With less than a month until the July 9 release of the third instalment of the Twilight saga, Eclipse. Leo Owen looks into the source of all this vampire hysteria...

Adapted from Stephanie Meyers’ hugely popular novels, the Twilight films have drawn attention to an already successful book series, propelling its leads to overnight stardom and triggering its own subculture. Reactions range from hardcore fans obsessing over the story, cast, books or characters to groups with a destructive and often morbid fascination with vampire culture and those sick of all the hype, sometimes dangerously so.

After the release of the last chapter, New Moon, police were searching for a 45-year-old Michigan man, who during a screening, persistently sexually harassed a 17-year-old girl sitting behind him, culminating in him trying to bite the girl’s neck after the end credits. In 2008, in response to the first Twilight film, a website called Twilight Sucks began as an anti-Twilight campaign, cataloguing known incidents of violence between “Twihards” and “antis”/“Twihaters” - frightening incidents include assault with a baseball bat, attempted throat-slitting, acid throwing and flare gun shooting.

The film releases have not only threatened the safety of the general public but also cast members. In an interview with the News of the World, actor Robert Pattinson (Bella’s vampire love-interest, Edward Cullen), admitted that he sometimes fears some of his most loyal fans who blur the boundaries between fiction and reality. Pattinson describes admirers with open wounds asking him to suck their blood: “People ask me to bite them. I don’t want someone to have a needle and give me HIV.” He went on to recall being approached by a group of teens covered in blood and scratches who boasted: “We did this for you.”

Such bizarre worrying goings-on can not be solely blamed on Twilight as unhealthy obsessions with the vampire legend pre-date the franchise. In 1440 French Marshall Gilles De Rais was executed after confessing to the murder of 40 children whose blood he drank. At the beginning of the 17^th Century 100s of girls were found dead drained of their blood, later linked to the Hungarian Countess, Elizabeth Bathory. In Paris in 1849 a number of graveyard coffins were desecrated and authorities believed “vampirism [was] involved” while in Dusseldorf in 1913 decapitated corpses were found, including that of a swan – evidence suggested their blood too had been gorged on. More recently in Florida in 1996, teenage members of a Vampire Clan who ritually drank each other’s blood, brutally beat the parents of one of the clan members to death with a crow bar.

"In Florida in 1996, teenage members of a Vampire Clan who ritually drank each other’s blood, brutally beat the parents of one of the clan members to death with a crow bar"

According to the literary historian, Brian Frost, interest and the "belief in vampires and bloodsucking demons is as old as man himself", possibly dating back to "prehistoric times". The word “vampire” was not in popular use until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vampir in Serbia and Bulgaria, vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. The Oxford English Dictionary sites the first appearance of the word vampire in English from 1734 and in English literature in 1745 in a travelogue entitled Travels of Three English Gentlemen.

Just like the release of each new Twilight film, these rumours and stories increased the level of vampire superstition leading to mass hysteria – even resulting in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Eastern European gypsy folklore and their neighbours, the southern Slavs are the source of this hysteria. Tales of suspected vampires being dug up, found with erections were occasionally reported creating the myth that vampires are sexual entities. It was believed that male vampires had such an intense sexual drive that this sexual need was enough to bring them back from the grave, often reuniting with love interests to consummate that love or with widows to engage in sexual intercourse. In more than a few cases, the widow reportedly became pregnant, resulting in a child, called a dhampir who was a highly valued individual deemed to have unusual powers to diagnose vampirism and to destroy vampires.

"Tales of suspected vampires being dug up and found with erections were occasionally reported creating the myth that vampires are sexual entities"

Over the years folklore agreed on one thing – the different ways a vampire can be created. Vampires are believed to be revenants of evil beings, suicide victims, or witches, but can also be created by a spiteful spirit possessing a corpse or by victims receiving vampire bites. The vampires of the Balkans and Eastern Europe (as well as the indian baital) had a wide range of appearances, from nearly human to bloated rotting corpses. John Polidori's The Vampyre from 1819 later influenced legendary literature like Dracula and is credited with the establishment of charismatic and sophisticated vampires like Edward Cullen. Edward’s vampire immortality was not always explicitly documented in folklore but was implied through the stories of the vampires’ incessant need for the blood of former equals. Vampire specifics like fangs and a vulnerability to sunlight appeared over the course of the 19th century, with Varney the Vampire and Count Dracula both bearing protruding teeth, and Murnau's Nosferatu (1922) fearing daylight. The traditional cloak the Cullen family have shed was introduced in stage productions in the 1920s.

