History Literature / TheVampyre

* DisrpoportionateRetribution: Aubrey warned a young woman's mother that Lord Ruthven had unwholesome intentions (which he believes to be sex not murder) toward her daughter. [[spoiler: Lord Ruthven still ends up killing her and then systematically destroys Aubrey's life over the course of a year.]]

''[[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6087 The Vampyre]]'' by John William Polidori, published in April 1819, was the first English prose vampire story and set off a craze of vampire fiction. It began as a [[http://www.sff.net/people/DoyleMacdonald/l_frag.htm fragment of a novel]] by Creator/LordByron and was adapted into a short story by Polidori, who had been Byron's personal physician. It was published with an attribution to Lord Byron -- probably on purpose, for the sake of selling more copies, as the misattribution stuck long after both Polidori and Byron corrected it.

The plot concerns Lord Ruthven,[[note]]In real life, a title belonging to a prominent Scottish family, among other things[[/note]] a nobleman, and Aubrey, his traveling companion. In Greece, Aubrey learns about vampires from a girl he falls in love with, who is later killed by one. Ruthven dies, and makes Aubrey swear not to tell anyone about his death for a year and a day. When Aubrey returns to England, however, he finds Ruthven [[BackFromTheDead alive and well]], and courting his sister. Aubrey falls ill under the stress of keeping his oath. He dies shortly after revealing that Ruthven is a vampire, too late to save his sister.

The plot concerns Lord Ruthven[[note]]In real life, a title belonging to a prominent Scottish family, among other things[[/note]], a nobleman, and Aubrey, his traveling companion. In Greece, Aubrey learns about vampires from a girl he falls in love with, who is later killed by one. Ruthven dies, and makes Aubrey swear not to tell anyone about his death for a year and a day. When Aubrey returns to England, however, he finds Ruthven [[BackFromTheDead alive and well]], and courting his sister. Aubrey falls ill under the stress of keeping his oath. He dies shortly after revealing that Ruthven is a vampire, too late to save his sister.

* DownerEnding

The plot concerns Lord Ruthven[[note]]In real life, a title belonging to a prominent Scottish family, among other things[[/note]], a nobleman, and Aubrey, his traveling companion. In Greece, Aubrey learns about vampires from a girl he falls in love with, who is later killed by one. Ruthven dies, and makes Aubrey swear not to tell anyone about his death for a year and a day. When Aubrey returns to England, however, he finds Ruthven [[BackFromTheDead alive and well]], and courting his sister. [[spoiler:Aubrey falls ill under the stress of keeping his oath. He dies shortly after revealing that Ruthven is a vampire, too late to save his sister.]]

* {{Plagiarism}}: Of Byron's fragment; although that's a bit unfair, as [[FanFic Polidori never intended for the story to be published]].

The plot concerns Lord Ruthven[[note]]In real life, a title belonging to a prominent Scottish family, among other things[[/note]], a nobleman, and Aubrey, his traveling companion. In Greece, Aubrey learns about vampires from a girl he falls in love with, who is later killed by one. Ruthven dies, and makes Aubrey swear not to tell anyone about his death for a year and a day. When Aubrey returns to England, however, he finds Ruthven alive and well, and courting his sister. [[spoiler:Aubrey falls ill under the stress of keeping his oath. He dies shortly after revealing that Ruthven is a vampire, too late to save his sister.]]

* GenrePopularizer: Vampire fiction.

As a matter of historical interest, Polidori wrote ''The Vampyre'' while holed up in a villa on the shores of Lake Geneva whiling away the extremely unpleasant [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer summer of 1816]] with two of Lord Byron's other friends: Percy Byssche Shelley and his wife, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. The latter produced ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' on the same trip.

[[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6087 "The Vampyre" by John William Polidori]], published in April 1819, was the first English prose vampire story and set off a craze of vampire fiction. It began as a [[http://www.sff.net/people/DoyleMacdonald/l_frag.htm fragment of a novel]] by Creator/LordByron and was adapted into a short story by Polidori, who had been Byron's personal physician. It was published with an attribution to Lord Byron -- probably on purpose, for the sake of selling more copies, as the misattribution stuck long after both Polidori and Byron corrected it.

The plot concerns Lord Ruthven[[hottip:*: In real life, a title belonging to a prominent Scottish family, among other things]], a nobleman, and Aubrey, his traveling companion. In Greece, Aubrey learns about vampires from a girl he falls in love with, who is later killed by one. Ruthven dies, and makes Aubrey swear not to tell anyone about his death for a year and a day. When Aubrey returns to England, however, he finds Ruthven alive and well, and courting his sister. [[spoiler:Aubrey falls ill under the stress of keeping his oath. He dies shortly after revealing that Ruthven is a vampire, too late to save his sister.]]

* TakeThat: Lord Ruthven is widely considered to be based on Lord Byron.
** Also one from Byron to Polidori: In an attempt to correct the misattribution of the story, Byron wrote, "I desire the responsibility of nobody’s dullness but my own."

The plot concerns Lord Ruthven[[hottip:*: In real life, a prominent Scottish family, among other things]], a nobleman, and Aubrey, his traveling companion. In Greece, Aubrey learns about vampires from a girl he falls in love with, who is later killed by one. Ruthven dies, and makes Aubrey swear not to tell anyone about his death for a year and a day. When Aubrey returns to England, however, he finds Ruthven alive and well, and courting his sister. [[spoiler:Aubrey falls ill under the stress of keeping his oath. He dies shortly after revealing that Ruthven is a vampire, too late to save his sister.]]

[[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6087 "The Vampyre" by John William Polidori]], published in April 1819, was the first English prose vampire story and set off a craze of vampire fiction. It began as a [[http://www.sff.net/people/DoyleMacdonald/l_frag.htm fragment of a novel]] by LordByron and was adapted into a short story by Polidori, who had been Byron's personal physician. It was published with an attribution to Lord Byron -- probably on purpose, for the sake of selling more copies, as the misattribution stuck long after both Polidori and Byron corrected it.

* TakeThat: Lord Ruthven is widely considered to be based on LordByron.
** Also one from Byron to Polidori: in an attempt to correct the misattribution of the story, Byron wrote, "I desire the responsibility of nobody’s dullness but my own."

The plot concerns Lord Ruthven, a nobleman, and Aubrey, his traveling companion. In Greece, Aubrey learns about vampires from a girl he falls in love with, who is later killed by one. Ruthven dies, and makes Aubrey swear not to tell anyone about his death for a year and a day. When Aubrey returns to England, however, he finds Ruthven alive and well, and courting his sister. [[spoiler:Aubrey falls ill under the stress of keeping his oath. He dies shortly after revealing that Ruthven is a vampire, too late to save his sister.]]

Has been adapted numerous times into plays, [[DerVampyr operas]], and even a [[Series/TheVampyrASoapOpera TV miniseries]].

** Second, they are different from the modern conception of fictional vampires. In particular, the idea of vampires being healed by moonlight rarely shows up in fiction (although it is present in early vampire works, particularly [[DerVampyr adaptations of "The Vampyre"]] and ''Literature/VarneyTheVampire'').

* GenreLaunch: Vampire fiction.