~Vampire Poetry~

Poetry on Vampires has appeared in literature for a very long time....the earliest one I've found is from 1748 by a German poet....

Der Vampir

Heinrich August Ossenfelder

My dear young maiden clingeth
Unbending fast and firm
To all the long-held teaching
Of a mother ever true;
As in vampires unmortal
Folk on the Theyse's portal
Heyduck-like do believe.
But my Christine thou dost dally,
And wilt my loving parry
Till I myself avenging
To a vampire's health a-drinking
Him toast in pale tockay.

And as softly thou art sleeping
To thee shall I come creeping
And thy life's blood drain away.
And so shalt thou be trembling
For thus shall I be kissing
And death's threshold thou' it be crossing
With fear, in my cold arms.
And last shall I thee question
Compared to such instruction
What are a mother's charms?

Bela Lugosi

In 1927 Bela Lugosi appeared as Dracula in a play adaption of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The broadway production was a huge success and ran 261 times....Thus started Lugosi as Dracula..a character he was known for and typecast as for the rest of his career.

In 1931 Bela starred in the Film Dracula..when it premiered at the Roxy in Hollywood, it was reported that viewers fainted of shock at the horrors on the screen..it became a box office sensation! :)

Day 2 Dracula

Today, it seems like Vampire and Dracula are almost synonyms...though it wasn't always so. Count Dracula is probably the vampire who over the years has gained the most notoriety. It all started with Irishman Bram Stoker's 1897 Novel: Dracula

 It was not an immediate bestseller, nevertheless received many high praises, including a recommendation from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (very famous author of Sherlock Holmes)..

 It was released in the US in 1899 and did quite well... but it was later, in the 20th century that the story of Dracula was really embraced. It was at this time that film versions started to appear. There have now been over 200 film versions  featuring Dracula and about 650 films that make reference to the famous blood sucker. 
   The very first stage adaption was written and directed by Bram Stoker, known as Dracula or The Un-dead. It was  performed only once at the Lyceum Theater in London on May 18th 1897... preceding the novels publication by 8 days. The actor was Henry Irving, who pronounced it "Dreadful!"...you could hardly blame the man..it took 15 hours to perform!

Day 1 Vampire/Vampyre

Vampire films have been a staple since the silent days, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptation of vampire fiction has been from Bram Stoker's Dracula, with over 170 versions to date. Running a distant second are adaptations of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. The legend of Elizabeth Báthory, the "Blood Countess" has also been an influence. By 2005, Dracula had been the subject of more films than any other fictional character.

Although vampires are generally associated with the horror genre, vampire films may also fall into the science fiction, romance, comedyor fantasy genres, among others.

Taken from Wikipedia... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_film