Drawn to the Vampire, Part 7

I took a longer break than expected since my last Drawn to the Vampire post, though that one was met with an overwhelmingly positive reception on the interwebs. Facebook, Twitter, DeviantArt, Instagram–I still get notices from people telling me how much they liked it (including Christian Camargo, the subject of the illustration!!). OK, I’m boasting a bit, and I rarely do that. But it felt good. Moving on…

These last couple of months have been busy for me. We moved into a new house in July, and since then we’ve had numerous friends and family come to visit from the Midwest and beyond (meaning, when they come, they’re here for a while–no complaints we’ve had a blast!). We also rescued a new dog (yay!), but we don’t get to keep him (awe–he’s just not the right fit for a house with young kids). In addition, I’ve been working on a novella intended to be a companion piece to my first novel, and I’m happy to say that I’m well over half-way done. I’d love to have the first draft done by the end of this month, but we’ll see how much life I can continue to ignore to see that through. Ah, the life of a writer…

But, back to the vampires. That’s why you’re here, right? This latest addition to my list of favorite pop culture vampires is another classic. Her story predates Dracula by more than 25 years and it very likely influenced Bram Stoker‘s writing. For the uninitiated, I’d like you to meet…

Carmilla

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer and the author of the novella Carmilla about a young female vampire, set in central Europe. In addition to being a vampiric precursor to Dracula, it’s also presented as a casebook of Dr. Hesselius (along with four other tales in Le Fanu’s In a Glass Darkly), and while the doctor is not presented in the same manner as Stoker’s vampire hunter, Dr. Van Helsing, Le Fanu’s character is recognized as being the first occult doctor to appear in literature.

Le Fanu’s Carmilla is also noted for its homosexual themes, though its lesbian tone and nature are quite tame compared to the standards of today. The story begins from the perspective of a young girl named Laura, who lives with her father in a forested castle in Styria where she longs for companionship from a girl her own age. An unfortunate carraige accident leaves the stranded Carmilla in the care of Laura’s father, and the two girls seem to recognize one another from a shared childhood dream.

I’ve read this story numerous times, in both written and audiobook format. With Halloween approaching (about two weeks away as I write this), the mood always strikes me for a classic piece of gothic horror. I’ve tried watching theatrical versions of the tale, but I’ve yet to find one that had any substance. The modern producers and directors want to make it a tale of lesbian eroticism, and that’s just not what the story was. Don’t get me wrong, the lesbian tones do exist in the book, but they’re suggestive at best, and in the most heated instance quite mild. Do not turn to this novella if you’re looking for some late-night erotica–trust me, you’ll be disappointed. I should correct myself and say that there’s a YouTube series based on the book (a modern retelling) and it’s been met with a fair amount of praise. Check it out.

As far as my illustration goes, I struggled with it for months–quite literally. Looking through my digital archives, it was late May when I began working on this, and mid-June when I left off (and here we are, mid-October). I did two early versions of the illustration before I settled on a third, which is what you see here. Evelyn Nesbit, who was idealized in the early 1900s as a Gibson Girl, was the initial model for the illustration, though I felt she appeared a bit too old for the teenage Carmilla. I’m quite happy with the end result of this digital poster, though I have no desire to spend this much time on a future post.

That’s it for today. If you’re a fan of gothic horrors (and, like me, a fan of Showtime’s Penny Dreadful), you should definitely check out Carmilla, available here as a free download. And if vampires are your thing, perhaps you’ll give my own book a shot–The Well of Gilgamesh: A Wampyr Novel is available at Amazon.com. Get your copy today! [star fade]

Drawn to the Vampire, Part 6

Penny Dreadful, thank you for being a thing.

Writer and director John Logan created the series for Showtime, inspired by nineteenth-century gothic thrillers that were mass produced and sold on the cheap. You’re likely more familiar with the vintage magazines than you realize; perhaps two of the most famous serial stories to appear in the penny dreadful magazines were String of Pearls and Varney the Vampyre (the former introducing us to Sweeney Todd, “the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” the latter an early influence of author Bram Stoker, predating Dracula by more than fifty years).

