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.