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Megan Reid
English 1101 / K. Redding
Composition 1: Comparison / Contrast
28 June 2016
The Portrayal of Eternal Life: Vampires vs. Zombies
Popular culture highlights powerful gifts of monsters included in entertainment such as
the Twilight saga or AMCs The Walking Dead. The way authors and film directors depict
vampires and zombies, even though they are contrasting, cause fans to be attracted to them.
Included in Andrew J. Hoffmans Monsters are two essays that discuss the origins of vampires
and zombies and how the popularity, attraction, and repulsion of the two has evolved. Why
Vampires Never Die by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan focuses on the evolution of
vampire entertainment, and answers the question why horror fans are attracted to these creatures.
Similarly, My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead by Chuck Klosterman
also writes on the topic of the evolution of popularity of zombies, but discusses the fear that
zombies represent and how it is relatable to the audience. For example, vampires are attractive to
horror fans because fans can relate to vampire characters, and even strive to be like them. On the
contrary, zombies are attractive to fans because zombies are not complex monsters, meaning it is
easy for fans to relate to the fears zombies represent and to imagine themselves slaughtering
them. Although there are many reasons to be attracted to vampires and zombies, the intriguing
trait that the two monsters share is the gift of eternal life. Why Vampires Never Die by
Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan and My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather
Undead by Chuck Klosterman describe the origin and evolution of vampires and zombies. The
difference lies in how the monsters are presented to popular culture because vampire characters

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have the power to be attractive, whereas zombies are not developed enough to cause attraction on
that level. This distinction bears exploration because both monsters represent the power of
eternal life, but also the fear of the realities of eternal life.
The origins of vampires and zombies describe the creation of the two monsters, even
though they contrast in many ways. In Why Vampires Never Die the authors recognize that
vampire myths are ancient. They develop this argument by stating, The vampire may originate
from a repressed memory we had as primates (del Toro and Hogan 37). In ancient myths, the
ability to live forever is recognized as something unpleasant, but as vampires have evolved they
influence fans to recognize eternal life as something desirable. In regards to zombies, Chuck
Klosterman writes Mainstream interest in zombies has steadily risen over the past 40 years
(40). According to Klosterman, unlike vampires, there are no stories about zombies from
centuries ago, but upon becoming popular, zombies represent the harsh reality of eternal life.
Del Toro and Hogan state that writers such as Polidori and Stoker contributed to the
origin of vampires. The Vampyre by John William Polidori gave birth to the two main branches
of vampiric fiction: the vampire as romantic hero, and the vampire as undead monster (del Toro
and Hogan 36). After Polidoris time, Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, which expands vampires from
being only evil creatures into sexual beings as well. Following these works of literature, authors
and film directors have developed vampires into beautiful creatures, which cause fans to become
attracted to them. As vampires have become popular, fans desire the eternal life that the monster
represents. On the other hand, the origin of zombies is not complex. Zombies have been
displayed in movies and TV shows in which they wear blank stares, groan, and eat brains.
Klosterman writes, There are slow zombies, and there are fast zombies--thats pretty much the
spectrum of zombie diversity (Klosterman 40). This quote strengthens the point that zombies

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are not complex creatures. As fans watch movies and TV shows about zombies, they are repulsed
by the gift of eternal life because they observe brainless zombies who seem miserable.
The origins of vampires and zombies contribute to the way popular culture views them.
Vampires represent the desire of eternal life, while zombies represent the torture that comes with
the curse of eternal life. The origin of these monsters plays an important role in their evolution
because it shapes the opinions that horror fans form regarding vampires and zombies.
Literary and on-screen examples convey that vampires and zombies have evolved over
time. From Polidoris The Vampyre to Twilight, vampires have evolved into relatable characters
that have developed personalities. In Why Vampires Never Die, the authors write As a
seductive figure, the vampire is as flexible and polyvalent as ever (del Toro and Hogan 37). This
quote explains how vampires have evolved into versatile creatures that attract a wide range of
audiences. Vampires have always been relatable creatures, which allows fans to connect with
vampire characters, thus representing the attraction towards being a vampire and having eternal
life. In contrast, zombies are not complex creatures; therefore, zombie characters are not
developed, nor are they relatable to horror fans. Klosterman explores this idea in his essay by
writing, You cant add much depth to a creature who cant talk, doesnt think and whose only
motive is the consumption of flesh (40). Because zombies lack personalities and feelings, they
represent how eternal life has its downsides. Zombies cannot evolve to function amongst
humans, so they are trapped in an eternal life of loneliness and wandering.
Since Polidoris The Vampyre, vampires have evolved into characters that have developed
personalities allowing horror fans to like or dislike them. In the Twilight saga, for example, many
vampires attract fans with relatable personalities. Fans desire eternal life because they observe
how vampires, like the ones in Twilight, have evolved into beautiful creatures. Unlike vampires,

