Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
English
Date of Award
5-2015
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Michael Cody
Committee Members
Ana Grinberg, Stanton McManus
Abstract
Since its conception in folklore and superstition, the vampire has had an innate ability to reflect the environment of the culture that creates it. Each manifestation of this being is entirely unique to the culture in which it is born. The vampire of the American South is no exception to this idea. As a region with a particularly tumultuous history, the South has been molded by many cultural influences. Religion, sexuality, and race are some of the most notable factors to have impacted the area. Many Southern authors writing vampire fiction explore the fears, stereotypes, and prejudices of the culture with the vampire characters as a means to represent and critique Southern identity. Vampires in Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, Poppy Z. Brite’s Lost Souls, Scott Nicholson’s They Hunger, Alan Ball’s True Blood, and Patrick Lussier’s Dracula 2000 all reveal something about the culture of the South.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Fowler, Lauren N., "Southerner as Other: Exploring Regional Identity through the Southern Vampire" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2495. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2495
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.