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From Demons to Dracula: The Creation of the Modern Vampire Myth
In blood-soaked lore handed down the centuries, the vampire is a monster of endless from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer , this seductive lover of blood haunts popular culture and inhabits our darkest imaginings. The cultural history of the vampire is a rich and varied tale that is now ably documented in From Demons to Dracula , a compelling study of the vampire myth that reveals why this creature of the undead fascinates us so.
Beresford’s chronicle roams from the mountains of Eastern Europe to the foggy streets of Victorian England to Hollywood, as he investigates the portrayal of the vampire in history, literature, and art. Opening with the original Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, and his status as a national hero in Romania, he endeavors to winnow out truths from the complex legend and folklore. From Demons to Dracula tracks the evolution of the vampire as an icon and supernatural creature, drawing on classical Greek and Roman myths, witch trials and medieval plagues, Gothic literature, and even contemporary works such as Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire and Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian . Beresford also looks at the widespread impact of screen vampires from television shows, classic movies starring Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, and more recent films such as Underworld and Blade . Whether as a demon of the underworld or a light-fearing hunter of humans, the vampire has endured through the centuries, the book reveals, as powerfully symbolic figure for human concerns with life, death, and the afterlife.
A wide-ranging and engrossing chronicle, From Demons to Dracula casts this blood-thirsty nightstalker as a remarkably complex and telling totem of our nightmares, real and imagined.
Beresford’s chronicle roams from the mountains of Eastern Europe to the foggy streets of Victorian England to Hollywood, as he investigates the portrayal of the vampire in history, literature, and art. Opening with the original Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, and his status as a national hero in Romania, he endeavors to winnow out truths from the complex legend and folklore. From Demons to Dracula tracks the evolution of the vampire as an icon and supernatural creature, drawing on classical Greek and Roman myths, witch trials and medieval plagues, Gothic literature, and even contemporary works such as Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire and Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian . Beresford also looks at the widespread impact of screen vampires from television shows, classic movies starring Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, and more recent films such as Underworld and Blade . Whether as a demon of the underworld or a light-fearing hunter of humans, the vampire has endured through the centuries, the book reveals, as powerfully symbolic figure for human concerns with life, death, and the afterlife.
A wide-ranging and engrossing chronicle, From Demons to Dracula casts this blood-thirsty nightstalker as a remarkably complex and telling totem of our nightmares, real and imagined.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 11, 2009
An entertaining, informative, if oddly structured look at vampire myth, starting with prehistoric burial rituals and going all the way through more contemporary versions, like Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles." I liked the idea that vampire literature exploded because we no longer fear them in reality, and they came to be a cipher for all manner of taboo subjects, like homosexuality and sexual desire. I didn't particularly care for the long sections on true crime- the section on the Highgate Vampire was well-researched but had relatively little impact, and I'd have liked more literary analysis, but all in all, this is a solid and useful book for those wanting a good overview of the vampire in popular culture and its roots in myth.
November 28, 2023
An interesting and entertaining read if one can get past the occasional error. A good overview of the vampire myth taken as a whole.
February 22, 2017
An entertaining, interesting and easy read. More like reading an essay that was written for fun.
March 7, 2016
We are all familiar with the sexy suave vampires that dance across our tv and movie screens all across the world. Their image is based primarily on one that was created since the victorian times, where in the vampire is charming, seductive and aristocratic. Fo course some authors are having their vampires sparkle like diamond when they go intro the sun.
Once upon a time there was legend of vampire like creatures all across the world.Greece, Rome, Egypt and Mesopotamia had vampire like creatures. At first they were rather spiritual in nature and even some would drink enery as opposed to blood. Since prehistoric times there are have been burials conducted that would stop a vampire from rising to haunt people. Sometimes a rock would be placed in the mouth, or the heart would be staked and the head removed. Some rituals called for burning the body. Yup vampires seem to have been around back then. There were even dome covers to stop a vampire from coming out.
