Famous Vampire Slayers: From Van Helsing To Buffy Summers
Vampires Fear Those Whose Central Pursuit Is Slaying Them
Zombies joyfully dine on human flesh and snack on brains. Werewolves howl balefully at the full moon. Ghosts rattle chains and moan mournfully till morning. Witches cast dark incantations and spellbinding spells. Vampires suck our vital blood. It’s simply the merry monster mash. Welcome to the eternal supernatural struggle between our world and theirs. It’s what makes the wacky undead world go round.
And then there’s the other team. Our guys and gals. They are the Slayers.
These are the legendary vampire hunters. All hail these extreme fighters of the sorcerous supernatural and protectors of the vulnerable, meek and weak. They are those brave souls who hunt the undead and demons - especially vampires.
Count Dracula may have terrified the populace of Transylvania for centuries, but when he relocated to England, a Dutch Professor by the name of Abraham Van Helsing awaited the challenge of tangling with the dread lord of the undead. Van Helsing may be the most recognizable slayer, but he’s definitely not the only one of his kind. In fact, these fighters are historic, and a lot more real than you may think.
Learn The Stamp of The Vamp Camp
Fans of Dracula movies watching the Transylvanian Count mix it up with Van Helsing and seeing Buffy: The Vampire Slayer stake those hipster bloodsuckers may think Slayers are merely a Hollywood invention - a play on cops on robbers.
Actually, they’re a significant part of cultural folklore and history.
While many countries boast historic vampire slaying stories, the Balkan cultures of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia are especially rife with a vamp camp of hunters who determinedly pursue those bipedal leeches.
Anyone willing could become a Slayer or Vampire Hunter, but those who were born on a Saturday were believed to possess unique abilities such as seeing a vampire where others could not. These professional vampire exterminators carried a complete killing kit - including mallet, stake, crucifix, crowbars and either holy water or holy oil. Although vampires popularized in Hollywood are portrayed as being bulletproof, these Slayers would often carry pistols to assist in the execution.
Professor Abraham Van Helsing - Dracula
He’s the go to guy to rid our world of nasty, naughty bloodsuckers. He’s also the most well known and probably the first - in terms of literary creations - of the heroic vampire slayers.
Readers of Bram Stoker’s novel, the author of Dracula, were first introduced to the intrepid professor. When Universal Studios produced the 1931 classic version starring Bela Lugosi as the bloodthirsty Transylvanian count, audiences were treated to his arch nemesis, Professor Abraham Van Helsing, played by actor Edward Van Sloan.
In director Francis Ford Coppola’s epic film, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the good professor is portrayed by the Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins, who adds more than a bit of rough fun and tough love in fleshing out his playful Van Helsing. Hopkins plays opposite Gary Oldman’s vampiric Vlad Tepes (who actually existed), and many a critic and fan consider it the finest filmed adaption of the beloved novel.
Blade
Marvel Comics flew their bat wings into the vampire hunter game in the 1970’s, when they introduced their half vampire, half human hero, Blade. He’s both vampire and Slayer.
The vengeful Eric Brooks (Blade) first appeared in the Marvel comic book, The Tomb of Dracula published in 1973. Brooks is known as a dhampir - a biological cross between a human and a vampire. This unique genetic structure bestows supernatural strength and powers onto them, making these half breeds formidable vampire slayers. In 1998, Wesley Snipes took on the role of Blade and helped usher in a very successful and profitable film franchise.
Buffy Summers - Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
She’s a native Californian, a bubbly cheerleader and an all around fashion plate. Buffy Summers is also one of the most effective vampire slayers in entertainment history. She nicknames her stake Mr. Pointy, and he does his job with her assistance quite well, thank you.
Creator Joss Whedon and his writers evolved their energetic, ambitious Buffy to go beyond just battling bad vamps. Ms. Summers and her Scooby Gang successfully took on demons, witches, horny robots, werewolves and even real gods with nasty god complexes.
The impressive narrative trick with Buffy was that the show offered up parallels to the often nightmarish journey of growing up, surviving puberty and graduating high school to go out into the real world - whatever that is - to fight the real demons of our lives. People often forget, however, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar wasn’t the first actress to flesh out the Slayer. Kristy Swanson played the blonde bomber in a feature film first, written by Joss Whedon, released to theaters back in 1992
Angel aka Angelus
Hunk or is he really evil, undead junk? Well, it’s as they always say, complicated. He’s Buffy’s boyfriend, well off and on again. Angel’s also a vampire whose been biting folks for well over one hundred years.
Actor David Boreanaz helped Buffy: The Vampire Slayer develop into a complex, character based series. After falling in love with the Sunnydale Slayer, Angel loses his immortal soul - thereby snapping back into a dread, evil killer without mercy.
Eventually, all is made right again, and Angel becomes as effective a Slayer as his love, Buffy. Ultimately, he leaves both his human girlfriend and the Hellmouth oriented town of Sunnydale to continue to fight the good demonic fight in Los Angeles. What makes the Angel character so fascinating and elicits such sympathy for him is that the moment he attains absolute happiness is the moment he’ll lose his soul again and become a big bad. It’s his strongly defined brooding, neart constant depressive state, which makes him so interesting to watch.
Both shows shared many a crossover episode, making it a must to watch both programs to absorb the full Slayer effect.
Vampire Hunter D
Japanese anime gives its fans many supernatural and sci-fi things to savor. Vampires are a popular focus. Vampire Hunter D is probably the most well known franchise from anime to explore vampire lore.
This mysterious vamp killer has been dispatching the bad fanged ones since 1983. Twenty seven bestselling novels have been published chronicling the main character - D. Like Blade, D is a dhampir, a half human, half vampire man. Unlike most vampires or slayers, D has a more than mystical side. Although possessing strong magical skills, he prefers to fight the blood loving undead using his physical gifts.
Perhaps the most thrilling and fascinating aspect of D’s life is his hand - his Left Hand. This isn’t just a normal appendage, but an independent and sentient lifeform, capable of incredible abilities, including the power to literally save our hero D from bodily destruction and even reviving him when necessary. Two films, comic books and video games have sprung from the fertile soil of D’s creators Hideyuki Kikuchi and Yoshitaka Amano.