Mr Cullen and co have a lot to answer for!
Its nearly Halloween and I’ve seen loads of brilliant posts about Halloween makeup but as I will be living the high life in Rome I won’t be dressing up, so I thought I’d post something a little different. People enjoy Halloween for many reasons; an excuse for fancy dress, trick or treating, eating lots of sweets or perhaps the adrenaline rush of being a little scared?. One of the enduring figures of horror is the vampire. Now I don’t want to offend any of the Twihards out there but as the popularity of vampires across the media has soared their representation has become a little bit diluted….and I’m sorry but the Cullens have played a large part in this!The Twilight Saga is one of the most successful vampire franchises of all time but whether you’re team Edward or Team Jacob the vampires are a little bit tame. Vegetarian vampires who mate for life and have their virginity intact after 100 + years - pfft. They should be ashamed to call themselves vampires. Actually I am quite looking forward to Breaking Dawn because the introduction of cannibalistic babies consuming humans through the womb is the gore this franchise is missing.
So why have vampires remained such a popular figure? Well it depends on which representations you look at but mostly their beauty is alluring often to the point of hypnotic, they have lived and experienced things us mere mortals can only dream of, they are well travelled and well read and they transgress boundaries and laws that humans don't.
So this Halloween if you want to experience vampires with a bite, ditch Twilight and try these!
Books you should read:
Interview With The Vampire
v Interview With The VampireAnne Rice’s modern gothic masterpiece is a must read and one that I have read at least 5 times. A vampire tells his 200 year life story to a male reporter including his relationship with the often twisted and somewhat perverted creator Lestat and his child protégé Claudia.
v Lost SoulsI only recently read this book and wondered why it took me so long to discover it. Poppy Z Brite’s novel follows a group of vampires as they party and pillage their way through New Orleans in a drunken haze. Breaking Dawn’s most gruesome scenes are lifted straight from the pages of Lost Soul’s with vampire mothers being killed by their babies during childbirth.
v CarmillaJ Sheridan Le Fanu’s novella pre dates Dracula by 25 years and Carmilla remains just as influential as her male counterpart. This novella focuses on the child vampire Carmilla and her pursuit of her female victims.
My favourite vampire films:
Let the Right One In
v Let The Right One InThis Swedish film focuses on the relationship between a 12 year old boy and his female vampire friend who comes to his aid after she finds out he is being bullied. This film explores dark themes often prevalent in vampire fiction including gender, murder and paedophilia. The American adaptation is called Let Me In and in true Hollywood style is a little more watered down and doesn’t tackle all the themes explored in the original but is still a good watch.
v Interview With The VampireNeil Jordan’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel is as lavish and luxurious as the prose in the novel. Brad Pitt is the conflicted 200 year old protagonist with Tom Cruise as the unhinged Lestat and Kirsten Dunst as Louis child and companion.
The best vampires (and slayers) on TV:
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
v True BloodArguably the best show on television and definitely the best show about vampires on television. Vampires have come out of the coffin and live amongst mortals. The vampires are sexual, seductive, violent, blood thirsty and ridiculously attractive. True Blood’s vampires are how vampires should be!
v Buffy The Vampire SlayerA feminist icon of the 90’s Buffy is often perceived to be weak and little by the unsuspecting public but she is in fact a kick ass vampire slayer with a weakness for dating her enemies.
v The Vampire DiariesAt first this had the potential to be a little bit too watered down and too much like Twilight, what with vampires that don’t eat people and are love with one person yawn. However Stephan has rediscovered blood and Damon is his usual smouldering bad boy self meaning that The Vampire Diaries has found some bite!
Happy Halloween!