The Showtime series offered a fresh take on classic literature, combining tales from many beloved gothic horrors. Logan borrowed public domain characters such as Dorian Gray, Victor Frankenstein, Van Helsing, and Dr. Jekyll, and placed them in the same setting of Victorian era London.

Showtime’s presentation of Penny Dreadful (starring Timothy Dalton, Eva Green, Josh Hartnett, Reeve Carney, Billie Piper, Harry Treadway, and Rory Kinnear) recently wrapped up after three complete and beautifully tragic seasons. And dammit if I wasn’t devastated to learn that there wouldn’t be a fourth season. Even if they felt that they’d taken the current plotlines and characters as far as they could go, the premise could easily be renewed with a whole new troupe of characters and stories from other gothic horrors. The above mentioned Sweeney Todd and Varney the Vampyre, just to name two. This series was so wonderfully written and acted; at some point, I think I’ll do a series of “Drawn to” illustrations dedicated just to this show. But for now, I’ll let my focus fall upon the ultimate antagonist of the series, and while he wasn’t physically introduced until the third act, this was possibly my favorite portrayal of this infamous figure to date.

Dracula

Mi Vampire_Dracula-Dr Sweet

Christian Camargo portrayed the iconic master vampire. The character of Dracula has appeared in film, television, and theater more times–and by more actors–than I have time to research. He’s been portrayed as mysterious. He’s been suave and sophisticated. He’s been over-the-top and mad with power, and he’s been a vicious beast without mercy. But Camargo’s portrayal combined the best of all worlds. There was a subtlety to his mystery, more aloof and indifferent than “mysterious man of the night.” But when we learn who he truly his, his power shines through without question, letting the viewers know he’s an imposing figure to be feared. Credit must be given–not only to Camargo’s acting chops–but also to the writers, art directors, and set designers to bring this character to life in a way that retained the classic appeal of Dracula while still seeming wholly original.

If you’ve yet to watch the series or don’t have access to Showtime, you can now watch seasons one and two on Netflix. So, uh, yeah. What are you waiting for? You’re still reading, which means you’re not watching. Go. Seriously. Thank me later.

That’s it for today. Until next time…

Drawn to the Vampire, Part 3

For the third installment in my Drawn to the Vampire series, I ventured back to the earliest days of cinema, offering my rendition of the infamous Count Orlok, from the 1922 silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, starring Max Schreck.

Count Orlok

This one was a blast to work on. Nosferatu is a classic vampire flick, holding a rating of 97% on Rotton Tomatoes (which ain’t too shabby). It’s a must-see film for fans of both vampires and horror. In the case of this movie, the silent nature of the film actually adds to the suspense, and Schreck’s performance as Count Orlok is wonderfully creepy.

This was originally intended to be a Dracula film, but due to issues the German production company faced obtaining the rights, they released the film as an unauthorized adaptation (changing vampire to nosferatu, and Count Dracula to Count Orlok). Stoker’s heirs sued and won, and all copies of the film were to be destroyed. Fortunately for us, some survived.

In 1979, Werner Herzog wrote and directed a stylistic remake of the film titled Nosferatu the Vampyre (or Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night, translated from German). In this version, some of the original names from Stoker’s Dracula were used, like changing the name of Count Orlok back to Count Dracula.

The image of Count Orlok, as depicted above, has been revamped throughout countless media (does that count as a pun?). Vampire: The Masquerade is a tabletop role-playing game (RPG) in the same vein as Dungeons and Dragons. One of the classes of vampire players could choose to belong to was the Nosferatu Clan, and the disturbing character descriptions are strikingly similar to the visage of Max Schreck’s Count Orlok. In 1996, Aaron Spelling produced a short-lived TV series based on the RPG titled Kindred: The Embraced, and in it actor Jeff Kober masterfully played a lead member of the Nosferatu Clan named Daedalus. I loved this show, and it’s hard to saw how long it would have lasted had the lead actor of the series, Mark Frankel, not faced an untimely death from a motorcycle accident.

That should do it for today. As always, stop back soon for the next installment of Drawn to the Vampire!