Vampires: Information for Fun

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Vampire information on novels, films and myth.

1997 was the 100 yr anniversary of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula".

This is a page that show an interest I had since a kid watching the old black and white Bella Lugosi movies. I will have links and images. I will also provide info about horror both fact and fiction. I also don't drink blood, sleep in coffins or dress up. Except for Halloween.

THIS IS ALL IN FUN. SO ENJOY! But as in all stories and myths there is a kernel of truth to build the story, which is why I include the info on Vlad and Elizabeth and Rhode Island.

VAMPIRE TRIVIA:

Vampire (The complete guide to the world of the undead) Manuela Dunn-Mascetti, Viking Studio.

The Vampire Book (The Encyclopedia of the undead) J. Gordon Melton, Visible Ink Press.

V is for Vampire (The A-Z Guide to Everything Undead) by David J. Skal Penguin

• Vampire or Vampyre:
  This is taken from the Serbian usage. It first entered the English language in two English periodicals, the "London Journal" & the "Gentleman's Magazine" in 1732.
• Vampire Bat:
  French naturalist George Louis Leclerc deBuffon learned of a bat in the New World that drank blood. He named it "Vampire" as classified in his Histoire Naturelle pub. 1765.
• First Short Story in English:
  "The Vampyre" pub. April 1819, in the issue of New Monthly Magazine (incorrectly under Lord Byron's name.) Written by John Polidori, (Italian immigrant living in England, traveling companion of Lord Byron, during 1816.) Modeling the vampire after Lord Byron, he named him Lord Ruthven.
• The First Vampire Novel in English:
  "Varney the Vampyre" or "The Feast of Blood" (UK) by James Malcolm Rymer sold in (penny dreadful) installments in the 1840's in England.
  Both of the above stories involved the vampire seeking out innocent women to feed on their blood. And they take the notion of the power of moonlight to revive the vampire's corpse.
  A new twist appears in 1872 from Irish writer Sheridanhe Fanu with the short story "Carmilla", a female vampire who develops a long-term attachment to a female victim. This is an erotic tale that weaves through out the story.
  This was basically all there was about vampires through the 19th century until towards the end.
  At that time Bram Stoker enters the picture with the novel "Dracula" written in 1897.
• FILMS and Theater, that were released. This is a small list here, I mainly tried to list the first films out of each country. I will have to make a different page to list all the films. Updated 7/16/97.
  1896- The Haunted Castle: by George Melies, (France). aka. The Devils Castle.
  1909- Vampire of the Coast: (USA).
  1912- The Secrets of House No. 5 probably the first (Gr. Britain).
  1912- The Vampire Dancer: by Ingvald C. Oes, (Denmark).
  1912- Vampyrn: by Mauritz Stiller, (Sweden).
  1913- La Vampira Indianna: (Italy).
  1914- The Vampire: (France)
  1914- The Vampires of Warsaw: by Wampiry Warzawy, (Poland).
  1920- "Dracula" first film based on the novel. (Russian).
  1921- A Hungarian ver. of this comes out.
  1922- "Nosferatu: a Symphony of Horror" Silent Film by Prana films, F.W. Murnau. (German). This was the classic. Nosferatu: Eine Symphonic des Grauens.
  1927- "Dracula" first English stage ver. Bela Lugosi at the (Fulton Theater, NYC)
  1927- "London after Midnight" film by Tod Browning (dir.) Lon Chaney played the vampire. This was the first full length feature film of a vampire.
  1931- "Dracula" Bella Lugosi at the Roxy Theater, (NYC, USA).
  

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• Favorite Films.
  

The earliest were an explanation of childbirth problems.

Malaysia: langsuyar, a young beautiful woman who still birthed a child, she then flew into the trees and from then on attacked children and sucked their blood.

This same tale is told in Greece, called a Lamiai.

In eastern Europe families had stories of vampire's due to the death of a relative. Symptoms of vampiric visits included nightmare's, death by disease usually tuberculosis or apparitions of ghosts. Some causes of vampirism were violent deaths, like suicide or accidents. At first Vampires did not create new vampires by attacking people and killing them, they multiplied into lesser demons on their own, this was the Greek vampire.

But in Eastern Europe Vampires could claim other members of the community usually by biting them. In one case Vampirism was passed by an Arnold Paul who had bitten cows then the contaminated meat passed Vampirism on to the person who ate the meat. (Talk about mad cow disease)

The first written account was in 1040 referring to the word upir, this referred to a Russian Prince as a wicked vampire or "Upir Licky"
The European literary vampire came around the 19th century.

Since I started this many years ago, vampire sites have come and gone like bad TV shows. I have recently cleared out bad links, you wouldn't believe how many have gone dead. I'm not going to look for new ones since they ARE a rehash of previous stuff done. Look on google or yahoo for other vamp sites. The ones listed below are the ones that have been around the longest and survived. I don't have a guest book anymore or email link. You would not believe the wierd crap I recieved over the years. Some people need a life. Anyway please check these sites out they are worth checking.

PS: If you really believe in this stuff, whatever, you proably believe in crop circles also. Someone is making money off of you.

VAMPIRE LITERARY LINKS:

The Official ANNE RICE PAGE!!!
Bram Stocker's Dracula: The Novel.
Dr. Elizabeth Miller Dracula Page go here for some serious information on the real Dracula.

HARRIS COMICS VAMPIRELLA is great, check it out at your comic book store.

This is the official Vampirella Site.

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