Tobongbanua 1

Beatriz F. Tobongbanua
Professor Marie Joy Sumagaysay
Communication Skills 2
1 April 2013
From Horror to Love: Vampires Then and Now
According to the Websters Third New International
Dictionary, a vampire is defined as a bloodsucking ghost or
reanimated body of a dead person believed to come from the grave
and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep and
causing their death.

Before, vampires were seen as evil

monsters and creatures humans must fear.

However, nowadays,

vampires have become an iconic popular culture phenomenon

drawing an obsession and fascination among teens globally (Ng et
al., The Vampire Resurgence and Fan Discourse in Contemporary Pop
Culture, www.fivedotone.wordpress.com).

This genre has increased

vampire fandom thus resulting to the formation of numerous fan

clubs and social organizations, whether online or not.

The

horrifying, blood-sucking, fanged-monsters we once knew have now

transformed into beautiful, perfect, flawless, normal human
beings.

This paper will discuss this transformation and the

reason why despite the change of concept, many still accept and
like the modern picture of vampires.
In order to answer this, I will examine the differences and
similarities between Bram Stokers Dracula, the archetypal figure

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of horror before, and Twilights Edward Cullen, the most
prominent example of the 21st century vampire.

From this, I will

be able to determine what changed in the features of the vampires

we know today.
Many would consider Edward Cullen as a desecration of the
vampire archetype (Mole 8).

But despite the many differences

between Dracula and Twilight, they still share a lot of things in

common.

In her study, The Horror of Dracula: Twilight and the

21st-Century Vampire, Megen de Bruin-Mole stated a lot of

similarities between Bram Stokers Dracula and Stephenie Meyers
Twilight.
First is that, both portray everyday problems and
relationships experienced by people.

Vampire stories relate to

contemporary issues such as romance, love, family, friendships,

etc. and also exhibit the same characteristics of modern society.
In Fred Bottings Aftergothic, he writes that both Dracula and
Twilight display cultural anxieties about the nature of human
identity, the stability of cultural formations, and processes of
change (qtd in Mole 8).
Mole discussed that there are two aspects of gothic fiction.
The first is Gothic imagery and themes i.e. castles, coffins,
monsters and strange foreign lands; and the second aspect is
Gothic element or mood which refers to horror and uncanniness or
creepiness (3).

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In relation to this, the second similarity between Dracula
and Twilight is that they both contain Gothic characters: heroes,
villains, vampires, werewolves, femmes fatales, and persecuted
maidens (9).

In Dracula, the villain was Dracula himself, trying

to victimize innocent, lovely maidens like Lucy and Mina.

It was

also shown in the movie that he lived together with his three
female vampire companions.

In Twilight, Edward Cullen was a

clear example of a hero, trying to protect Bella from their

enemies, the Volturi.

Jacob, on the other hand, was a werewolf

who was also one of Bellas guardians.

And the third similarity is that both stories were set in
secluded, gloomy areas.

Dracula is from Transylvania, a place in

which every known superstition in the world is gathered into the

horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some
sort of imaginative whirlpool (Stoker 2).

The place is also

described as a cursed land, where the devil and his children

still walk with earthly feet! (Stoker 55-56).

On the other

hand, the Twilight vampires lived in the town of Forks which was
described by Meyer as too green--an alien planet.

It always

rained in Forks and the place is full of gloomy, omnipresent

shade (Meyer 3).

Forks was constructed to be a mysterious and

magical far-away place.

Both Transylvania and Forks were created

to make the audience and readers believe that vampires really do

exist in those kinds of settings.

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Moreover, in Elisabeth Johanssons Bachelor Thesis, A
Domesticated Vampire, she stated that both vampires are immortal.
They must also consume blood in order to survive.

The only

difference is that Dracula drinks human blood while the Twilight

vampires drink animal blood thus calling themselves as
vegetarian vampires.

Also, both can go out under the sun;

however, there are just some slight conditions to be observed.

Dracula can be out in sunlight but his powers are limited during
daylight.

As for the case of the Twilight vampires, they do not

grow weaker but their skin sparkles, thus revealing their true
identity to humans (26-30).
Dracula and Twilight thus have many things in common with
regards to Gothic characters, settings and sentimentalities.

