The count and the vetal: a search for origin

Abstract

Myths and legends always have some universal acceptance-from the gods to the monsters. Though every myth finds its root in its respective culture, still one cannot deny the fact that all the myths and legends of our different cultures are somehow connected. From the surface level, they have different origins. But a thorough analysis of their histories will uncover the fact that those myths and legends have many things in common despite their origins. The concept of a vampire or blood-sucking monster is one of them. To the world, Stoker's Dracula is the iconic representation of the legend and his origin lies in Transylvania. But, if we dug deep, it can be found that the origin of vampire legend may rest in our eastern cultures. Stoker himself was inspired by Indian 'Vetal’ to create his monster ‘Dracula’. In my paper, I have attempted to bring out the origin of vampire legend by analyzing the two iconic characters of ‘Count Dracula’ and ‘Vetal’ and the texts of Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and Richard Burton’s ‘Vikram and the Vampire’.