Why vampires AND werewolves?

[2WayParadox]

Neither of them are really my thing, like Indians and their shamanism (is it shamanism? Idk, I like Genghis Kahn's shamanism though, but I digress).

My real question is: does anybody know why the two of them are combined in so many stories? Is this just coincidence? Or is there some story behind it?

 

[writeshiek33]

I don't know but if you think about it they do make great natural enemies

 

[2WayParadox]

Really? Vampires are dead and wolves are predators first, scavengers later. If you could explain why they make great natural enemies, I'd be glad to listen.

 

[Jabrosky]

Really? Vampires are dead and wolves are predators first, scavengers later.

Wolves may have evolved the ability to kill their own food, but I doubt most wild carnivores will hesitate to seize an easy meal if the opportunity arises. Even the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex wouldn't have been exempt from this trend.

On the other hand, since vampires are technically undead, they may not be so easy a meal anyway.

Not being into the whole Gothic Horror genre, I have no idea how the whole vampire/werewolf conflict became a trope. Maybe it was that Van Helsing movie from 2004, which I actually kinda liked (though I last saw it years ago). Of course we all know which book-turned-movie franchise brought it to popular consciousness within the last two decades.

Speaking of horror and the undead, did you know zombies come from African mythologies? The word may be related to the Kikongo word nzambi, meaning god or spirit, and they started out as dead people resurrected and manipulated by magicians. However, I don't think they were necessarily brain-eating cannibals who would swarm all over the place after civilization collapsed.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

I was curious, but having no strong opinion on the topic, I did a "werewolf vs. vampire" search. All it took was one image, and now my mind is made up.

The werewolf-vampire rivalry is stupid.

 

[Tom]

I think it might be because they're two of the most instantly recognizable mythological monsters in Western culture. Mythology-wise, they also originate from roughly the same area: Germany, Russia, and the smaller Germanic and Slavic countries. They've been intertwined from the beginning, and present pop culture has just reinforced their connection.

 

[2WayParadox]

I thought there would be some kind of famous book that's at the origin, or maybe a famous old story. But it's true that it might be because they're the two strongest creatures in a certain landscape, and the two strongest will inevitably clash.

You know what I would like to see more of? Necromancers. I read a short story about a necromancer, but it didn't get finished. There's such a possibility for spectacular magic there. And when I say necromancer, I mean as the MC.

 

[Hainted]

They're two Apex Predators that share the same food source(us) so it's only natural they would clash.

 

[Gryphos]

I think it all boils down to the fact that they're both 'creatures of the night'.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

@2Way, the necro MC is pretty cool.

About the werewolf-vamp rivalry, I think it makes sense because both are confined to the night. The werewolf changes at night. The vampire can't get out in the sun.

If the werewolf is confined to the night of the full moon, it seems like there would be an easy way to avoid confrontations. Maybe the vampire likes the full moon nights best because it's easiest to keep track of hours until sunrise.

 

[2WayParadox]

They're two Apex Predators that share the same food source(us) so it's only natural they would clash.

Really? I don't recall werewolves eating humans. I do recall them hurting humans because they have some kidn of aggressive bloodlust.

 

[Devor]

I thought there would be some kind of famous book that's at the origin, or maybe a famous old story.

Truthfully, I don't remember it being much of a thing before Twilight.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Truthfully, I don't remember it being much of a thing before Twilight.

Didn't the Underworld movies come before that?
I also think the Werewolf/Vampire games from White Wolf may have had something to do with it.

 

[wordwalker]

Laurell K. Hamilton, and her Anita Blake books.

Underworld is another contributor that came out a little later, and White Wolf came a few years before both, so the idea was bound to happen. But I'd give a lot of the credit to Hamilton (and it is "credit," the ten or so books before she got kinky are good reads). She did a lot to codify what we think of as urban fantasy: action hero (usually heroine), modern setting, monsters left and right, human/superhuman soap opera and sex mixed with terror and death. Urban fantasy isn't the only place to use "fur vs fang," but it's such a powerhouse it's had a real influence on every other genre too.

Also... werewolves clashing with vampires always seemed inevitable, not for in-universe reasons, but for storytelling. A lot of the appeal of both monsters was always the brand names-- great concepts, but they have a real head start over a well-written gargoyle because they're just the best known beasties. So putting two mega-tropes into a new fusion trope was only (super)natural; look how many throwaway monster movies used to be made with the title of "Monster X vs Monster Y" (or "X-ized Y-Creature"). These days we're just taking the same thing more seriously.

 

[Ireth]

You know what I would like to see more of? Necromancers. I read a short story about a necromancer, but it didn't get finished. There's such a possibility for spectacular magic there. And when I say necromancer, I mean as the MC.

I have a necromancer in one of my WIPs -- not the MC, but a major supporting character. The villains are also necromancers, so it makes for an interesting face-of when they fight in the climax.

 

[Svrtnsse]

The contrast between werewolves and vampires is also quite nice.
One the one side you have the cool, elegant, vampires with their alluring secrets and powers - and of course their immortal suffering.
On the other side you have the raging, primal, savages. The werewolves are wild and free and strong.

Both of the above have their distinct appeals.

 

[DaFlaminUnicorn]

Really? I don't recall werewolves eating humans. I do recall them hurting humans because they have some kidn of aggressive bloodlust.

Actually, according to some lore, the werewolves would eat the hearts of their victims.

 

[Jabrosky]

Actually, according to some lore, the werewolves would eat the hearts of their victims.

Aren't werewolves basically humans turning into wolves? Wolves, like other predatory mammals, would probably have no qualms about hunting humans for food if possible. Even more so if the humans didn't have boomsticks with them.

Speaking of werewolves, I always wondered how they would relate to wolves in the wild. Would a werewolf seek to join a wolf pack, and how would the wolves receive them? I imagine a werewolf who started life as a human might go through some culture shock in their struggle to assimilate into mainstream wolf society. It'd be worse than a Guatemalan Maya raised from the crib by affluent Euro-American parents and then trying to fit in with other Maya people back in Guatemala.

 

[Penpilot]

Well, I think it maybe to do with Dracula and the Wolfman were part of the classic Universal Studios stable of monsters along with Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, etc.

These movies brought those creatures to great popularity in the early 20th century and entrenched them into western pop culture. The echoes of those movies are still felt. Many kids grew up watching those movies, including myself, and well, I'm sure there have been many a kid discussion of what would happen if Dracula met the Wolfman, etc. Kids grow into adults and adult writers, and when given the opportunity, live out some of their childhood dreams on the page.

That's my theory any way.

On a side note, I hear that they're trying to reboot the Universal monster movies and do an Marvel Avengers type shared universe.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Pirates vs Ninjas?