The following timeline was used with kind permission from my
friend J. Gordon Melton. It was originally published in his book "The Vampire
Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead" ISBN 0-8103-2295-1. It is not to be
re-used or re-printed without express permission from Mr. Melton.
The 1000's
1047 First appearance of the word "upir" (an early form of the word later to
become "vampire") in a document referring to a Russian prince as "Upir Lichy",
or wicked vampire.
The 1100's
1190 Walter Map's "De Nagis Curialium" includes accounts of vampire like beings
in England.
1196 William of Newburgh's "Chronicles" records several stories of vampire like
revenants in England.
The 1400's
1428/29 Vlad Tepes, the son of Vlad Dracul, is born.
1463 Vlad Tepes becomes Prince of Wallachia and moves to Tirgoviste.
1442 Vlad Tepes is imprisoned with his father by the Turks.
1443 Vlad Tepes becomes a hostage by the Turks.
1447 Vlad Dracul is beheaded.
1448 Vlad briefly attains the Wallachian throne. Dethroned, he goes to Moldavia
and befriends Prince Stefan.
1451 Vlad and Stephan flee to Transylvania.
1455 Constantinople falls.
1456 John Hunyadi assists Vlad Tepes to attain Wallachian throne. Vladislav Dan
is executed.
1458 Matthias Corvinu succeeds John Hunyadi as King of Hungary.
1459 Easter massacre of boyers and rebuilding of Dracula's castle. Bucharest is
established as the second governmental center.
1460 Attack upon Brasov, Romania
1461 Successful campaign against Turkish settlements along the Danube, Summer
retreat to Tirgoviste.
1462 Following the battle at Dracula's castle, Vlad flees to Transylvania. Vlad
begins 13 years of imprisonment.
1475 Summer wars in Serbia against Turks take place. November: Vlad resumes
throne of Wallachia.
1476/77 Vlad is assassinated.
The 1500's
1560 Elizabeth Bathory is born.
The 1600's
1610 Bathory is arrested for killing several hundred people and bathing in their
blood. Tried and convicted, she is sentenced to life imprisonment, being bricked
into a room in her castle.
1614 Elizabeth Bathory dies.
1610 Leo Allatius finishes writing the first modern treatment of vampires, "De
Graecorum hodie quirundam opinationabus".
1657 Fr. Francoise Richard's "Relation de ce qui s'est passé a Sant-Erini Isle
de l'Archipel" links vampirism and witchcraft.
1672 Wave of vampire hysteria sweeps through Istra.
1679 A German vampire text, "De Masticatione Mortuorum", by Phillip Rohr is
written.
The 1700's
1710 Vampire hysteria sweeps through East Prussia.
1725 Vampire hysteria returns to East Prussia.
1725-30 Vampire hysteria lingers in Hungary.
1725-32 The wave of vampire hysteria in Austrian Serbia produces the famous
cases of Peter Plogojowitz and Arnold Paul (Paole).
1734 The word "vampyre" enters the English language in translations of German
accounts of European waves of vampire hysteria.
1744 Cardinal Giuseppe Davanzati publishes his treatise, "Dissertazione sopre I
Vampiri."
1746 Dom Augustin Calmet publishes his treatise on vampires, "Dissertations sur
les Apparitions des Anges des Demons et des Espits, et sur les revenants, et
Vampires de Hundrie, de boheme, de Moravic, et de Silesie."
1748 The first modern vampire poem, "Der Vampir," is published by Heinrich
August Ossenfelder.
1750 Another wave of vampire hysteria occurs in East Prussia.
1756 Vampire hysteria peaks in Wallachia.
1772 Vampire hysteria occurs in Russia.
1797 Goethe's "Bride of Corinth" (a poem concerning a vampire) is published.
1798-1800 Samuel Taylor Coleridge writes "Christabel," now conceded to be the
first vampire poem in English.
The 1800's
1800 "I Vampiri," an opera by Silvestro de Palma, opens in Milan, Italy.
1801 "Thalaba" by Robert Southey is the first poem to mention the vampire in
English.
1810 Reports of sheep being killed by having their jugular veins cut and their
blood drained circulated through northern England. "The Vampyre," an early
vampire poem, by John Stagg is published.
1813 Lord Byron's poem "The Giaour" includes the hero's encounter with a
vampire.
1819 John Polidori's "The Vampyre," the first vampire story in English, is
published in the April issue of "New Monthly Magazine." John Keats composes "The
Lamia," a poem built on ancient Greek legends.
