Vampyrer: Dracula

Det neste innlegget er fra en gjesteskriver. Den er på engelsk, men det er vel ikke noe problem for folket der ute :) Vi beveger oss dermed litt inn på vampyrenes røtter, og Greve Dracula. Enjoy :)


VAMPIRES

So…Vampires have the last few years come back in a big way. Most of them, have been different versions inspired by the romantic vampires dreamt up by Anne Rice in her ”Vampire Chronicles” .
Anne Rices vampires where not the evil monsters of folklore, but they did adhere to many of the vampire myths/rules, and are accepted by most vampire fans.
This is in contrast to some of the ”new” vampires that have shown up. I say ”new” because, even though books like the ”Sookie Stackhouse” and the ”Twilight” series are getting some years behind them now, they have only recently become a visible part of mainstream culture.
They have sparked controversy amongst vampire fans. None more so than ”Twilight”. I think we have all heard the ”real” vampire fans utter the words: ”Vampires do not frikking sparkle!!!” more than once. And although there are valid points to be made about how the vampires in ”Twilight” are not really vampires, they have introduced these (not always) creatures of the night to a new generation of mostly young female readers. And I can not see that as a bad thing. Hopefully this will open the door for millions of people to discover the amazing world of vampires in movies, TV-series and books.
So what could be more perfect then, than for the greatest vampire of all time to make his return at just this time? What could be a more fitting time than now for Count Dracula to re-enter the stage, and claim his rightful place as the vampire of all vampires?

In 1897 Bram Stoker released his masterpiece, Dracula. Drawing inspiration from, amongst other things, John Polidoris’ book ”The Vampyre” and folklore (mainly European) like Romanian vampires named strigoi, he mixing it with the history surrounding the Romanian ruler Vlad III. Also known as Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler) and the name that directly inspired the name of Bram Stokers book, Dracula (meaning Son of the Dragon).
Dracula is one of the most important books about vampires ever written, if not one of the most influential books that have been written. It is a wonderful tale of love, lust, revenge, death and life. A must-read for any vampire fan. :)
Now, 112 years later, the official sequel to ”Dracula” has finally been released. Bram Stokers great grand nephew Dakre Stoke has collaborated with Ian Holt, one of the worlds foremost experts on Dracula, in his quest to create a sequel worthy of the original. Using notes left behind by Bram Stoker, the authors have continued the story in the spirit of the original author.
“Dracula: The Un-Dead” is the name of the book. And I hope everyone reading this, who is in some way fascinated by vampires, gets a copy and help “breathe life” into the legendary vampire count. :)


Written by: Henning Schee