How Blood-Sucking Vampires Remained Immortal Through Centuries & Entered India Before Thamma

Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna are all set to share the screen in their upcoming film Thamma, which promises an intense face-off between vampires. Interestingly, while the concept of vampires doesn’t originate from Indian mythology or folklore, it has gradually found a place in the country’s horror narrative.

Over time, the mysterious allure of bloodthirsty immortals has become a fascinating addition to India’s evolving horror lore, blending global supernatural elements with local storytelling styles.

© Maddock Films

Vampires’ Origin And Prominence In Popular Culture

The legend of vampires has captivated human imagination for centuries, evolving from eerie folklore into one of the most enduring figures in global pop culture. The origin of vampire mythology can be traced back to ancient civilisations, from the blood-drinking demons of Mesopotamia and the strigoi of Romanian folklore to the revenants of mediaeval Europe.

These creatures were often seen as symbols of fear, death and the unknown, representing humanity’s obsession with immortality and the dark side of desire.

The vampire myth took a more defined shape in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially with literary works like John Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897).

© Archibald Constable and Company

Stoker’s creation gave vampires a seductive sophistication: an aristocrat who preyed upon humans with charm as much as with fangs. From there, the vampire transcended folklore to become a cultural icon, morphing with every generation to reflect society’s evolving fears and fantasies.

In the 20th century, vampires found new life through cinema and television. Early black-and-white classics like Nosferatu (1922) and Dracula (1931) cemented their gothic image, while later interpretations, such as Interview with the Vampire, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, reimagined them as complex beings capable of love, guilt and redemption.

Cartoons and comic books also played a vital role, from Count von Count on Sesame Street to the stylish Hotel Transylvania series, making vampires accessible to younger audiences without stripping away their mystique.

© Columbia Pictures

India, too, has had its own tryst with the vampire cult. The 1970s and 1980s saw the rise of the Ramsay Brothers, pioneers of Hindi horror cinema, who introduced Indian audiences to bloodthirsty vampires lurking in haunted mansions.

Their films, such as Veerana and Purana Mandir, blended gothic horror with Indian superstition, creating a uniquely desi take on the Western vampire myth. Around the same time, pulp Hindi horror novels, often sold at railway stalls, popularised vampires as seductive yet deadly creatures, bridging folklore and fantasy in a distinctly Indian context.

© Ramsay Films

Today, vampires continue to thrive in pop culture because they embody timeless human conflicts, love and death, temptation and morality and mortality and eternal life.

Whether draped in velvet capes or stalking the night in designer jackets, vampires remain eternal, both in myth and in the imagination of every generation.