Penny Dreadful "Varney the Vampire"

Τα penny dreadful ήταν περιοδικές εκδόσεις του 19ου αι., σαν κόμικς, με ιστορίες τρόμου σε συνέχειες που κόστιζαν μια πένα, προορίζονταν για τα στρώματα της εργατικής τάξης και κυκλοφορούσαν κάθε βδομάδα. Η πιο γνωστή τέτοια ιστορία ήταν ο Varney the Vampire (1845-1847), που αφορούσαν τις περιπέτειες του Sir Francis Varney, ενός βρυκόλακα που κυριαρχεί και απειλεί μια πρώην αριστοκρατική οικογένεια που ξέπεσε και καταστράφηκε οικονομικά.

Πολλές από τις σύγχρονες ιστορίες με βρυκόλακες είναι εμπνευσμένες από αυτήν. Ο Varney έχει νύχια σαν αρπακτικού, μεγάλους κυνόδοντες που αφήνουν δυο τρύπες στο λαιμό των θυμάτων, υπνωτικές ικανότητες και υπεράνθρωπη δύναμη. Επιπλέον μπορεί και κυκλοφορεί και την ημέρα και δεν φοβάται σταυρούς, σκόρδα και λοιπά βαμπιροαπωθητικά.. Γενικά φέρεται σαν κανονικός άνθρωπος, αλλά καταλαμβάνεται από βαμπιρικές τάσεις όταν η ζωτική του ενέργεια πέφτει. Επίσης προκαλεί και την συμπάθεια του αναγνώστη, μια και αν και δεν μπορεί να αντισταθεί σε αυτή την μεταμόρφωση, παρόλα αυτά την σιχαίνεται.

A penny dreadful was a type of British fiction publication in the nineteenth century that usually featured lurid serial stories appearing in parts over a number of weeks, each part costing a penny. The term, however, soon came to encompass a variety of publications that featured cheap sensational fiction, such as story papers and booklet “libraries.” The penny dreadfuls were printed on cheap pulp paper and were aimed primarily at working class adolescents. (wikipedia)

“Varney the Vampire” (1845-1847) that was published in book form in 1847. It is of epic length: the original edition runs to 868 double columned pages divided into 220 chapters. The story concerns the troubles that Sir Francis Varney, a vampire, inflicts upon the Bannerworths, a formerly wealthy family driven to ruin by their recently deceased father.

Many of today's standard vampire tropes originated in Varney: Varney has fangs, leaves two puncture wounds on the necks of his victims, has hypnotic powers, and has superhuman strength. Unlike later fictional vampires, he is able to go about in daylight and has no particular fear or loathing of crosses or garlic. He can eat and drink in human fashion as a form of disguise, but he points out that human food and drink do not agree with him. His vampirism seems to be a fit that comes on him when his vital energy begins to run low; he is a regular person between feedings. This is also the first example of the "sympathetic vampire," a vampire who loathes his condition but is nonetheless a slave to it. (wikipedia)

Anyone who wants to read the whole story will find it HERE

Vampirism

A brick in dead girl's mouth is bevieved that
it prevented her from being a vampire
(from a mass grave during plague epidemic in 1576)

Η δοξασία του βαμπίρ ή βρυκόλακα που κάποιος δεν πεθαίνει τελείως και ξυπνά κάθε τόσο για να τραφεί από το αίμα ζωντανών ή να προκαλέσει κάθε λογής αναστάτωση στον κόσμο τους, χάνεται στα βάθη των χιλιετιών και πιθανότατα είναι τόσο παλιά όσο και το ανθρώπινο είδος, τουλάχιστον από την εποχή που άρχισε να στοχάζεται πάνω στο θάνατο και σε μεταφυσικά θέματα.


Η μορφή που έχει ο βρυκόλακας ανά τους αιώνες στην τέχνη, λογοτεχνία και μυθοπλασία ποικίλει, ακόμα και με ταξικά και ερωτικά/σεξουαλικά κριτήρια, από το να είναι ένα ελεεινό ον με σάπιες σάρκες και κουρέλια να κρέμονται από τον σκελετό του (ζόμπι), μέχρι και ένας παγερός ευγενής που ζει στον πύργο του (κόμης δράκουλας), μια γυναίκα (Carmilla) ή ένας απλός άνθρωπος με αρκετά χλωμή όψη που πλανεύοντας ερωτικά το θύμα του, στην κρίσιμη στιγμή εμφανίζει τους δυο κυνόδοντες και το θολωμένο βλέμμα.


