ABSTRACT
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Twilight saga, and The Vampire Diaries blend horror and teen romance to create a Beloved Cycle in the vampire genre, which features a beloved vampire who does not bite to kill. Classically, monsters like vampires symbolize predatory sexuality; werewolves connote bodily energies and forces exploding out of control; witches signify traditional female powers, including sexuality, which threaten rational patriarchal order; while a wide range of demons signify various sorts of deviance and threats to contemporary order and security. The beloved vampires evolve out of sympathetic vampires of earlier narratives, and the primary difference hinges upon the dynamic of sustained, mutual love between a human and a vampire. Vampires who love and are loved test the idea that emotions imply weakness and human frailty in a world in which humans seem to seek immortality, and erotic love relies upon acknowledging and even embracing one's emotions, including love, sadness, and guilt.