Such fiction began with eighteenth century poetry, such as Goethe's The Bride of Corinth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Christabel, continuing in the nineteenth century with short stories, including John Polidori's The Vampyre (1819). Vampires were re-popularised after Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula, which provides the basis for modern vampire fiction, drawing on earlier mythologies of werewolves and imaginary demons. Dracula voiced the anxieties of its time and the fears of late Victorian patriarchy - the breakdown of the empire resulting in mass invasion by other races. The success of Dracula spawned a distinctive vampire genre likened to “nightmare” or “demonic possession” fantasy, paving the way for the likes of Twilight.

"Lugosi's Dracula and the female vampire seducer in Dracula's Daughter from 1936 helped widespread audiences to appreciate the vampire's romantic appeal"

As technology developed and improved, vampires finally came to the screen, in the form of the 1922 German silent film, Nosferatu, and then later in the first talking film to portray Dracula, Universal's Dracula (1931), starring Béla Lugosi as the titular Count. Lugosi's Dracula and the female vampire seducer in Dracula's Daughter from 1936 helped widespread audiences to appreciate the vampire's romantic appeal. However, it was not until the 1950s that Christopher Lee's Dracula, would be given fangs and the go-ahead to bite victims on screen.

Dracula was in part a stereotypical character of popular nineteenth-century literature, the rake. The character of the rake appeared in stories as a kind of counterpart to female vamps, existing to torment and distress the pure women of proper society, eventually branding them “tainted women”. Just as fallen women’s reputations were contaminated by "moral depravity", so vampirism infected the bitten victim, causing them too to prey on others. The vindictive and violent ruler of Wallachia, Vlad Dracula, is thought to be the other main inspiration behind the most famous vampire. Born Vlad Tepes, Vlad Dracula predominantly ruled from 1456-1462, killing men, women and children of all classes, nationalities and religions, favouring impalement as his means of execution. He was known to blind, strangle, burn, skin, boil, roast, burn alive and decapitate victims, even being linked to cannibalism. His reign of terror came to an end in 1462 when he was taken to Hungary for 12 years before his assassination two years after his 1474 release.

The legendary story of Vlad Dracula lives on in Bram Stoker’s character, who appears in more movies than any other character, with the exception of Sherlock Holmes. After the first silent and talkie Dracula films, the character was reincarnated for a new generation of film lovers with the Hammer Horror series, starring Christopher Lee in eight feature films, paving the way for later female lead vampires and greater plot diversity. The 70s TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker heralded the start of an influx of vampire TV shows like Stephen King's Salem's Lot (1979); Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997); Blood Ties (2007); True Blood and Being Human (2008) and the 2009 series, The Vampire Diaries. Other films like Blade (1998) and 2004’s Van Helsing focused on vampire hunters while an increasing number followed vampire protagonists - The Hunger (1983), The Lost Boys (1987), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Bordello of Blood (1996), Queen of the Damned (2002) and 2009’s Daybreakers and Blood: The Last Vampire. Some like Nightwatch (2004) used vampires to explore the battle between good and evil while Underworld, like Twilight, presented a world where werewolves and vampires are rivals.

Although there has been a steady trickle of vampire flicks over the years, the 50s was the decade for repopularising Dracula while the 70s did some reinvention, creating a new strand of pornographic vampire films, featuring nudity and sex. In 1969’s Dracula (The Dirty Old Man) the count kidnapped naked virgins while in 1970 The Vampire Lovers romped naked. Towards the end of the decade a more sensual Dracula arrived courtesy of Frank Langella’s 1979 production, Dracula: "Throughout history he has filled the hearts of men with terror, and the hearts of women with desire." Langella’s Dracula, directly influenced Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 interpretation, starring Gary Oldman that at the time became the highest grossing vampire film ever.

