Considering Twilight is the top-grossing vampire film of all time, and the books’ author, Stephenie Meyer, was the best-selling novelist of 2008, it’s obvious the love affair between the undead Edward and his mortal girlfriend, Bella, has mass appeal. But just why are fans so keen to sink their teeth into the saga?
“For some reason, Stephenie Meyer has caught on with a sort of Harlequin vampire,” said Hector Williams, a professor of classical archeology at the University of British Columbia who specializes in vampires. “It’s a new form that’s been put with an attractive group of young people. Before that, vampires tended to be middle-aged or older.”
Williams said the Twilight phenomenon doesn’t surprise him but that it’s only one of many versions of the fanged bloodsucker that have seduced the public.
“Vampires have been around for centuries,” he said. “[They’ve had an appeal] for the last 200 years.”
According to Williams, the original vampire emerged in the Balkans and was usually a peasant who sporadically bit into victims’ chests.
However, the traditional vampire during this time wasn’t particularly feared and was actually considered to be a bit of a jokester.
“They could be [lethal] but they weren’t the deadly figure they became,” Williams said. “They were more of a nuisance than a menace. They played pranks and curdled the milk.”
It wasn’t until the 19th Century, following a short story written by Lord Byron, that the modern rendering of the vampire as suave, sophisticated and upper class was born.
“People started to write about [vampires],” Williams said. “It got picked up in European literature.”
Yet Williams credited the aristocratic Dracula with being the first character to really establish society’s vampire fascination.
“It really took off after Bram Stoker in 1897,” he said.
Since then, Williams stated the romance surrounding vampires has been steadily evolving.
“It keeps coming along,” he said, pointing to the popularity of Anne Rice novels in the 1980s and 1990s. “There just seems to be something to this idea of someone who lives forever but at this great cost. It’s just the basic idea of romance.”
As the most recent adaptation of the vampire legend, Twilight has more than its fair share of romance, but that doesn’t mean it too won’t soon be revamped.
“[Vampire lore] will continue to be reinvented in some form or another,” Williams said.
Though he hadn’t yet had a chance to read the Twilight books, Williams said he did plan on picking them up in the near future. In the meantime, Stoker’s Dracula still remains his favourite vampire tale.
“That’s the real classic,” he said.
The top five vampire flicks at the box office (after Twilight, of course)
Van Helsing: $275 million
Interview with a Vampire: $221 million
Bram Stoker’s Dracula: $216 million
Blade II: $155 million
Blade: $131 million
