Vampires: The dark fantasy of the 18th and 19 th centuries

Immortality and erotica are the two characteristics responsible for the continuing intrigue and popularity of the undead. The vampire made its literary debut in the Graveyard poetry of the eighteenth century, and this fascinating creature had infiltrated short fiction by the beginning of the nineteenth century. Realizing the vampire\u27s versatility, writers, by the middle of the nineteenth century, began to feature the undead in novels, and, although the vampire proved a useful tool in the exploration of a variety of issues, emphasis and intrigue continued to focus on the vampire\u27s non-Christian immortality and sinful eroticism. Examining a variety of vampire works, this thesis begins with the Graveyard poetry of the eighteenth century and concludes with an indepth look at the final vampire novel of the nineteenth century—Bram Stoker\u27s Dracula—a novel that has not been out of print since first published in 1897