Bite Me! Why We Love Vampires

Hey, what about Frank Langella as Dracula, both on Broadway and in the movies? He was one sexy vampire.

Great cast, Great Writers fast moving plots in 2nd season. Lafayette character is interesting and out there like he should be as a major player. Moves quickly and is entertaining on a otherwise dull night. Does anyone over 45 remember "Stephenwolf's" "Sookie Sookie Sookie Sookie Sookie Sookie "SUE"?

You left Chris Sarandon's character from Fright Night, Jerry Dandridge, off your list of hunky movie vamps ;) I'm almost 40 and still love vampire books and movies, so I can assure all of you who are putting this off on teenage hormones and angst that you are way, way off base. It's just something that you don't understand, you may as well admit it and spare us the psychobabble.

My personal opinion as to why not just women but mainly teenagers and "tweens" have the obsessive longing of vampires is not only because of the intensity, the sexual attraction, but also because of the utterly raw passion the supernatural species shares. Especially your average teenager. (Which I am- but let me tell you I am not obsessed with vampires and in fact am disgusted with my peer's complete fascination with books such as "Twilight" and and such when they have never even cracked open Anne Rice's "the Vampire Chronicles" or Bram Stroker's - the man who started mankind's love affair with the notorious legend- "Dracula". These books, in my personal and literary opinion, put Stephanie Mayer to shame, and it's a shame that so many of my peers have not read any of them.) When they read such a book or watch such a movie, it is the fierce passion, the blood-lust even, that they long for. I mean, let's face it, does everyone (let alone anyone) lead their life with such intensity? Well, there may be some, but for probably 95% of the population, the answer is no. That is the ultimate allure of the legend: the taboo and the passion.

Stoker gets the credit. He bases his Dracula on a personage with seductive wiles, undoubtably using his close friend Oscar Wilde as a template, maintaining this friendship even after Wildes scandals rocked the British empire. A keen student of the American west, he inserts a ''Texas cowboy'' into the role of one of Lucys suitors, looking out of place in the staid British Victorian era with Winchester and ten-gallon hat. In all of the variations of Dracula, only the Germans, as befititng the dark post WWI period of the ''lost generation'' settle on a Dracula [Count Orlock] that is hideous rather than seductive [NOSFERATU 1922],with Hollywood grabbing back the sexy counts visage in DRACULA with Bela Lugosi, a tragic figure who would spend the rest of his days trying to regain the stardom achieved by his excellent work in the 1931 film and failing to do so, being typecast in ever more ridiculous forms of the legend [ i.e. ''Abbott and Costello Meet The Wolfman''] . The appearence by British film star Chris Lee jacks the seductive nature of the undead figure up several notches, with INTERNATIONAL FILMS use of the scantily-clad , large bosomed starlet victims, whose names are forgotton to film history, usually using veteran actor Peter Cushing as his foil, and onto the Frank Langella performance in the late 1970s that had female moviegoers lusting after the angular Langella.Only the later ''DRACULA'' by FF Coppola in 1992 with Gary Oldman in the lead does Dracula return largely to its Bram Stoker roots. All else, from ''Buffy'' to ''THE LOST BOYS'', is merely show biz.[although Steve Kings bloodsucker in ''SALEMS LOT'' from 1980 is patterned precisely on the older German NOSFERATU model]. Romanians remain puzzled by all of this devotion,having no such legends of their own to back Stokers play, except obscure ones from the peasantry, yet know the means to make a buck when they see it, thus offering up no end of tinny tourist ''tours'' ,t-shirts and other paraphenalia to the Transylvanian sightseer,having their very own real ''Dracula'' in the form of Romanian knight Vlad Tepes ''The Impaler''.

Um, the razor and perfume ads that this article references ARE ads- but they are for True Blood! (part of their big viral campaign for the second season) Seriously, this is NEWSWEEK! Where are the fact-checkers?

When you have someone like Alex Skarsgard on the show, you can't help but fall for his character of Eric. It's a shame Alan Ball hasn't given Alex a worthy enough Eric yet, but I'm hopeful he soon realizes Alex's talent and the vitality he brings to the show and to the role of Eric. And that he soon realizes Eric is who the fans want!

When you have someone like Alex Skarsgard on the show, you can't help but fall for his character of Eric. It's a shame Alan Ball hasn't given Alex a worthy enough Eric yet, but I'm hopeful he soon realizes Alex's talent and the vitality he brings to the show and to the role of Eric. And that he soon realizes Eric is who the fans want!