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Lesbian vampirism is a trope in early gothic horror and 20th century exploitation film. The archetype of a lesbian vampire used the fantasy genre to circumvent the heavy censorship of lesbian characters in the realm of social realism. [1]
The vampires based in Slavic mythology, the wąpierz, were said to sneak into houses at night and drink the blood of people.[ citation needed ]
Countess Elizabeth Bathory also inspired the vampire myth, and her victims were all young women. [1]
It is believed that these two early additions to vampire lore, real and fictional, have contributed to the mythology of the vampire, in particular an attraction to young, beautiful women present in modern retelling of the vampire mythos.
The portrayal of vampires has had sexual connotations since the Victorian era, but during that era it had more to do with demonising sexual behaviour. [2] The women in Victorian era vampire media were often portrayed as sexually transgressive and then punished for said transgressions. [2] As part of this moral panic, the trope of lesbian vampires appeared to reinforce heteronormativity. [2] [3]
The genre has its roots in Sheridan le Fanu's novella Carmilla about the love of a female vampire for a young woman:
Sometimes after an hour of apathy, my strange and beautiful companion would take my hand and hold it with a fond pressure, renewed again and again; blushing softly, gazing in my face with languid and burning eyes, and breathing so fast that her dress rose and fell with the tumultuous respiration. It was like the ardour of a lover; it embarrassed me; it was hateful and yet overpowering; and with gloating eyes she drew me to her, and her hot lips travelled along my cheek in kisses; and she would whisper, almost in sobs, 'You are mine, you shall be mine, and you and I are one for ever'. (Carmilla, Chapter 4). [4]
Carmilla is a constant presence in the protagonist, Laura's life. [2] Her role evolves from mother to lover, though their relationship revolves around Carmilla feeding on Laura. [2] When Carmilla is discovered later in the novella, the story plays on themes of patriarchy and homophobia as Carmilla is seen to be corrupting and tarnishing these young women. [2]
Dracula's Daughter (1936) gave the first hints of lesbian attraction in a vampire film, [5] in the scene in which the title character, portrayed by Gloria Holden, preys upon an attractive girl she has invited to her house to pose for her. [6] Universal highlighted Countess Zaleska's attraction to women in some of its original advertising for the film, using the tag line "Save the women of London from Dracula's Daughter!" [7]
Le Fanu's Carmilla was adapted by Roger Vadim as Blood and Roses in 1960. [2] Terror in the Crypt (1964) follows suit, with a portrayal of subtle lesbian attraction between a Karnstein descendant (possessed by Carmilla) and her victim. More explicit lesbian content was provided in Hammer Studios production of the Karnstein Trilogy of films loosely adapted from Carmilla. The Vampire Lovers (1970) was the first, starring Ingrid Pitt and Madeline Smith. It was a relatively straightforward re-telling of LeFanu's novella, [2] but with more overt violence and sexuality. Lust for a Vampire (1971) followed, with Yutte Stensgaard as the same character played by Pitt, returning to prey upon students at an all-girls school. This version had her falling in love with a male teacher at the school. Twins of Evil (1972) had the least "lesbian" content, with one female vampire biting a female victim on the breast. It starred real life identical twins and Playboy Playmates Madeleine and Mary Collinson. Partially due to censorship restraints from the BBFC, [8] Hammer's trilogy actually had fewer lesbian elements as it progressed.
Charles Busch's play Vampire Lesbians of Sodom is a popular example of the genre. The satirical sketch ran for over five years, making it one of the most successful off-Broadway shows of all time.
The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez features a lesbian who escapes from slavery in the 1850s and becomes inducted into a group of vampires. The novel won two Lambda Literary Awards.
Elfriede Jelinek's stage play Illness or Modern Women , a modern re-telling of Carmilla, has two lesbian vampires as its protagonists. Emily, a wife and nurse, becomes a vampire and transforms her friend, Carmilla, into a vampire as well. The two become lovers and drink the blood of children. Ultimately, they are hunted down by their husbands and murdered.
Among these in a more modern rendition is Pamela Swynford De Beaufort. In both the book series and television adaptation, Pam is portrayed as a bisexual woman who prefers women. Though most of the characters in the Southern Vampire Mysteries experiment with their sexuality, Pam is one of a dozen that falls into the LGBT category, including Sophie-Anne Leclerq and Tara Thornton, among others.
