Thread: Thuringwethil
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Old 05-29-2003, 11:23 PM   #3
Scott
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ohio/Grey Havens
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Tolkien

I'm sorry, but Dracula is a name, not a classification. However, it seems that Tolkien did intend his vampires to take on the contemporary traits of vampires of his time... eg. Stoker's renditions, as well as the early horror movies.
Which brings me to a question that's been annoying me for a while. Why would Tolkien, such an avid lover of mythologies and breaker of past molds, base his descriptions of vampires off of contemporary attitudes? It seems to me that the incubus/succubus legends along with the Greek lamiai legends would be more up his alley. Even the wurdalok legends from eastern europe/western asia (Russia) seem to be more of a logical choice to base Thuringwethil on. It could have been that he was drawing from some of the South American vampire legends, but I never really pegged him as having much interest in South American folklore.
Can anyone shed some light on this topic?
~Scott
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