Οι δοξασίες αυτές έχουν προκαλέσει μαζικούς πανικούς και υστερίες σε πολλές περιοχές της Ευρώπης, και ειδικά στα Βαλκάνια και στην Ελλάδα, πολλά κωμικοτραγικά περιστατικά έχουν περιγραφτεί από πολλούς ξένους περιηγητές και υπάρχει πλούσιο τέτοιο υλικό σε απομνημονεύματα ή και λαογραφία. Πολλά «κριτήρια» χρησιμοποιούνταν για να αποφανθούν αν κάποιος νεκρός πρόκειται να επιστρέψει ως βρυκόλακας, (αργή αποσύνθεση, περίεργες ασθένειες άγνωστης αιτιολογίας τότε, πρόωρη ταφή, κατάρες, αδικοχαμένη ζωή, κλπ) οπότε να πράξουν τα δέοντα: πχ εκταφή και μπήξιμο πασάλου στην καρδιά, κάψιμο του πτώματος ή της καρδιάς, ευχέλαιο στον τάφο, σφήνωμα τούβλου στο στόμα, κλπ.

Max Schreck as Nosferatu in 1922 movie

Είναι τόσες πολλές οι δοξασίες και οι κωμικοτραγικές ιστορίες που έχουν καταγραφθεί που είναι κουραστικό να τις παραθέσω εδώ. Διαβάστε ΕΔΩ αποσπάσματα από το πολύτομο έργο του Κυριακου Σιμόπουλου «Ξένοι ταξιδιώτες στην Ελλάδα» οι οποίοι περιηγητές παραθέτουν πολλές τέτοιες κωμικοτραγικές περιγραφές. Επίσης αναζητείστε το μικρό βιβλίο του Montague Summers «Ο Ελλην Βρυκόλαξ» σε ελληνική έκδοση, όπου αναφέρει επίσης πολλές δοξασίες από την αρχαιότητα μέχρι σήμερα στη χώρα μας για τους βρυκόλακες.

Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula in 1931 movie.

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures and according to speculation by literary historian Brian Frost that the "belief in vampires and bloodsucking demons is as old as man himself", and may go back to "prehistoric times", the term vampire was not popularized until the early 18th century.

Christopher Lee as Count Dracula

Τhe notion of vampirism has existed for millennia; cultures such as the Mesopotamians (including the demoness Lilith and the Edimmu of Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian mythology), Hebrews, Ancient Greeks, and Romans had tales of demons and spirits which are considered precursors to modern vampires. However, despite the occurrence of vampire-like creatures in these ancient civilizations, the folklore for the entity we know today as the vampire originates almost exclusively from early 18th century South-eastern Europe, when oral traditions of many ethnic groups of the region were recorded and published. In most cases, vampires are revenants of evil beings, suicide victims, or witches, but they can also be created by a malevolent spirit possessing a corpse or by being bitten by a vampire. Belief in such legends became so pervasive that in some areas it caused mass hysteria and even public executions of people believed to be vampires.

William Mortensen (1897 - 1965), The Vampire

It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the folkloric vampire, though there are several elements common to many European legends. Vampires were usually reported as bloated in appearance, and ruddy, purplish, or dark in colour; these characteristics were often attributed to the recent drinking of blood. Indeed, blood was often seen seeping from the mouth and nose when one was seen in its shroud or coffin and its left eye was often open. It would be clad in the linen shroud it was buried in, and its teeth, hair, and nails may have grown somewhat, though in general fangs were not a feature. More in Wikipedia

Boris Vallejo, Epic fantasy, part 3

Boris Vallejo (born January 8, 1941) is a Peruvian-born American painter. He emigrated to the United States in 1964, and he currently resides in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He frequently works with Julie Bell, his wife, painter and model.

Vallejo works almost exclusively in the fantasy and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have graced the covers of dozens of science fiction paperbacks and are featured in a series of best-selling glossy calendars. Subjects of his paintings are typically gods, monsters, and well-muscled male and female barbarians engaged in battle. Some of his male figures were modeled by Vallejo himself, and many of his later female characters were modeled by his wife. His latest works still retain heavy fantasy elements, but lean more towards the erotic rather than pure fantasy themes. (wikipedia)

Here is his personal site

Album: Irrational Anthems, Band: Skyclad, (1996)

Maybe the most famous folk metal band with great music and clever lyrics about paganism, environmentalism, politics, social issues, etc. In this album they use more folk elements lowering their heavy tempo compared with their previous works. I present nearly the whole album:

