Pod Culture [Oz]

Ep 17: De-fanged - Scary vampires are SO last century

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Episode notes

In this year's Halloween episode, we are joined again by our friend Fred as we look look at the perennial horror trope, the vampire. Flip throws out the claim that modern vampires are no longer scary, leading to them being 'de-fanged'.

We discuss the history of fanged fiction, from Polidori's s novel The Vampypre, through to Bram Stoker's Dracula, and into cinema depictions including Max Shrek and Bela Lugosi. In the late 20th century, there was a vampire resurgence, and vampires moved from antagonists to protagonists, removing the horror in the process. We discuss how this change in perspective impacted vampire stories, look at current stories beyond paranormal romances, and speculate on what the future of vampire stories might be.

Do you agree, have vampires been de-fanged?

For detailed show notes and more information about the books, tv shows, movies, roleplaying games and computer games we discuss in this episode, check out the podcast website, podcultureoz.com.