How did Dracula become the world's most famous vampire? - Stanley Stepanic

翻译人员: Riley WANG 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

How did Dracula become the world's most famous vampire?

德古拉是如何成为世界最著名的吸血鬼的？

德古拉的创作者百年之前就已去世，

More than 100 years after his creator was laid to rest,

Dracula lives on as the most famous vampire in history.

而德古拉永存，成为了历史上最著名的吸血鬼。

But this Transylvanian noble,

但是这位特兰西瓦尼亚贵族，

neither the first fictional vampire nor the most popular of his time,

既不是第一个虚构的吸血鬼， 也不是当时最流行的一个，

may have remained buried in obscurity if not for a twist of fate.

若不是命运的转折，他可能就此湮没于无名。

Dracula's first appearance was in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel of the same name.

1897年，德古拉第一次出现于 Bram Stoker创作的同名小说，

But that was far from the beginning of vampire myths.

但这远远晚于最早的吸血鬼传说。

Blood-sucking monsters had already been part of folklore for at least 800 years.

这种吸血怪物在八百多年前 就是民间故事的一部分。

It was Slavic folklore that gave us the word vampire,

斯拉夫地区的民间传说创造出 “vampire—吸血鬼”这个名字，

or "upir" in Old Russian.

在古俄语中写作“upir”。

The term's first known written mention comes from the 11th century.

这个名称的第一次文字记载出现于11世纪。

Vampire lore in the region predated Christianity's arrival

吸血鬼传说在当地早于基督教兴起，

and persisted despite the church's efforts to eliminate pagan beliefs.

并持续存在，尽管教会努力遏制这种异教徒看法。

Stories of vampires originated from misinterpretations of diseases,

吸血鬼故事来源于对疾病的错误解读，

such as rabies,

例如狂犬病、

and pellagra,

糙皮病、

and decomposition.

以及尸体分解腐败。

In the case of the latter, gasses swelling the body and blood oozing from the mouth

在尸解时，气体会充满身体， 血液也会从嘴里渗出，

could make a corpse look like it had recently been alive and feeding.

这让尸体看起来像刚进食完的活人。

Vampires were describe as bloated with overgrown teeth and nails.

吸血鬼被描述为臃肿的，长着獠牙和长指甲。

This gave rise to many rituals intended to prevent the dead from rising,

这产生了很多防止诈尸的仪式，

such as burying bodies with garlic or poppyseeds,

比如，把大蒜或罂粟籽和尸体一同下葬，

as well as having them staked,

或是把尸体钉住、

burned,

焚烧、

or mutilated.

或是肢解。

Vampire lore remained a local phenomenon until the 18th century

直到18世纪，吸血鬼故事都只是地方性传说，

when Serbia was caught in the struggle between two great powers,

此时正值塞尔维亚陷入

哈布斯堡君主国与奥斯曼帝国之间的纷争。

the Habsburg Monarchy

and Ottoman Empire.

哈布斯堡君主国与奥斯曼帝国之间的纷争时

Austrian soldiers and government officials observed and documented

奥地利军队和政府考察并记录了

当地奇特的埋葬死者的仪式。

the strange local burial rituals,

and their reports became widely publicized.

他们的报道得以广泛传播。

The resulting vampire hysteria got so out of hand that in 1755,

对吸血鬼故事的狂热几近失控，

以至于在1775年，奥地利皇后不得不 派遣自己的私人医生前往调查。

the Austrian Empress was forced to dispatch her personal physician.

He investigated and put an end to the rumors

医生进行了调研，

并且发布了一篇详实的文章辟谣。

by publishing a thorough, scientific refutation.

The panic subsided, but the vampire had already taken root

恐慌退却，但吸血鬼的形象却已经深入人心，

in Western Europe's imagination,

它充斥在西欧人们的想象中。

spawning works like "The Vampyre" in 1819,

1819年《吸血鬼》问世，

and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla" in 1872.

1872年 Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 出版了《卡米拉》。

这本书极大地影响了爱尔兰少年Bram Stoker，

This book would greatly influence a young Irish drama critic named Bram Stoker.

他后来成为了一名戏剧评论家。

Stoker, who was born in Dublin in 1847,

Stoker于1847年出生在都柏林，

was famously bedridden with an unknown illness until the age of seven.

他七岁之前都因为疾病而卧床不起。

During that time, his mother told him folktales

在那期间，他的母亲经常给他讲民间传说

and true tales of horror,

以及可怕的恐怖故事，

including her experiences during an outbreak of cholera in 1832.

其中包括她亲身经历的1832年霍乱。

There, she described victims buried alive in mass graves.

她描述了感染者们如何被活埋。

Later in his life, Stoker went on to write fantasy, romance, adventure stories,

之后，Stoker创作了很多奇幻的、 浪漫的以及冒险类故事，

and, in 1897, "Dracula."

并且在1897年写出了“德古拉”。

Although the book's main villain and namesake

尽管书中的主要反派人物

is thought to be based on the historical figure of Vlad III Dracula,

被认为是基于历史上 弗拉德三世而塑造的同名人物，

or Vlad the Impaler,

被认为是基于历史上 弗拉德三世而塑造的同名人物，

the association is mostly just that they share a name.

但两个人物也只是名字相同。

Other elements and characters were inspired directly and indirectly

其他人物性格及要素直接或间接地

by various works in the Victorian Era,

来源于维多利亚时代的众多作品，

such as "The Mysterious Stranger."

例如“神秘的陌生人”。

The novel, upon release, was only a moderate success in its day,

“德古拉”问世时并未大获成功，

nor was it even Stoker's most well-known work,

它也不是Stoker最著名的作品，

mentioned only briefly in a 1912 obituary.

在1912年Stoker去世的讣告中也只是一笔带过。

But a critical copyright battle would completely change Dracula's fate,

但是一场激烈的版权之争 彻底改变了德古拉的命运，

and catapult the character into literary renown.

并且使这个人物在文学界一举成名。

In 1922, a German studio adapted the novel into the now classic silent film "Nosferatu"

1922年一家德国电影公司将其改编为 无声电影——“诺斯费拉图”，

without paying royalties.

但其并未交付版税。

Despite changes in character names and minor plot points,

尽管人物名称和情节细节都有改编，

但二者的相似却是非常明显的。

the parallels were obvious, and the studio was sued into bankruptcy.

最后德国公司被起诉并因此而破产。

To prevent more plagiarism attempts,

为了防止其他盗版行为，

Stoker's widow decided to establish copyright

Stoker的遗孀决定

为舞台剧版本的“德古拉”申请版权。

over the stage version of "Dracula"

by approving a production by family-friend Hamilton Deane.

她同意了一位朋友Hamilton Deane进行的制作。

Although Deane's adaptation made drastic cuts to the story,

尽管Deane的改编大量删除了故事情节，

it became a classic,

但作品成为了经典，

thanks largely to Bela Lugosi's performance on Broadway.

这也归功于Bela Lugosi在百老汇的精彩演出。

Lugosi后来在1931年环球影业 出品的电影版中也担任主演，

Lugosi would go on to star in the 1931 film version by Universal,

lending the character many of his signature characteristics.

并在塑造角色时加入了很多自己的特点。

And since then, Dracula has risen again in countless adaptations,

从那之后，又有不计其数的对德古拉形象的改编。

finding eternal life far beyond the humble pages of his birth.

它也因此而摆脱其平凡的诞生，得以永世留名。