Vampires were not turned or made they were originally predestined from birth to become vampires. How did this come about? Well believe it or not people who were werewolves were destined to become vampires after they died. So were witches. Some names for vampires include the term varkolack which pertains to wolf and upir which means vampire but also has witch like connotations. After all witches traveled at night and eight small children. Those were born with a caul would also be detained to become vampires.alcoholics, violent deaths, suicides and unbaptized children would become vampires after dying.
Blood drinking was not so central to vampires in ancient lore. THey would often rise from the grave at night and eat people and drink their blood yes that is true but sometimes they ate other human foods and blood drinking was a side note. They would at first visit their family member and make them sick one by one and then they would die. Angry family relations. Heck vamps could even fornicate
Garlic has been a way to repel them. That is a constant. Vampires seem to have many constants going all the way back to Egypt in the book of the dead. There in is references to shapeshifting, eating in the after life, resurrecting and even staking. pharaohs used to bathe in the blood of children. They could even drink the blood of the vampire to cure vampire related illnesses.
Vampires started out in pagan times. There were vampires who served aphropdite, Hekate and Diana. Lamias were owl like female birds who sucked the blood of men or even their energy. In the Middle East you had the linin or female demons who drained the energy from men as they had relations with them. THe vampire stated out as a spiritual entity and then morphed into the living dead.
THe image of the vampire would under go even more changes. WIth John Polydori's story the Vampyre , our horror creature become a suave and dashing aristrocratic debonair Varney the Vampire would go back to the orginal concept of the vampire, while the story Carmilla would focus on Lesbian attractions .
Movies like Blade, Vampire Diaries turn the vampire into an action figure with not m,uch thought requirement. Now they are action figuires. THey are a part of our lives whether they live among us or whether they are non existent. Vampires play on our fear and yet they live for ever which is something wew all would like that to live forever.
Once upon a time there was legend of vampire like creatures all across the world.Greece, Rome, Egypt and Mesopotamia had vampire like creatures. At first they were rather spiritual in nature and even some would drink enery as opposed to blood. Since prehistoric times there are have been burials conducted that would stop a vampire from rising to haunt people. Sometimes a rock would be placed in the mouth, or the heart would be staked and the head removed. Some rituals called for burning the body. Yup vampires seem to have been around back then. There were even dome covers to stop a vampire from coming out.
Vampires were not turned or made they were originally predestined from birth to become vampires. How did this come about? Well believe it or not people who were werewolves were destined to become vampires after they died. So were witches. Some names for vampires include the term varkolack which pertains to wolf and upir which means vampire but also has witch like connotations. After all witches traveled at night and eight small children. Those were born with a caul would also be detained to become vampires.alcoholics, violent deaths, suicides and unbaptized children would become vampires after dying.
Blood drinking was not so central to vampires in ancient lore. THey would often rise from the grave at night and eat people and drink their blood yes that is true but sometimes they ate other human foods and blood drinking was a side note. They would at first visit their family member and make them sick one by one and then they would die. Angry family relations. Heck vamps could even fornicate
Garlic has been a way to repel them. That is a constant. Vampires seem to have many constants going all the way back to Egypt in the book of the dead. There in is references to shapeshifting, eating in the after life, resurrecting and even staking. pharaohs used to bathe in the blood of children. They could even drink the blood of the vampire to cure vampire related illnesses.
Vampires started out in pagan times. There were vampires who served aphropdite, Hekate and Diana. Lamias were owl like female birds who sucked the blood of men or even their energy. In the Middle East you had the linin or female demons who drained the energy from men as they had relations with them. THe vampire stated out as a spiritual entity and then morphed into the living dead.
THe image of the vampire would under go even more changes. WIth John Polydori's story the Vampyre , our horror creature become a suave and dashing aristrocratic debonair Varney the Vampire would go back to the orginal concept of the vampire, while the story Carmilla would focus on Lesbian attractions .
Movies like Blade, Vampire Diaries turn the vampire into an action figure with not m,uch thought requirement. Now they are action figuires. THey are a part of our lives whether they live among us or whether they are non existent. Vampires play on our fear and yet they live for ever which is something wew all would like that to live forever.
