Long before Dracula: understand how the modern vampire 'model' emerged

When we think about vampire, Dracula is one of the first memories we have, but the figure of this being that we know today emerged long before the release of Bram Stoker's emblematic book, in 1897.

Another literary publication, launched almost a century earlier and which already spoke of metahumans with sharp canines, caused controversy in Europe and was the embryo of the modern vampire.

For editor Robert Morrison, in this publication the vision of vampires was elevated and “launched a vampire craze that after two centuries still maintains its ability to grab us by the throat”.

In one of the versions of the story, records indicate that, in 1816, the poet Lord Byron brought together a select group of people to read a selection of German texts with a ghost theme, the Fantasmagorian collection.

Among the guests were Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, Claire Clairmont and doctor John Polidori.

The birth of the modern vampire

From this meeting, the authors produced several texts that would be important for literature, such as the sketch for the classic Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, and a short story titled The Vampire, by John Polidori.

Controversy points out that, at that time, Polidori would have written another story. In fact, Mary Shelley said that the author developed a narrative about a woman with a skull head.

Furthermore, Polidori allegedly used ideas from a poem which was read by Lord Byron when he met with his friends to write the story that became famous.

(Image: Wikimedia Commons/Reproduction)

Polidori's legacy

In any case, the story “The Vampire” was officially published later, in 1819. At that time, Polidori no longer maintained a relationship with Byron.

Even so, confusion about authorship continued to accompany the text, as it was published by The New Monthly Magazine under the title “The Vampire: A Tale of Lord Byron”.

Because of this, Polidori accused the magazine of having made a serious error, as he was the only author. The narrative about the vampire was not well received by society at the time, culminating in the brief literary career by Polidori.

Despite the controversy, the work continued to reverberate for many years and paved the way for the modern idea of ​​vampires.

For some people, even though the tale was not written by Lord Byron, he was certainly an influence on the narrative.

According to Robert Morrison, the vampire Lord Ruthven, present in the plot, was clearly inspired by Lord Byron, as “the two have in common good looks, insensitivity, high position, mobility, wealth and sexual appetites sharp.”

Finally, it is known that, after Polidori's publication, many stories about vampires were written following this vision of the fantastic figure.

In fact, he may have influenced great authors, such as Edgar Allan Poe, in the short stories “Berenice” (1835) and “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839).