From Vlad the Devil to Nosferatu, people love vampire stories …
Dracula! We cannot help but consider a character that is world wide famous and has become a lot famous in the last decades, with the help of Irish author Bram Stocker. In 1456 Valahia is under the ruling of Vlad the 4th, named later on Vlad the Devil because of the bloody habits he had. Because his father’s name was Vlad Devil ( he was part of a special order, the one of the Dragons ), Vlad preferred to be called Dracula, whicih means “Son of the devil”. His policy put fear into valahaians, as well as into Turkish that were horrified only thinking that they might come face eto face with this sadistic character sometime. When the Turkish managed to enter Valahia, the people of Vlad fought bravely, however they ruler wanted an increased efficiency, deciding to disguise himself into a Turk. It is said, according to a Legend, that he managed to go by without people recognizing him, not even by his own people as they killed him immediately after they saw him. His dead was put on a stake. The Valahians never accepted that the great Dracula died, and this is how the story of Dracula appeared, which Stoker described excellent in his novel.
Nosferatu. This is the first character that appeared based on Stocker’s book. In 1922 the first adaptation of the novel was created, but it is not officially recognized. The name Nosferatu was preferred instead of Dracula, because the producer researched and found out that the Romanians are naming vampires like this. The character here was count Orlok, played in 1922 by Max Schrek. The movie, was very popular and Nosferatu still manages to scare many people.
Count Dracula. In 1897 In 1897, Bram Stocker fascinated the world with Dracula. The first adaptation of the book was Nosferatu, but it’s not officially recognized. Only in 1931 Dracula appeared played by Bela Lugosi. Other great actors ( Lon Chaney Jr, John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, Louis Jourdan, Klaus Kinsky, Kary Oldman, Marc Warren ) have played this role but Lugosi remains the charmer that opened the amazing series. The character is based, of course, on Vlad the Devil.
Barnabas Collins. In 1966, the US TV network ABC started a tv show entitled Dark Shadows, which was produced until 1971. The first season was not so well received, however when vampire Barnabas Collins appeared in the second season and started to use his paranormal abilities, the show became very popular in the US. Barnabas was played by Jonathon Frid.
Vampira. This character is the most famous female vampire ever.Actress Maila Nurmi started her horror career after an episode played in a tv show. There, Maila was dressed in an Halloween costume and impressed the producers, especially Charles Addams. This is how Vampira appeared, a beloved character by many people world wide. The show was produced by two TV networks, in the 50′s and 60′s.
Blacula. The african prince Mamuwalde was bitten by the Count Dracula and since then he started to go wild. The 1972 movie is practically a masterpiece, with a lot of terror. In 1973 a sequel also appeared: ” Scream Blacula, Scream”. But let’s talk about the first. Count Dracula bit the price and locked him up in a casket. He named it Blacula, mainly to make fun of him. Two centuries later, in 1972, two homosexual decorators bought the casket and sent it to Los Angeles, and once arrived there they opened it, releasing the bloody thirsty vampire. Blacula started his adventure. The first movie received the Best Horror award, in 1972.
Lestat de Lioncourt. Lestat is a beloved character from the novels of the Anne Rice author. Lestat is probably known to you from the Interview with a Vampire movie ( 1994 ) when it was played by Tom Cruise. In 2002, this terrifying character was also played by Stuart Townsend, in the The Queen of the Damned movie.
