![The Birth of Horror - [?]David Henry Friston](http://images.suite101.com/1750170_com_carmilla.jpg)
They were brought to life by Lord Byron and Mary Shelley during a contest in who could create the scariest monster. In what was a way to pass the time and entertain during a summer long stay turned into the birth of two legendary literary figures whose very human issues struck a chord in all those who read the stories of the inhuman creatures.
The Holiday in Geneva
On the shores of Lake Geneva in the summer time of 1816 a party of five gathered at the Villa Diodati. The members of the party were Lord Byron, Claire Claremont, Dr John Polidori, Percy and Mary Shelley. Lord Byron is known for his poetry, mostly Don Juan. He was joined by is doctor and companion, John Polidori. Claire Claremont was Bryon’s mistress and she was joined by her step-sister Mary Shelley and Mary’s husband, Percy. Both the Shelley’s are known for their poetry and novels.
The Challenge
It was a wet and stormy weekend that prompted Lord Byron to suggest the reading of ghost stories. It was after reading a few collections that Byron suggested that each member of their party write their own story of horror. What happened that weekend changed the literary world forever. Byron wrote a small novella about a nobleman who rises from the dead. Later on Dr Polidori would use Byron’s unfinished novella and not only would the nobleman rise from the dead, but he would also have to drink the blood of others to sustain himself. Mary Shelley wrote as well of man’s desire to remain immortal, yet her creation was less of a monster and more of a creature that endeared himself to reader with his childlike innocence.
The Vampyre
Byron named his creation of his nobleman that rose from the dead a vampyre. He did not know it then, but he gave birth to a new genre in horror. Dr Polidori’s published works that he borrowed from Byron set for a movement that is still seen very much today in novels and movies. From Bram Stoker’s Dracula to the Twilight Saga, vampires are seen as misunderstood creatures of the night often lonely and brooding. In Dracula we see for the first time the vampyre as a sexual being that needs to mate as much as humans do. A form of romanticized vampyre is still seen today in the modern literary world with such books as An Interview with a Vampire and the Twilight Saga. Since 1820 the world in general has been suffering from “vampire craze” and the craze does not look as if it will end.
Prometheus
Mary Shelley’s story of the malicious Dr. Victor Frankenstein creature is a symbolic metaphor for what was happening around her during the early 1800s. Mary Shelly grew up the daughter of philosopher William Godwin. Raised in an era where women were not able to be educated without being frowned upon, Mary grew up educated and was a philosopher herself and a student of Charles and Erasmus Darwin’s theories on evolution and science. It was Erasmus’ experiments on reanimating dead matter that helped Mary to create Dr Frankenstein and his creature. In a world where body stealing was a common event for “scientific experiments” Mary was able to capture the essence of Dr Frankenstein and frighten people into thinking that their neighbors could be grave robbers trying to recreate Dr Frankenstein’s experiments.
Good VS Evil
Though both stories are in the horror genre, one creature is good whilst the other is evil. Dr Frankenstein’s creature is created and like a small child unaware of the world around him. One can liken the creation of Dr Frankenstein’s creature to that of Adam in the Garden of Eden or Allah being made from clay. The vampyre can be seen as a daemon, one who rises from the dead to drink the blood of others. Some would call this creature a succubus or a zombie, both unnatural and created from death. Good or evil, both Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula continue to amaze and entertain us to this day. They are both very iconic ranging from literature, to television and movies, to video games and apparel. It is hard to imagine a world without either.
Molly Lyons - I am an experienced writer and college student. My areas of expertise are in history and anthropology. I have been previously published in ...
