THE FEMALE FASCINATION WITH FEAR: A PERSONAL JOURNEY THROUGH HORROR HISTORY'S BAD BOYS

Frankenstein postet

Relating to the latest releases in the horror/fantasy/paranormal/sci-fi genre that is blooming within the movie and television industry, it's easy to recognize the ongoing trend that is 'forbidden love'.

From one of the earliest science fiction infused with some elements of the Gothic novel as well as the Romantic movement, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, first published in 1818, we have the author's vision of the "abhorred monster" being a version of the first man in Eden, as Mary Shelley herself referred to him as 'Adam'.

One of her greatest inspirations to creating Viktor Frankenstein and his 'modern experiments in the laboratory' was not only the electrical experiments on both dead and live animals conducted by Giovanni Aldini, but also the fragments of legends from the Balkan named Fragments of a Novel written by her friend Lord Byron, that later turned into John Polidori's The Vampyre (1819). Polidori transformed the vampire from a character of in old folklore into the form that it is has been recognized mainly ever since - an aristocratic fiend who prays among high society. And it is this vampire, his hunters and vile creatures alike, that has been remodeled to fit into the young girls' hearts, all the way into the 21st century.

"How I, then a young girl, came to think of, and to dilate upon, so very hideous an idea?"
- Mary Shelley

So what is it about these literal villains that rocks the female socks? For me it's a journey back to the the haunted aristocrats of my childhood, the two-faced knights in shining armor of my adolescence and the sexy sociopaths of my adulthood life.

Illustration of Heathcliff

Every since Mr. Darcy tore down the barrier of social classes in 1813, the brooding, the haunted and the lonely wolf characteristics became attracting. Still shunned by the aristocratic society but swooned by women nonetheless. In 1847 the outcasted and rebellious Heathcliff stole every woman's heart, followed by women's swooning over the thought-to-be-domestic-abuser Mr. Rochester, also in 1847, who continued the social criticism in the Victorian era with his moody and Byronic character.

Both Mr. Darcy and Heathcliff have jumped on the bandwagon and been 'monsterfied' and 'manlified' in the lastest wave of horror/sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal literature; the classical adaptions. The half man, half vampire Mr. Darcy fights his destiny of being born as a dhampir in Regina Jeffer's Vampire Darcy's Desire from 2009. Heathcliff fights of vampires out on the wuthering heights in Sarah Gray's Wuthering Bites, only to be revealed as a vampire himself.

Influenced by Emily Gerard's Transylvania Superstitions (1885), Bram Stoker took the 15th century Rumanian vojevod Vlad Ţepeş and turned him into the literal character that came to rock the role of women in Victorian culture and challenge the sexual conventions. Although not many adolescent women were, in 1897, taken by Count Dracula, the book became more significant to modern readers than it was to contemporary Victorian readers. The literal Dracula is on one hand described as his monster self; the beast like creature taken directly from Balkan folklore, and on the other as the charming aristocrat who easily attracts women. (This is what I call a real vampire!)

The post-colonial vampire who preys on higher society can be found in several characters in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles; amongst them the 200 year old Louis de Pointe du Lac and the even older French nobleman Lestat de Lioncourt. Interview with the Vampire (1976) presents Louis telling his 200-year-long life story which has been filled with inner struggles between right and wrong, and the remorse that comes with following his primal instincts. The common theme between the bad boys who actually are attractive is their

Stefan Salvatore and Edward Cullen

The same struggles are found in Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries, written by L.J Smith, originally published in 1991. Stefan is the 500-year old male protagonist with an old soul aura but at the same time a fresh and youthful appearance. With an inner darkness that hides a rather violent past, Stefan is deeply angst and tortured by his vampirism and everything surrounding his dark, mysterious past, however, he has a strong hold on his humanity and strongly believes in justice, morals, values and doing the right thing. Anyone recognizing these traits in yet another modern vampire? Perhaps the sparkling Edward Cullen?

Basically ripping off the food consumption idea from The Vampire Diaries, Stephanie Meyer created a vegetarian vampire clan with the Cullen family in the Twilight series, first book published in 2005, re-planning their entire existence to fit into the world of humans and seeing them as their brother kin and not their prey. Totally boring? Yes.That's why I'm rooting for the viscous brother Damon Salvatore. Being scorned and betrayed by history's events in his literal self, Damon is much more arrogant and hateful towards his brother Stefan, having no attempts to be conciliatory with the latter. And how could you not love this anti-hero when he statues his love for Elena by draining Stefan half to death, telling him that Elena is his and that if Stefan ever comes between them again, Damon will kill him? Quite the romancer!

Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman

My favorite struggler in the modern world of socially adapted vampires, however, is the to totally charming character of Eric Northman in The Southern Vampire Mysteries/The Sookie Stackhouse Novels, portraited by the adorable Alexander Skarsgård in HBO's television series True Blood.

This ruthless vampire is the poster boy for bad attitude with no remorse. His 'joie de vivre' is culminated by his confidence and calculating mind, though he has a great capacity of not only loyalty, but affection, demonstrated with his progeny Pam. Eric's ruthless personalty is over-shown by his own conscience as he is faced with 'his true self' during the period in which he looses his memory and displays a soft side that would make any catholic school girl shiver under her plaid skirt.

The merciless killing definitely works for Jerry Dandridge - being aristocratic and wordly-looking like Chris Sarandon or simply sexy as hell as Colin Farrell totally floats my boat. Anytime. Showering with a complete sociopath is totally worth risking your life (and sanity) for if that psycho is named Patrick Bateman. And who could ever refuse the 'deer eye charm' from Tate Langdon, especially when he spices it up with with a rubber suit. Yummy!