The victim in a horror film is usually a young white female, this is mainly because this group are easy to present as vulnerable and in need of protection. The female is usually young, blonde and attractive due to the idea being first shown in a more sexist era however as it became the stereotype this idea continued. This is also so she can appeal to a wider male audience. This character is stereotypically dumb and usually the first to be killed off. When this happens it is gruesome and graphic in order to create contrast with her appearance and personality. Finally this characters personality is used to keep the audience on edge as she is usually overly scared and therefore when ever she jumps the audience do too. Examples of this stereotype can be seen in older horrors such as 'Psycho' however we can also see how this has developed in newer horrors such as the woman in black where the protagonist has changed gender.
Dracula-
1897 Gothic novel, Dracula was created by the author Abraham "Bram" Stoker. Here the stereotype of Dracula first was created and since this has created a stereotype of what a vampire villain should look like. Stoker presented this character to be tall and pale in appearance, always dressed in a red waste coat, white collared shirt and long black cape. This character also had 2 sharp fangs on his top set of teeth and lives of the blood of humans. Stoker also set his scene in "Transylvania" and therefore the stereotype also possesses a thick transylvanian accent. As well as the male gender involved in the original Dracula character, class is also a feature of the vampire. His name is 'Count' Dracula, presenting him as an upper class figure involved in 'aristocracy' which also is tied in with the fact he usually lives in a large abandoned castle or mansion, normally situated somewhere out of the way however most citizens of the town know about it and avoid it. Other denotations of the character include him being able to turn into a bat, water burning his skin, garlic and a stake through the heart being able to kill him and him drinking human blood. This stereotype has been shown from the original "Dracula" to much more modern films such as the animation "Hotel Transylvania". However much like other horror stereotypes, the vampire character has been developed into modern films like "Twilight".
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