Jesús Franco's 1971 horror film Vampyros Lesbos can be considered one of the most focused exploitation films using the theme of a lesbian vampire. Vampyros Lesbos was referenced by Quentin Tarantino in his 1997 movie Jackie Brown .
A more specialized form of vampire lesbianism involves incestuous attraction, either implied or consummated. The 2007 lucha libre film Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy includes a scene involving identical-twin teenage vampire girls who express their attraction to each other as part of an attempt to lure Mil Mascaras into a three-way encounter that is actually a trap. [9]
The genre was also spoofed in the "Lesbian Vampire Lovers of Lust" episode of Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible , a comedy television series. Recent British vampire film Razor Blade Smile (1998), which presents itself partly as a series of homages to and clichés from other vampire films, includes an erotic lesbian vampire scene, as well as similar heterosexual episodes. In the 2001 film Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter , Jesus Christ fights vampires to protect lesbians from becoming a vampire. Another spoof of the genre, entitled Lesbian Vampire Killers , was released in 2009. [10] Blood of the Tribades , released in 2016, is an updated variant on the trope and was described as "a modern take on 70s Euro arthouse and Hammer lesbian vampire movies that...takes on today’s stormy political climate, religious zealotry and gender issues." [11]
Erzsébet Báthory, the historical true-life prototype of the modern lesbian vampire, appears as a character in several films—although not always with the lesbian element—including Daughters of Darkness (1971) by Belgian director Harry Kumel, Hammer Films' Countess Dracula (1971), Immoral Tales (1973) directed by Walerian Borowczyk, The Bloody Countess (Ceremonia sangrienta) (1973) directed by Jorge Grau, and Eternal (2005).
2010 animated series Adventure Time , features a main character named Marceline the Vampire Queen, who is characterized as bisexual– she has an ex-boyfriend named Ash, and it's hinted that Princess Bubblegum is also her ex. Throughout the series, it's suggested that Marceline still harbors feelings for her, but due to censorship, their romance had to remain subtextual for most of the series. Their feelings for each other were eventually explicated in the series finale "Come Along With Me", and the Adventure Time: Distant Lands episode "Obsidian" confirms that Marceline and Bubblegum have rekindled their relationship and are currently together. Marceline's characterization as a vampire who is also a same gender loving woman is unique as she is a leading protagonist and antihero rather than a depraved villain, and she is a rare example of the trope in animated media.[ citation needed ]
Carmilla is an 1872 Gothic novella by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) by 25 years. First published as a serial in The Dark Blue (1871–72), the story is narrated by a young woman preyed upon by a female vampire named Carmilla, later revealed to be Mircalla, Countess Karnstein. The character is a prototypical example of the lesbian vampire, expressing romantic desires toward the protagonist. The story is often anthologised, and has been adapted many times in film and other media.
Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales, mystery novels, and horror fiction. He was a leading ghost story writer of his time, central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. M. R. James described Le Fanu as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories". Three of his best-known works are the locked-room mystery Uncle Silas, the lesbian vampire novella Carmilla, and the historical novel The House by the Churchyard.
Ingrid Pitt was a Polish-British actress and writer, best known for her work in horror films of the 1970s.
Dracula's Daughter is a 1936 American vampire horror film produced by Universal Pictures as a sequel to the 1931 film Dracula. Directed by Lambert Hillyer from a screenplay by Garrett Fort, the film stars Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden in the title role, and Marguerite Churchill, and features, as the only cast member to return from the original, Edward Van Sloan – although his character's name was altered from "Van Helsing" to "Von Helsing".
Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptation of vampire fiction has been from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, with over 170 versions to date. Running a distant second are adaptations of the 1872 novel Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. By 2005, the Dracula character had been the subject of more films than any other fictional character except Sherlock Holmes.
The Vampire Lovers is a 1970 British Gothic horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing, George Cole, Kate O'Mara, Madeline Smith, Dawn Addams, Douglas Wilmer and Jon Finch. It was produced by Hammer Film Productions. It is based on the 1872 Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla and is the first film in the Karnstein Trilogy, the other two films being Lust for a Vampire (1971) and Twins of Evil (1971). The three films were somewhat daring for the time in explicitly depicting lesbian themes.