1820 "Lord Ruthwen ou Les Vampires" by Cyprien Berard is published anonymously
in Paris. June 13: "Le Vampire," the play by Charles Nodier, opens at the
Theatre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris. August: "The Vampire; or, The Bride
of the Isles," a translation of Nodier's play by James R. Planche, opens in
London.
1829 March: Heinrich Marschner's opera, "Der Vampyr," based on Nodier's story,
opens in Liepzig.
1841 Alexey Tolstoy publishes his short story, "Upyr," while living in Paris. It
is the first modern vampire story by a Russian.
1847 Bram Stoker is born. "Varney the Vampire" begins lengthy serialization.
1851 Alexandre Dumas' last dramatic work, "Le Vampire," opens in Paris.
1854 The case of vampirism in the Ray family of Jewell, Connecticut, is
published in local newspapers.
1872 "Carmilla" is written by Sheridan Le Fanu. In Italy, Vincenzo Verzeni is
convicted of murdering two people and drinking their blood.
1874 Reports from Ceven, Ireland, tell of sheep having their throats cut and
their blood drained.
1888 Emily Gerard's "Land Beyond the Forest" is published. It will become a
major source of information about Transylvania for Bram Stoker's "Dracula."
1894 H.G. Wells' short story, "The Flowering of the Strange Orchid," is a
precursor to science fiction vampire stories.
1897 "Dracula" by Bram Stoker is published in England. "The Vampire" by Rudyard
Kipling becomes the inspiration for the creation of the vamp as a stereotypical
character on stage and screen
The 1900's
1912 "The Secrets of House No. 5," possibly the first vampire movie, is produced
in Great Britain.
1913 "Dracula's Guest" by Bram Stoker is published.
1920 "Dracula," the first film based on the novel, is made in Russia. No copy
has survived.
1921 Hungarian filmmakers produce a version of "Dracula."
1922 "Nosferatu," a German-made silent film produced by Prana Films, is the
third attempt to film "Dracula."
1924 Hamilton Dean's stage version of "Dracula" opens in Derby. Fritz Harmann of
Hanover, Germany, is arrested, tried and convicted of killing more than 20
people in a vampiric crime spree. Sherlock Holmes has his only encounter with a
vampire in "The Case of the Sussex Vampire."
1927 February 14: Stage version of "Dracula" debuts at the Little Theatre in
London. October: American version of "Dracula" starring Bela Lugosi, opens at
Fulton Theatre in New York City. Tod Browning directs Lon Chaney in "London
After Midnight," the first full-length feature film.
1928 The first edition of Montague Summers's influential work "The Vampire: His
Kith and Kin" appears in England.
1929 Montague Summers's second vampire book, "The Vampire in Europe," is
published.
1931 January: Spanish film version of "Dracula" is previewed. February: American
film version of "Dracula" with Bela Lugosi premiers at the Roxy Theatre in New
York City. Peter Kurten of Dusseldorf, Germany, is executed after being found
guilty of murdering a number of people in a vampiric killing spree.
1932 The highly acclaimed movie "Vampyr," directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, is
released.
1936 "Dracula's Daughter" is released by Universal Pictures.
1942 A. E. Van Vought's "Asylum" is the first story about an alien vampire.
1943 "Son of Dracula (Universal Pictures) stars Lon Chaney, Jr., as Dracula.
1944 John Carradine plays Dracula for the first time in "Horror of Dracula."
1953 "Drakula Istanbula," a Turkish film adaptation of "Dracula," is released.
"Eerie" No. 8 includes the first comic book adaptation of "Dracula."
1954 The Comics Code banishes vampires from comic books. "I am Legend" by
Richard Matheson presents vampirism as a disease that alters the body.
1956 John Carradine plays Dracula in the first television adaptation of the play
for "Matinee Theatre." "Kyuketsuki Ga," the first Japanese vampire film, is
released.
1957 The first Italian vampire movie, "I Vampiri," is released. American
producer Roger Corman makes the first science fiction vampire movie, "Not of
This Earth." "El Vampiro" with German Robles is the first of a new wave of
Mexican vampire films.
1958 Hammer Films in Great Britain initiates a new wave of interest in vampires
with the first of it's "Dracula" films, released in the United States as the
"Horror of Dracula." First issue of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" signals a new
interest in horror films in the Untied States.
1959 "Plan 9 From Outer Space is Bela Lugosi's last film.
1961 "The Bad Flower" is the first Korean film adaptation of "Dracula."
1962 The Count Dracula Society is founded in the United States by Donald Reed.
1964 "Parque de Juelos (Park of Games)" is the first Spanish made vampire movie.
