My Roommate Is a Vampire

Vampires have long captured mankind’s imagination; they exist in virtually all folklore globally. The vampire is a creature that survives by feasting on the essence of the living, and that essence is typically blood. The first mentions of the vampire date to ancient times, though the word “vampire” did not occur until later. Demons that drink blood or consume human flesh exist broadly across the ancient world (e.g., ghouls in Arabian culture, strix in Ancient Roman mythology, Estries in Jewish folklore, and more). However, the contemporary understanding of the vampire emerged in the 18th century during the European vampire panic that swept through much of Southern and Eastern Europe.

Some of the earliest examples of 18th-century mass vampire hysteria are Petar Blagojević and Arnold Paole, two Serbian men that were accused of returning as vampires after their deaths in the early-mid 1700s. Government officials from the Habsburg dynasty examined the bodies and investigated, while many scholars decreed that vampires did not exist. This, however, did not stop the hysteria from spreading, especially in rural communities. People dug up and staked the bodies of those they believed to be vampires. Some scholars believe that rabies or premature burial of still-alive people contributed to the continued prevalence of the vampire myth.

Traditionally, vampires were thought to have bloated and ruddy skin with long nails and hair, but elongated fangs were a later addition to vampiric lore. Vampires were thought to be created in numerous ways, including an animal jumping over a recently deceased corpse, someone dying with a wound not treated by boiling water, or someone dying after rebelling against the Orthodox church. To prevent bodies rising as vampires, villagers would often bury bodies facedown, severing the knee tendons of the corpse, placing crosses or Christian messages on or near the body, or putting seeds or rice near the grave in the belief that the vampire would have to count them before attacking anyone. To kill a vampire, the most common method was staking in Slavic countries, while Germanic countries favored decapitation.

While the belief that vampires were real eventually faded from popularity by the 19th century, the vampire’s presence in literature became more prevalent. The first notable example was John Polidori’s 1819 short story The Vampyre, which features the diabolical vampire Lord Ruthven, who torments the innocent aristocrat Aubrey. Perhaps the most famous vampire novel is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, published 75 years after The Vampyre. Dracula features some of the more modern ideas of vampirism, including fear of the sun, bloodlust, and the vampire’s ability to turn others into vampires with a bite. 

In contemporary culture, the vampire is characterized as having pale skin, fangs, an aversion to sunlight and garlic, charismatic personalities, and an insatiable thirst for blood. Modern literature still has a fixation with vampires, especially vampire romance narratives, as illustrated by the success of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series. Levine’s novel My Roommate is a Vampire follows in Meyer’s tradition of vampire romance, though it is more light-hearted and comedic than Twilight. Other notable examples of recent vampire literature include Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, and Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot.