Nosferatu

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures regardless of them being undead or a living person. Créméné, Mythologie du Vampire, p. 89.Bunson, Vampire Encyclopedia, p. 219. ??????? ????????, ????????? ?.?., ????????? ?.?., ????????? ?.?. ?? ??., 1997.[http://web.archive.org/web/20070927212332/http://www.ber.te.ua/cgi-bin/dic/dic.php?nom=359] online article.

In folkloric tales, vampires often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance. This is markedly different from modern fictional portrayals of gaunt, pale vampires beginning in the early 19th century. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures and according to speculation by literary historian Brian Frost that the "belief in vampires and bloodsucking demons is as old as man himself," and may go back to "prehistoric times,"Frost, Brian J. The Monster with a Thousand Faces: Guises of the Vampire in Myth and Literature, Univ. of Wisconsin Press (1989) p. 3., the term vampire was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe,Silver & Ursini, The Vampire Film, pp. 22?23. although local variants were also known by different names, such as vampir (??????) in Serbia and Bulgaria, vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism.

The charismatic and sophisticated vampire of modern fiction was born in 1819 with the publication of The Vampyre by John Polidori. The story was highly successful and arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century. However, it is Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula that is remembered as the quintessential vampire novel and which provided the basis of modern vampire fiction. Dracula drew on earlier mythologies of werewolves and similar imaginary demons and "was to voice the anxieties of an age," and the "fears of late Victorian patriarchy."Sellers, Susan. Myth and Fairy Tale in Contemporary Womens Fiction'', Palgrave Macmillan (2001) p. 85.

The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre, still popular in the 21st century, with books, films, video games, and television shows. The vampire is a dominant figure in the horror genre that literary historian Susan Sellers places the current vampire myth in the "comparative safety of nightmare fantasy."

''''' (translated as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror; also known as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror or simply Nosferatu''') is a German Expressionist vampire horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok. The film, shot in 1921 and released in 1922, was in essence an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stokers Dracula, with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel (for instance, "vampire" became "Nosferatu" and "Count Dracula" became "Count Orlok". At least one English language print features title cards with the actual names from Stoker's novel including "Count Dracula").

Dracula (also known as '''Bram Stokers Dracula''')Dracula (1992) - Release dates from the Internet Movie Database is a 1992 horror-romance film-thriller produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It stars Gary Oldman as Count Dracula and Winona Ryder as Mina Harker in an ensemble cast, also featuring Anthony Hopkins as Professor Abraham Van Helsing and Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker. Dracula was greeted by a generally positive critical reception and was a box office hit. It also had a significant cultural impact, spawning a video game, a board game, a comic book adaptation, collectible cards and various action figures and model sets. The films score was composed by Wojciech Kilar and the closing theme song "Love Song for a Vampire" was written and performed by Annie Lennox.

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles is a 1994 film, based on the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. The film was directed by Neil Jordan, and stars Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, and Kirsten Dunst.

The '''Underworld series' is a series of vampire/werewolf films directed by Len Wiseman and Patrick Tatopoulos. The first film, Underworld, was released in 2003, and the second film, Category: Underworld: Evolution - , was released in 2006. A prequel, Category: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - '', was released on January 23rd, 2009. A fourth film is currently in development.

In later years, vampire stories have diversified into areas of crime, fantasy, science fiction or even chick-lit. As well as the typical fanged revenants, newer representations include aliens and even plants with vampiric abilities. Others feed on energy rather than blood.

Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (c. 1431 ? December 1476), more commonly known as the Impaler (Romanian: Vlad ?epe? ) or Dracula, was a three-time voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462.

Historically Vlad is best known for his independent policy towards the Ottoman Empire, the expansionism of which he resisted[http://www.romaniatourism.com/dracula.html Count Dracula's Legend] and for the exceedingly cruel punishment he imposed.Vlad III (ruler of Walachia)

In the English-speaking world Vlad III is perhaps most commonly known for inspiring the name of the vampire in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.Dracula