But

despite their many similarities, why is it that most teenagers

nowadays think that Twilight is of a totally different category?
This is mainly because of the lack of Gothic mood or element of
horror in the 21st century vampires.

This lack of horror can be

exemplified in the following differences between the two.

First is their physical appearance.

Based on the film,

Bram Stokers Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola, what makes Dracula

scary is that he is dead, or he was once human.
frightening for he has fangs.

He looks

Further, his hands were described

by Jonathan Harker, a solicitor sent as an estate agent to

Dracula, as horrifying, rough and hairy with long, sharp nails

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(Stoker 19).

Dracula was also described as simply gorged with

blood; he lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion

(Stoker 54).
In contrast to Dracula, Edward is never portrayed to be
frightening. Meyer described him to be a perfect statute, carved
in some unknown stone, smooth like marble, glittering like
crystal (228).

Also, Meyer made her vampires devastatingly,

inhumanly beautiful (17).

They appear to be pale, clean,

perfect and with angelic faces.

These features are meant to

attract, fascinate and seduce their prey.

Dracula was some kind of a demonic, supernatural being.
This is indicated by his aversion to holy symbols, lack of
reflection, ability to rise from the dead and to drive people
clinically crazy.

Also, he is able to shape-shift into animals,

control ones mind and the weather, climb down the castle walls
and exorcise a person. On the other hand, the Twilight vampires
lack the evil of Dracula.
characteristics of Dracula.

They displayed the opposite

They were not harmful; instead, they

were regarded as guardians or protectors.

They were

frighteningly normal people who mingled with the society.

They

lived a normal life going to school riding their own cars and
engaging themselves in leisure activities and social works.
Edward Cullen is not an object of fear.

What we know about

Dracula is totally different from how Edward Cullen was

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introduced to us.

Even though Twilight still exhibits the usual

Gothic characters and settings, the Gothic mood of horror has

vanished.
According to the book Mysteries of the Unknown:
Transformations, vampires are now popular due to the increasing
number of various published articles, stories, journals, books,
etc. about the topic (136).

From an article Why Are Vampires So

Popular?, I quote James Nairne, a professor of psychological

sciences in Purdue University, We find this attractive because
then vampires appear to have a power over us.

These special

abilities simultaneously create worry and fascination.

We are

drawn to them much in the same way we might be drawn to

celebrities.

And so, just like what Ong Ka Yee stated in her

article Why Humans are Attracted to Vampires, Vampires are now a

part of our culture.
It is quite interesting how people still enjoy reading and
watching modern vampire fictions though the concept of vampires
has changed--from the hideous monster of the 16th century to a
popular, strange figure that delights even as it frightens and
holds an ever-expanding audience. As we all know, many of the
horrific features of Dracula have disappeared in todays vampire
fiction. Many have also embraced and accepted the fact that
Edward Cullen is the new model of the modern vampire.

From a

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series of interviews that I have conducted, I have realized that
indeed, many young teenagers came to love this idea mainly
because it is the trend. It is what fits in our generation.

Many

want the presence of the monstrous vampires but with a touch of

romance in the genre.

However, there are also those who still

want the tradition of scary vampires to remain.

Darrell Sim said in her article Vampires: An Allegory of
Teenage Angst, that the main targets of this new genre are
teenage girls because they can relate well to these creatures.
As supported by psychologist Dr. Cecilia dFelice, To be a
vampire is a very sad fate and this brings out the desire to
nurture and protect him. They just want to suck on our blood.
This is a metaphor for how much we need love and how much we need
to be needed. We see our own vulnerabilities in them (Gold, Why
Have Teenage Girls Been Bitten by the Edward Cullen Bug to Devour
the Twilight Novels?, www.guardian.co.uk).
The reason behind why this new idea is being embraced by
most is because of popular culture.

In London et al.s Cultural

Theory and Popular Culture, John Storey defined popular culture

in many ways. In this case, we will use the definition of popular
culture as widely favored or well liked by many people (6).
Nowadays, ugly and horrifying vampires are seldom seen in movies.
This trend has now become the norm. In his article Why Popular

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Culture in Education Matters, William Reynolds stated that
popular culture and critical media analysis enable youth to
understand and participate in the representations that help to
construct their identities (24).

