Lord Ruthven (vampire) - Subsequent Appearances

Subsequent Appearances

The story was an immediate success and several other authors quickly adapted the character of Lord Ruthven into other works. Cyprien Bérard wrote an 1820 novel, Lord Ruthwen ou les Vampires, which was falsely attributed to Charles Nodier. Nodier himself wrote an 1820 play, Le Vampire, which was adapted back into English for the London stage by James Robinson Planché as The Vampire, or The Bride of the Isles. At least four other stage versions of the story also appeared in 1820.

In 1828, Heinrich August Marschner and W. A. Wohlbrück adapted the story into a German opera, Der Vampyr. A second German opera with the same title was written in 1828 by Peter Josef von Lindpaintner and Cäsar Max Heigel, but the vampire in Lindpaintner's opera was named Aubri, not Ruthven. Dion Boucicault revived the character in his 1852 play The Vampire: A Phantasm, and played the title role during its long run. Alexandre Dumas, père also used the character in an 1852 play.

A Lord Ruthven also exists in Tom Holland's novel, Lord of the Dead. Lord Ruthven is actually Lord Byron.

A Lord Ruthven also appeared in the Swedish novel Vampyren (1848), the first published work by author and poet Viktor Rydberg; as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that he is inspired by him in name only. This Ruthven is actually no supernatural being at all, but a deranged psychopath believing himself to be a vampire.

In The Count of Monte Cristo, the main character Edmond Dantès is often referred to as Lord Ruthven by a countess who is the friend of Albert. It becomes a bit of a joke, though Albert eventually seems to believe it. The countess incorrectly attributes the creation of Ruthven to Byron.

After the appearance of Dracula in 1897, Ruthven's fame faded. However, the character has still been used as the inspiration for a 1945 film, The Vampire's Ghost, and was adapted into comic book format in 1973. Lord Ruthven is used as a character in the background of the Vampire: The Masquerade game system, under the name Lambach Ruthven as a Tzimisce Methuselah.

Kim Newman uses the character of Lord Ruthven in his alternate history Anno Dracula series, having Ruthven serve as the Conservative Prime Minister after Count Dracula seizes the English throne. Ruthven holds the Premiership from c. 1886 until 1940, when he loses it to Winston Churchill. Ruthven later reclaims it following the war, losing it to Churchill again after the Suez Crisis. Ruthven later serves as Home Secretary under Margaret Thatcher and is poised to take over as Prime Minister again following her departure.

Ruthven also appeared in some Superman comics, notably in Superman: The Man of Steel #14 and #42 and Superman #70. He has also appeared in Marvel Comics. Originally, he appeared in the first issue of Vampire Tales, then as the possessor of the mystical book called Darkhold. An incidental character called Ruthven appears in later issues of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comic; this Ruthven is a man with a rabbit's head, as well as prominent "vampire" fangs.

A comical "Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd" is the main character of Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore. In it, the pastoral Robin Oakapple finds that he is descended from an evil uncle and is forced to take up his ancestor's evil ways.

Lord Ruthven is a Notorious Monster in the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI