Why does Dracula dress up so immaculately? And why does he wear that medallion?
We have been reading about monsters from times immemorial. But there are certain things we associate with these monsters that have stayed with us. Hollywood has a big part in inventing these traits, and it has helped shape how we look at them nowadays. Do you know those small things like Vampire burning in the sunlight and being bitten by a werewolf turns you into one are some of the myths that were popularized by Hollywood? Let us have a look at some of these popular myths that were invented by the movies.
Vampires getting burned up in sunlight
There are many myths associated with Vampires, like they have no mirror reflection, they absolutely hate garlic, and they get burned in the sunlight. But unlike other myths, burning in the sun is not originally a part of Vampire mythology. There is no reference to them burning in the sun in Bram Stroker’s “Dracula” or earlier folklores. In Bram Stroker’s “Dracula”, Vampire get weakened in the sun, but they could frequently seen walking to and fro in the daylight.
Turning into a werewolf, if you are bitten by one
The original legend says that some men would turn into a werewolf during the full moon, or they were cursed by the Gods. But shapeshifting into a wolf during a wolfbite is a creation of Hollywood. It seems like Hollywood borrowed this myth from Vampire’s mythology. This idea was first presented in 1935,” Werewolf of London”.
Monster in Frankenstein was green
We all see green Frankenstein on movie posters associated with the monster. But the truth is that Mary Shelley, in her iconic work, describes Frankenstein’s skin as yellow that is unable to cover arteries and muscles working beneath. The green monster was introduced because of the technical limitations of the black and white era. A green colour cast gave an impression of terrifying white on a black and white screen. And that is how the green stuck, and Frankenstein became a green monster.
Zombies are extremely slow and lumbered walkers
If you ever saw a zombie movie, you must have noticed that their walk is lumbered and painfully slow. This zombie myth was popularized by the movie “Night of the Living Dead” in the year 1968. And we are still to discover any movie where zombies are walking normally and a bit fast.
Do you know about any other monster myths popularized by Hollywood?