Therefore, vampire fiction

influences how teenagers learn to understand their selves, their

identities and the world around them.
These vampires are relatable enough wherein the teenagers
picture out themselves struggling to fit in the society and to be
accepted.

In relation to this, teenagers have goals they want to

fulfill, but unfortunately they are unable to achieve.

Vampires

are symbols of fantasy of the perfect creature humanity will

never be (Mole 22).

The Twilight vampires can help erase our

fears and anxieties in life.

Erin Collopy, an associate

professor and vampire expert in Texas Tech University, also said

that vampires have become an effective metaphor for our own
anxieties and desires that is why we usually use them to try to
solve our problems (Bradshaw, Blood Thirsty: Why Are Vampires
Ruling Pop Culture?, today.ttu.edu).
Also, vampire fiction is the source of entertainment and
escapism of the teens.

Because of a busy lifestyle, they find

vampire fiction to be a medium of relieving their daily stresses.

As supported by Teo Li Ping in her article Moving Into the
Vampire Culture, People withdraw and escape into another surreal

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world with too much absorption of fiction and images; the hyperreal world.

And as defined, hyper-reality is where one is

unable to distinguish fiction from reality, thus fiction

prevails.
Therefore, the vampire is no longer about horror, but about
normalcy.

Vampires simply represent one more thing we

desperately want, and yet can never have (Mole 23).

To

summarize, the modern vampires still feature some Gothic elements

found in the themes, imagery and settings but it lacks the Gothic
mood of horror.

The underlying reason for the shift of this

concept is popular culture because of its ability help the

teenagers understand their identity and place in society.

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Works Cited
Bradshaw, Lindsay. Blood Thirsty: Why are Vampires Ruling Pop
Culture? today.ttu.edu. 2 July 2012. Web. 13 March 2013.
Bram Stokers Dracula. Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony
Hopkins, Keanu Reeves. Columbia Pictures. 1992.
De Bruin-Mole, Megen. The Horror of Dracula: Twilight and the
21st Century Vampire. BA Thesis. University of Amsterdam.
www.academia.edu. 2010. PDF file. 19 Jan 2013.
Editors of Time-Life Books. Mysteries of the Unknown:
Transformations. Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1989.
Gold, Tanya. Why Have Teenage Girls Been Bitten by the Edward
Cullen Bug to Devour the Twilight Novels?
www.guardian.co.uk. 13 Nov 2009. Web. 28 March 2013.
Johansson, Elisabeth. A Domesticated Vampire: How the Vampire
Myth Has Changed Since Bram Stokers Dracula to Stephenie
Meyers Twilight. BA Thesis. Lulea University of Technology.
epubl.ltu.se. 2010. PDF file. 11 March 2013.
Ka Yee, Ong Why Humans are Attracted to Vampires.
fivedotone.wordpress.com. 30 Nov 2010. Web. 13 Feb 2013.
Li Ping, Teo, Moving Into the Vampire Culture.
fivedotone.wordpress.com. 12 Nov 2010. Web. 13 Feb 2013.
London et al. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture
www.mdw.ac.at. 2001. PDF file. 13 March 2013.

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Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. New York: Little Brown and Company,
2005.
Ng, Jacqueline, et al. Vampire Resurgence and Fan Discourse in
Contemporary Pop Culture. fivedotone.wordpress.com. 2010.
Web. 9 Feb 2013.
Reynolds, William, Why Popular Culture in Education Matters.
www.intellectbooks.co.uk. PDF file. 13 Feb 2013.
Sim, Darrell, Vampires: An Allegory of Teenage Angst.
fivedotone.wordpress.com. 6 Dec 2010. Web. 13 Feb.
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. New York: Barnes and Noble Book, 1993.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. Kristen Stewart, Robert
Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. Summit Entertainment. 2011.
Why are Vampires So Popular? www.heraldtimesonline.com. 31 Oct
2011. Web. 13 March 2013.
Vampires. Websters Third New International Dictionary. 2002.