Vampires,Tomboys & Bodyguards, Oh My! (F-M)

[Gypsy]

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A Shadow Out of Frame
Vampire / Gothic / Alt Historical   
A story idea inspired by Shadow of the Vampire

“Ellen is a woman who discovers the ultimate expression of love in the most exquisite pain imaginable. Sound familiar?  It will be your most demanding role, the role that will make you great as an actress.  Consider it a sacrifice to your art.”  ~~ Murnau

“And you think I would ever do such a thing?  That’s a rather skewed characterization coming from a man I’ve spent the past two hours raping like a woman.  Still, I must admit you took it like a man.”  ~~Micheline _{(Berlin Cabaret owner – from the screenplay)}



“My sense of style is realism, but my sense of art is moral.  I want to explore evil with the eye of a scientist.”  ~~ Murnau

“There are others less indispensable.  Why not the script-girl?” ~~ Murnau      “The script girl?  I’ll eat her later.” ~~ Orlock


“It was woman.  We were together in the night and then she left me …” ~~ Orlock






A story prompt featuring a picture of an old fashioned projector running in the darkness of a movie theater inspired the idea, and desire, to write a story involving a vampire in the early film industry.

The movie ‘Shadow of the Vampire”, provided further musing.  It is a great old-school gothic style movie about making a movie, and the performance of John Malkovich as a narcissistic, amoral, and yet philosophical director who is ruthless in his pursuit of his art and convinced o his own genius.

I do not want to write about the movie, but rather a small chapter that would take place long after Murnau's film horrified audiences on the silent screen.

The premise – a woman involved in the shooting of ‘Nosferatu’ was turned by Orlock (unbeknownst to him) and was either presumed dead or else managed to return to Berlin after the horrific end to filming.   

Perhaps it was Greta Schroeder, the actress who played Ellen.   She is a diva of the age, a flapper, a sexually liberated woman, and an occasional drug user.    She was Count Orlock’s final meal, but was interrupted before he had fully finished.

Or it could have been Micheline, who only made it into the American version of the film for a shot of Murnau lifting her skirt to bestow a kiss upon smooth skin.  She was, in the screenplay, the owner of the cabaret in Berlin catering to wealthy decadents, including Herr Doctor Murnau.  Who is to say that he escaped Orlock unscathed?  Or that his lover came to Romania to visit him, and fell prey to the vampire before Murnau learned of her arrival.

Maybe it was the script girl, so scathingly dismissed by Murnau as he berated the vampire over killing a valuable member of his crew.  It might be the makeup artist who was not allowed to powder Orlock's face, or Elke or Maria who dressed the sets or extra from the film, or a nurse from the local hospital accompanied someone back to Berlin, or even a would-be actress who acted as dogsbody for the film's important personages.

Whoever she is, she is now a vampire, living in a city with a strong theatrical presence, famous in her own right at least in that city - an actress in plays, a cabaret singer, a patron of the arts.

She wants to share her story to someone who might understand.

Perhaps she is weary of living a lonely existence where her only true reality is captured frame by frame.  She might be disgusted by the change in society and revisits the past in this manner to recapture something of a life that is slipping away, frame by frame.

Maybe she wants a companion who she hopes will imbue her with new purpose.   It could be that she was enamored by Murnau, and wants to honor his legacy by sharing her 'gift' with someone in the industry who she feels could recreate his genius, given a ... unique perspective. 

It might even be that she is tired, and wants to echo Murnau's cry of "Thank god, an end to this artifice!" as she shares her truth with a single soul.

There are a lot of possibilities for the dynamic, and I'm hoping to leave it open for discussion to capture a flavor that interests both writers. 

What I would definitely like:

• A time period between 1926 – 1950, in a metropolis with a great appreciation for film -- Hollywood is the obvious, but it could just as easily be New York, Paris, London ...  Heavy emphasis on historical detail is not necessary.  Avoiding obvious anachronisms would be desired, but capturing the flavor of the time chosen works just fine.


• I would prefer the opposing character not to be a protagonist, per se – no Van Helsing, no vampire hunter, no priest (unless it were a priest embroiled in a crisis of faith). 


• I would also like my partner's character to be someone with ambition, a driving goal, that makes the idea of the vampire’s wealth, influence, or fame a temptation that he could fight only so hard.


• A writing partner who can help to move the story along would be ideal -- someone desiring collaboration and who would work with me to achieve a good, enjoyable story.


• A positing speed of 1-3 times per week.

In the Crosshairs
Contemporary / Action

Kelleen Dauphin hadn't seen her father in ten years, not since the day he'd told her that he'd filed for divorce from her mother, and was planning to marry the conciliatory-smiling bitch on his arm.  "You'll live with us, of course," he'd stated, his snake-oil salesman's hand covering that of her mother's replacement as if to hide the presumptive diamond ring on her finger.

"Like hell I will!" 

Kelleen, called Kelly by her friends, punctuated the growled response by throwing her glass of grape juice in his face before stomping out.

Her only regret over their parting was that she didn't throw the glass as well ...  and that only a few drops got on her soon-to-be stepmother's Neiman-Marcus blouse.  At least she'd ordered grape juice, and she hoped the stain set.

Her father was a persistent bastard, and he didn't simply accept her decision, but her grandfather had taken the letter from her father's lawyer with a 'We'll just see about that" grumble of defiance, and that was that. 

Her grandfather didn't travel in the same circles as her father, but he'd been fortunate enough to have inherited land from his grandfather that sat on top of substantial, and valuable, mineral deposits.  His wealth was the only reason her father had married her mother, and as far as Kelleen was concerned, her father was the reason that her mother was being cared for in an expensive private institution.

Such care was expensive, and her grandfather shouldered the full burden of it, other than what her mother's trust fund covered.  Francis Dauphin had offered, as his business ventures and political maneuvering increased his fortunes, but his 'blood money' had been spurned.

Of course, there was fault enough to go around, but she had always been the type to offer her loyalties with a dogged blindness -- a fault that her mother had shared, if Kelleen had just allowed herself to see it.

Now, her estranged father's company is on the verge of rolling out a new technology that would make mining in delicate habitats environmentally safe.  In a world caught on the cusp of environmental activism that wanted fossil fuels to go the way of the dinosaur and a world that needed energy until science could make that leap, Francis Dauphin found himself in the crosshairs.

Kelleen hadn't cared ... at least not until a black suburban had driven up along side her on the private drive to her grandfather's house when she was jogging, and masked men slid out from behind the darkened glass doors.   They'd gotten more than they bargained for, since Kelleen's first instinct had been fight -- a good, hard kick between the legs of the first man who'd grabbed at her her had bought her enough time for the second instinct, flight, to kick in.

Now, it seemed, that the daughter of the CEO of such a controversial company needed a bodyguard.  Her father insisted ... and what was worse, this time her grandfather agreed.



Looking for a partner who is interested in helping flesh out the bare bones of the idea.  Kelleen is a stubborn tomboy, smart in her way, but she has tunnel vision when it comes to viewing the world.   I expect there to be violence in the story, and the relationship between Kelleen & the bodyguard will contain power struggle elements.

What I would definitely like:

• A writing partner who can help to move the story along would be ideal -- someone desiring collaboration and who would work with me to achieve an enjoyable story.


• A positing speed of 1-3 times per week.