The Volcano and the Vampire: The Case for a Volcanic Gothic

Abstract

This article charts the cultural connections between the vampire and the volcano as gothic symbols. Covering the period between the eighteenth century – when increased volcanic activity on Etna and Vesuvius as well as the excavations at Pompeii sparked a cultural fascination with volcanos – and the publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), which originally featured a sensational volcanic ending, I argue that the volcano and the vampire become culturally interconnected and share much of the same symbolic coding and signifying power. Both threaten social orders and even civilizations through the destruction of human bodies, relationships, and property. Both are portals in time – sites where ancient horrors might be spewed forth to menace the present. And both produce uncannily petrified people, from the undead body of the vampire to the human remains from Pompeii. This article makes the case for the volcano as an important and previously overlooked gothic symbol, and for a Volcanic Gothic as a mode through which writers could articulate cultural fears.