Vampire Poems
There are thousands of vampire poems, written by famous poets most notably known for their work on topics other than vampire tales, as well as amateur poets and young aspiring poets. Vampire poems were actually the first type of literature or media which explored the theme of vampirism and vampires. Vampire poetry gave way to novels, stories, and films based on vampire themes. Classic vampire poems include poems such as: “Der Vampir” by Heinrich August Ossenfelder, “The Vampyre” by John Stagg, “Les metamorphoses du Vampire” by Charles Baudelaire, “The Vampire” by Rudyard Kipling, “The Vampire Countess” and “Le Chevalier Tenebre” by Paul Feval, “The House of the Vampire” by George Sylvester Viereck, and many others. “Der Vampir” by Heinrich August Ossenfelder is actually believed to be the first vampire poem ever written. Many of these poems were written in the nineteenth or eighteenth century, where vampirism was still believed by many individuals of society, more than it is now. Poems such as John Stagg’s “The Vampyre” portray vampires as pale, blood-hungry, dark and mysterious creatures of the night, which are common characteristics of the vampires. As vampire legends and stories evolved, so did the poems. Poets began to portray vampires as not only blood-thirsty creatures of the night, but sexual beasts, and they were portrayed as attractive and alluring. Other writers include Vasile Alecsandri, Arthur Symons, Madison Cawein, who each wrote poems entitled “The Vampire”, Conrad Aiken, Thomas Hardy, Roger Johnson, Stephen Spera, and Margaret Keyes and Jeanne Youngson. Lord Byron introduced many aspects of the vampire tales that we now enjoy through “The Giaour”, written in 1813.
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