In time for Halloween, Professor Hogle will explore the surprising evolution of the vampire as an immortal being and why it has has become increasingly popular as both a desirable and an ominous figure. For centuries, the mythic figure of the vampire embodied an evil immortality, bent on sucking life-blood from the living. Incorporated into 19th century Gothic fiction, this figure became symbolic of social and psychological evils, such as (sadly) the threat to "white purity" from the blood of other races, the depravity of the old-world aristocracy (as in Count Dracula), or the feared aggressiveness and greater independence of "liberated" women. But towards the end of the 20th century, the vampire-figure started to become "good" in some fictions and films. What does this recent change say about our modern social and cultural values?
