Lauren is a Mexico City–based writer, editor, and translator from Yorkshire with bylines at CNN, BBC Travel, and Al Jazeera. She’s currently working on her first full-length literary translation in between harassing her cat, drinking smuggled Yorkshire Tea, and blogging about Latin American literature at leyendolatam.com.
Lauren is a Mexico City–based writer, editor, and translator from Yorkshire with bylines at CNN, BBC Travel, and Al Jazeera. She’s currently working on her first full-length literary translation in between harassing her cat, drinking smuggled Yorkshire Tea, and blogging about Latin American literature at leyendolatam.com.
Hi, I'm Lauren!Lauren is a Mexico City–based writer, editor, and translator from Yorkshire with bylines at CNN, BBC Travel, and Al Jazeera. She’s currently working on her first full-length literary translation in between harassing her cat, drinking smuggled Yorkshire Tea, and blogging about Latin American literature at leyendolatam.com.
Hi, I'm Lauren!Lauren is a Mexico City–based writer, editor, and translator from Yorkshire with bylines at CNN, BBC Travel, and Al Jazeera. She’s currently working on her first full-length literary translation in between harassing her cat, drinking smuggled Yorkshire Tea, and blogging about Latin American literature at leyendolatam.com.
For a creature supposedly averse to the shiny metal, vampires are all over the silver screen. Whether you want to find the real-life filming locations for your favorite vampire show or simply soak up the places where they were based, there’s no need to make deciding where to go a pain in the neck. Here are our top 10 fang-tastic vampire destinations. Stake ‘em or leave ‘em.
Aficionados of the campy, blood-soaked HBO series will know that it takes place in the American South, although—while Louisiana’s all about letting the good times roll—we’re sorry to report that the True Blood town of Bon Temps is fully fictitious. While you can certainly explore the real-life Louisiana locations featured on the show, including Shreveport, where Vampire Eric and his coiffured sidekick Pam run Fangtasia, most of the exteriors were shot elsewhere. Head to Alex’s Bar in LA to admire that famed Fangtasia awning, check out the Hotel Carmilla exterior at the Courtyard by Marriott Rhode Island. The Fellowship of the Sun? SkyRose Chapel, Whittier.
The 1987 film that launched the careers of Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, and Kiefer Sutherland, The Lost Boys is set in fictional Santa Carla, California, but shot mostly on location in Santa Cruz. Make like a teenage vampire and stalk the Santa Cruz boardwalk or pay a visit to the Santa Clarita valley railroad trestle, where the boys dangle off the edge in one scene. Interiors of Grandpa’s house, unfortunately, were mostly filmed on a soundstage.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula has inspired any number of big (and small) screen adaptations in the 120+ years since it was first published. However, while the 1931 Bela Lugosi rendition is a contender, none have been quite as iconic as Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 version starring Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, and Anthony Hopkins. Although principally shot on soundstages, the drama takes place between Whitby in scenic North Yorkshire and Transylvania in modern-day Romania. Make your trip, ahem, count and visit both in one go.
Sunnydale, California—the fictional setting of Buffy the Vampire Slayer—was mostly filmed in and around real-life California, from Torrance (where you’ll find Sunnydale High) to Santa Monica (where you’ll find downtown Sunnydale). Glory’s Mansion? Catch the exterior at Castle Green Apartments, or pay a visit to the actual cemetery where Buffy used to patrol after dark: Angelus-Rosedal Cemetery.
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), the Titty Twister bar from From Dusk Till Dawn is not real. Constructed specially for the movie in the Mojave Desert, near the Calico Ghost Town, Titty Twister was torn down once filming finished. However, you can most certainly make a trip along the Texas-Mexico border where much of the film’s action takes place. Just don’t expect to run into Salma Hayek—aka Santánico Pandemonium, “Mistress of the Macabre, Epitome of Evil, the most sinister woman who ever danced on the face of this earth”—while you’re there.
Panned by critics (hello, 12% Rotten Tomatoes rating!), Vampire in Brooklyn starring Angela Bassett and Eddie Murphy was primarily shot in California, although the crew did do a long weekend of filming in Brooklyn, New York City. Of course, that’s also where the story took place so why not use this cult classic as an excuse to tour the Big Apple?
Although Brad Pitt famously hated the onscreen characterization of Louis de Pointe du Lac, Interview with the Vampire (based on the Anne Rice book of the same name) was well-received by cinemagoers. While you can catch most of the exterior and establishing shots in New Orleans’ French Quarter, there were also plenty of scenes shot in Paris (including at the Palais Garnier) and London. The interior and exterior shots of Louis’ estate were filmed at the Oak Alley and Destrehan plantations.
Unlike its fang-tasy forerunner Twilight, Vampire Diaries was set in a fictional town—Mystic Falls, Virginia—and filmed in real-life Covington, Georgia. Grab a cone at Scoops or get drinks at Mystic Grill before stopping by the exterior of Elena Gilbert’s home on Floyd Street. Covington Square will, of course, be instantly recognizable to fans of the show, too, as will the Lockwood Mansion (actually Worthington Manor).
Since developed into a Staten Island-based spinoff mockumentary of the same name, the original 2014 film What We Do In The Shadows was set in Wellington, New Zealand, and shot entirely on location. Although most of the clubs featured on film have since shuttered for good, you can still follow in the footsteps of Viago, Vlad, Deacon, Nick, and Stu as they traipse through downtown Wellington. Stop by the site of the Unholy Masquerade too—the Victoria Bowling Club.
Never heard of the (apparently) cult classic Twilight? Where the hell have you been, loca? It just wouldn’t be a vampire roundup without mention of the films that launched a thousand memes. Set in Forks, Washington, Twilight had fans flocking to the city back in 2009 to find the filming locations of their favorite flick. The kicker? Most of the films were shot in neighboring Oregon, including in Silver Falls State Park, and "Forks" is actually Vernonia, but you can’t go wrong with a visit to both sides of the Washington-Oregon state line.
