Halloween may only be a memory, but vampires are definitely still on the mind.
With the popularity of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" at the box office (so far it's taken in more than $145 million domestically) as well as popular TV series like "The Vampire Diaries" and "True Blood" — these monsters have become everyone's favorite topic.
That's just fine with Northern Essex Community College assistant professor of English Dr. Thomas Greene.
He's the school's vampire expert (note, not slayer) and he's recently been added to the school's speaker's bureau. The topic of his presentation: "Why are Vampires Sexy?"
There are certainly no dearth of people who think of vampires as sex symbols — from the millions of teens swooning over Robert Pattinson's glittering Edward in the "Twilight" films to older women drooling over Stephen Moyer's Bill Compton in the HBO series "True Blood."
Greene thinks vampires in popular culture are here to stay. Some vampire stories are so universal, it almost seems like we've seen them before.
"Look at 'True Blood,'" Greene said. "Take out the vampires, and it's Jane Eyre."
Greene took a moment to answer a few questions about the popularity of vampires and why the legendary bloodsuckers seem to be such a staple of pop culture.
Are you really a vampire expert?
That's what they call me.
How did you become a vampire expert?
Through my graduate work. I was working on a thesis about men's secret societies in Victorian England, and that lead me to "Dracula." Once you read "Dracula" (by Bram Stoker), it's really hard not to read everything else about vampires.
Why are vampires such popular figures in fiction?
Vampires don't follow the same rules everyone else has to follow — that is why people find vampires sexy ... They are sort of like your cat. They are pure predators and don't care what you think of them. They are free to do what they want without consequences. Other people find that kind of freedom attractive.
Why have they been so enduring as legends?
Vampire legends are flexible enough to fit whatever society happens to be scared of at the moment. "Dracula" was a lot about the fear of women having too much freedom. Anne Rice's vampires were about the fear of people living on the fringes of modern society ... I guess that makes "Twilight" about the fear of out-of- control teenagers.
What would you say is your favorite vampire story?
I keep going back to "Dracula." It's really wacky, with all the strange things that happen in it. It's not what you would expect based on the Hollywood movies.
So the movies don't get it right?
I think the movies relate to the way the meaning of "Dracula" has changed. Even in the 1930s, when they did the Bella Lugosi "Dracula," it was still about the fear of women having too much freedom. When they made the Francis Ford Coppola version they had to do it with that reincarnated-love story plotline. That just shows the versatility of vampires as a symbol.
Is this interest in vampires a fad or something that will be around for a while?
It shows every sign of staying. It began when cities began. As long as there is an urban lifestyle, I think there will be vampires, too.
