The Vampire Diaries
Witches and Vampires Then vs. Now – How the Media Glorified These “Evil Creatures”
Occults such as witches, dark magic, vampires, and werewolves have been popular since the 15th century, but the way they have been perceived from generation to generation has changed drastically. Back in the day these mystical creatures were associated with the devil and being punished severely for the crimes they “committed.” Nowadays, the entertainment world has glamorized and sexualized these creatures turning them into a fad for the young generation. The simple reason behind the obsession is the idea of immortality. Previous generations shunned what they did not understand and associated the unknown with the presence of evil, while now, the unknown is appealing to us and makes us crave it more.
During the Middle Ages, the Pagan religion created a link between Paganism and Satanism, assuming that any type of herbal healing was the practice of witchcraft. This assumption was born from the idea that evil created disease and poverty, and if one could heal than they had to be calling upon the devil for power. This explanation was used to explain human misfortunes, usually blaming the women in the community. They were often poor, frail, old, unattractive, and widowed women who were shunned away from society. The church made its followers believe that these women practiced witchcraft in the forests at night, had the ability to fly, plotted against the church and its people, and had sex with the devil. “Witches” were killed at the stake, usually burned alive, and oftentimes accused of heresy. The Bible pronouncement, “Thou shall not suffer a witch to live” became very popular as the witch-hunts began in Germany. They soon reached America mainly in Salem, Connecticut where about 150 people were accused and 31 executed.
Vampires were more common in folk stories, but historical evidence of vampires merely focuses on examples of sudden death, usually of a citizen or livestock in unexplainable manners. Vampires were also blamed for mysterious diseases like Tuberculosis, which discolored the skin into a pale white color. Pagan stories explain that vampires were believed to be the spawn of a witch or products of dead witches. Werewolves were servants to the Devil and cursed by witches. Sometimes witches had the ability to transform into a wolf on a full moon. Similar to the witch-hunts, many countries participated in werewolf trials and burnings.
After the witch/werewolf hunts, witches appeared in fairy tales that introduced the theme of good witch versus bad witch. In stories such as “Snow White” and “Sleeping Beauty,” the witches were portrayed as ugly old hags with pointed noses and brooms. They would cast spells, fly, and make potions. In the 20th century, this concept was examined further in “The Wizard of Oz” introducing the good witch as beautiful and pure, and using her magic to help others.
This central theme applied to vampires as well. The 1897 novel “Dracula” transformed the image of the vampire from a repulsive human-like parasite that fed on mankind, to that of a mysterious, intelligent, wealthy, seductive, almost immortal creature that was vulnerable to the beauty and innocence of a woman. He was a tragic hero that longed for forbidden sex and possessed eternal life while suffering from his blood-thirsty curse.
The trend of vampires and witches fizzled out a bit until the rise of the “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” franchises. “Harry Potter” is a fictional story set in the wizarding world about a wizard who fights against the Dark Lord. The series mainstreamed witchcraft and sorcery all over the world, translating the books and movies into 67 languages.
“Twilight,” on the other hand, introduced a new breed of vampire. As past vampires could only feel rage this new breed felt romantic love, could have sex, sparkled in the sunlight, fell in love and developed humanity because of their connection to humans. This opened up the door to primetime shows like “True Blood” and “The Vampire Diaries.”
In “The Vampire Diaries” the original witch created vampires and put a curse on werewolves, which ties back into the “history” of all these creatures. It mixes in past references with the new breed of vampires and witches to create a modern show that appeals to our generation.
The image of witches, vampires, and werewolves changed for the sake of entertainment. In the past people believed witches to be monsters and were scared of them, nowadays the real monsters come as different figures; serial killers, terrorists, rapists, dictators. As a society, we enjoy seeing women that are powerful and independent and occasionally, sexually dangerous, because it is intriguing, and we enjoy seeing men with a lot of power give up who they are because of love for a mortal. These new “superheroes” are merely a projection of our imagination and provide us with some escape from everyday life problems. These characters are good-looking, eternally young, and have the ability to love; something we, as a generation, wish was possible.
