WHAT WENT WRONG

Vampires! A Primer

October 3, 2025

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  • The concept of the vampire evolved significantly, moving from reanimated corpses in Eastern European folklore, often scapegoated for disease like the plague, to the handsome, aristocratic figures popularized by John Polidori's *The Vampire* and later refined by Anne Rice. 
  • Early American vampire scares, such as the 1892 case of Mercy Brown in Exeter, Rhode Island, were rooted in misunderstandings of decomposition and diseases like tuberculosis, rabies, and porphyria. 
  • Anne Rice's *Interview with the Vampire* fundamentally shifted the genre by humanizing vampires, focusing on their internal struggles, sexuality, and ennui, setting the stage for modern interpretations seen in *Twilight* and *True Blood*. 

Segments

Mercy Brown Vampire Exhumation
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(00:00:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The 1892 exhumation of Mercy Brown in Exeter, Rhode Island, involved burning her heart and liver, which were fed to her ailing brother Edwin, based on the belief she was a vampire causing consumption.
  • Summary: In 1892, townspeople exhumed three Brown family members in Exeter, Rhode Island, believing a vampire was causing consumption, especially after Mercy Brown appeared undecomposed months after death. They burned her heart and liver, feeding them to her brother Edwin in a failed attempt to cure him. This incident was part of the larger New England vampire panic of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Podcast Introduction and Scope
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(00:03:03)
  • Key Takeaway: The episode of WHAT WENT WRONG serves as a primer on vampire evolution in folklore and pop culture, preceding an episode on Interview with the Vampire.
  • Summary: The podcast WHAT WENT WRONG introduces its primer on vampires, aiming to explore their evolution from folklore to modern pop culture. The discussion seeks to understand why this terrifying monster often appears so human. The episode is timed to honor Spooky Season and precede a dedicated discussion on Interview with the Vampire.
Ancient Origins and Upir Folklore
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(00:03:34)
  • Key Takeaway: While vampiric creatures exist globally, the modern vampire concept originated in Eastern Europe, with the earliest written record of an ‘Upir’ dating to 1047 AD.
  • Summary: Vampiric creatures appear in ancient cultures worldwide, but the recognizable vampire was born in Eastern Europe, evidenced by 9th-century Slavic folklore. The term ‘Upir’ (c. 1047 AD) may have been a euphemism, and these early entities were often reanimated corpses that caused disease and general misery, not just blood-drinking.
Disease and Early Vampire Beliefs
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(00:04:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Vampires served as scapegoats for unexplained phenomena, with medieval plague victims showing bleeding mouth blisters reinforcing the belief in vampirism.
  • Summary: Vampires were used to explain crop death, famine, and diseases like the plague, whose victims sometimes exhibited bleeding mouths, leading to the assumption of vampirism without knowledge of bacteria. Diseases like rabies (causing aggression and light aversion) and porphyria (causing dark red urine) may have contributed to early vampire markers.
Viral Cases and Debunking
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(00:06:41)
  • Key Takeaway: Documented cases like Peter Blagojevic and Arnod Powell in the 18th century legitimized vampire fears across Europe before modern medicine began debunking these occurrences as misunderstandings of decomposition.
  • Summary: Vampire fear peaked in mid-18th century Eastern Europe, spreading via soldiers’ tales of documented cases like Peter Blagojevic, whose body showed signs of arrested decomposition and mouth blood. As modern medicine emerged, these cases were increasingly understood as pathological misunderstandings, yet the concept survived by adapting to new fears.
Birth of the Modern, Suave Vampire
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(00:08:10)
  • Key Takeaway: The modern, attractive vampire archetype was established in 1819 with John Polidori’s The Vampire, featuring Lord Ruthven, inspired by a ghost story contest at Lake Geneva.
  • Summary: A cold, dark summer in 1816 at Lake Geneva inspired a ghost story contest involving Lord Byron and John Polidori. Polidori adapted Byron’s discarded idea into The Vampire (1819), introducing the handsome, aristocratic, blood-drinking Lord Ruthven. This marked the arrival of the modern, suave vampire, preceding Bram Stoker’s Dracula by decades.
Carmilla and Dracula’s Precursors
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(00:09:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1871 novella Carmilla explored themes of sexual identity and power dynamics through a lesbian vampire narrative, predating Dracula by 26 years.
  • Summary: Suave vampire narratives proliferated after Polidori, including Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (1871), which used the monster to explore sexual identity and power dynamics through a first-person victim narrative. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) cemented the bloodsucker as a pop culture phenomenon, though its origins are debated, possibly referencing syphilis fears or anti-Semitism.
Early Film Adaptations and Lugosi
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(00:14:31)
  • Key Takeaway: F.W. Murnau’s unauthorized 1922 film Nosferatu introduced the deadly nature of sunlight to vampire lore, while the 1927 Broadway play and 1931 film cemented Bella Lugosi’s iconic cape and portrayal.
  • Summary: Germany produced Nosferatu, a symphony of horror in 1922 by tweaking Dracula names, leading to a successful copyright suit by Stoker’s widow, but establishing sunlight as deadly. The 1927 stage adaptation introduced Dracula’s cape, which was carried over when Bella Lugosi starred in the 1931 talkie, leading to his lifelong typecasting.
Hammer Films and Genre Refresh
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(00:16:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Hammer Films revitalized the franchise in 1958 with Dracula, starring Christopher Lee, making the portrayal overtly sensual, bloody, and shot in Technicolor.
  • Summary: When Hollywood shifted focus, Hammer Films revived Dracula in 1958 with Christopher Lee, presenting a fast-paced, bloody, and colorful version. Lee’s Dracula emphasized sexual undertones through overt sensuality and visible fangs, contrasting sharply with the restrained 1930s portrayals. Hammer produced nine Dracula films, eventually exhausting the concept by the early 1970s.
Anne Rice’s Humanizing Influence
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(00:17:22)
  • Key Takeaway: Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (1976) humanized vampires by channeling her grief over her daughter’s death into characters grappling with addiction, regret, and the ennui of immortality.
  • Summary: Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot and Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire jolted the genre back to life in the mid-70s. Rice channeled her addiction and the loss of her daughter, Michelle, into Louis and Claudia, creating vampires who were deeply human and conflicted. Her rules broke tradition, allowing flight, animal blood consumption, and making turned individuals instantly more attractive.
Modern Vampire Tropes and Conclusion
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(00:19:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Rice’s literary vampires defined modern tropes, influencing everything from Twilight to True Blood, while recent works like Sinners suggest a return to terrifying, purely evil portrayals reflecting current political turmoil.
  • Summary: Rice’s exploration of immortality, sensuality, and community dynamics influenced subsequent works like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and True Blood. The concept of vampire families is seen in What We Do in the Shadows. However, recent media like Sinners indicates a shift back toward making vampires ancient, terrifying, and purely evil, mirroring contemporary societal fears.