October 10, 2013
Matthew Beresford has done some commendable work here. He gives respect to Johann Glaser's account of the Arnold Paole vampire hunts while other writers neglect Glaser in favor of Johann Fluckinger's report. He also gives attention to well-meaning efforts to restore Highgate cemetery, and makes fine points about including medieval English "histories" in the canon of vampire folklore.
That said, From Demons to Dracula is riddled with problems. Beresford makes several mistakes, including errors of language and history. He repeats the old saw about Bela Lugosi learning his Dracula lines phonetically (after the Hungarian émigré had been playing the role on stage for four years), identifies "dhampir" as a Serbian word for vampire (it is in fact a Romani term for a vampire hunter according to sources in Beresford's own bibliography), and includes too many mistaken dates and typographical errors to enumerate confidently. Regarding the Highgate vampire hysteria of the 1970s, Beresford is not as responsible as he should be in identifying the whole affair as an epic instance of cemetery vandalism. Though Beresford tends to romanticize the Highgate incidents, I cannot muster anything but disgust for those who tore the historic burial ground apart, or encouraged traffic by spreading wild rumors.
At the end of the day, Beresford's book is just too besotten with problems to recommend as a general survey, and a prudent reader will look elsewhere.
That said, From Demons to Dracula is riddled with problems. Beresford makes several mistakes, including errors of language and history. He repeats the old saw about Bela Lugosi learning his Dracula lines phonetically (after the Hungarian émigré had been playing the role on stage for four years), identifies "dhampir" as a Serbian word for vampire (it is in fact a Romani term for a vampire hunter according to sources in Beresford's own bibliography), and includes too many mistaken dates and typographical errors to enumerate confidently. Regarding the Highgate vampire hysteria of the 1970s, Beresford is not as responsible as he should be in identifying the whole affair as an epic instance of cemetery vandalism. Though Beresford tends to romanticize the Highgate incidents, I cannot muster anything but disgust for those who tore the historic burial ground apart, or encouraged traffic by spreading wild rumors.
At the end of the day, Beresford's book is just too besotten with problems to recommend as a general survey, and a prudent reader will look elsewhere.
January 2, 2016
I enjoyed the first half of this book discussing the mythological and folklore origins of the vampire. However my interest dropped off somewhat when it came to the Hollywood versions. No doubt movies and tv shows do play a role in the modern evolution of the vampire, but my interest was in the more ancient origins and would have enjoyed a greater focus on the old rather than the new. That's just my personal preference though. Overall this was seen interesting read that has ultimately sent me looking for further information on the ancient origins of the vampire.
Read
May 12, 2009So... I guess the reason persons who committed suicide, persons of illegitimate birth, and heretics are not allowed to be buried in Catholic cemetaries is due to their tendency to become vampires. I was unaware of the fact that in places like Romania, people to this day desecrate the remains of suspected vampires after their deaths. I think I'm beginning to understand the veiling of babies in public in Ukraine, to prevent the evil eye from falling upon them. Weird.
May 25, 2011
Nice book but a bit of a disappointment. It gives a nice overview of folklore and fiction without discussing it much. It is a nice starting point to give you an idea of what is out there nothing more.
November 4, 2024
I read this book before knowing about Goodreads, but I recently read it again. I remembered it as being quite good and I wasn’t disappointed the second time around. As an historian Matthew Beresford is looking for the origins of the vampire myth. He begins by canvassing antiquity for creatures like vampires, and comes up mostly with demons, thus the title. These demons were not revenants seeking to suck blood, but they preyed on humans, generally at night.
After this the book is wide-ranging. It looks at burial practices, ideas from the Middle Ages, the influence of Vlad the Impaler, and Eastern European traditions. This accounts for about the first half of the book. Vampires enter literature in the early nineteenth century and that narrative begins to take over as the modern idea of a vampire emerges. There’s a lot of information in this very readable study, but it isn’t comprehensive. No book on vampires could be.
There are a few places where the discussion seems to slip into topics a bit tangential, such as modern serial killers that the media termed “vampires,” but overall it is a good treatment. It’s an insightful guide to where our ideas of vampires may come from. I wrote a bit more about it in my blog post on the book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World). I’m glad to have read it again.
