Revisiting the Page

Hello, I know it has been a while. However, I have been going through some of the old writing projects I had done back when I was in college. There was one that I wanted to share and it was relative to the Gothic Novel.

Anyway, it was a collaborative essay but I figure it could be interesting to share given the topic and deep research that was done to complete it.

Without further ado:

The Allure of the Vampire: Devious, Deadly and Young

           Bram Stoker’s Dracula serves as a modern adaptation of the vampire that promotes a charming and sexualized manner. The vampire is not only plagued by an overwhelming obligation to engage in the cannibalistic act of drinking his victim’s blood, but he is also acting in the sexualized manner of physically consuming his partner. The Swedish film, Let the Right One In, takes a unique approach to this long-held notion. Rather than using the powerful, masculine image of the vampire, the film embodies Eli, a female child, with this monstrous burden. Because the film, Let the Right One In, portrays a female child vampire, there is a powerful dichotomy between Eli and Lucy that contrasts their frightening qualities. Both characters are vampires, but they showcase their predator prowess in drastically different ways. By portraying Eli as a child, she is viewed with an innocent mindset; however, her intentions and actions prove devious and deadly.  In comparison to Stoker’s older, masculine image of Dracula, Eli’s existence as a child-like vampire is much more terrifying because she visibly portrays death and she lacks self-control which makes her a deadly killer.

           Considering the shared qualities of Dracula and Eli, it is important to understand the evolution of the vampire mythology that appears in Gothic/Horror novels. First, according to vampire lore, historically, these creatures are meant to be bloodless cadavers with fire-red eyes and dead white faces; in addition, vampires have long canines, blood-red lips, long fingernails, hairy palms, foul breath, and they usually possess a stench of death although they lack any signs of decay (Summers 282). Considering Stoker’s physical description of Count Dracula, his vampire is described, by Jonathan Harker, as an old man with “hairs in the centre of [his] palm” with “nails [that are] long and fine, and cut to a sharp point” and, Harker expresses that the Count’s “breath [is] rank” (Stoker 24).  With these details in place, Bram Stoker establishes the physical traits that make the Count fall into the tradition of vampire mythology.

           When it comes to the film Let the Right One In, Eli upholds the convention of the vampire since many of her attributes can be traced to Count Dracula’s own. The film emphasizes the bloodless and colorless nature of Eli through only highlighting her blood red lips. This shocking attribute makes her alluring for her victims. Although she appears to be a mere child, her lips draw in and charm her victims. Dracula is also known to have this seductive attribute. However, not all of Eli’s characteristics can be drawn directly from stories of Dracula. When Dracula goes without consuming blood, he ages. When Eli goes without consuming blood, she begins to physically rot and smell. After Eli is shown feeding on her victim’s blood, she becomes almost rejuvenated. This deliberate change makes Eli an even more terrifying vampire. Instead of simply aging, she is now connected quite literally to death. Furthermore, there is also the question of whether Eli’s femininity causes her to be more terrifying than Dracula.

           Since Oskar perceives Eli as a feminine girl, his thought of her being a blood-sucking vampire is incredible since he looks at her as an innocent child. Throughout the movie, Eli is looked upon as a girl by her friend Oskar and when she informs him that she is not a girl, he does not really believe her. However, Eli is the epitome of everything that incorporates a vampire: terrifying, violent, unmerciful and a killer. There is no real need to specify her gender because just knowing that she can overpower and drink anyone’s blood without blinking is enough. On the other hand, Bram Stoker’s female vampire, Lucy, is clearly a woman, albeit a frightening one. Essentially, Lucy’s vampirism is horrific because of who she once was and what she meant to everyone that loved her. After all, she was the beloved golden girl with the beautiful “sunny ripples” (Stoker). As a vampire, she is still a woman that has the potential of blindsiding anyone with her beauty – it is the way she is able to lure all those children as prey because Lucy’s femininity is her weapon while Eli’s is strength and fear.

              Although Eli presents herself as a strong and capable vampire, there are moments in the film when she is perceived as weak. For instance, she needs a human male to protect her and ensure that she will be regularly fed. Once her elderly caretaker is gone, she no longer has control over her actions when her blood hunger takes over, so she must find a new protector. This is why Eli continues to charm her way into Oskar’s emotions and she defends him when he is getting attacked by bullies in order to gain his trust. By the end of the film, Eli has acquired Oskar’s absolute devotion which causes him to become a lone wanderer just like herself. Essentially, Eli cannot control herself from killing people and drinking their blood which is why she needs a living caretaker to ensure her survival in a human world.

