Werewolf vampire hybrids, creatures that exhibit both werewolf and vampire traits, have become popular figures in modern fantasy fiction. But when and where did the first fictional werewolf vampire hybrid appear? To answer this question, we must look back through the history of werewolf and vampire lore to find the origins of these mythical creatures.
The History of Werewolves
Werewolves have their roots in ancient legends and folklore from around the world. The word “werewolf” derives from the Old English words “were” meaning man and “wulf” meaning wolf. Stories of men shapeshifting into wolves and other animal forms date back to ancient Greece and Rome. Greek mythology speaks of Lycaon, a king who was turned into a wolf as punishment by Zeus. In Rome, the poet Ovid wrote about King Lycaeus of Arcadia, who became a wolf to appease the god Zeus. These early tales helped lay the groundwork for later werewolf legends.
During the medieval period, belief in werewolves was widespread across Europe. They were seen as a threat to society, capable of killing livestock, destroying property, and hurting human beings. Werewolves were associated with witchcraft and devil worship. The monsters were thought to transform under the full moon and roam the countryside at night. Werewolf trials became common during this time, with suspected werewolves put on trial and often executed if found guilty. The most famous werewolf trials took place in France in the 16th and 17th centuries.
From the 17th to 19th centuries, werewolf beliefs gradually declined as supernatural and rationalist worldviews clashed across Europe. However, fictional tales continued to play an important role in keeping werewolf legends alive. 18th century Gothic horror stories such as Hugues the Wer-Wolf (1798) contained intriguing werewolf characters. Then in the 19th century, authors like Guy Endore and Alexandre Dumas penned popular werewolf fiction that reached mass audiences and brought these beasts into the horror literary canon.
The Evolution of Vampire Lore
Like werewolves, vampires have their roots in the folklore and mythology of multiple ancient civilizations across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Many early vampire myths centered around demonic entities and spirits that would rise from the grave to drain the lifeforce of the living. By the 18th century, southeastern Europe became a major focal point for vampire scares and stories.
It was during this time that vampires transitioned from the stuff of local folklore to broader literary and cultural phenomena. In the 1720s-30s, several well-publicized cases of “vampire attacks” stoked public interest and fear across Europe. This inspired fresh waves of vampire fiction. One of the most influential early vampire stories was The Vampyre (1819) by John Polidori, depicting an aristocratic, seductive vampire named Lord Ruthven. Vampires continued appearing in poems, plays, and penny dreadfuls throughout the 19th century.
Then came Bram Stoker’s iconic 1897 novel Dracula. Drawing from Eastern European folklore, Stoker created an instantly iconic vampire character in Count Dracula. Dracula embodied many tropes that became standard vampire lore – from fangs and blood-drinking to shape-shifting into bats and vulnerability to sunlight. Dracula sparked an explosion of vampire fiction in the 20th century, from F.W. Murnau’s 1922 film Nosferatu to Stephenie Meyer’s 2005 Twilight novel series.
When Did the First Werewolf Vampire Hybrid Appear?
Werewolves and vampires both emerged from the shadows of folklore and myth over centuries to become major figures in Gothic and horror literature. It was only a matter of time before authors started to combine these two types of monsters into werewolf vampire hybrids. Tracing the origins of the first werewolf vampire hybrid requires looking at some of the earliest examples in popular fiction.
Varney the Vampire
One of the very first fictional werewolf vampire combinations can be found in the 1847 penny dreadful serial Varney the Vampire; or, The Feast of Blood. Penned by James Malcolm Rymer, this series featured Sir Francis Varney as a vampire antihero in over 220 chapters. Varney had many traditional vampire traits, including fangs, hypnotic powers, and superhuman strength and speed. But he also exhibited some werewolf-like qualities such as a furry, disfigured appearance and associations with the moon.
In Chapter 139 of the series, Varney fully transforms into a werewolf through an act of will, describing the process: “The power of the wolf is upon me. The change will come.” He then hunts down his enemies on Christmas Eve in a wolflike form. While not labeled an outright werewolf vampire hybrid, Varney displays an early synthesis of werewolf and vampire traits and abilities over a century before such crossovers became mainstays of horror.
Wagner the Wehr-Wolf
Another early example of combined werewolf vampire powers appears in the 1857 novel Wagner the Wehr-Wolf by George W.M. Reynolds. The main character Wagner gains supernatural abilities from a gypsy curse that causes him to transform into a wolf at night. Wagner uses these werewolf powers to attack enemies and drain their blood, essentially taking on vampire-like traits as well.
Reynolds’ novel depicts one of the first examples of a character exhibiting both werewolf transformation and vampire blood-drinking abilities. While not technically a vampire himself, Wagner’s fusion of werewolf and vampire traits in a single character was an early precursor to hybrids that fully blended both monsters into one.
Eric, the Phantom of the Opera
In the 1910 serialized novel The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, the character Erik is revealed to have a mix of vampire and werewolf-like traits. Erik displays supernatural abilities such as mind control and shape-shifting, providing an explanation that he was born with a corpse-like appearance. At one point, he drinks blood from one of the human characters, combining vampire blood thirst with his mutations.
The Phantom of the Opera was massively popular during its initial run in the early 1900s. While Erik is never explicitly labeled a werewolf vampire hybrid, his blend of superhuman powers from both sides of horror would help pave the way for later hybrid creations that drew directly from werewolf and vampire myth.
Modern Werewolf Vampire Hybrids
Explicit combinations of werewolf and vampire traits into single hybrid creatures truly took off in the latter half of the 20th century with the rise of modern horror fiction. Hybrids allowed authors to create monsters that exhibited the most fearsome powers of both vampires and werewolves in one body. Here are some noteworthy examples of early modern werewolf vampire hybrids.
