By: AVA WOFFORD
Staff Writer
Everyone knows about Vampires. From the cheesy horror movies we watch every Halloween to the romance movies where we fawn over the blood- sucking monsters, we all know about vampires, but do we really? Although we don´t know the exact date, we do know that the idea of ¨vampires¨ originated in the late 17th century and early 18th century in Eastern Europe. The first mention of vampires in literature was in 1801 with the poem Thalaba the Destroyer where a deceased loved one comes back from the dead as a vampire. Though vampires would make their way into literature, for the most part they stayed folklore that would be spoken not written. Vampires as well as other folklore creatures were legitimately feared. This fear can be summed up to the general public’s ignorance when it came to body decomposition. Vampires were also a way to rationalize what happens after death. People were so scared of vampires, coffins with glass over the face became an enormous trend for dead corpses. These coffins were built so that those who were still alive could look over the dead corpse and be sure their loved one wasn’t a vampire. At the peak of vampire fear in 1897 Dracula by Archibald Constable was published. The now classic horror story frightened many and really pushed the idea of vampires being real with its diary looking format. So how does this all affect us today? Although vampires are no longer feared the way they once were, they still affect our society today. Vampires have slowly transferred into movies, fashion, and even holidays. Vampires in movies have become less horror and more romantic with most modern vampires being considered attractive and desirable. This can be seen in such things as Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith and J.L. Miller. They have also taken over the gothic fashion industry with most gothic looks being based on modern vampires with blood, black, and chains being a regular for this type of fashion. Though vampires are in many of today’s items they are mostly known by the holiday Halloween. Halloween is all about spooks and creeps with trick or treating being an essential. Kids dress up in costumes and attempt to get as much candy as possible. One of the most popular costumes has become vampires. Children wear fake fangs, high colors, and black wigs in hope of looking like the ¨average¨ vampires we all know and love. The once horrific monsters have now become beloved characters. Vampires are just one of the many examples that show change with the times and will continue to change as time goes on. Halloween is close so don’t worry, you´ll see plenty of these historical creatures walking around!
