What's with this whole vampires vs. werewolves thing?

[Orius]

Posting here, because I'm not sure where this goes.

Anyway, this thing has been bothering me a bit lately. There's this whole "vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies" trope going that's become kind of popular recently, and it seems to have popped up out of nowhere. I'm seeing banner ads all over the net for vampire vs. werewolves games, it's appearing in movies I think (isn't that the plot of the Underworld movies or something?), there's Twilight (the less said about that the better) and that's what I can think of off the top of my head.

Yet, there's no justification for it anywhere in folklore that I can tell. AFAIK, the whole thing originates in White Wolf's WoD with V:tM and W:tA.

Also, am I the only one who thinks "lycan" sounds pretentious as hell?



I long for the simplicity that is ninjas vs. pirates (GO PIRATES!!!1!).

 

[Dice4Hire]

Yet, there's no justification for it anywhere in folklore that I can tell. AFAIK, the whole thing originates in White Wolf's WoD with V:tM and W:tA.

When has that stopped a good story.

I like the idea of modern games with vampires and werewolves at each other's throats ... hehe

 

[unan oranis]

Yet, there's no justification for it anywhere in folklore that I can tell. AFAIK, the whole thing originates in White Wolf's WoD with V:tM and W:tA.

They may have stolen it from the vampire/werewolf war in the 80's cartoon "the real ghostbusters"

 

[Rechan]

It's not a new idea. I remember an episode of the Ghostbusters cartoon that had a town of werewolves and vampires battling (amusingly, whenever one bit the other, they turned, so it was an endless engagement). I can also count at least two occasions the Werewolf vs. Vampire thing popped up in Tales from the Crypt.

To a large part, I think World of Darkness is to blame. In Old World of Darkness (I know diddly about the New edition), werewolves are by nature spiritual creatures that thrive in wildnerness/nature, who hate humanity and cities in general. To werewovles, vampires are outside the natural order, thrive within cities, and are corrupting leeches, and are in part the sort of thing werewolves hunt to 'do their job'. And to vampires, werewolves are the boogieman that eat your face if you get too far out of your comfortable city.

Factor in Underworld, which was a ripoff of WoD and just made the two mortal enemies (Well, werewolves were once a slave to vampires, and the vamps did something to the werewolves which they seek vengence for or something)... Van Helsing also had the werewolf/vamp thing (well, one needed to be a werewolf in order to slay Dracula). And then Twilight, which has vampires (and then drags in the werewolves as an antagonist/opposite love interest)... But then, most of the "Supernatural Sexysexysexsex" books typically do that.

Ultimately I think it's sort of the supernatural (and more serious) equivalent of Pirate vs. Ninja. Some people really like vampires. Some really like werewolves. Some like'm both. They're cool. Additionally, they exist in the same general "Realm" (if vampires exist, it's not a great stretch to accept werewolves too and vice versa). So, people have a habit of putting two cool things in a grudge match to see 'em battle.

And let's face it. Practically anything relating to vampires OR werewolves today has practically nothing to do with folklore.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Probably the two big "popular" horror icons that aren't actually scary in their given popularity are werewolves and vampires. Vampires have their goths, werewolves have their furries.

Naturally, the two sides, being popular for all the horrifyingly wrong reasons, end up clashing.

Also, "lycan" is not only pretentious as hell, but, I imagine, purposefully so - the desired audience likes pretentiousness. Didn't it originally start in Underworld? It's terrible enough to have done so.

 

[talarei07]

there was werewolf vs. vampire woman in the seventies and i think dark shadows did a werewolf vs a vampire. so its not really a new idea but i would say underworld and twilight have made it a popular idea.

 

[Nightson]

Fur Against Fang - Television Tropes & Idioms if you're curious about how far back it goes

 

[Crothian]

It predates WoD so don't place the blame there.

 

[Pbartender]

Fur Against Fang - Television Tropes & Idioms if you're curious about how far back it goes

I was about say...

Didn't it all start with Abbot & Costello?

 

[Umbran]

It's like sneeches, only more Translvanaian.