By now, just about everyone in America is aware of our culture’s inundation with vampire references. Even those wandering souls out there who remain unconnected to twitter/facebook/googlewave/etc. feel the dreadful, looming presence of these noble undead in the collective consciousness. You can’t check out at the grocery store without seeing glittering teen vampire Edward Cullen (Rob Patinnson) peering into your soul, and you might even hear a song from Vampire Weekend playing while you’re in line. Or if you’re like me and live in Jackson, you can’t see The Road in theaters right now because New Moon is playing on 12 screens at each venue. Scary.
Maybe this blog seems to be taking place about a month later than it should be, but the reason I wanted to write about vamp lit comes out of just having gone to see New Moon. New Moon is one part teen phenomenon and one part hipster guilty pleasure (see soundtrack lineup). Not having seen the first movie or read any of the books, I took a chance and went to see it. I was excited to see this movie because, like any good 24-year-old American who wishes he lived in Europe, I’ve always loved Bram Stoker’s Dracula , and was hoping that there was maybe, just maybe more to the Twilight saga than just promotional hype and hormones.
With my hopes up, I went to see the movie, and then read the first two books. Long story short, the books are pretty fun to read. If you want something you can blaze through, feel good about, and then watch some pretty cool movie adaptions of then give it a try.
If you’re looking for something more insightful in regards to humanity, alienation, loss and religious anxiety, go for the classics. I know some people complain about the epistolary style of Dracula, but I think it’s an interesting approach that draws you into more than one character’s perspective; it creates suspense as you see letter’s arriving late, never being read, etc.
I am personally interested in our culture’s fascination with vampires. I think it says a little bit about the isolation we feel coupled with the American dream of living forever. Twilight brings the masses in by doing it all within an archetypal school years/coming of age genre. I think this is similar to the success of Harry Potter (fantasy wizarding world meets modern times boarding school experience); it’s the whole idea of bringing the fantasy/horror into everyday life, which is what we kind of all really want.
So, if you’re wondering what to get your vampire loving teen for the Holiday Season, think about Stephenie Meyer‘s Twilight. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a gift for a vampire purist, here’s two lesser known and older options that have withstood the test of time:
Illustration from The Dark Blue by D. H. Friston, 1872
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (appearing in The Dark Blue magazine) (1872) predates Bram’s masterpiece.
William Polidori’s The Vampyre was first published in 1819, and is considered a progenitor of sorts.
-Hunter
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