Vampires - Romantic Heroes or Bloodsucking Monsters?

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures. Although typically described as undead, a vampire could be 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, undead 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, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early Nineteenth Century. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in most cultures, the term vampire was not popularised 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, 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.

According to some sources, living vampires could be sorcerers or witches (such as some types of strigoi), or the result of a demonic contract (such as the Penanggalen and Loogaroo).

In modern times, however, the vampire is generally held to be a fictitious entity, although belief in similar vampiric creatures such as the chupacabra still persists in some cultures. Early folkloric belief in vampires has been ascribed to the ignorance of the body's process of decomposition after death and how people in pre-industrial societies tried to rationalise this, creating the figure of the vampire to explain the mysteries of death. Porphyria was also linked with legends of vampirism in the 20th century and received much media exposure, but this link has since been largely discredited.

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 provided the basis of the modern vampire legend. The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre, still popular in the 21st century, with books, films, and television shows. The vampire has since become a dominant figure in the horror genre.

Twilight is a series of four vampire-based fantasy/romance novels by the American author Stephenie Meyer. It follows the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenager who moves to Forks, Washington, and finds her life radically changed when she falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen.

The series is told primarily from Bella's point of view, with the epilogue of Eclipse and a portion of Breaking Dawn being told from the viewpoint of character Jacob Black. Midnight Sun, if published, will be a retelling of the first book, Twilight, from Edward Cullen's point of view.

The Twilight series is popular among young adults, having sold over 42 million copies worldwide

with translations into 37 different languages around the globe. The four Twilight books were the biggest selling novels of 2008 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Twilight is a 2008 American romantic-fantasy film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and based on the novel of the same name by Stephenie Meyer. The protagonists of the film are Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, who are played by Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, respectively. The premise focuses on a teenage girl and a vampire who fall in love.

The project was in development for approximately three years at Paramount Pictures before it was put into pre-production by Summit Entertainment. The novel was adapted for the screen by Melissa Rosenberg in late 2007, shortly before the 2007?2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The film was primarily shot in Washington and Oregon in early 2008. Twilight was released in theaters on November 21, 2008, and grossed US$35.7 million on its opening day. As of May 30, 2009, the film has grossed US$382,133,300 in worldwide box office and $148,771,132 in North American DVD sales. The soundtrack was released on November 4, 2008.

Edward Cullen (Category: wikt - :né|né Edward Anthony Masen) is a fictional character from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. He features in the books Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, as well as the Twilight film, and the as yet unfinished novel Midnight Sun - a re-telling of the events of Twilight from Edward's perspective. Edward is a vampire who, over the course of the Twilight series, falls in love with, marries, and has a child with Bella Swan, a human teenager who later chooses to become a vampire also. In the 2008 Twilight film, Edward is played by actor Robert Pattinson.