(Dirty Subject)

Okay, were all grew up watching the traditional vampire movies; Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing, etc.

One of the main things was that a vampire always had to be in his coffin with a small amount of the dirt from his origins.

But, as time progresses, it seems like this has changed a little. For instance, think of "Lost Boys" (great flick IMHO); they hung out in caves (no coffins, no dirt). Now think  Spike on "Buffy"; he can go out in daytime (if he hides from direct sunlight). Plus, he lives not in his orig. coffin/dirt.

There are other flicks where it seems as if vampires are 'evolving'. Also, was there any mention of Barnabas having dirt with him? Did he ever 'stay the night' not in a coffin (as a vampire)?

Patti

Seems to me that Barnabas always had to get back to his coffin by sunrise, and so did every other vampire on Dark Shadows.  Weren't there even a couple (Tom Jennings, Roxanne) who were destroyed by being kept out of their coffins and exposed to sunlight?  I don't remember Barnabas ever having to take a dirt nap, except for the time Julia and Willie thought he had died from the Dream Curse and buried him in the woods near the Old House.  And of course he was originally buried in the secret room of the mausoleum, maybe below ground level, but certainly not in any dirt.

Yeah, Patti - it really does seem as if vampires in literature (and on film) are changing with the times and evolving.  I always find it interesting when new authors (and filmmakers) put a new spin or create a new mythos for their particular version of that most fascinating of night creatures, the vampire.

I wonder where the idea came from that a vampire had to sleep in the earth in which s/he was originally buried?  Does anybody know?  Maybe it's from Dracula or some eastern European legend.  You hardly ever see this in anything made recently.  The last time I remember seeing anything about dirt in a vampire movie was the Dracula made by Francis Ford Coppola in the early '90s.

 I could be wrong but I seem to recall the novel Dracula mentioned the dirt.  I'm trying to think if Nospheratu also mentioned dirt --- I just can't remember.

True, vampires do seem to be evolving.  I guess a lot of the old rules makes them seemingly easier to kill, and therefore less threatening.  Barn was so vulnerable during the day, Spike & Angel much less so.  Heck, Spike was often awake in the afternoon and sometimes watched Passions with Buffy's mom 
It seems a lot of monsters are evolving.  The recent zombie flick (I think it was a remake of Dawn of the Dead) had the zombies running around like cheetahs, making them much more deadly than the ultra-slow Romero shufflers.

On DS they did make use of this old legend in one short plot arc (it lasted a couple of episodes) during 1897.  I think we're still a couple of months away from those shows.

The legend about the vampire needing to have earth from his burial plot with him does indeed come from Dracula, and I imagine Bram Stoker found it amongst the materials in the British Museum he studied as research for his novel.  If you checked through the books by Montague Summers, The Vampire in Europe and The Vampire: His Kith and Kin, you could probably find some citations about this.  

Graveyard soil has a number of magickal uses in the US "root-doctoring" or "hoodoo" lore of the Deep South (this is a major source for so-called "New Orleans Voodoo").  This doesn't really relate to vampire lore, but I thought I would mention it anyway.

Anne Rice is different from the old writers such as Stoker, M. R. James, Rider Haggard, et al in that she simply invents things rather than researching.  Her views on ancient Egyptian culture in Queen of the Damned and Cleopatra could most tactfully be described as highly original fantasy.  ... backs slowly away from Steve's pet rant territory....

G.

Yeah, Patti - it really does seem as if vampires in literature (and on film) are changing with the times and evolving.

    

Yeah -- all except one.  Let's see....he lives in the past, can't even get a friggin' telephone, walks like he has a hanger in his shirt....
Oh wait - doesn't need a phone.  Aren't all vampires telepathic?  (Or as Beavis and Butthead would say, "telepathetic") 
If he'd had a telephone he wouldn't have had to speak into the air all the time when he was talking to all his Josette clones and various victims.

    

Anne Rice is different from the old writers such as Stoker, M. R. James, Rider Haggard, et al in that she simply invents things rather than researching.  Her views on ancient Egyptian culture in Queen of the Damned and Cleopatra could most tactfully be described as highly original fantasy.

All things considered, Steve, I'd rather have Anne Rice inventing things out of whole cloth than taking serious scholarship and making a hash out of it. 

[spoiler]I recall Barnabas ordering Charity Trask to sneak into the Old House with her pretty little handbag and scoop up some dirt from the celler and take it to  him at the Trask school... I believe it did take a while but alas Charity was able to give Barnabas his little bit of earth and everyone was happy....  [/spoiler]

The Marilyn Ross Dark Shadows novels had Barnabas carrying around bags of Maine earth with him, which he placed in his coffin. Of course, in the Ross Dark Shadows novels, any resemblance between his Barnabas and the show's Barnabas was entirely coincidental.

in some novels it seems the older the vampire the less he has to worry
about some of these things
anne rice i agree does make her own thingsup but since they are works
of fiction (as vampires are?) doesn't bother me
i love when she does the body switch and Lestat is alive again and
has to eat and, well,use the little boy's room and it freaks him out
because it has been so long since he had been "alive"
  jennifer

remember just before the dr.lang story began...barnabas and vicki were going to "go away" together and there was talk of a ship due to set sail before sunrise.but where was he going to "go"?he couldn't be away from the old house cellar at this point in the show(no dirt seen).and he required julia or willie(or someone)to look out for him during the day but neither were involved in this plan.

but which buriel site contained b.'s "sacred ground"?the museleum or the old house?

other than this show i know almost nothing about vampire lore(believe it or not).

GhostofSarahCollins  nice to see you!! Thanks, I had forgotten about Charity/Pansy.

Jennifer...vampires FICTIONAL?? Helloooooooooo? 

mscrbryk....very good point...3some on holiday....different topic, different board!!

Patti

[spoiler]I recall Barnabas ordering Charity Trask to sneak into the Old House with her pretty little handbag and scoop up some dirt from the celler and take it to  him at the Trask school... I believe it did take a while but alas Charity was able to give Barnabas his little bit of earth and everyone was happy....  [/spoiler]

      What I meant to reply was that in some way Barnabas was able to acquire a bit of earth for his resting place at one time...

GhostofSarahCollins  nice to see you!! Thanks, I had forgotten about Charity/Pansy.

Jennifer...vampires FICTIONAL?? Helloooooooooo? 

mscrbryk....very good point...3some on holiday....different topic, different board!!

Patti

Patti lol  the only vampires i know are agents for pro athletes( blood sucking leeches!)
well i could add a few MDS and lawyers i know!

jennifer 

Of course vampires are real.  We just don't call them vampires anymore.

Now, we put them in charge and let them run things.

And we call them politicians.

More.....

Perhaps I have FVMM (faulty vampire movie memory), but, I thought vamps say "No" to alcohol....

I could swear in my minds eye I can see Bela Lugosi saying he doesn't imbibe, but I think I can also see him sipping a glass of wine.

Barn, of course, served his claret cups.

What got me thinking about this, the other day on "Buffy", Spike (heretothough called 'Huba Huba') was wasted because Drew (heretothough called 'Skank') had left him.

How could a vampire get drunk?

Is there some mention that there is no heart beat? (Which, of course if true, you couldn't get drunk, because the booze wouldn't flow to system.)

Anybody???

Huba-Huba

Patti