They’re dark, mysterious, and incredibly alluring. We, humans, can’t seem to stay away from them – or stop making films and TV shows about them. They possess more influence on pop culture than probably any other kind of mythical creatures. We’re talking about vampires, of course. Once feared and revered, these days they are loved and desired. Whether they’re drinking Tru Blood or sparkling in the sun, we can’t get enough of them.
Vampires have been around for centuries, even before they arrived to cinema and to our television screens. They date back as far as the 18th century, as the subject of gothic poetry and literature, including the classic 1897 Bram Stoker novel, Dracula.
The popularity of the creatures has caught on as a major trend – especially in the last few years, when book series like Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight and Charlaine Harris’ The Southern Vampire Mysteries (on which the show True Blood is based), gained a huge following.
Many movies and television shows were made about vampires – such as the cult series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel, True Blood, Being Human, Twilight, Dracula, Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Diaries. The list goes on and on, and they they just keep coming. But we have to admit that the female vampires are the ones who truly make these films and shows as popular and great as they are.
From the cold and calculating Pam De Beaufort on True Blood, to the kind-hearted Elena on The Vampire Diaries – female vampires make for the most interesting characters. They all possess the complexities of combining their strong female side with the killer instincts of a vampire. Sometimes they become cruel and conniving, and sometimes sympathetic and kind towards humans – but they’re always powerful, outspoken, and brave.
The first woman-vampire, and one of the oldest vampires in literature, was Carmilla. Written by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Carmilla is about a female vampire who preys on young women. The novella was the inspiration for many creations, including Dracula and Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire.
These fierce vampire women have made people fall in love with them, regardless if they were fans of the vampire genre or not. Armed with an admirable sense of survival and a lovely set of fangs – they fought, they loved, they despised, and they killed. But they mostly made for some pretty good creations.
So let’s sink our teeth into some of the greatest female vampires on film and television – and take a look at what these ladies are like in their real, human lives.
[post_page_title]Claire Holt as Rebekah Mikaelson – The Originals[/post_page_title]
Rebekah is one of the original vampires on The Vampire Diaries, and later in its spin-off series, The Originals. She’s very vulnerable, but difficult life circumstances made her spiteful and sometimes even cruel. She’s also stubborn and vindictive, but that’s what we love about her. Rebekah never had a choice at becoming a vampire, and she wishes she could become human again. As an original vampire, she’s stronger than regular vampires, but her relationship with her fellow original-vampire brothers has always been complicated.
