Post by darkglobe on Aug 6, 2006 9:20:03 GMT -5
There seems to be, in the back of my mind at least, the image of a gothic girl monster. This image has been trained by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, with dark hair, pale skin, black dress. Elvira was of course getting the look from Vampira, the horror host and eventual film star. But Vampira got her look from portraying Morticia Addams from the Addams Family at a Halloween party where she was seen and offered a chance to be a horror host (which eventually led tothe reason she lost when she sued Elvira for stealing her look - they were both copies of somebody else).
So Morticia Addams could be the begining of the Ghoul Girl as a look... but what did Charles Addams base his image on? I personally think it was Carroll Borland, who may have been the first vampire groupie!
She wrote a book, COUNTESS DRACULA which she used to meet Bela Lugosi, toured with him on stage in Dracula, and even got the part of Luna the Vampire Girl in Bela's Mark of the Vampire.
From www.heliophobe.com/cborland.htm:
MagicImage Filmbooks published Countess Dracula shortly after her death, though it was written during Carroll's teens. Fortunately, Carroll was quite aware and pleased of its publication and she even signed around eighty copies before the book was bound or released. This signed edition costs somewhat more and might be out of print by now. Needless to say, every heliophobe wants one ...
The first half of the book concerns itself with Carroll's biography. Of course, the interest centers upon Lugosi's avuncular relationship with the young woman. The biographer, Gregory Wm. Mank does a great job in relating their bond. Otherwise, the most enjoyable aspect of the biography is the pictorial representations of Luna, Carroll's role in Mark of the Vampire. Some of the photos are reproduced here and it is important to note that Carroll single-handedly (with the help of stage make-up) created the "Goth-girl" look. This is where Vampira got her inspiration, though Carroll is not as famous. The second half of the book is the novel itself. The plot's outline I will not give you, but you should know that it is a feminine continuation of the Dracula myth. Carroll wrote her novel after seeing Lugosi's stage version of Dracula and reading Stoker's original epistolary novel. If one can overlook the occasional naiveté of the very young author, Countess Dracula is a rewarding read.
This of course claims a direct desent from Borland to Vampira, disregarding the Addams connection... does anybody know more or have another conjecture of the original 'Ghoul Girl"?
VAMPIRA'S OFFICIAL PAGE
So Morticia Addams could be the begining of the Ghoul Girl as a look... but what did Charles Addams base his image on? I personally think it was Carroll Borland, who may have been the first vampire groupie!
She wrote a book, COUNTESS DRACULA which she used to meet Bela Lugosi, toured with him on stage in Dracula, and even got the part of Luna the Vampire Girl in Bela's Mark of the Vampire.
From www.heliophobe.com/cborland.htm:
MagicImage Filmbooks published Countess Dracula shortly after her death, though it was written during Carroll's teens. Fortunately, Carroll was quite aware and pleased of its publication and she even signed around eighty copies before the book was bound or released. This signed edition costs somewhat more and might be out of print by now. Needless to say, every heliophobe wants one ...
The first half of the book concerns itself with Carroll's biography. Of course, the interest centers upon Lugosi's avuncular relationship with the young woman. The biographer, Gregory Wm. Mank does a great job in relating their bond. Otherwise, the most enjoyable aspect of the biography is the pictorial representations of Luna, Carroll's role in Mark of the Vampire. Some of the photos are reproduced here and it is important to note that Carroll single-handedly (with the help of stage make-up) created the "Goth-girl" look. This is where Vampira got her inspiration, though Carroll is not as famous. The second half of the book is the novel itself. The plot's outline I will not give you, but you should know that it is a feminine continuation of the Dracula myth. Carroll wrote her novel after seeing Lugosi's stage version of Dracula and reading Stoker's original epistolary novel. If one can overlook the occasional naiveté of the very young author, Countess Dracula is a rewarding read.
This of course claims a direct desent from Borland to Vampira, disregarding the Addams connection... does anybody know more or have another conjecture of the original 'Ghoul Girl"?
VAMPIRA'S OFFICIAL PAGE