Nosferatu to Edward Cullen: The Evolution of the Vampire from Monster to Sex Symbol

The vampire has always been an evil monster, but in recent pop culture he has transformed into a new character. Despite occasionally resorting back to his evil ways, he has humanity. The modern vampire, unlike, undead from the past, is not created as a one-dimensional character with the single desire of killing and drinking human’s blood. He is marketed to the audience as a half-man, half-monster who is capable of evil but chooses to live amongst and have relationships with the living. The moral compass of the new breed of vampire, their relationships with humans and super-human attractiveness objectifies the vampire as a sex symbol. There is an evolution of the vampire to the sex symbol and the three characters; Count Orlok, Spike and Edward Cullen mark the evolutionary change though the eras of vampirism. 

No, I'm the cutest!

• Video of the Nosferatu coffin scene

Count Orlok, from F. W. Murnau's 1922 German Expressionist film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror is not an object of the erotic desires attached to vampires in recent pop culture. Orlok is not a sexual figure. If anything, his appearance and one-dimensional character causes him to appear asexual. Orlok’s entire purpose is to disgust and scare the viewer, not woo them.  From his sunken eyes to elongated fingers, Orlok defines the words creepy and evil. Film theorist Enno Patalas article On the Way to ‘Nosferatu’s argues, “Count Orlok can be compared to a flesh-eating plant” (Patalas 2002), something that is seen with fear. Unlike vampires in later years, Orlok's features are never normal. When the audience is first introduced to the vampire, he is a tall, slouching, thin figure in a long dark coat. He wears a turban to cover the baldness of his pale head and the pointed bat-like flaps he has for ears. His cheeks are gaunt, his eyebrows overtly hairy and there is dark shading under his large bulging eyes. Also, his fingers are arthritis-bent and sharp. Making his hands look like they belong to a man-bat hybrid. Orlok’s deformities evoke fear and raise blood pressure, not your libido. 

Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is attractive. He is a Billy Idol-looking, leather wearing, Doc Martin steel toe kind of bad boy. Spike also, has strong muscles and a six-pack. Thus, he is the antithesis of ugly.  In the article Why Beauty Matters, writers Markus M. Mobius and Tanya S Rosenblat argue that people who are more physically attractive are more confident, thus adding to their attractiveness. They also tend to have better social skills (Mobius Rosenblat 2006).  Women like Spike because he is good-looking and has a personality. Joss Wheadon, the creator of the show, stated that Spike was originally meant as a temporary character for Buffy to kill off (Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1997-2003). The audience loved him so much that Wheadon kept Spike on as a regular. Thus, he became a vampire sex symbol. Sex symbol or not, Spike is not always his handsome self. When he gives into his monster-like tendencies, he looks the monster. Spike is never as deformed as Orlok, but he still looks scary. His brow furrows, his eyes turn a neon yellow and his vampire teeth protrude from his mouth. Spike is only good-looking sometimes. Thus, he is only a sex symbol when he looks the part.

Edward when he is feeding on animals.

Edward when he is feeding on humans.

            Edward Cullen from filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke and author Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight always looks like a human and never a monster. His features are young, stone-like and hip. Even when he kills (to save his partner, Bella), his face does not morph into an ugly vampire like Spike. Edward never loses his humanity, even in moments of violence because he is first a man who happens to have superhuman strength, mind reading powers, deadly good looks and a thirst for blood. Edward’s appearance and sense of humanity cause millions of fans to squeal and dream of his sparkling vampire body. Fans have created cult followings, such as the Twilight Moms (Twilight Mom’s Youtube Channel) and a Twilight-inspired dildo (Eby 2010). Edward is a sex symbol, and his separation from the monster makes him that symbol. Women like Edward because he is gorgeous and reliable.

Here is are links to the Twilight Mom's channel on Youtube and the Twilight dildo.
Twilight Dildo... eh.
Sexually frustrated older women.

Humans are sexy, but not as sexy as dead humans.

The traditional vampire is a false friend. He seduces a lonely, bored, distressed individual for a meal, not as a human partner. He is a one-dimensional character who thinks of one thing: blood and how to get it. Thus, there is nothing attractive about his personality. Other vampire characters in later films have some appeal that sexualizes them.  They are attractive or have a sense of humanity.