Erotic horror, alternately called horror erotica or dark erotica, is a term applied to works of fiction in which sensual or sexual imagery are blended with horrific overtones or story elements for the sake of sexual titillation. Horror fiction of this type is most common in literature and film. Erotic horror films are a cornerstone of Spanish and French horror.
The Karnstein Trilogy is a series of vampire films produced by Hammer Films. They are notable at the time for their daring lesbian storylines. All three films were scripted by Tudor Gates. They are related by vampires of the noble Karnstein family, and their seat Castle Karnstein near the town of Karnstein in Styria, Austria.
Countess Dracula is a 1971 British Hammer horror film directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Ingrid Pitt, Nigel Green and Lesley-Anne Down. It was produced by Alexander Paal.
Yutte Stensgaard is a Danish actress born in Thisted, Jutland, Denmark, best known for her starring role in Hammer's Lust for a Vampire (1971).
LGBT themes in horror fiction refers to sexuality in horror fiction that can often focus on LGBTQ+ characters and themes within various forms of media. It may deal with characters who are coded as or who are openly LGBTQ+, or it may deal with themes or plots that are specific to gender and sexual minorities.
Lust for a Vampire, also known as Love for a Vampire or To Love a Vampire, is a 1971 British Hammer Horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Barbara Jefford, Suzanna Leigh, Michael Johnson, and Yutte Stensgaard. It was given an R rating in the United States for some violence, gore, strong adult content and nudity. It is the second film in the Karnstein Trilogy, loosely based on the 1872 Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla. It was preceded by The Vampire Lovers (1970) and followed by Twins of Evil (1971). The three films do not form a chronological development, but use the Karnstein family as the source of the vampiric threat and were somewhat daring for the time in explicitly depicting lesbian themes.
Twins of Evil is a 1971 British horror film directed by John Hough and starring Peter Cushing, with Damien Thomas and the real-life identical twins and former Playboy Playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson.
Vampires vs. Zombies is a 2004 American independent horror film loosely based upon J. Sheridan Le Fanu's classic 1872 novel Carmilla. Unlike Le Fanu's story, however, most of the action in the film takes place inside a car. The title and cover artwork were obviously inspired by the then-current horror film Freddy vs. Jason, but the movie itself bears less resemblance to this counterpart compared to other, more blatant Asylum mockbusters. The movie was originally titled Vampires vs. Zombies, but it has since then been changed to Carmilla, the Lesbian Vampire. Vince D'Amato is the director and screenwriter of this film.
Blood and Roses is a 1960 erotic horror film directed by Roger Vadim. It is based on the novella Carmilla (1872) by Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu, shifting the book's setting in 19th-century Styria to the film's 20th-century Italy.
The influence of Countess Elizabeth Báthory in popular culture has been notable from the 18th century to the present day. Since her death, various myths and legends surrounding her story have preserved her as a prominent figure in folklore, literature, music, film, games and toys.
"Dracula's Guest" is a short story by Bram Stoker, first published in the short story collection Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914). It is believed to have been intended as the first chapter for Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, but was deleted prior to publication as the original publishers felt it was superfluous to the story.
Alucarda is a 1977 English-language Mexican supernatural horror film directed by Juan López Moctezuma, and starring Tina Romero, Claudio Brook, Susana Kamini, and David Silva. A loose adaptation of Carmilla (1872), it revolves around two teenage orphan girls living in a Catholic convent, who unleash a demonic force and become possessed.
Blood of the Tribades is a 2016 horror film directed by Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein. The script, style, and look are heavily influenced by 1970s Euro lesbian vampire films. The film is distributed in North America on VOD and DVD/Blu-ray by Launch Over and VHS by SRS Media.
The Blood of the Vampire is a Gothic novel by Florence Marryat, published in 1897. The protagonist, Harriet Brandt, is a mixed-race psychic vampire who kills unintentionally. The novel follows Harriet after she leaves a Jamaican convent for Europe, and her ill-fated attempts to integrate with Victorian society.
