Supernatural In The Cosmorama

The supernatural entities are never referred to as vampires in the Cosmorama. However, the Count draws close comparisons to a vampire: his name, his ability to appear out of thin air, his ghostly white appearance and red eyes are clear similarities. (127) Furthermore,early vampire folklore, is heavily connected to misunderstandings about death. (source) Once the Count returns from the grave Doctor Bin reflects,"Well, it was exactly as though he were dead.", (117) displaying the unbalance between the living and the dead in the story. The assumable laws of life and death are out powered by another force in this narrative. Another common theme between vampires and the Count is the notion of females are subservient. Eliza's relationship with her husband is described as being torturous, she is trapped and held against their will by the Count.

Another similarity between the supernatural in Cosmorama and vampires is the duality of people. The character Dr. Bin greatly exemplifies this trait, he first gave the Cosmorama to Vladimir to warn his Uncle of his Aunts affair. (96) The doctor's doppelganger in the cosmoram reveals this double meaning, the real Doctor does not know his true intent. The Doctor warns that "There I don't know myself what I do, but here I understand my [...] unconscious motive." (96) Meaning that the real Doctor us unaware of his true intentions and the balance he brings to Vladimir’s state of mind is a facade. The result of these similarities between the Cosmorama and of gothic vampires is ultimately the sensation of fear, more specifically the fear of the "other" (source). The “other” blurs the boundaries between reality and the unknown by defying logic and the predictable laws of nature. Thus the vampire imagery gives a sense power to the Count that is greater than