Influences: John William Polidori

As an artist/creator in any medium, you have your own voice but are definitely the sum of various other creative people that have inspired you throughout your artistic growth.  Their works affect us both directly and indirectly and at different times; but you can always look back fondly and say, "I found them so inspiring!"

It is because of a sense of kindred spirit, I presume.  We see ourselves- our own beliefs, passions, and perceptions- mirrored in their work.  This leads us to admire it, internalize it, and- very often - it becomes a silent part of our own creative thinking.  These inspirations build the atmosphere and backdrop of our own imaginary worlds.  They represent to us a set standard and become a stage to bring to life the characters that we have then created to perform from our own unique perspectives.

In the past I've shared some of my musical influences but I'd like to expand that and share others as well.  John William Polidori feels like a fantastic place to start.

Most of you are probably familiar with the Regency era English physician and writer, Polidori.  If not, he was part of the Romantic movement and published the first modern English vampire story "The Vampyre" in 1819.

Polidori was Lord Byron's personal physician and traveled with him across Europe.  He stayed at the Villa Diodati in Switzerland with Lord Byron, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (pre-marriage to Shelley), Percy Shelley, and Claire Clairmont.  I'm certain that you know this story.  During that summer, Lord Byron proposed that they all write horror stories of their own (after having read "Fantasmagoriana").  This was where Mary Shelley's story "Frankenstein" originated and also a story that Bryon began and abandoned.  However, Polidori took the basis of Byron's tale and fabricated his own story which became "The Vampyre".

If you've not had a chance to read this short story, I greatly recommend it.  I feel as though more people run to Dracula than to Lord Ruthven (the vampire in Polidori's tale) in search for the origins of the modern vampire.   And that, honestly, makes me a bit sad.

Other than "The Vampyre", Polidori's published works include some diaries, medical essays, a few short stories, and poems.

Polidori suffered from depression and struggled with a gambling habit.  He died at the age of 25; committing suicide by ingesting cyanide, though the coroner gave a verdict of natural causes.

 

Side Note:  If you're ever looking for an interesting film that features Polidori, Alex Winter (of "Bill & Ted" fame) gives a great performance in "Haunted Summer" (he's pictured above on the far right).  I'm not really sure where you can get a copy of this.  I bought a DVD of it on Amazon a while back but it was obviously bootlegged when I received it.  If you do get a chance though, it's definitely worth watching. 

Clearly, "The Vampyre" has inspired all of us that write in the genre.  It's the backbone on which our beliefs of the handsome, aristocratic, sexually charged version of the creature are based.  I find that I've not only been inspired by the vampire in the story but of the main protagonist, Aubrey, as well.  He was a very relatable character- optimistic, ambitious, and naive.  I think, in many ways, he's shaped my own renderings of protagonists.

After all, a vampire story is only as good as the humanistic elements at its core; and at this, Polidori understood more about the possibilities of the creatures and their prey than anyone that had ever come before him.

Thanks for reading!