h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There were legends originating in Germany about vampires, as well. It was, in case you haven't read the subject heading, the Nosferatu. It did have many of the now-traditional vampire weaknesses, most of them set up around belief in Christianity or healing disease: Sunlight would vaporize it, it couldn't cross running water, and it could be turned away by holy symbols.

Stoker was a long way off, though, so it wasn't a romantic guy in a cape. It was the embodiment of disease: It had ratty fangs and misaligned teeth, pallid skin with sores and pustules, bloodshot eyes, tangled, greasy hair, and its fingers were tipped with nails that had grown into claws. And, as disease, it would infect anyone it chose to feed on.

Also noteworthy is that nearly every culture has legends pertaining to vampirism, from European to African to east Asian to Native American. Not all fed off of blood, often other bodily fluids or life energy, and not all fed from the throat. Some fed from the feet, the arms, or even the nipples.

Got a question. Has anyone ever thought about the NAME?
Nos fera tu, which means different things, depending on how you break it up, and/or what you add in.
Nos fer a tu-our iron has you?
Nos fera tu- our will make you?
Nos feras tu-same as above.
Personally, I think it was supposed to be- Nos Fera a tu.
If you account for language shift over a period of time,
it becomes, "Your beast has you"
Hence Fera, becoming Feral- or something savage, in English.
(fer by itself becomes 'iron', Fer for Ferrous metals)
Unfortunately, the word for beast now is Bete.

Nope, I never have anylzed the lingusitic history of the word. If its not greek or ASL f--k it! But that is interesting.

Well - its a weird word that no one seems to know the real source of.
It could be Greek ("noso" 'disease' + "phoros" 'bearer') hence plague-carrier, which is a popular translation these days. Or Latin - ("non" 'not' + "spiratus" 'having breathed') or 'doesnt breath'.

In the White Wolf Word FAQ, Ben Buckner suggests the closest Romanian word is 'nesuferit' (n: a nasty fellow or adj: unbearable or horrid). Hence 'nesuferitul' means the Insufferable One. That word may have been transliterated badly by West European writers last century and thus we get to Nosferatu.

Nosferatu means basically 'Undead.' You can break it down however you like.

Question: Have any of you seen the Symphony of Grays, Shadow of the Vampire or read the libretto, 'Nosferatu'? If so, care to discuss?

~Lily~

Shadow of the Vampire- spurned director vents his anger toward his leading woman by making a smash hit film and using her as a sacrifice to get "authentic" looking special effects. Love the concept.

I have watched shadow of the vampire and thought it a very interesting film.I also have Nosferatu on DVD.It's probably the scariest film I have seen even though it's a little creaky and over 80 years old.What are your views?

oh i quite agree. i also aquired the riecently relieced Universal Monster Legacy box set the basis for the current movie Van Helsing, which includes Legosi's Dracula

I also like the tv series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and in perticular the season 6 episode Once More With Feeling

any other very good vampire movies out there?