After this the book is wide-ranging. It looks at burial practices, ideas from the Middle Ages, the influence of Vlad the Impaler, and Eastern European traditions. This accounts for about the first half of the book. Vampires enter literature in the early nineteenth century and that narrative begins to take over as the modern idea of a vampire emerges. There’s a lot of information in this very readable study, but it isn’t comprehensive. No book on vampires could be.
There are a few places where the discussion seems to slip into topics a bit tangential, such as modern serial killers that the media termed “vampires,” but overall it is a good treatment. It’s an insightful guide to where our ideas of vampires may come from. I wrote a bit more about it in my blog post on the book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World). I’m glad to have read it again.
May 23, 2023
What a great title but does the book come up to its promising cover and alluring subject? Let's see. The author points out there there is belief in vampires all over the world, reveals the etymology of the world, its first appearance in English in 1732. There are many interesting photos and illustrations here, even one on Count Dackula (!). We stroll through the ancient world (the lamiae), pre-history, middle ages, do vampiric hunts (Romania, Dracula's home turf), meet the historic Dracula. But where is he buried? On we go from myth to reality, see how a fiend is born, shudder about the vampire in literature (Varney, Carmilla). The second hunt leads to Whitby where Stoker's Dracula hits English ground. After that we hear about Dracula movies, meet the Highgate Cemetery vampire and close up with dark reflections on society. The author delivered with this book. I read many books on the topic but this is a great summing up on the vampire myth. Thanks Sasha for pointing this one out. Highly worth it!
September 28, 2022
I loved this book! It is very informative and written in a down-to-earth style that is easily approachable by everyone. The research is there and you can tell - just look at the incredible bibliography! Also the division in chapters made sense and traced a coherent history of the figure of the vampire. The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that there is no mention of Florence Marryat's "The Blood of the Vampire," a book featuring a female psychic vampire that should be read more, in my humble opinion, for its criticism of Victorian and Edwardian society. I bought the book hoping to find material for my research on Marryat and was disappointed, but I recommend this book all the same, it's great reading.
October 31, 2023
Eğer vampir mitinin nasıl doğduğunu öğrenmek istiyorsanız ve kısa, keyifli bir kitap arıyorsanız bu kitap o kitap.
Vampirlere kaynaklarda ilk kez nerede, ne zaman rastlanmış, halk arasındaki vampir öyküleri, vampir mitinin zamanla değişimi, Kont Dracula ile ilgisi ve Transilvanya, 20.yy'da vampir avcılığı ve gazete haberleri, popüler kültürdeki vampir, edebiyat ve sinemada vampir gibi aklımıza gelen hemen her konuya değiniliyor.
Son olarak da yazar vampir miti neden bu kadar uzun zaman var oldu, bugün neden bu kadar popüler gibi sorulara kendi cevapların�� veriyor. Bir oturuşta olmasa da çok kısa zamanda okunabilecek kadar sade bir metin. Okuduğum için mutluyum.
Not: Kendimi Edward'ı araştıran Bella gibi hissettim ASDFGHJKLKJHBGVFDS
Vampirlere kaynaklarda ilk kez nerede, ne zaman rastlanmış, halk arasındaki vampir öyküleri, vampir mitinin zamanla değişimi, Kont Dracula ile ilgisi ve Transilvanya, 20.yy'da vampir avcılığı ve gazete haberleri, popüler kültürdeki vampir, edebiyat ve sinemada vampir gibi aklımıza gelen hemen her konuya değiniliyor.
Son olarak da yazar vampir miti neden bu kadar uzun zaman var oldu, bugün neden bu kadar popüler gibi sorulara kendi cevapların�� veriyor. Bir oturuşta olmasa da çok kısa zamanda okunabilecek kadar sade bir metin. Okuduğum için mutluyum.