         Overall, the Swedish film, Let the Right One In, embraces a unique portrayal of the vampire since Eli appears to be a young girl that visibly lacks humanity, making her a vicious and cannibalistic killer. When the film is compared to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, some stark differences are noticed because Stoker’s vampire is older and masculine while Eli is younger and feminine. Her youthful appearance is meant to deceive audiences into underestimating her abilities. They are shocked to discover Eli’s cold-blooded and devious nature. This notion of a child-like vampire carelessly murdering victims shocks audiences into discovering the ageless and deadly universal nature of the vampire.

Works cited

Let the Right One In. Dir. Tomas Alfredson. Perf. Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson,

Per Ragnar. Sandrew Metronome, 2008. Film.

Melton, J. Gordon. Vampires: A Chronology.  http://www.afn.org/~vampires/timeline.html.          Vampire Junction, n.d. Web. 24 September 2013.

Summers, Montague. The Vampire in Lore and Legend. New York: Dover, 2001. Print.

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Eds. Nina Auerbach and David J Skal New York: Norton, 1997.            Print.

The Importance of Gothic Setting

When reading the Gothic genre, it is crucial to understand the architecture that it is named after since the narratives will often refer to a specifically detailed setting. In a way, these references are a nod to the architecture, whether or not the author realizes it.

I would like to start with some basic models:

In these images, you can see how the rounded arches turn into pointed arches with ribbed vaults. This is something that can be seen in Gothic cathedrals and castles.

Some more examples:

Just look at how exaggerated this architecture feels when you rest your eyes upon it. Doesn’t it feel like it goes on forever? It is almost as if your own imagination is able to process and grow inside of it. What if you imagined some people living here? What if you decided to use this same concept for a house? Now, you can slightly see how a haunted house might have evolved from this concept. Or, even a haunted forest could have replicated this same feeling for the same purpose. Now, imagine how authors and poets felt during the Gothic Revival period in the 19th Century. It is due to the wonders of nature, as well as the wonders of man’s inventive imagination, that allow such concepts to exist.

So, when you read a Gothic/Horror novel, pay attention to the setting. The descriptions might seem even more relevant now. Then again, the devil is in the details. Heh-heh. Get it?

Gothic Short Stories vs. Novels

Gothic novels like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula hold onto familiar archetypes while also exploring their characters’ encounters with supernatural elements. Between these two novels, there is a clear progress with the characters. In Frankenstein, Shelley shows her protagonist, Victor, descend into madness while Stoker leads a narrative that illustrates the existence of a vampire that is eventually defeated by the heroes in the novel.

Although Gothic novels have traditionally explored characters and their struggles with supernatural horrors, the short story has changed the genre by cutting back on details and relying more on fast paced concepts. For example, H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shunned House is a Gothic short story that provides the traditional archetypes found in Stoker and Shelley’s novels; however, there is a lot less detail surrounding the character’s backgrounds as well as swift conclusions.

In the beginning, H.P. Lovecraft uses setting to establish the Gothic narrative in the story by heavily describing the abandoned house that has had several consistent death occurrences throughout its history.

Early on, Lovecraft has his protagonist describe the house as “unutterably hideous” as he goes on to list the several physical attributes to the architecture, including a foul smelling fungi in the cellar (Lovecraft 189). Further, there is a description of a “vaporous corpse-light, yellow and diseased… half human and half monstrous… form” within the walls of the house (208). By showing this creature, Lovecraft relates to Dracula and Frankenstein since he has a supernatural monster in his story.

However, unlike these novels, Lovecraft’s short story does not detail this monster like Mary Shelley does for her own creature. In addition, there is no historical background for Lovecraft’s monster and there is no long, eventful description of the protagonist’s endeavor to destroy this evil existence. Overall, The Shunned House is compacted and spends its time explaining the Gothic setting as the center of horrible occurrences only to have it destroyed by the end.

Descent into Madness

The definition of horror is the ultimate strive for success that leads an individual into a blank state of mind and results in a loss of morality and reason. Even worse, when a person becomes engulfed in compulsion while trying to succeed, failure is likely to occur since a loss of self-control ultimately creates the pathway to a downfall.

