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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 these monsters 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 the way the popularity, the attraction, and the 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 discusses the reason horror fans are attracted to these
creatures. Similarly, My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead, by Chuck
Klosterman is written on the topic of the evolution of the popularity of zombies, but discusses
the fear that zombies represent and its relativeness to the audience. 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 the way
monsters are presented to popular culture because vampire characters 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.

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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 the
ancient nature of vampire myths. 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 myths about
zombies from centuries ago, but upon becoming popular, zombies represent the harsh reality of
eternal life by being the miserable, brainless wanderers that popular culture creates these
monsters to be.
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 vampire
characters 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
causes fans to become attracted to them. As vampires have become popular, fans desire the gift
of 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 idea
strengthens the point that zombies are not complex creatures. As fans watch movies and TV

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shows about zombies, viewers observe brainless zombies who seem miserable which causes
repulsion of eternal life. Vampires represent the desire of eternal life, while zombies represent
the torture of the curse of eternal life. The origin of these monsters plays an important role in
their evolution because it shapes the opinions horror fans form about 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
with 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 idea
explains the way vampires have evolved into versatile creatures that attract a wide range of
audiences. Since the beginning, vampires have been relatable creatures due to their human-like
appearance, which allows fans to connect with vampire characters, thus representing the
attraction of being a vampire and having eternal life. In contrast, zombies are not complex
creatures; therefore, zombie characters are not developed which causes horror fans to be unable
to feel attraction for a zombie or want to be a zombie. 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 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 with developed
personalities allowing horror fans to like or dislike them. In the Twilight saga, for example, many
vampires attract fans with their relatable personalities and good looks. Fans desire eternal life
because they observe vampires, like the ones in Twilight, evolve into beautiful creatures. Unlike
vampires, horror fans are not attracted to specific zombie characters. Fans of zombies are

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attracted to the monsters concept, not their appearance or personalities. 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, because vampires
convey 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
vampires and zombies to popular culture. Vampires are presented to popular culture as a monster
with the ability to transform humans into special creatures, like themselves, as 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 experience power and eternal life
without giving up human form. Zombies are presented to popular culture as the opposite,
because they are not complex 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 the monster
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 idea explores the way
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
that the zombies will never stop coming; the principal downside to life is that you will never be

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finished with whatever it is you do (41). This idea represents another way zombies are
presented to popular culture, which is that difficult tasks humans face are endless like a zombie
apocalypse is endless. The fear zombies represent is relatable to horror fans and the reason 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 tasks 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,
mysterious creatures who have developed personalities fans like or dislike. 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 the earth 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 that
horror fans desire to be. 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.