The Vampire

Illustration from J.M. Rymer’s Varney, The Vampyre (c. 1845)

1. In Antiquity vampirism associated with black magic, wizards, etc., and among crew of Hecate, “Queen of the

phantom-world”

most fiendish were Empusae, shape-shifting demons (4 th cent. BC); often overlapping with Lamiae, women who appear under guise of courtesans and can remove their eyes, seduce and eat men

Lamiae sometimes known as Striges, birds of ill-omen that suck blood from children in cradles

Gorgons are best known and overlap with Lamiae (e.g, Medusa; green skin)

Incubi and Succubi similar to Empusae but appear only at night, while Empusae appear at noon in glare of blinding light

in Pagan Greece, vampirism often tied to sacrifice for gods, and living dead sometimes seen as positive, heroes who return to be nourished with blood of living (e.g., Oedipus Rex’s body drinking blood from battle near his tomb in Oedipus Coloneus)

vampirism in antiquity more about ghosts and spirits that reanimate bodies or take on human form than bodies surviving death; more emphasis on incorruptibility of dead body in Roman times, once African and Egyptian beliefs mixed with Greek occult beliefs to yield new trends (Summers 1-9, 17, 28, 64-5)

in Assyrian/Babylonian tradition there is Ekimmu, cannibalistic corpse that can’t find rest

female demon Lilith in ancient Israel, sometimes known as Adam’s first wife; becomes blood-sucking demon after rejection and fills minds of sleeping men with erotic dreams; practices sorcery; similar to Striges and Lamiae (Masters 169-71)

2. In Modern Times

by Christian times, sinners, victims of suicide, the unbaptized, those excommunicated, etc., would be candidates for vampirism (Masters 178-9)

Satanic orders emerge in western Europe by 16th cent. and church often confuses this with vampirism

vampire bat discovered in South America in 17th cent., golden age of witch trials too

historical figures of Renaissance period like Gilles de Rais, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, Vlad Tepes (Dracula) contribute to vampire myth (Copper 151-2)

term “vampire” first emerged in old Russian manuscript from 1047 AD, wherein Novgorodian prince described as Upir; werewolves described in vampiric terms (as devouring the moon, etc.) in 13 th-cent. Serbian manuscript

Slavic concept of vampire built around dualism of religions like Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism that prevalent in later days of Roman Empire and cross over into Christianity (e.g., Constantine the Great, before converting to Christianity, worships sun god Mithra) (Perkowski 18, 23-8)

“vampire epidemic” in parts of Serbia and Romania that under Austrian control (1718 – 1739) stirs up popular imagination in Europe (e.g., village of Kisiljevo haunted by vampire that strangles people [c. 1725]; village of Medvedja haunted by vampire that can pass through closed doors/windows [c. 1732]; translation of latter story already published in The London Journal in 1732) (Barber 5-7, Copper 43-6, Perkowski 127)

3. In Literature & Movies

by 1780s, Gothic fiction is full of ghosts and goblins but no vampires; rising interest in occult topics, particularly in paintings (e.g., William Blake, Henry Fuseli, Goya)

German poem “Lenore,” by Bürger (1773), is particularly influential (cf. Coleridge’s “Christabel” [1797]; Keats’ “Lamia” [1819]) (Twitchell 20-9, 33-54)

vampire as central literary theme first emerges in novella by Dr. John Polidori, The Vampyre (1819); already adapted for stage by Nodier as Le Vampire in 1820; Polidori’s work was also catalyst for James Malcolm Rymer’s penny-dreadful of 1840s, Varney the Vampyre or, The Feast of Blood (totalling 220 chapters) (Perkowski 128-9)

in U.S. at this time, Edgar Allan Poe writes his three “women” tales that seem to elaborate on vampire myth: “Berenice” (1835), “Morella” (1835), and “Ligeia” (1838) (Twitchell 59-65)

later examples in fiction are Sheridan LeFanu’s collection In a Glass Darkly (1872) that includes female vampire story “Carmilla,” and Stoker’s classic novel, written in epistolary form, Dracula (1897)

most movie adaptations are derivate of Stoker’s novel, not of earlier works, ranging from 1922 German silent production Nosferatu and Universal Pictures’ Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi to spoofs like Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Dracula (1949) and more serious resurgence of vampire movies in 1960s and 70s (e.g., The Brides of Dracula [1960]; Dracula A.D. 1972) (Perkowski 131-6)

Works Cited

Barber, Paul. Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality. New Haven: Yale UP, 1988.

Copper, Basil. The Vampire in Legend, Fact and Art. Secaucus: The Citadel Press, 1974.

Masters, Anthony. The Natural History of the Vampire. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1972.

Perkowski, Jan L. The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism. Columbus: Slavica Publishers, Inc., 1989.

Summers, Montague. The Vampire in Europe. New York: University Books, Inc., 1968.

Twitchell, James B. The Living Dead: A Study of the Vampire in Romantic Literature. Durham: Duke UP, 1981.