initially spread from the Balkans to Eastern and Central Europe. While in popular belief a vampire did not automatically have to be a bloodsucker per se, this image was consolidated and popularized through literature and later also through films.
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Dracula – forefather of vampire history
Vampire depictions made their “breakthrough” with the 1897 novel “Dracula” by the Irish writer Bram Stoker. The Romanian prince Vlad Draculea (1431-1476), who brutally ruled Wallachia for six years, served as its name and inspiration.
He is said to have had countless people impaled on stakes. This may be why the fact that, as in some depictions, a vampire can only be killed by driving a stake into the heart.
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In his novel, Stoker establishes the image of the vampire as a frightening creature with a fair complexion and long canine teeth, who at the same time has an irresistible appeal. Vampires became seductive monsters, a motif that still dominates pop culture today.
From subversive sexuality to sex symbol
“The amorous aspect is already present in Stoker’s novel,” says Sebastian Dümling, a cultural scientist at the University of Würzburg. Seductiveness and sex also play a role in the novel, which was written at the end of the 19th century. It starts with the fact that sex before marriage is discussed.
At the same time, “the actually frowned upon sexuality was so cleverly hinted at that it could even be published.” Dracula therefore has little in common with the original bloodthirsty monsters from popular legends – also because of his erotic appeal.
Sexuality played no role in popular belief. The vampire per se is not sexy, but the character Dracula is.
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Sebastian Dümling, cultural scientist from the University of Würzburg
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It is also the Dracula figure that brings the seductiveness of the character onto the screen. Because: “In the beginning, vampire stories often had something very repulsive and lonely,” explains Dümling. The character in the German silent film classic Nosferatu from 1921 is still “characterized by an existential loneliness from which the vampire hopes to escape through his love for a young woman.”
This changed with the Dracula film from 1931, where the morbid faded into the background and the seductive came to the fore. From then on the vampire depiction becomes sexy.
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Sebastian Dümling, cultural scientist from the University of Würzburg
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Vampire representation as a mirror of time
The great fascination with depictions of vampires is not only related to the horror images but also to the focus on love and sexuality. In times of strict religious and social morals, vampire stories could also serve as an outlet for sexual fantasies.
The tried and tested mix of attraction and repulsion is still present today. “The patterns in vampire stories are relatively stable,” says Dümling.
Every time has its own vampires.
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Sebastian Dümling, cultural scientist from the University of Würzburg
What happens next? At the time of the Spanish flu, for example, the plague was discussed in the stories, explains Dümling.
It is possible that the topic of illness will come up again now, after the corona pandemic.
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Sebastian Dümling, cultural scientist from the University of Würzburg
Watch the ZDF vampire series “Love Sucks” with Damian Hardung and Havana Joy in the media library at any time.
The series
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Source: ZDF
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