The Catalyst

By Rachel Davis, Reporter

Vampires are everywhere; just turn on the TV or check a book store, and you’ll find them. The bloodsucking supernatural beings have swept pop culture, and not just because of the season. The boom in popularity can be traced back to 2005, when Stephanie Meyer’s now famous- and in some cases infamous- novel Twilight hit US shelves. While Meyers’s book wasn’t the direct catalyst, it was one of the first of many in the creation of a new obsession. The result was a landslide of supernatural media, ranging from books, TV shows, and movies to vampire-themed weddings, complete with bats and biting the bride in lieu of the customary kiss.

But even amid the growing popularity of the Twilight series, (the first having spawned three sequels) and shows like True Blood and Vampire Diaries, the question of their sudden popularity still remains. Do vampires live up to the hype they’ve been given?

Not necessarily. According to many students, the vampire craze has overstayed its welcome, mostly due to the artistic liberties many authors and directors have taken with the subject. Long gone are the vicious, inhuman creatures characterized in the work of authors like Bram Stoker; the definition of ‘vampire’ has been gradually taken apart in modern culture. For example, the majority of the supernatural cast in Twilight consists of the very normal, albeit ‘unnaturally beautiful’ Cullen family, whose main distinctions are abnormal agility and sparkling in the sunlight.

To say that the vampires of modern fiction are somewhat removed from their precursors in Dracula and Nosferatu is an understatement, and that seems to be what troubles most otherwise content horror fans.

“They’ve taken the concept and turned it around,” said former FMHS student Veronica Volz. “Vampires aren’t interesting anymore; they’ve been watered down and prettied up too much.”

What’s the underlying problem, then? Nothing; vampires have made their rounds in the constantly-changing world of pop culture, but just like any other fad, their time is coming to an end. The only question that remains is what’s next for the horror/fantasy genre. What’s the next obsession?

“It’s time for something new,” commented Volz. “Zombies might be making a comeback."