Nosferatu: The Dark History Beyond The Coffin

Nosferatu is a word that has now become synonymous with the word vampire, but it didn’t used to be so. Nosferatu derives its roots from the Romanian word Nesuferitu which translates to the ‘offensive/ insufferable one’. 

The first appearance of this word can be traced back to an 1865 German article in an Austro-Hungarian magazine by Wilhelm Schmidt. Schmidt details in his piece the various Transylvanian customs and superstitions and refers to the Nosferatu as a Vampyr.

Two decades later, in a similar piece on Transylvanian superstitions and in her travelogue ‘The Land Beyond the Forest’ (1888), British author Emily Gerard incorporated ‘Nosferatu’ as the Romanian word for vampire.

Now exposed to this nomenclature, Bram Stoker utilized this term in his novel Dracula in 1897. Stoker’s interpretation of the word Nosferatu did not mean vampire but quite simply ‘undead’. With Dracula now becoming the face of vampirism, it was only natural for adaptations to follow.

In 1921 Prana Film, a German film studio was founded by Enrico Dieckmann and Albin Grau. It was set up to produce films whose primary subject matter was the supernatural and occult phenomena. And what better subject was there than the undead Count Dracula? Prana Film decided to make an unauthorized adaptation of Stoker’s novel, and that was Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922).It is perhaps director F.W. Murnau’s best known work.

Despite this silent German expressionist film not becoming a commercial success due to copyright infringement, it is one of the cornerstones of vampire mythos.

Grau himself was an occultist, artist and architect. The highly stylized visual aesthetic (sets, costumes, storyboards etc.) of the 1922 Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror film is credited to him. He was also responsible for the occult and alchemical themes laced in the film.

To bypass the copyright issues, this film had to make several changes from the source material. First, the vampire antagonist was named Count Orlok instead of Dracula with the setting changed to Germany in 1838 from 1890s Britain. Names of all the characters were changed and a lot of the supporting cast from Dracula did not make an appearance here. Orlok also doesn’t turn his victims, so everyone is spared Lucy Westenra’s fate.

The belief that sunlight is harmful to the vampire kind finds its origins in Orlok. In Count Dracula’s case (and the vampires in folktales), exposure to sunlight is not lethal. Vampiric powers are merely weakened by the power of the sun.

Orlok’s distinctive, dramatic monstrous appearance (portrayed by Max Schrek) is also one of the most iconic vampire designs. Count Dracula in contrast has a tame appearance that allows him to blend in with the living.

Unfortunately, these changes made no difference to Stoker’s widow Florence who sued Prana Film. In order to further evade the copyright infringement due to their unauthorized adaptation of the novel, Prana Film declared bankruptcy. Nosferatu was their first and final film, as well the final nail in their coffin. The court ordered all the copies of the film to be destroyed. However, a few managed to survive.

Sadly, even though the film survived, a lot of Hans Erdmann’s music score composed for the film has been lost so we can never ever hear Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror with the original orchestra accompaniment.

When Florence Stoker died and the copyright to Dracula expired, Nosferatu reared his head once again. The day Dracula entered public domain, German filmmaker Werner Herzog set out to remake Nosferatu, this time the characters retained the names of their original counterparts in the book. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) was the first time Count Dracula (technically Orlok) spoke on screen.

Note: if you want to hear the Count sing there’s even a rock opera, Nosferatu the Vampire (1995) based on Murnau’s film, by Bernard J. Taylor!

Aside from adaptations, there is the film Shadow of the Vampire (2000). written by Steven Katz and directed by E. Elias Merhige, this is a fictionalized account of the making of the 1922 silent film. John Malkovich plays F.W. Murnau, a director wanting to add another layer of realism to his film, no matter the stakes. To do this, he decides to cast Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), an actual vampire, to play Orlock. Unfortunately for Murnau’s crew, they have no idea that their eccentric and strange lead is an actual vampire and his ‘method acting’ might just be the death of them.

Today, most people recall Nosferatu as the night shift manager at the Krusty Krab who has a fondness for playing with light switches in SpongeBob SquarePants. However, 2024 became the season of Nosferatu, as this vampire saw not one but two remakes of Murnau’s 1922 film.

In chronological order first, we have David Lee Fisher’s film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. This is a near copy with scene-by-scene recreation of the 1922 original. There’s a very surreal touch here because this film utilizes the original film’s backgrounds (which are now colorized) via green screen.

The second of course is Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. This is a significantly darker gothic and more erotic take on the original. In a historic first, the normally clean-shaven Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) sports a mustache. Dafoe stars here as well, not as a vampire but this time as Van Helsing’s equivalent, Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz.

Nosferatu continues to wield his dark influence. He now even stands toe to toe with his original Dracula himself. His presence can be felt everywhere, from children’s cartoons to games to films. The Nosferatu archetype has also become very popular.

In the 1979 film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Salem’s Lot, Kurt Barlow’s appearance was strongly influenced by Orlok. With his pointed ears, bald head, pointy central incisors and bone-white skin, Barlow looks like the latter’s long-lost cousin.

Role playing game Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines (2004) makes the player step into the shoes of a vampire. The game features several subspecies of vampires that the player can choose to belong to, and one such clan is the Nosferatu. The character models of all the members of the Nosferatu clan bear a strong likeness to their original namesake. In Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), it is possible for the player to encounter a mysterious vampire who bears an awful resemblance to Count Orlok in a dark alley.

White Wolf’s table top role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade features several vampiric clans that populate its world. One of these clans is the Nosferatu. These vampires operate on stealth as their very visage is a dead giveaway to their otherworldly nature. These resourceful vampires wield the power of information through their penchant for technology. They do so via SchreckNet, which is a computer network for vampires run by the Nosferatu. The name SchreckNet is a callback to Max Schreck, who originally breathed life into the iconic undead.

The journey of Nosferatu from its origins to present day is a fascinating one. It is a unique tale of how an unauthorized adaptation grew into creating a new breed of vampire. Nosferatu’s presence has darkened many nights in the past and will continue to do so far, far, far into the future.

Be careful of that shadow creeping up the stairs in the dead of the night.