            Orlok is not a friend. He is a spook and his intentions are to scare the viewer. Orlok is inhuman, any evidence of him ever being human is moot.  His only interest is in the blood of his guest Jonathan and his young wife Ellen. Throughout the film, the comments of the vampire are limited to those involving blood. When his prey, Jonathan cuts his thumb, Orlok grabs his hand and proclaims, “Your blood, your precious blood” (Nosferatu 1922). When Jonathan shows the vampire a picture of his wife, his comment is “What a lovely throat” (Nosferatu 1922). Orlok is a monster for the sake of providing a thrill to the audience. The appeal of vampires was for the horror, not for the sexuality of the undead. Likewise, Orlok has no redeeming qualities. He cannot be a pop-culture icon for sex. There is a clear distinction between Orlok and modern vampires who have rounded characters and a sense of humanity.

Count Orlok before we see him as the vampire.

           Spike's origin supports the conflicting claims that Spike is good and evil. In the episode Fool for Love we learn, before being "sired", the term used in Buffy the Vampire Slayer for when a vampire is created, Spike was a sweet poet in love with a girl. Unfortunately, Spike’s poetry was "bloody awful" (Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1997-2003) and the love he felt was not reciprocated. The woman told Spike he was beneath her, causing him to run off into the streets of London to meet his maker. Pre-vampire, Spike was a gentleman. He wrote simple stanzas and professed his love. He also had a close relationship with his mother (Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1997-2003). Once Spike is turned he adores chaos. He gets his name from his tortuous method of killing, driving a railroad spike through his victim's heads. Spike is evil because he kills without thought and takes pleasure in it. He is a creature intended to hunt and murder. But knowing his origins and that he was once a man allows the viewer to see him in a different light. Spike is not first and foremost a vampire; he is man who also happens to be a cruel killing machine. Orlok was just a monster with no origin. The perception of Spike as a man adds to his sex appeal. His past illustrates him as a man who needs to be saved, a man with problems. In the article Why Women Really Do Love Self-Obsessed Psychopaths, it addresses the proof that many women like men that are self-obsessed and emotionally unavailable (Connor 2008). Spike is only half evil. Women adore him as they try to find the man within the monster.

Spike pre-vampire

           Edward is a three-dimensional character with a past present and future. Unlike Spike, however, Edward was always good even after becoming a vampire. There was a brief period when Edward fed on humans, but he did so as a vigilante. He justified killing humans that where murders, spousal abusers, and thieves. Even though he was feeding on criminals, Edward decided it was wrong and went back to a diet of animal blood (Twilight 2008). Edward is never a monster. He has a soul when Spike and Count Orlok are evil and soulless. Edward is very clearly not evil. Because, Edward never enjoyed killing and is not inherently evil like Spike and Count Orlok, he is attractive. Edward is a man with a conscience, thus he is trustworthy. He has character and is well rounded. Likewise, his origin and morality makes him human. Humanity makes Edward sexy.

Edward in the hospital in 1918 before turning into a vampire.

Aside from Necrophilia Women Love Danger

            Everything about Count Orlok is dangerous. From his look to his character he is terrifying. The danger that comes from Count Orlok is more than an elemental part of him it is his entire being. After staying one night in Orlok’s castle, Johnathan awakes with bite marks on his neck. Orlok is not one to seduce a human; instead he goes for the kill. Also, Orlok does not put the human in danger and then save them like later vampires. Orlok just wants their blood. 

            Spike is dangerous, he is a soulless vampire, but the danger that Spike puts other characters in is exciting and he will always try to save them. Moreover, the people Spike puts in danger can take of themselves. In Spike and Buffy’s relationship they physically fight, but Buffy is by no means defenseless. She fights back with out a problem. Thus, their fight scenes are equal, dangerous, and sexy. The viewer is on edge as they watch Buffy and Spike in the heat of passion throw one another across the room. The factor of danger provided by Spike makes him exciting and women like that (Connor 2008). However, Spike cannot always control himself and may actually kill the people he loves. Real danger is not attractive. Thus, the danger Spike provides is exciting but almost too exciting because the viewer understands that Spike is not indestructible. Spike may not save his loved ones because he is stoppable. Spike may be a strong vampire but he is not invincible like Edward.

