Mirrors, literature and video games. From the Castle of Čachtice to Konami Digital Entertainment

Abstract

The theme of vampires seems endless and literature has proven it to be a prolific field showing many facets of vampire characters. This study deals with Slavic folklore that has spread legends of the most popular vampires in the world, focusing on Erzsébet Báthory as an example of that literary tradition and its reinterpretations. Considering the distance between Erzsébet and her virtual replicas, it is necessary to ask: Was this Hungarian Countess an inescapable symbol of cruelty for literature used by the video game industry? Has perversion, rather than beauty, produced a hypnotic fascination throughout time?