Pop-culture has even found a way to make something as disgusting as sucking someone’s blood sexually appealing. Yes, it is a little disturbing, but a huge difference from the witch-hunts, werewolf hunts, and executions of innocent people. Although many shows still have the elements of witch-hunters and vampire-hunters today, we as humans get sucked into this alternate world and begin identifying with the vampires, witches, and werewolves- definitely something we wouldn’t encounter 200 years ago. As the media glamorized and sexualized these creatures, the ideologies that were believed back in the day have been long forgotten.
Today, we look for witches, vampires, and werewolves to solve our problems—and even though we know it’s all pretend, sometimes we really wish it wasn’t.
The Vampire Diaries
Paul Wesley Reflects on His Brotherhood with ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Co-Star Ian Somerhalder, Addresses Toxic Masculinity
Paul Wesley opened up in an interview with SiriusXM Urban View’s “The Mike Muse Show” about his bond with Ian Somerhalder and toxic masculinity all while encouraging men to be emotionally vulnerable.
Acting in a popular teen drama, Wesley experienced a lot of pressure to perform in his career-defining role as Stefan Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries, saying, “You spent your whole life hustling as a young actor, trying to get to that next thing, this, that, you never really enjoy it because you’re always putting pressure on yourself.”
Ian Somerhalder (left) and Paul Wesley (right) on The Vampire Diaries. Credit: The Cw/ The Vampire Diaries
However, through this opportunity, he met Ian Somerhalder, who played his on-screen brother Damon Salvatore. He recounts the moment they formed a bond and brotherhood over a night of shared bourbon and cigars.
“I just remember, first of all, we were on this journey together on this show, ‘Vampire Diaries,’ and it was such a huge sort of grind for us emotionally, physically…And that was a moment where we sat down and just were like, wow, this is so cool. We’re so lucky. How great is this? We’re having a cigar, we’re in a castle in England, and we’re on this great show. And that was a real moment of kind of gratitude and connection that we had with one another that I kind of think really stood out for both of us. We talk about that a lot.”
The duo have team up to create a special bourbon called “Brothers Bourbon.”
Wesley went on to emphasize the importance of vulnerability and true masculinity, especially coming off a role that put a huge focus on his looks and heartthrob capabilities,
“I would encourage to any men listening to have emotional vulnerability with your friends. I think it’s really positive for the world, honestly,” Wesley said. “I think masculinity is a beautiful thing, but I also think part of masculinity is just being vulnerable and it’ll help people in whether it’s their careers or their personal lives.”
“I love it when we drop that machismo, that act, and we can sort of talk about things like real men.”
He continued: “It’s such a stigma, isn’t it, that men need to be tough? And you can be tough and you can still be a man and you can still be sensitive and talk about your feelings and open up with others. I love that. I love it when we drop that machismo, that act, and we can sort of talk about things like real men, frankly..I love that, man.”
The full interview with SiriusXM Urban View’s “The Mike Muse Show” airs Sunday, August 29 at 11:00 am ET.
This is a story about a girl named Caroline Forbes.
Caroline is not the same woman she was when The Vampire Diaries first premiered in 2009.
In terms of character growth, the vapid perfectionist — brought to life by the impeccable Candice King — underwent the biggest evolution in the show’s eight-season run.
Though she was introduced as a shallow, oftentimes insufferable teen, with time, she blossomed into a strong-willed and impressive young woman who knew what she stood for and always stuck up for her friends.
Most of all, she grew into a fiercely independent.
She was no longer the girl that needed a man to feel a sense of worth — a stark contrast from the Caroline we met on The Vampire Diaries Season 1, who looked for love in all the wrong places.
In those early episodes, Caroline was a control freak who took on as many extracurriculars she could squeeze into her schedule (head cheerleader, in charge of dance committees, town activities, and more) to be the best.
Deep down, however, she was insecure and sought validation from the opposite sex, and then blamed herself when she didn’t get it. Not being “the best” made her feel worthless.
We saw that on full display on The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 1, we saw that a smitten Caroline tried to date brooding newbie Stefan Salvatore. When he told her it would never happen and chose Elena instead, Caroline was heartbroken and drowned her sorrows.
“How come the guys I want never want me?” she asked Bonnie before wallowing in self-pity and emphasizing that she was never good enough.
