Out of obligation, Chuck and Josh mention Twilight, but it is the longstanding vampire lore that gets the most attention in this examination of how the bloodsucking undead evolved from baby-stealing demonesses to suave counts in our collective psyche.
AI Summary
Join Josh and Chuck as they sink their teeth into the dark origins of vampire legends that stretch back over 4,000 years. From ancient Mesopotamian demon goddesses like Lamastu who killed babies, to the Greek Lamia and Jewish folklore's rebellious Lilith, the hosts trace how vampire myths evolved across cultures before eventually inspiring Bram Stoker's iconic Dracula. They explore fascinating connections between vampire folklore and real medical conditions like tuberculosis and catalepsy, revealing how our ancestors used supernatural explanations for phenomena they couldn't understand - and why some communities were still digging up suspected vampire corpses as recently as the 1850s.
Movies Discussed
BloodRayne
"Bloodrain, R-A-Y-N-E — Josh includes BloodRayne in his list of bad vampire movies."
— Josh
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer, of course, classic, not so great movie, great TV series. — Josh contrasts the Buffy movie with the later TV series."
— Josh
Chronos
"Chronos? Have you seen that? No. Guillermo del Toro? — Josh mentions the Guillermo del Toro vampire film Chronos."
— Josh
Dracula
"With the Coppola one? Yeah. Yeah, it was pretty good. — Chuck mentions watching the Coppola Dracula film adaptation, calling it a faithful adaptation of the book."
— Chuck
Dracula 2000
"Wes Craven's Dracula 2000 — Josh mentions Wes Craven's Dracula 2000 as another bad vampire movie."
— Josh
Dracula: Dead and Loving It
"Dracula dead and loving it. That was good, though. — Chuck defends the Mel Brooks vampire comedy as actually being good."
— Chuck
Elementary
"There's so many of those going on already. I know. So why not us? Yeah. Why not? Elementary. — Josh mentions Elementary as an example of modern Sherlock Holmes updates when discussing how they'd fail at playing other roles."
— Josh
Fright Night
"I thought the original Fright Night, granted it was the 80s again, but for me, it was pretty good back in the day. — Chuck recalls enjoying the original Fright Night vampire film."
— Chuck
Let the Right One In
"And then, of course, let the right one in. That's a great one. Both versions to me. — Josh praises both the original and American versions of Let the Right One In."
— Josh
Love at First Bite
"What about first bite with George? George Hamilton? Yes. — Chuck mentions the George Hamilton vampire comedy Love at First Bite."
— Chuck
Near Dark
"Near dark. Did you ever see that one? I don't think so. 1987, Bill Paxton — Josh recommends the vampire film Near Dark to Chuck."
— Josh
Nosferatu
"1922 silent film Nos Veratu with Max Shrek. Yeah, a little more true to the original creepy looking guy. — Josh mentions Nosferatu as being more faithful to the original creepy vampire appearance."
— Josh
Shadow of the Vampire
"Shadow of the Vampire. Thank you, Jerry. — Josh remembers the title of the Willem Dafoe film about making Nosferatu."
— Josh
South Park
"Have you seen that South Park where like all the kids start becoming like vampires? — Chuck references a South Park episode about trendy vampire kids who drink Clamato."
— Chuck
The Aristocats
"Aristocrat. Great movie. Aristocat. He has a naked woman in that one. In the aristocrats? Yeah. The Disney cartoon? — Chuck confuses The Aristocats with The Rescuers when discussing hidden adult content in Disney movies."
— Chuck
The Jerry Springer Show
"remember like on Jerry Springer when that was on or it might still be on have no idea. — Chuck recalls Jerry Springer having episodes about people who live vampire lifestyles."
— Chuck
The Little Mermaid
"There's also the little mermaid thing. The fallacies? Yeah, the hidden, not so hidden, fallacies. — Chuck mentions The Little Mermaid as another Disney movie with alleged hidden adult content."
— Chuck
The Lost Boys
"I would say probably the best of all time, in my opinion, is Lost Boys. — Josh names The Lost Boys as his favorite vampire movie of all time."
— Josh
The Others
"Have you ever seen the others? Oh, is that what those kids had? — Josh references The Others when discussing the disease porphyria."
— Josh
The Rescuers
"No, I'm thinking of the rescuers. Oh, I remember that there's a naked woman in the rescuers. — Chuck corrects himself about which Disney movie allegedly had hidden adult content."
— Chuck
The Twilight Zone
"Do you ever see that Twilight Zone where I can't remember what actor it was. — Josh recalls a Twilight Zone episode about someone paralyzed and unable to communicate they're alive."
— Josh
The Vampire Diaries
"There's TV shows now, vampire diaries — Josh mentions The Vampire Diaries as one of current vampire TV shows."
— Josh
True Blood
"And like true blood, for instance, you know, they can retract their fangs. — Chuck uses True Blood as an example of how modern vampire stories pull from different mythologies."
— Chuck
Twilight
"Have you ever heard of a little movie called Twilight? — Josh brings up Twilight to propose they only mention the franchise once in the vampire episode."
— Josh
Vampire's Kiss
"Vampire's Kiss was funny. Nick Cage. — Josh mentions the Nicolas Cage vampire film Vampire's Kiss."
— Josh
Van Helsing
"And then there are, of course, the bad ones like Van Helsing — Josh lists Van Helsing among bad vampire movies."
— Josh
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