When Did Vampires Become So Sexy?

There are various legends around and it is difficult to cover each one. Some of them have no souls, so no reflections. Others have reflections and can step out in to the sunlight--sparkling Twilight vampires for instance? But let's not get bogged down by the legends and focus on just how they became so sexy.

When you think about the first time that vampires became sexy, it is common to think about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was a show about The Slayer, who was The Chosen One. She would rid the world of vampires, but fell in love with one with a soul, Angel. Angel was the tall, dark and handsome (if not slightly pale) stranger who helped warn her of evil in the town and finally revealed that he was the thing she was supposed to kill.

However, this wasn’t the first time that vampires were supposed to make women fall head over heels in love. The first dates as far back as 1819. Yes, really! Lord Ruthven was the vampire that all women wanted to be bitten by. After that came Varney the Vampire, another man that women fell for. It was only after this in 1890 that Dracula was finally written. Bram Stoker’s character was written with these predecessors in mind.

During the 1800s, vampires were all gentlemen of their time. They would dress in smart clothing, so much that they would have women falling at their feet. After all, who would want to fall for a man dressed in rags? It would not be realistic for the storyline of the time.

This takes us to the vampires of today. While they’re not the gentlemen of this time in the way they dress and always act, they are sexy. They look hot with their washboard abs. In fact, it looks like they’ve stepped off the cover of a magazine. Think of the likes of Damon and Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries and Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

How many popular vampires can you name that don’t look hot? How many can you name that don’t look like they’ve just stepped out of your TV screen? Very few!

But none of this makes up for the fact that these are dead men walking around! Some of them are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old.

It was thanks to Stoker that this view of vampires really hit off. Dracula is now the first vampire that many think of at first, especially when thinking about a gentleman. He was seductive and had the appeal of the darkness. He was a predator at the time that women wanted to be courted, and a time that society dictated that men made the first move.

Over time that has changed. Women can now make the first move and can be the breadwinners, but it hasn’t stopped the vampires from being sexy. The vampires have just changed with the times, while still offering that promise of immortality.

Angel wasn’t the first vampire with a soul. Well, not in the sense of a vampire wanting to be good. During the 1960s, Dark Shadows was first aired. Those who don’t know of the TV show may have heard of the Johnny Depp movie of the same name. Both involved the same vampire, Barnabas, who suddenly found himself in a different century and had to learn a lot of new things.

For the TV show, it was the turning point of vampires. Before all this, the aim was to kill them by the end. However, people loved the characters. It was a chance to give them a soul and to make them question whether they could be something different to the blood-sucking fiends that they have always been perceived as. From there, Anne Rice took it a step further with Interview With a Vampire, and then along came Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Vampire Diaries.

It has all been the fans. Those who love the characters have been the ones to make them sexy. Without the fans, Barnabas in Dark Shadows would have ended up with a stake through his chest. There would have been no Louis in Interview With a Vampire (sorry, Brad Pitt) and Angel wouldn’t have made an appearance.

Before the 1960s, vampires were the predators. It made sense for them to be sophisticated and make people want them. It brought a sense of trust and desire so the vampire could attack discretely, quickly and easily. However, the fans turned them into love interests. They have led to the use of them in love stories.

However, none of this takes away the truth that vampires are undead men searching for blood. They are parasites without a heartbeat. When you consider that, how could they ever be sexy? But somehow the fans look past all that and just see the men on their TV screens or in their minds to make vampires sexy.

By the way, the same is working with werewolves. People now view them as sexy men by day and wolves on the full moon. Without the fans, they would have remained cursed creatures.