The Surprising Origins of Vampires

Our fascination with vampires has spanned centuries, but it didn’t all start with Dracula. In fact, the first vampires (dating back to the 1800s!) were actually women. This genre of literature gave writers an outlet to explore female sexuality and societal taboos, leading to a cult of lesbian vampire films in the 60s and 70s. Today, TV shows like True Blood and First Kill are reintroducing this trope to mainstream platforms. Joined by Monstrum’s Emily Zarka and special guest Annie Rose Malamet, let’s take a look at why there are so many lesbian vampire films and what they tell us about the evolution of the feminist movement. Resources: Letterboxd. A lesbian vampire film master list curated by Annie Rose-Malamet. https://letterboxd.com/girlsgutsgiall... Monstrum. PBS’s series with Emily Zarka on monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature, and film.    • Monstrum   Girls, Guts, and Giallo. Annie Rose-Malamet’s podcast on subversive and controversial cinema. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... National Women’s History Museum. A brief overview on the history of second wave feminism. https://www.womenshistory.org/exhibit... them. An article on why we are still so obsessed with lesbian vampires. https://www.them.us/story/lesbian-vam... Credits: Director: Dolly Li Producer: Tien Nguyen Consulting Producer: Danielle Bainbridge Associate Producer: Mia Faske On-camera appearances by: Annie Rose-Malamet, Emily Zarka Written by: Mia Faske and Tien Nguyen Voiceover by: Kiana Taylor Director of Photography: Brian Inocencio Gaffer: Seth MacMillan Online Editor: Travis Hatfield Editor: Eurie Chung Assistant Editor: Josaen Ronquillo Motion Graphics: Jonathan Gil, Travis Hatfield Research Assistant: Kiana Taylor Makeup Artist: Dawn Coleman Set Designer: Tori Laxalt Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy Post-production services & facilities provided by: Flash Cuts Executive Producer for Flash Cuts: Eurie Chung Executive Producers for CAAM: Stephen Gong, Donald Young Supervising Producer for CAAM: Sapana Sakya Coordinating Producer for CAAM: Czarina Garcia Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing Special Thanks: Ricardo Leon Guests: Annie Rose Malamet Emily Zarka