Why Do Vampires Love the South?

Have you ever wondered why the hell so many vampires are Confederate soldiers? Or why so many of your favorite vampire stories are set among the mists and mosses of New Orleans? In this episode, Rebecca and Hannah weed through the blood-soaked history of the Southern Gothic; examine the vampire books, movies, and TV shows that take place in and around the southern United States; and reveal what they tell us about U.S. history, culture, and myth-making (and what they have to say about one another).Come vamps, join us around the campfire.Content warning: discussion of anti-Black racist ideologies (e.g., white supremacy, slavery, Lost Cause narrative), brief mention of suicide in fictionMajor spoilers:* Dracula 2000, directed Patrick Lussier, 2000* Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, 2025Other media mentioned in this episode:Fiction* Dracula by Bram Stoker, 1897* Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, 1976* Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin, 1982* The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, 2001-2013 (series)* Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, 2007* Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith, 2010* The Southern Bookclub’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, 2020Film* Gone with the Wind, directed by Victor Fleming, 1939* Son of Dracula, directed by Robert Siodmak, 1943* Interview with the Vampire, directed by Neil Jordan 1994* The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, directed by David Slade, 2010* Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, directed by Timur Bekmambetov, 2012* Vampires vs. the Bronx, directed by Oz Rodriguez, 2020TV* True Blood, 2008-2014* Vampire Diaries, 2009-2017* The Originals, 2013-2018* First Kill, 2022* AMC’s Interview with the Vampire, 2022Additional Viewing* “Why Are There So Many Confederate Vampires?,” Princess Weekes, YouTube, 2022* “’First Kill’ & the Lesbian Vampire,” Verity Ritchie (@verilybitchie), YouTube, 2022Additional Reading* Stephen D. Arata, “The Occidental Tourist: ‘Dracula’ and the Anxiety of Reverse Colonization,” Victorian Studies 33, no. 4 (1990)* Mark Helmsing, “Grotesque Stories, Desolate Voices: Encountering Histories and Geographies of Violence in Southern Gothic’s Haunted Mansions,” Counterpoints 434 (2014)* Tricia M. Kress, “‘Why Do They All Have Powers?’ De/Constructing Southern ‘Otherness’ in ‘True Blood,’” Counterpoints 434 (2014)* Mark Vicars, “Subaltern Desires: Queer (in) Southern Story Lines: Looking at Movies and Queering of/in the South,” Counterpoints 434 (2014)* Lorna Piatti-Farnell, “‘The Blood Never Stops Flowing and the Party Never Ends’: The Originals and the Afterlife of New Orleans as a Vampire City” M/C Journal 20, no. 5 (2017)* Marita Woywod Crandle, New Orleans Vampires: History and Legend, 2020For podcast updates, vampire memes, and consumption suggestions, follow us on Instagram! @vampirecampfirepodThis episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rebecca Glazer & Hannah SpiegelmanNote: We’re an affiliate of Bookshop.org and earn a small commission if you purchase through our links — allowing you to support indie bookstores and an indie podcast at the same time! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit vampirecampfirepod.substack.com/subscribe