1964 "The Munsters" and "The Addams Family"; two horror comedies with vampire
characters, open in the fall television season.
1965 Jeanne Youngson founds The Count Dracula Fan Club. "The Munsters," based on
the television show of the same name, is the first comic book series featuring a
vampire character.
1966 "Dark Shadows" debuts on television.
1967 April: In episode 210 of "Dark Shadows", vampire Barnabas Collins makes his
first appearance.
1969 First issue of "Vampirella," the longest running vampire comic book to
date, is released. Denholm Elliot plays the title role in a BBC television
production of "Dracula, Does Dracula Really Suck? (aka Dracula and the Boys)" is
released as the first gay vampire movie.
1970 Christopher Lee stars in "El Conde Dracula," the Spanish film adaptation of
"Dracula." Sean Manchester founds The Vampire Research Society.
1971 Marvel Comics releases the first copy of a post-Comics Code vampire comic
book, "The Tomb of Dracula." Morbius, the Living Vampire, is the first new
vampire character introduced after the revision of the Comics code allowed
vampires to reappear in comic books.
1972 "The Night Stalker" with Darrin McGavin becomes the most watched television
movie to that point in time. "Vampire Kung-Fu" is released in Hong Kong as the
first of a string of vampire martial arts films. "In Search of Dracula" by
Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu introduces Vlad the Impaler, the historical
Dracula, to the world of contemporary vampire fans. "A Dream of Dracula" by
Leonard Wolf complements McNally's and Florescu's effort in calling attention to
vampire lore. "True Vampires of History" by Donald Glut is the first attempt to
assemble the stories of all the historical vampire figures. Stephan Kaplan
founds The Vampire Research Centre.
1973 Dan Curtis Productions' version of "Dracula" (1973) stars Jack Palance in a
made-for-television movie. Nancy Garden's "Vampires" launches a wave of juvenile
literature for children and youth.
1975 Fred Saberhagen proposes viewing Dracula as a hero rather than a village in
"The Dracula Tape." "The World of Dark Shadows" is founded as the first "Dark
Shadows" fanzine.
1976 "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice is published. Stephen King is
nominated for the World Fantasy Award for his vampire novel, "'Salem's Lot."
Shadowcon, the first national "Dark Shadows convention, is organized by Dark
Shadows fans."
1977 A new dramatic version of "Dracula" opens on Broadway starring Frank
Langella. Louis Jordan stars in the title role in "Count Dracula," a three-hour
version of Bram Stoker's book on BBC television. Martin V. Riccardo founds the
Vampire Studies Society.
1978 Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's book "hotel Transylvania" joins the volumes of Fred
Saberhagen and Anne Rice as the third major effort to begin a reappraisal of the
vampire myth during the decade. Eric Held and Dorothy Nixon found the Vampire
Information Exchange.
1979 Based on the success of the new Broadway production, Universal Pictures
remakes "Dracula" (1979), starring Frank Langella. The band Bauhaus's recording
of "Bela Lugosi's Dead" becomes the first hit of the new gothic rock music
movement. "Shadowgram" is founded as a "Dark Shadows" fanzine.
1980 The Bram Stoker Society is founded in Dublin, Ireland. Richard Chase, the
so-called Dracula Killer of Sacramento, California, commits suicide in prison.
The World Federation of Dark Shadows Clubs (now Dark Shadows Official Fan Club)
is founded.
1983 In the December issue of "Dr. Strange," Marvel Comics' ace occultist kills
all of the vampires in the world, thus banishing them from Marvel Comics for the
next six years. Dark Shadows Festival is founded to host an annual "Dark
Shadows" convention.
1985 "The Vampire Lestat" by Anne Rice is published and reaches the best seller
list.
1989 Overthrow of Romanian dictator Nikolai Ceaucescu opens Transylvania to
Dracula enthusiasts. Nancy Collins wins a Bram Stoker Award for her vampire
novel "Sunglasses After Dark."
1991 Vampire: The Masquerade," the most successful of the vampire role-playing
games, is released by White Wolf.
1992 "Bram Stoker's Dracula" directed by Francis Ford Coppola opens. Andrei
Chikatilo of Rostov, Russia, is sentenced to death after killing and vampirizing
some 55 people.
1994 The film version of Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" opens with Tom
Cruise as the Vampire Lestat and Brad Pitt as Louis.
1995 Four vampire movies are released:: "The Vampire in Brooklyn," "Dracula:
Dead and Loving It.," "Nadja," and "The Addiction"
1996 January: "From Dusk Till Dawn," written by Quentin Tarantino, starring
George Clooney opens nationwide.