Two nearly identical Danse macabre paintings in Germany and Esthonia

H εκκλησία της Αγιας Μαρίας στο Lubeck της Γερμανίας είχε μια ολοκληρωμένη ακολουθία Danse Macabre τοιχογραφίας, γύρω στα 30 μέτρα μήκος. Επειδή όμως αυτή καταστράφηκε τελέιως κατά τη διάρκεια του βομβαρδισμού της πόλης το 1942, γνωρίζουμε για αυτή την τοιχογραφία από παλιότερες ζωγραφιές της και ασπρόμαυρες φωτό πριν το 1942

Η εκκλησία του Αγίου Νικολάου στο Τάλλιν της Εσθονίας έχει μια σχεδόν ταυτόσημη Danse Macabre ακολουθία, μόνο που σώζονται μόνο γύρω στα 7-8 μέτρα από αυτό λόγω καταστροφής του από την υγρασία.

Η ομοιότητά τους είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή τόσο στην ακολουθία και στάση των μορφών, όσο και στο περιεχόμενο των κειμένων που βρίσκονται από κάτω. Ετσι, θεωρήθηκε λανθασμένα ότι έγιναν και τα δυο από τον ίδιο καλλιτέχνη. Αλλά υπάρχουν και διαφορές σε γλωσσικά ιδιώματα στα κείμενα, αλλά και στον φόντο της τοιχογραφίας. Συνεπώς, πέραν του γεγονότος ότι υπάρχει φανερή έμπνευση ή και αντιγραφή, οι δημιουργοί τους είναι διαφορετικοί.

Εδώ μπορείτε να διαβάσετε λεπτομερή περιγραφή αυτών των τοιχογραφιών και παράθεση των σωζόμενων κειμένων για να γίνει κατανοητό το μακάβριο και ειρωνικό πνεύμα αυτών των θεματικών μοτίβων.

St Mary’s Church in Lubeck-Germany had a complete Danse Macabre wall-painting about 30 meters long. Because this painting was completely destroyed during the famous bombardment of the city in 1942, all we know about it is from older drawings and black-white photos taken before 1942.

St Nikolai Church in Tallin-Esthonia had a nearly identical Danse macabre painting, but today only a length of about 7-8 meters exists, because of irreversible withering.

The similarity of these paintings is striking either in the sequence and position of the forms, or in the structure and content of the texts below them. So it was considered that they have been created by the same artist. But there are many differences too, as in some linguistic forms of the texts below them, and in the background of the painting. So, no matter that there is an obvious inspiration and copying of the style, the artists were different.

Here there is a detailed presentation of these Danse macabre paintings and you can read the texts below each form in order to comprehend the black ironic attitude in such motifs

Below the remnants of the St Nikolai Church in Tallin. Check their striking similarities with the above:

various "memento mori", "danse macabre" illustrations

We have discussed Danse macabre and Memento mori motives posting the more representative of the kind painitings or engravings . Let's see more of them, focusing in women's vanity and coquetry.

E.-H. Langlois. Essai Historique, Philosophique et
Pittoresque sur les Danses des Morts, 1852, Plate Frontispiece.

Beauty's Lot

Adorn'd with Tates, I well could Boast,
Of Tons and Macaronys Toast;
I once was Fair, Young Frisky, Gay
Could please with songs and Dance the Hay
Bells reflect Ye Mortals see,
As I now am so you will be
Published in London in 1778

Bernardino Genga, 1691
Anatomia per Uso et Intelligenza del Disegno

Album: Forth Dimension, band: Stratovarius (1995)

The famous finnish power/prog metal band with many interesting melodic albums. Personally I consider this album as their best and most progressive work. More in wikipedia

Album: Aegis, Band: Theatre of Tragedy (1998)

Probably their best work and a classic gothic metal album. More in metal archives

Luis Royo, Epic-Gothic Fantasy art, Part 3

Luis Royo (born in 1954 in Olalla, Spain) is a Spanish artist, known for his darkly sensual paintings of women and mechanical life forms. He has also recently started doing sculptures of some of his earlier art. He was born in Olalla, a small town near Teruel, Spain. He has produced many paintings for his own books/exhibitions, and has also produced art for various other media: videogames, CD album covers, comic book covers, and Tarot cards. He is most famous for his work doing illustrations of Julie Strain for the animated movie Heavy Metal (www.madcowkaz.co.uk). Visit his site: www.luisroyo.com