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it is impossible for horror fans to be attracted to specific zombie characters. Fans of zombies are
attracted to their concept, or what they stand for. The fact that it is impossible for horror fans to
relate to zombie characters, due to their lack of personality, contributes to the evolution of the
monsters unhappy, eternal life. The evolution of vampires and zombies has changed the way
eternal life is presented to popular culture. Vampires make the gift of eternal life seem desirable,
while zombies make it seem like a curse.
The way vampires and zombies have evolved from being repulsive to being monsters that
horror fans either desire to be or defeat contributes to how authors and film directors present
them to popular culture. Vampires are presented to popular culture as a monster with the ability
to transform humans into something special, like themselves. Horror fans watch and read about
vampires with enhanced human qualities as well as the gift of eternal life. Today, most fans who
desire to be vampires feel this way because vampires get to experience power and eternal life
without giving up their human form. Zombies are presented to popular culture as uncomplex
monsters. They attract horror fans because it is not challenging to kill a zombie, which makes
fans feel confident that if faced with the task of killing a zombie they could accomplish it.
Meanwhile, A lot of modern life is exactly like slaughtering zombies, monotonous and never
ending (Klosterman 41).
In the essay Why Vampires Never Die the authors write, Now, vampires
simultaneously occur in all forms and tap into our every need: soap opera storylines, sexual
liberations, noir detective fiction, etc. (del Toro and Hogan 37-38). This quote explores how
authors and film directors display the evolution of vampires. Today they are presented to popular
culture in a way that is relatable and attractive. Unlike vampires, zombie characters are not
relatable, but according to Chuck Klosterman, The principal downside to any zombie attack is

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that the zombies will never stop coming; the principal downside to life is that you will never be
finished with whatever it is you do (41). This quote represents another way zombies are
presented to popular culture, which is that the struggles humans face are endless like a zombie
apocalypse is endless. The fear that zombies represent is what is relatable to horror fans and why
fans are attracted to zombies.
Vampires and zombies are presented to popular culture in contrasting ways because
vampire characters have developed personalities that attract fans, while the concept of zombies is
relatable to humans because humans face struggles that are never ending just like zombies will
never completely be defeated.
The origin and evolution of vampires and zombies contribute to the way these monsters
are presented to popular culture. As vampires have evolved over time, they have become sexual
or mysterious creatures who have developed personalities that are liked or disliked by fans.
Vampires also represent eternal life in a beautiful way. Zombies have not evolved over time,
meaning they remain unintelligent and lack developed personalities, making it difficult for fans
to relate to them. Fans observe zombies as dead creatures wandering around to feed on brains,
causing them to be repulsed by the idea of eternal life. My comparison of these two essays
expresses that vampires and zombies can either be attractive or repulsive to popular culture.
Ultimately, the main comparison between the two is both monsters experience eternal life.
Vampires represent the attraction to eternal life as they have evolved into beautiful creatures. On
the other hand, zombies represent the harsh reality of eternal life by their blank stares, lack of
personalities, and inability to connect emotionally with an audience.

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Works Cited
del Toro, Guillermo, and Chuck Hogan. Why Vampires Never Die. Monsters: A Bedford
Spotlight Reader. Ed. Andrew J. Hoffman. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2016.
36-39. Print.
Klosterman, Chuck. My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead. Monsters:
A Bedford Spotlight Reader. Ed. Andrew J. Hoffman. New York: Bedford/St. Martins,
2016. 40-45. Print.