Why Vampires are Drool-Worthy
By Erica Manfred
I
fell in love with vampires in the 1980’s when I read Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. The language, the romanticism, the concept of an
entire vampire society who lived for centuries and were cursed with having to
kill to live was enthralling.
The sexiness of Rice’s vampires also made them irresistible. What red-blooded American fan of
paranormal romance doesn’t fantasize about being ravished by Lestat?
I
originally envisioned Interview with a Jewish
Vampire as a humorous essay, a funny valentine to Anne Rice’s
classic. I imagined
the scenario of a Jewish girl
meeting a Hasidic vampire on Jdate and interviewing him. He explains that he was a rabbi turned
into a vampire by Dracula, an anti-semite, who thought it was a good joke to
turn a Hasidic rabbi into a vampire because he’d be forced to drink blood which
isn’t kosher. I mentioned
the piece to a literary agent who repped a lot of paranormal novels at a journalist’s conference and she got
very enthusiastic and told me to turn it into a novel. I sat on that idea for a while,
too long a while as it happened.
I wrote the novel with the encouragement of my writer’s critique group,
but by the time I finished it, the same agent refused to look at it because
she’d decided she wanted to move on.
She didn’t want to be identified as the agent who only represents vampire
novels anymore.
With my usual finger on the pulse of the market, I tried to sell Interview with a Jewish
Vampire, just when
editors had decided that the vampire craze was over. Never mind that my book was a parody of vampire
romances with a Jewish twist, which gave it a fresh take on the genre. If the publishing world has
declared vampires over, they
cannot be resuscitated except maybe by Anne Rice, who invented the genre and
whose fans would buy the phone book if it had her name on it. But even Anne herself has moved
on from Lestat and her other vampires. She’s dabbled in angels and is now writing about
werewolves, for God’s sake.
If even Anne, the mother of all vampires, has deserted us what hope is
left?
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Is
it true? Have zombies, werewolves,
angels, shapeshifters, witches, and other supernatural creatures taken over the
fantasy market? I say NO,
vampires are NOT over. The market
for vampire fiction will never be
saturated, just like the market for romantic fiction will never be
saturated. As long as paranormal
romance is published, fans will be fascinated with vampires Vampires as romantic heroes are here to stay. A 2008 article in Newsweek
pointed out “the idea of vampire as artistic metaphor is as deathless as the
creatures themselves.”
Publishers Weekly agrees. In an article in the May 24th
2010 issue, Lucinda Dyer describes the undying popularity of vampire romance:
“There's no new way to say it, except possibly en francais, the language of love. Paranormal is le dernier cri in the romance
category—its hold on readers and publishers alike defies any logic or
explanation. In its first year it was a phase, then it became a definite trend.
Now, it's a sea change, with no evidence that the tide's waning.”
There is a lot of speculation about the
mass appeal of the vampire as romantic hero. My take is that women (and girls) love bad boys, and up
until recently bad boys in romantic fiction have mostly just been sullen and
unavailable with a hint of danger.
The danger ante in our culture has been upped by the extremes of
violence in television and other media—women who watch CSI are not easily
scared or grossed out. Twenty-first century females are hardly delicate
creatures anymore, so we’re demanding our bad boys be truly dangerous. Vampires
are not only bad, they’re scary bad--natural born killers who are also lovable,
sad and tragic. They take the bad boy archetype to a new, more thrilling,
level. However to be romantic heroes, bad boys must also have a good
side. Today’s vampires are noble;
they struggle against their impulses to kill humans. They’re also good-looking, gorgeous actually, since
vampirism improves not only longevity but looks, which is more than you can say for werewolves or zombies, who are disgusting no matter how you
spin it. Vampires
don’t kill people anymore, though they might take a taste of blood here and
there. Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight
invented the game-hunting “vegetarian” vampire. Vamps are also devoted to the women they love. In Interview With a Jewish Vampire, my vampire, Sheldon, is
a member of B.A., Bloodsuckers Anonymous which helps him control his
bloodlust. He’s also totally
devoted to Rhoda, his human enamorata.
Vampire
novels are not just for teens either.
Since the 1976 when Interview with
a Vampire started the whole trend, vampires have been popular with grown women
as well as teenagers. Anne Rice’s
series is emphatically not YA. The
Twilight series is YA but has caught
on with mothers—and grandmothers-- as well. Buffy
the Vampire Slayer was a classic TV series about high school kids, beloved
by anyone who loves good witty writing.
Just
as vampires are here to stay, so is the lighthearted, humorous version of
paranormal romance. Fans love their vampires in all varieties: mystery, romance, funny, dangerous, lovable. I’m planning to turn Interview with a Jewish
Vampire into a series, with the next installment entitled True Kosher Blood, a valentine to my
favorite vampire TV series.
Fans, stay tuned.
Erica Manfred is a freelance
journalist, humorous essayist, and author. Her most recent book is the novel, Interview with a Jewish
Vampire. She’s also
authored two non-fiction self-help books, including most recently He’s History You’re Not; Surviving Divorce
After Forty.
Her articles and essays have appeared in Cosmopolitan, The New York
Times Magazine, Ms., New Age Journal, Village Voice, Woman’s Day, SELF, Ladies
Home Journal, and many other publications. Erica lives in Woodstock, New York with her Chihuahua,
Shadow, and her daughter, Freda. Brought up by Jewish parents who spoke Yiddish
but avoided religion, she got her Jewish education at the Woodstock Jewish
Congregation which welcomes Jews from all backgrounds, from atheist to
Orthodox, to vampire.
Her website is www.ericamanfred.com,
or visit www.jewishvampire.com
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