This is what the protagonists in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Stephen King’s The Shining experience. Essentially, both Victor Frankenstein and Jack Torrance attempt to achieve greatness in one way or another by isolating themselves which leads them into madness.

When it comes to Mary Shelley’s protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, the compulsion to succeed as a natural philosopher represents the  definition of horror since his loss of morality becomes his downfall. An example of this is shown when Victor listens to his chemistry professor, M. Waldman, explain the failures of past scientists.

As the lecture goes on, Victor explains, in the third person, that “the soul of Frankenstein” will achieve “far more” than his predecessors by “treading in the steps already marked” (Shelley 28). From there, Victor declares that he “will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation” (Shelley 28).

With this declaration, Victor establishes his will for success which forces him into isolation when he starts to create the monster. In the end, Victor’s obsession for knowledge and exploration leads him to die as a failed scientist just like the ones before him.

Similarly, Jack Torrance is set up to fail as a protagonist because of the desperation he feels to succeed as a writer. Although Jack seeks inspiration for his writing, he also struggles with anger management and alcoholism which already creates a negative disposition for his relation to Wendy and Danny. In need of a job, Jack gets himself hired as a caretaker to the Overlook Hotel in Colorado and he accepts the position with the belief that isolation will help him accomplish his goal.

Despite Jack’s personal flaws, Mr. Ullman explains that “the winters are fantastically cruel” and the isolation that a previous caretaker experienced, while living with his family, ended in “a horrible tragedy” (King 9).  Mr. Ullman’s background information on the hotel foreshadows what is to come for Jack and his family since he is already corruptible. Ultimately, Victor Frankenstein and Jack Torrance both represent the definition of horror because they both strive for personal achievements; however, they also sacrifice their own families and lives in order to achieve these goals.

Is this trailer for The Shining maybe like the best movie trailer ever?https://t.co/vP10UtwGV1

— Tim Cassedy (@vicesimusknox) April 26, 2014

Let the Right One In

Based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, this film is one of my favorite vampire flicks because of the dark story line. Although the movie has its grotesque and horrifying features, there is a sort of innocence that goes along with it. In the beginning of the story, the audience is introduced to a boy named Oskar whom is bullied and helpless until he meets Eli, his vampire companion. Throughout the story, there is a romance and tension that builds between the two main characters until Eli’s urge to protect Oskar  leads into the climactic moment that forever changes the both of them. Overall, this book and movie is a complex story and I highly recommend it.

Terror in the Gothic novel

In Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, certain elements are used in order to establish the motifs of a gothic romance while providing scenes that evoke terror within the individual characters. According to Barbauld, terror is described to be a part of tragedy – a concept that is administered in the first chapter of Walpole’s novel. 

Essentially, chapter one of The Castle of Otranto begins with the tragic death of Manfred’s son, Conrad. In addition, Walpole uses this scene to introduce the supernatural side of the Gothic novel through the presence of a gigantic falling helmet which happens to land on Conrad, killing him instantly.

Apart from this bizarre death, Walpole presents his readers with an ancient prophecy that foreshadows the tragic and terrifying events of the novel which says “That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it” (Walpole 14).

By introducing this prophecy, Walpole establishes the impending doom that is about to strike the people that dwell in the castle of Otranto. With the combination of prophecy and tragedy, Horace Walpole fills his novel with terror through the representation of danger and fear.

With the idea of claustrophobia in mind, Walpole is able to induce panic within Manfred’s mind since his sense of freedom is confined within his own walls. On the other hand, Isabella experiences her own share of dread since she is being chased by the prince of Otranto and she too loses freedom since she is forced to flee from the castle. Between the two characters, Manfred and Isabella experience what Barbauld would describe as “the pain of terror” which promotes widespread fear throughout Horace Walpole’s novel (213).

Apart from Conrad’s death scene, The Castle of Otranto quickly moves on to another situation that evokes a feeling of terror through the use of gothic props. For example, when Manfred is pursuing Isabella, he comes across an apparition that leads him into a chamber and traps him inside it. This entrapment allows Walpole to generate fear in Manfred since the concept of claustrophobia, as well as a feeling of powerlessness to the extraordinary events around him, are overwhelming.