From Dracula to Edward: A sparkling history of LEGO vampires
The reveal of LEGO Ideas 21354 Twilight: The Cullen House has given a new look to LEGO vampires, but the Cullens are hardly the first.
The Cullen family is represented by four of its members in 21354 Twilight: The Cullen House, with Edward, Alice, Rosalie, and Carlisle getting their own minifigures in the upcoming LEGO Ideas set, due for release on February 1. All four have faces with the tell-tale golden eyes and Edward even has metallic printing to represent the sparkling skin that Twilight vampires have in the sun.
However, the Cullens are far from the first LEGO vampires to appear as minifigures. Let’s take a trip down memory lane to a brick-built crypt in Transylvania…
Starting with the classics
The very first vampire was also based on cinematic inspiration, coming in the LEGO Studios theme, a now-retired collection of sets that were geared around the making of stop-motion movies. 2002’s 1381 Vampire’s Crypt welcomed a vampire minifigure with the cliche on-screen square haircut. He came complete with his own crypt as part of the Scary Thriller sub-theme, as well as other vampiric must-haves like a clove of garlic and a coffin. The red cape adds a pop of colour that was immortalised two years later in a keychain in 2004.
LEGO fans would have to wait another eight years for an updated vampire minifigure, now in almost all black with vivid red eyes. Inventively named Vampire, he appeared in LEGO Collectible Minifigures 8684 Series 2, with a slightly more cartoonish look, as well as a bat familiar.
Both of these designs stayed fairly typical of what people would expect from a classic vampire – but rest assured some more colourful characters await.
Homeless no more
Vampire minifigures got no less than two buildings to live in during 2012 with the release of 10228 Haunted House and 9468 Vampyre Castle, as well as 9464 The Vampyre Hearse to get around in. As part of the LEGO Monster Hunters theme, the vampires now had more flesh out personalities, as well as new male and female face prints. Lord Vampyre and his bride, the first female LEGO vampire, featured torsos and legs in period fashions but their fanged face prints are the stars of the show.
Lord Vampyre, the older vampire of the two, features allowed skin, large fangs, and red eyes, along with the classic high-necked cloak as well. Lord Vampyre’s Bride wears all red, from her dress to her necklace, with normal eyes and fangs, perhaps reflecting the fact she’s been a vampire for a shorter time. Both come with alternate face prints in ‘attack mode’ with lips drawn back in a snarl.
This progression puts more life behind the vampire minifigures, transforming them from 2D vampire cliches into (sort of) named characters with more background to them.
The dawn of pop culture vampires
Fast forward to 2015 and the LEGO Group dipped into pop culture vampires with LEGO Scooby Doo 75904 Mystery Mansion. Vampire / Bob Oakley isn’t technically a vampire but he plays the part even as a minifigure, acting as the villain for the gang to investigate. He lives within a more playful vampire mansion than those that came before, along with a faux ghost minifigure to boot.
Edward isn’t the first vampire to sparkle
Not only are the Cullens not the first pop culture vampires to appear as minifigures but they’re also not the only ones to ‘sparkle’. Balthazar from the LEGO Movie 2 is thought to be a reference to none other than Edward Cullen, being an attractive and non-threatening teen vampire. Both he and his bat form element come with glitter trans-light blue hair, meaning they quite literally sparkle, walking before the official Twilight vampires can run.
Keeping it fresh in 2024
Two more vampires lifted from pop culture launchedin 2024, with Morbius from the Sony-verse and Strahd from Dungeons & Dragons. Being based on specific vampires, both have their own unique features, with Morbius’ detailed face printing depicting his skull-like, and Strahd’s blue-grey skin and long sheet of dark hair.
What’s more, 71045 Series 25 saw LEGO Castle cross over with vampires in the form of Vampire Knight, predictably with a blood-sucking bat on his shield and kitted out in red, black, and gold armour. This is a unique take on vampirism – and one we’re not likely to see again.
All roads lead to Twilight
The Cullen family minifigures abandon most of what we’ve come to recognise in vampire minifigures – but that’s exactly what Twilight does too. They appear just like beautiful humans, only with golden eyes and, of course, the sparkling skin that Edward is featured with as a minifigure. It certainly makes their design easier – but also slightly less dramatic and gothy than their predecessors.
If sparkly is your preferred type of vampire, however, you can pre-order 21354 Twilight: The Cullen House right now for £189.99 in the UK, $219.99 in the US and €219.99 in Europe ahead of its release on February 1.
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