Chasing History's Monsters [Friday, Period 1]
As soon as the students entered the Danger Shop, the lights dimmed around them. Annja and Arya appeared out of the darkness.
"Last week you watched what was considered to be a documentary on vampires," Arya said as Annja tried not to snicker. "The reason that we wanted you to see that was so that you would get a good idea about how vampires have impacted the subconscious of people down through the years."
Annja cleared her throat. "Of course, unlike most people in that ... movie ... a great many of us have either had run-ins with actual vampires, people that believe they are vampires, people that have been involved with vampires..."
"...Or people that have been bitten by Gremlins." Arya added.
It was obvious from the expressions of both teachers that they had some very strong opinions about all of those. They weren't even going to talk about a certain universe run by evil vampires.
"Therefore, unlike most people, we all know that vampires do actually exist," Annja finished. "Some are horrible monsters, some are club owners and some just want to be left the hell alone. Like with humans, there is no good or evil as a way to categorize vampires and we're glad of that."
"Vampires have been part of culture since before recorded time if certain historians are believed," Arya said as she passed out booklets of information. "In fact, from doing research, it was easy to find that Lilith was the first wife of someone named Adam and was the mother of vampires."
"However, that could also be conjecture as some people believe that Lilith was unfairly maligned in that faith." Annja frowned. "The earliest popular vampire story was the story The Vampyre which was written by John William Polidori in 1819. Now, this wasn't the first literature ever written about vampires as there had been several poems written that brought them to the forefront of human consciousness such as Lenore. While Lenore was not about a vampire, it did launch the vampire into a bit of popularity for a short time."
"While that is true, the most popular vampire story throughout the years has been Bram Stoker's book Dracula. His story about the vampire has been listed as the most popular vampire story and the one that has undergone the most adaptations into other languages and been redone for media more than any other vampire story." Arya shook her head. "I am told that some of these adaptations should never have seen the light of day."
"Trust me on this," Annja agreed. "Your assignment for this week is to compare the styles and information in The Vampyre and Dracula. What do you think are the main reasons they became so popular for their time and why did Dracula end up becoming the most famous version of the vampire?"
There was a quick discussion between the teachers and then Arya looked at all of the students with a firmness in her eyes.
"And if we hear of any of you trying to use any attacks on any of the vampires on this island that you find in these stories, detention will be the least of your worries."
Annja agreed with a nod. "There is to be no attacking of anyone by people in this class."
Really, did any of the students want to challenge these two particular teachers? They had arsenals.
"Last week you watched what was considered to be a documentary on vampires," Arya said as Annja tried not to snicker. "The reason that we wanted you to see that was so that you would get a good idea about how vampires have impacted the subconscious of people down through the years."
Annja cleared her throat. "Of course, unlike most people in that ... movie ... a great many of us have either had run-ins with actual vampires, people that believe they are vampires, people that have been involved with vampires..."
"...Or people that have been bitten by Gremlins." Arya added.
It was obvious from the expressions of both teachers that they had some very strong opinions about all of those. They weren't even going to talk about a certain universe run by evil vampires.
"Therefore, unlike most people, we all know that vampires do actually exist," Annja finished. "Some are horrible monsters, some are club owners and some just want to be left the hell alone. Like with humans, there is no good or evil as a way to categorize vampires and we're glad of that."
"Vampires have been part of culture since before recorded time if certain historians are believed," Arya said as she passed out booklets of information. "In fact, from doing research, it was easy to find that Lilith was the first wife of someone named Adam and was the mother of vampires."
"However, that could also be conjecture as some people believe that Lilith was unfairly maligned in that faith." Annja frowned. "The earliest popular vampire story was the story The Vampyre which was written by John William Polidori in 1819. Now, this wasn't the first literature ever written about vampires as there had been several poems written that brought them to the forefront of human consciousness such as Lenore. While Lenore was not about a vampire, it did launch the vampire into a bit of popularity for a short time."
"While that is true, the most popular vampire story throughout the years has been Bram Stoker's book Dracula. His story about the vampire has been listed as the most popular vampire story and the one that has undergone the most adaptations into other languages and been redone for media more than any other vampire story." Arya shook her head. "I am told that some of these adaptations should never have seen the light of day."
"Trust me on this," Annja agreed. "Your assignment for this week is to compare the styles and information in The Vampyre and Dracula. What do you think are the main reasons they became so popular for their time and why did Dracula end up becoming the most famous version of the vampire?"
There was a quick discussion between the teachers and then Arya looked at all of the students with a firmness in her eyes.
"And if we hear of any of you trying to use any attacks on any of the vampires on this island that you find in these stories, detention will be the least of your worries."
Annja agreed with a nod. "There is to be no attacking of anyone by people in this class."
Really, did any of the students want to challenge these two particular teachers? They had arsenals.