Blood and Chocolate Film (2007)
This 2007 film adaptation of Annette Curtis Klaus’ 1997 young adult novel featured a race of werewolves that could shift not only into wolf form, but also into bat-like vampiric creatures. These werewolf bats could fly and attack victims to drink blood, combining traits from both mythical monsters. The film put a unique spin on werewolf vampire hybrids by giving the werewolves vampire-like secondary forms.
Quinn from Supernatural TV Series (2012-2020)
The popular CW network TV series Supernatural introduced fans to one of the more well-known werewolf vampire hybrids in recent pop culture: the character Quinn. Quinn appeared in multiple episodes as a werewolf who was turned into a hybrid monster after drinking vampire blood. After this transformation, he gained powers from both creatures, including shapeshifting, super speed and strength, and blood-drinking.
The Hybrids in Underworld Film Series (2003-2016)
The Underworld movies presented entire races of vampire and werewolf hybrids as key parts of the story world. Powerful vampire elders like Viktor and Markus sought to create these hybrids as super soldiers possessing combined strengths. Notable hybrid characters included Michael Corvin, Marcus’ twin brother William, and Markus himself after becoming a hybrid in Underworld: Evolution. The Underworld franchise expanded the potential lore and abilities of werewolf vampire hybrids more than any other film series.
The Origins of Hybrids in Vampire Diaries Books
While the Underworld films expanded big screen werewolf vampire hybrid lore, a young adult book series deserves credit for pioneering explicit hybrids in modern vampire fiction: The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith.
First published in 1991, The Vampire Diaries revolved around supernatural teens at a high school in Virginia. The book introduced Klaus, one of the oldest vampires in history and a member of the Original vampire family. In the next book, The Vampire Diaries: The Fury, Klaus kidnaps the heroine Elena and her friend Tyler and performs an occult blood ritual to turn them into werewolf vampire hybrids.
This ritual allowed Klaus to create a hybrid minion loyal only to him. While the hybrid concept isn’t explored in depth before Klaus’ death, the books establish Klaus as the first character to intentionally create werewolf vampire hybrids for his own agenda. The Vampire Diaries helped pioneer werewolf vampire hybrids as a new breed of superpowered monster, paving the way for more complex hybrid lore and characters in the future.
The Evolution of Hybrids in The Vampire Diaries and The Originals TV Shows
When The CW adapted The Vampire Diaries books into a hit TV show from 2009-2017, the Klaus character and his hybrid experiments played a central role in the unfolding supernatural drama. The show expanded greatly upon the hybrid concept.
As in the novels, Klaus is revealed as a member of the ultra-powerful Original vampire family, which also includes his siblings Rebekah and Elijah. He gains the ability to create werewolf vampire hybrids by feeding his blood to werewolves before killing them. This allows loyal hybrid minions to tap into both their werewolf and vampire powers.
The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff The Originals (2013-2018) devoted multiple seasons of plotting to Klaus’ efforts to build up his hybrid army for domination and family reunification. He successfully sires main characters like Tyler Lockwood as hybrids. The hybrid lore established in the shows – involving doppelganger blood, sire bonds, and the threat to vampires – became some of the most complex fictional hybrid mythology ever developed.
Klaus Mikaelson: The First Intentional Werewolf Vampire Hybrid Creator
Based on an analysis of early works featuring hybrid-like characters, combined with the in-depth hybrid mythology in The Vampire Diaries/The Originals novels and shows, it’s clear that one character stands out as the first intentional creator of werewolf vampire hybrids:
Klaus Mikaelson
While mixed vampire/werewolf traits appeared in 19th century penny dreadfuls and pulp fiction, these hybrid combinations were more accidental than intentional creations. The first iconic figure to purposefully design werewolf vampire crosses was Klaus as depicted in L.J. Smith’s Vampire Diaries books in the early 1990s. Klaus’ innovative occult blood ritual for turning werewolves into hybrid slaves provided the template for future fictional hybrids.
The Vampire Diaries and The Originals shows greatly expanded Klaus’ hybrid lore and made his hybrids essential to the plot. For developing the first detailed methods for hybrid creation and building a hybrid army, Klaus Mikaelson clearly stands out as the pioneering mastermind behind werewolf vampire hybrids in modern fantasy fiction.
The Enduring Popularity of Werewolf Vampire Hybrids
While werewolves, vampires, and other mythical creatures have been around for millennia, werewolf vampire hybrids only emerged as their own distinct entity in the horror fiction of the 19th and 20th centuries. These mixed-breed monsters blended the most primal strengths and savagery of both werewolves and vampires into singular physical forms. The concept proved so compelling that werewolf vampire hybrids now rank among the most popular creatures in contemporary supernatural franchises.
Klaus Mikaelson of The Vampire Diaries helped establish tropes and lore that have become standard for hybrids across mediums today. Modern examples of hybrids that follow in Klaus’ footsteps include the vampire Rudyard Kipling in Kim Harrison’s The Hollows novels and the Lycans in the Underworld movies. Werewolf vampire hybrids also feature prominently in franchises like Twilight, True Blood, Grimm, and Teen Wolf.
Fantastical hybrids allow creative new directions for authors, filmmakers, artists, and game developers in horror and dark fantasy stories. With these multifaceted creatures just beginning to be fully explored in the realms of fiction, werewolf vampire hybrids look to have a strong, eternal future awaiting them across every medium imaginable.