From Stoker to Twilight: Evolution of Gothic Literature

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“My revenge has just begun! I spread it over centuries and time is on my side”(Stoker 366). Nearly 200 years later, 18th-century gothic novels still influence modern-day Gothic literature. Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula is highly influential in regards to modern-day Gothic literature and films. The Twilight Saga, written by Stephanie Meyers and directed by Catherine Hardwicke, is a romance series about a human girl that falls in love with a vampire named Edward. Eventually, the human love interest, Bella, becomes a vampire and the two live on together forever. The Vampire Diaries television series, written by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson, is about a town overrun by people with secret immortal lives, such as being a werewolf or vampire. There are …show more content…

Similar characteristics of vampires are evident in The Vampire Diaries, The Twilight Saga, and Stoker’s Dracula. Vampires in The Vampire Diaries become immortal, live, and die in similar ways to Stoker’s Dracula. In The Vampire Diaries, to become a vampire, a human has to die with vampire blood in their system. In the first episode, “The Return,” of season two. Caroline Forbes is in critical condition with her health and her friends, some of which are vampires, decide that to restore her health, she needs to ingest Damon, a vampire’s, blood. Katherine Pierce, the evil doppelganger of Elena, then murders Caroline to make her presence in the town known to the Salvatore Brothers. This ultimately makes Caroline a vampire. Life as an immortal being in The Vampire Diaries allows vampires to compel human minds, manipulating them. Katherine Pierce often used this technique to get what she wanted. Despite the longevity of life that has power perks, to kill the vampires, a wooden stake driven through the heart will suffice. These characteristics are apparent in Bram Stoker’s Dracula as well. Dracula compels Lucy to sleepwalk and come to him while unconscious during the night. He obtains the ability to compel or

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