From glowing crosses to squirt guns full of holy water, it’s hard to find a piece of modern vampire media that doesn’t at least pay homage to the “common knowledge” that vampires are anathema to all that is holy. But this may be a more recent trope than it seems, and in this episode, Rebecca and Hannah take a metaphorical walk through the churchyard to trace the early vampire literature that established our most taken-for-granted religious tropes. They uncover the historical connection between the Catholic Church and vampirism, Hannah gets very confused thinking about Communion, and Rebecca creates a mini trivia game to test Hannah’s vampire media knowledge. Plus: the possible 19th-century inspiration for Dracula 2000, a miniseries that casts vampirism as a miracle worthy of Christ, and a YA romance written by a real-life nun. Come vamps, join us around the campfire. Major Spoilers: * Dracula by Bram Stoker, 1897 * Midnight Mass, created by Mike Flanagan, 2021 * The Curse He Chose by Allison Regina Gliot, 2025 Other media mentioned in this episode: Non-fiction * Dissertation Regarding the Vampires by Giuseppe Davanzati, 1739 * Dissertations upon the Apparitions of Angels, Dæmons, and Ghosts, and Concerning the Vampires of Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia by Dom Augustin Calmet, 1746 Fiction * “The Vampyre” by John William Polidori, 1819 * “Viy” by Nikolai Gogol, 1835 * “The Curse of the Vourdalak” by Alexis Tolstoy, 1839 * Varney the Vampire by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest, 1847 * “The Mysterious Stranger” by Karl von Wachsmann, 1854 * Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, 1872 * “A Kiss of Judas” by Julian Osgood Field, 1893 * ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, 1975 * Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, 1976 * The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, 1985 * Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton, 1993 * Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice, 1995 * “For the Blood is the Life” by Francis Marion Crawford, 1996 * Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, 2005 * New Moon by Stephenie Meyer, 2006 * Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz, 2006 * Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith, 2010 Film * Nosferatu, directed by F. W. Murnau 1922 * Dracula, directed by Terence Fisher, 1958 * Ganja & Hess, directed by Bill Gunn, 1973 * ‘Salem’s Lot, directed by Tobe Hooper, 1979 * The Lost Boys, directed by Joel Schumacher, 1987 * Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, 1992 * Dracula 2000, directed by Patrick Lussier, 2000 * Van Helsing, directed by Stephen Sommers, 2004 * Vampires vs. the Bronx, directed by Oz Rodriguez, 2020 * Morbius, directed by Daniel Espinosa, 2022 * Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, 2025 TV * Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 1997-2003 * What We Do in the Shadows, 2019-2024 * Interview with the Vampire, 2022- Additional Reading * The Vampire: A New History by Nick Groom, 2018 * Stephen Purcell, “Not Wholly Communion,” Christianity and Literature, vol 67, no. 2 (2018) * ldiko Limpar, “Vampirism as Apocalyptic Hypocrisy in Midnight Mass,” Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies, vol 31, no. 1 (2025) Want more vampire content in all your feeds? Follow us @vampirecampfirepod on Instagram and TikTok for podcast updates & vampire memes. Find us on Letterboxd and Goodreads for a peek at what we’re consuming next. Consider becoming a paid member of our Substack to get bonus episodes — the first one is available now! This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rebecca Glazer & Hannah Spiegelman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit vampirecampfirepod.substack.com/subscribe