Although the 70s portrayed the sexual nature of vampirism more explicitly, this was something that stemmed from earlier folklore and formed an underlying theme in Bram Stoker’s infamous novel, disguised in such a way as to conceal it from literary censors of the day. Sexuality is a theme bubbling throughout the novel, symbolic of all the suppressed desire in Victorian society. Writer and amateur historian, Gabriel Ronay, believes: “The link between blood and sexual excitement, love bites and kisses, was well known in the eighteenth century.”

"Although the 70s portrayed the sexual nature of vampirism more explicitly, this was something that stemmed from earlier folklore and formed an underlying theme in Bram Stoker’s infamous novel, disguised in such a way as to conceal it from literary censors of the day"

A vampire's bite is reminiscent of a “love bite” and referred to as a kiss with the wound comparable to a bleeding vagina. Dracula can be seen as a wooer of women who then drains them of their blood, bringing out their erotic side. When he and Mina are finally united, Mina omits a description of what she drinks, implying it could be semen. Later when she comes to her senses, she realises that she has been violated and declares herself unclean, vowing to never "kiss" her husband again. Dracula’s wining and dining of Jonathan Harker every night has been interpreted as him possessing a homoerotic desire for Jonathan and his blood. Jonathan notes "a wicked, burning desire” for the three lady vamps who are described as sensual predators. Lucy wants three husbands and transforms into a "sexual monster" sleepwalking the night like a street-walking prostitute. The scene where Lucy is staked has been interpreted by some to be representative of gang rape. For Arthur, blood transfusion and vampirism are a kind of "surrogate sexual intercourse" as he was never able to consummate his love for Lucy. After all, like his creation Reinfield, Stoker was interested in blood as a life force and later died of syphilis, reportedly after visiting prostitutes to satisfy the lust his wife ignored.

"Odaxelagnia is sexual arousal gained from biting a partner or being bitten while Hematolagnia describes individuals sexually aroused by drinking human blood"

Today, the link between blood and sex is openly explored and previously unrecognised fetishes have names - fetishes that most probably originate from the vampire myth. Vampirism as a sexual deviation includes the sexual attraction to vampires, sharp fangs, being bitten or biting, and/or blood. Odaxelagnia is sexual arousal gained from biting a partner or being bitten while Hematolagnia describes individuals sexually aroused by drinking human blood. Haematodipsia/haematomania is a strong psychological craving for blood and Haematophilia is a sexual attraction to the mere presence of blood. After public recognition of these fetishes, more sexually explicit vampire movies were released, including Dracula Exotica (1981), Gayracula (1983), Sexandroide (1987), Out for Blood (1990), Princess of the Night (1990) and Wanda Does Transylvania (1990).

As one of the most recent contributions to a genre with a rich history, Twilight cannot be solely blamed for these sexual deviations or for individuals seeking to replicate the “vampire lifestyle” by dressing in black and consuming tomato soup and energy drinks designed to look like blood. Twilight is merely more influential than other vamp releases because it speaks to easily-led impressionable hormonal adolescents through the voice of Bella Swan, a high school girl with self-esteem issues struggling to find her identity. The combination of Bella acting as narrator and central protagonist with a multimillion pound franchise featuring attractive starlets, has resulted in mass hysteria from the teens the films are aimed at, those actively involved with sexual deviations linked to vampirism, nuts and 30-something women enjoying a spot of chest candy and reliving the days of school romances.

"Twilight satisfies our needs by presenting a romanticised relationship between racially different people – a vampire and a human"

The continuing popularity of the vampire theme has been ascribed to a combination of modern perceptions of vampires, representations of sexuality and the persistent fear of death. Twilight satisfies our needs by presenting a romanticised relationship between racially different people – a vampire and a human. Their love satisfies the stereotypically female desire for bad boys and relationships spiced up by an element of danger and risk-taking. Bella and the fiercely possessive rather chivalrous 100-year old vampire, Edward, have a relationship constantly fuelled by an exquisite sexual tension as Edward continually doubts his own self-control as a vampire. Bella’s love for Edward tackles our dread of mortality as she repeatedly challenges him to make her one of his kind.

Twilight’s plot might glamourise dark gothic lifestyles and nurture psychological or psychosexual conditions but it’s nothing new – merely the latest release in a long-line of hysteria-inducing vampire themed literature and cinema. What does it really matter if shops start stocking Twilight merchandise, parents call their male offspring Cullen and there's a rise of kids in the U.S. named Jacob, Isabella and Bella?

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