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| 1. Any well dressed vampire can be expected to flaunt a long black cape with a large stand up collar...This attire was created by Hamilton Deane, the Irish manager who adapted Stoker's "Dracula" for stage. The cape and collar allowed the actor to turn his back on the audience, hiding the body and head before slipping through a trapdoor on the stage. The illusion was that Dracula had indeed dissapeared. 2. Sharp teeth are a modern idea. In most movies the vampires aquire two sharp fangs when they are about to drink. Vampires in folklore, however generally aren't described as having sharp teeth at all, although russian vampires are said to have sharp tongues that they puncture the skin of the victim with. 3. Mirrors are not promoted... normally. Anne Rice's Vampires fear no mirror, but then again that's "fiction". This fear can be traced back to folk lore where there was the notion that mirrors could steal souls. In some parts of Europe, when a person died, all the mirrors in the house were turned to face the wall. This same fear of soul stealing also has permeated its way through to modern times where some religions still believe that having their photo taken will steal the soul. Perhaps this is why some vampires will not appear on film. 4. A coffin is usually expected to be seen somewhere within the vicinity of a vampire. It usually has some of the dirt from the vampires original grave. In some modern accounts vampires put the dirt at the bottom of their shoes allowing them to walk during the day. This idea was especially emphasized in "Dracula" but is usually not mentioned at all in relation to modern vampire lore. |