Not: Kendimi Edward'ı araştıran Bella gibi hissettim ASDFGHJKLKJHBGVFDS
November 21, 2024
Vampir mitinin nasıl, ne şekilde doğduğunu, bugüne kadar kaleme alınmış yazılı eserleri ve sinema eserlerini de ele alarak son derece akıcı, sade bir üslupla anlatan başarılı bir eser. Özellikle Dracula'nın derinlerine inen, akıllardaki soru işaretlerini gideren müthiş bir kitap. İçeriğinde bolca resim de mevcut. Bu yolla daha iyi kavranabiliyor ve tarihsel bir yolculuğa çıkılabiliyor. Dili asla sıkmıyor, bunaltmıyor.
September 1, 2019
Bu zamana kadar çoğu kitapta okuduğum bu korku figürünün tarihçesini öğrenmek güzeldi. Özellikle kelime kökeni olsun, edebiyat ve sinema tarihi açısından yeri olsun gayet bilgilendiriciydi. Kitaba bayıldığımı söyleyebilirim.
December 7, 2021
It was a bit academic in it's approach (which is to be expected) but still an interesting read in analyzing the ancient myths and legends that can be linked to vampirism, as well as the more recent contributions from books, film, and TV.
April 27, 2024
There’s a lot of historic data, folklore and some science in the mix, looking at various time periods and how the idea of vampirism came to be. Though interesting, there is a bit of a condescending tone that those who believe in the supernatural are not bright.
Read
August 29, 2023Such an illuminating and interesting read. I can now ramble about vampires and gothic folklore as a party trick.
February 23, 2017
Personally didn't care for it but good information on the formation and continuance of the vampire myths.
January 7, 2011
From Demons to Dracula isn't very meaty for a book marketed as being scholarly work and would only really be of interest to someone unfamiliar with the topic. Although it gave good general overviews (the chapter on the historical Dracula was particularly good), it just sprinkled in a few details without delving very deeply. And the source citations in the endnotes were often incomplete.
Honestly, this book diasppointed me especially the chapter about the vampire in literature, which only dealt with "The Vampyre" by John Polidori, "A Fragment of a Novel" by Lord Byron, Varney, the Vampyre by James Malcolm Rymer, and "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu as forerunners to Dracula by Bram Stoker. Even if one eliminates the poetry genre, there are dozens other prose vampire stories published prior to 1897 worthy of mention. Even restricting the topic to original English language works would yield at least a dozen.
Honestly, this book diasppointed me especially the chapter about the vampire in literature, which only dealt with "The Vampyre" by John Polidori, "A Fragment of a Novel" by Lord Byron, Varney, the Vampyre by James Malcolm Rymer, and "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu as forerunners to Dracula by Bram Stoker. Even if one eliminates the poetry genre, there are dozens other prose vampire stories published prior to 1897 worthy of mention. Even restricting the topic to original English language works would yield at least a dozen.
July 27, 2013
A very enjoyable book. It tears down the vampire myth into pieces systematically and chronologically in a digestible way. Although may be a little bit shallow in certain aspects and neglects to mention major deities in the ancient civilisation as perpetrator or even an igniter if the vampire mythological stems. Discusses the difference between folkloric tales and systematic and religious myths. A valuable asset to folklorist, mythologist or even a simple horror fan library.
Read
January 2, 2011While I thought the material was very interesting, the author seems to jump around a lot and doesn't always make sense. There are numerous grammatical errors which is bothersome because that is what editors are for. The author also writes sentences that are so long you lose track of what he is talking about. I think he could have done a much better job at posing the information in a coherent way.
February 26, 2013
I loved this book. It really gets to the root of where today's vampire myths come from. It is interesting and informative. An all around great read. I'll never forget about the dancing pumpkins and vampire garden tools.
November 14, 2014
I bought this book at a literary event after hearing the author speak at a Gothic event. It's a useful exploration of the vampire mytha through history and how those myths transformed into the caped, fanged literary vampires that we know.
May 11, 2015
this book was required for me in class
it a little interesting and kind of boring
it a little interesting and kind of boring
February 22, 2016
Not that great as I expected. Historical stories are circling around on the same opinion. Also popular culture references poor.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews