The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

WE ARE WHAT we fear. Our chosen monsters change over time: the creatures featured in film and fiction reflect shifts in the zeitgeist. In some decades, the boogeyman is economic; in others, he channels fears about physical health. The 2010s saw a resurgence in religious and folk horror, our fear of witches and dolls refracting deep-rooted cultural and political misogyny. As we entered 2020, however, it quickly became apparent that an old adversary was back in town. In the first weeks of January, vampires seemed to be everywhere.

Their sudden reappearance comes after a short exile. For the past two centuries, as required, vampires have faded and risen again in cultural consciousness. Most recently, they imploded at the end of the 2000s amid a cloud of twilit glitter. Somewhere between Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) (tagline: “Love never dies”) and the sweaty polyamory of HBO’s True Blood (2008–2014), once unholy fiends shapeshifted from throat-ripping reprobates into French-kissing flirts. As members of a bad boy brotherhood, they rode the decade’s mixed messaging about sexuality to the top of the romance charts. Thrilling vampire action involved less staking and beheading, more letting the right one in — through the bedroom door.

Full article @ www.lareviewofbooks.org/article/stake-not-the-undead-vampires-in-the-2020s/