Date Approved
4-2020
Graduate Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
English (M.A.)
Degree Program
English
First Advisor
Kathleen M. Blumreich
Second Advisor
Jo E Miller
Third Advisor
Robert Rozema
Academic Year
2019/2020
Abstract
The inclusion of children within Gothic and horror fiction has always been regarded as untoward because children are vulnerable to misrepresentation. However, excluding children from transgressive genres eliminates a space where childhood can be critically analyzed. Fortunately, authors such as Stephen King, Anne Rice, and John Ajvide Lindqvist break the taboo through the inclusion of children in vampiric narratives. These narratives encourage readers to question the social narrative of childhood within the context of vampire stories. Through an examination of ‘Salem’s Lot (King, 1975), “Popsy” (King, 1987), Interview with the Vampire (Rice, 1976), and Let the Right One In (Lindqvist, 2007) this paper will reveal the detrimental effects of adherence to the Western conception of childhood. The inclusion of child vampire characters in each novel unveils society’s attempt to perpetuate a submissive definition of childhood. Ultimately, my goal is to demonstrate how the social narrative of childhood utilizes monstrous children to maintain a dangerous imbalance of power between adults and children.
ScholarWorks Citation
Quinn, Ashley, "Innocent No More: How Child Vampires Challenge the Social Narrative of Childhood" (2020). Masters Theses. 981.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/theses/981