            Edward's vampire lifestyle and friends adds an element of danger to his character. In the beginning of his and Bella's relationship, he restrains himself from drinking her blood. Though he eventually gets over wanting to eat her, there is the initial fear that he could snap at any second. The danger associated with Edward is attractive to the viewer because it drags them away from the mundane relationships in everyday life. The article Why Women Really Do Love Self-Obsessed Psychopaths, a study addresses evidence of the sexual activity of thrill-seeking, dangerous men verses the typical “nice guy”. The dangerous man generally had more partners because women seemed to be excited by the trill of a dangerous man’s lifestyle (Connor 2008). Edward is not the only thing threatening Bella's safety; other vampires want to kill her. When the vampire James bites Bella, Edward must suck the poison from her blood stream before it turns her into a vampire. The tension of the scene lies in Edward’s fear of accidently losing control when tasting Bella’s blood. Fortunately, Edward is able to save Bella’s life despite corporeal desires to drink her blood. Even though Bella’s life is always at risk, Edward keeps the thrill in their relationship by being invincible, loyal and sexy.

Check out the link to the article about how women love dangerous men.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/why-women-really-do-love-selfobsessed-psychopaths-850007.html

Love me or Eat me

Love and loyalty is a quality Count Orlok possesses. Except, Orlok’s love is for blood and his loyalty is in his commitment to feed on a particular prey. Therefore, Orlok’s love and loyalty is not on par with human values. Humans are loyal to other humans, not food. Furthermore, Orlok feeds on people and the very act of feeding on a person marks him as inhuman. Orlok is just a scary monster whose love and loyalties are contingent to the desires of something monstrous. There is nothing making Orlok attractive to the viewer. He offers nothing, except something to fear. 
 
Video of Nosferatu biting the beautiful Ellen. 

I Like Your Veins

Despite his lack of soul, Spike is loyal and capable of love. Most vampires on Buffy the Vampire Slayer are totally incapable of emotional feeling. Their sole purpose is to prey on the innocent. Spike, in contrast, shows devotion and loyalty to the ones he loves. In season two, Spike cares for his ailing love and maker Drusilla. However, his care has a negative effect on the people of Sunnydale (The town in which Buffy takes place) (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). In the episode Hard School, Spike kidnaps a girl for Drusilla to feed on and attempts to kill Buffy's boyfriend, Angel, to revive Drusilla. In later seasons after Spike has a chip planted in his brain to prevent him from harming humans, he falls in love with Buffy. His love for Buffy causes him to be loyal to her and her friends. Spike even endures extreme torture to protect Buffy’s family.  Spike is obviously capable of displaying love, but he is still a monster. When he helps Drusilla, he does it by murdering others. He falls in love with Buffy solely because he has a chip planted in his brain not allowing him attack humans. Without the cerebral microchip Spike is still soulless and would gladly resort to his monstrous vampire ways. Like Orlok, Spike does not have a soul. He is a monster. Unlike Orlok, Spike is a lesser monster because he does have a sense of humanity. He is capable of feeling and love but is also capable of evil. The unclear distinction of where the monster ends and the man starts is why Spike is not fully evolved into the modern day vampire sex symbol. Spike stands more on a middle ground along with the character Angel who struggles with the issue of fluctuating between evil and good behavior. Spike is a friend to Buffy half of the time.

Who Says You Can't Be Friends With Food?

Edward is a true friend and has pure intentions for his human, Bella. On pain of death will never leave her (Tyree 2009). He is a new breed of vampire, one that can be the protagonist.  Edward's dedication and promise to never leave his Bella is attractive to many women everywhere, especially because Edward's sense of morality causes him to refuse Bella's sexual advances until after their wedding. Author J. M. Tyree puts it eloquently when he states, "Edward is a perfect gentleman. He struggles successfully to resist smoldering jailbait come-ons, and he can move at lightning speed from driving a car to opening its passenger door for his date" (Tyree 2009). Edward is a knight in shining armor who will love his woman until the end without breaking her heart or accidently body. This quality as a true friend and lover makes Edward a sex symbol. He is a vampire that participates in a new kind of human-vampire relations, one without the blood. Unlike Orlok and Spike, Edward is not a monster in any definition; him being a vampire is minor detail of his character. Edward is not the bloodsucking, turning into bat, hideous monster like Count Orlok.