Vampires in Silent Cinema

by Gary D. Rhodes

Overview

Despite the enormous cultural impact of Nosferatu (1922) on modern entertainment, the history of vampires in silent film is largely unknown.


Vampires in Silent Cinema covers the subject from 1896-1931, reclaiming a large array of forgotten films from countries ranging from the United States and France to Hungary and Russia. Drawing on thousands of primary sources, Rhodes explores vampirism in all of its manifestations, from the supernatural undead to the natural vamp.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399525756
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	05/30/2025
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Gary D. Rhodes is Professor of Media, Oklahoma Baptist University. He is the author of Emerald Illusions: The Irish in Early American Cinema (2012), The Perils of Moviegoing in America (2012), and The Birth of the American Horror Film (2018). He is a founding editor of Horror Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. Rhodes is also the writer-director of the documentary films Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula (1997) and Banned in Oklahoma (2004).

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Foreword by E. Elias Merhige

Introduction

Chapter 1 - The First Vampire Films

Chapter 2 – Vamps

Chapter 3 – Criminals

Chapter 4 – Supernatural Vampires

Chapter 5 - Drakula halála

Chapter 6 - Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens

Chapter 7 – London after Midnight

Chapter 8 - Vampires at Home

Chapter 9 - Transformations

Editorial Reviews

At last, an account of the vampire in silent cinema that is fully researched! From Theda Bara’s sexy "vamp"; Musidora’ s criminal Irma Vep; a lost Hungarian film; through to Murnau’s Nosferatu and the lead-up to Lugosi’s "talkie," Rhodes combines the enthusiasm of a fan with the care of a scholar.

Tom Gunning

Rhodes' book is full of original information, presented affably. It entertains as well as informs. It moves through the 18th through 21st centuries, providing a history of vampire culture, and how it was presented through press, books, the stage and screen.

Plan 9 Crunch - Doug Gibson

Vampires in Silent Cinema is an invaluable resource for aficionados and scholars of early cinema. Rhodes' extensive research leaves no stone unturned and has shed light on many mysteries and misconceptions around the birth of the vampire genre. It is among the most illuminating and original books on vampires in recent memory.

Robert Eggers

Gary D. Rhodes’ work is a carefully detailed account of the vampire archetype’s journey from literary and folkloric origins to the silent screen, which explains how early visual narratives enriched the vampire’s complex and uncanny character.

Film International - Dávid Szőke

Gary D. Rhodes has done his due diligence as a researcher and is set on doing some scholarly house-cleaning, devoting his first chapter to righting the historical record. Should you be a detail-oriented fan consumed by the trials, tribulations, and transformations of the undead — a term the good professor spends some time unpacking — Vampires in Silent Cinema comes recommended.

The New York Sun - Mario Naves