Teenage Caroline was a bit neurotic and even downright mean, as she lashed out at everyone around her, including her closest friends. Her toxic behavior was mostly fueled by insecurity and jealousy.
While these characteristics undoubtedly gave the character substance, they also gave her something much more important — room to grow. And that growth was wonderful to watch over the years.
Elena was always put on a pedestal, but Caroline was a constant work in progress, which leaned in her favor as it allowed her to flourish and surpass her story arc.
On the road to becoming your best-self, hardships are unavoidable, and Caroline went through her fair share.
Her eventual complexity, good nature, and thoughtfulness made her a far better lead than Elena. Upon Nina Dobrev’s departure, she (along with Bonnie, who also deserved better) carried the series.
Since Caroline’s self-esteem was effectively shot, she became the perfect target for any man who would give her even a smidge of attention.
Damon Salvatore was the first to prey on and manipulate Caroline for selfish reasons.
And it didn’t stop at Damon. In those early seasons, Caroline dated nearly every single man in Mystic Falls — Tyler, Matt, Klaus, Stefan, and Alaric, along with supporting characters like Liam and Jesse.
While the relationships usually progressed naturally, it was obvious that Caroline was trying to find herself and fill a void.
That strength was always within her; she needed help finding it.
Caroline was “revamped” — pun intended — when she turned into a vampire. Again, she was the victim of someone else’s selfish games, but it was a turning point for her and, quite honestly, the best thing that could have happened to her character.
Her transition wasn’t wasted or used simply for plot development as she found both physical and mental strength while gaining a new outlook on life.
Coffee Table News
Joseph Morgan Reveals If He’d Ever Reprise His Character Klaus Mikealson for ‘Legacies’
If you’ve been waiting for the day where Klaus Mikealson strolls back into Mystic Falls to pay his daughter, Hope Mikealson, and the Salvatore School — which he helped fund — a visit, well, don’t get your hopes up.
The first two seasons of Legacies have given us some grade-A guest stars from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals including Aunt Freya (Riley Voekel), Kai Parker (Chris Wood), and Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig). We even briefly saw Lizzie and Josie Saltzman’s birth mother Josette (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe).
But as for baddie Klaus Mikealson, the man who brought him to life, Joseph Morgan, doesn’t think he’ll ever reprise his role again.
And turns out, he has a really good reason!
TV Guide caught up with the actor to talk about his Peacock show, Brave New World, and when asked about guest starring on The CW teen drama, he bluntly and rapidly shut down the possibility.
“No never, never. You’re never going to see it.” Morgan said. “You can hold your breath as long as you want. You know why? I have The Originals box set on my shelf, and it’s a beautiful thing because it’s five DVD sets that are a complete story from beginning to end of this guy, Klaus Mikaelson — well, starting back in The Vampire Diaries Season 2. So I just feel like to come back as a ghost or a flashback or something, for me, that journey, that story has ended. That’s the complete story, and it just doesn’t feel right to me to do that.”
As much as we’d like to see Klaus in the flesh again, you have to admit that’s a satisfactory answer. It shows that Morgan cares enough about the character not to reprise him without a purpose or taint his legacy.
Klaus Mikealson’s story came to a fitting end in the series finale of The Originals when he redeemed himself for the greater good and sacrificed himself alongside his brother Elijah to save his daughter. Since then, Hope has carried on his legacy; his memory lives on as she mentions him pretty often and channels what he taught her to protect her friends and fight off a plethora of demons and monsters.
Morgan added that he felt like series creator Julie Plec understood where he was coming from.
“I think Julie [Plec] feels the same. It just feels like it would be strange, like a little forced,” Morgan continued. “Like I’m coming back just so we can see something else of him, but when we see it we go, ‘Ugh, that was it?’ And I don’t want his legacy to be, ‘Ugh.’ I don’t know what the scene could be that it would be exciting enough and epic enough after the journey that he’s had.”
Morgan may get a pass, but Candace Accola surely doesn’t. We’d love to see her reprise her role of Caroline Forbes considering she’s raising two daughters with Alaric but has yet to pay them a visit or help out with the school! Don’t let us down, Caroline!
The fact that she is still alive in the supernatural world and has such close ties to Mystic Falls but yet never comes to visit doesn’t paint her in a great light!
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