Rat Kings: Mythical Interactions Between the Pied Piper, Dracula and Nosferatu

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Abstract

This essay explores the Pied Piper myth and its resonance in Dracula. It then traces how these narratives come together in Nosferatu, concluding via an analysis of the legacy of these overlapping myths in fiction. It teases out the connections between this small group of interrelated texts, focusing on the things that unite them: the folkloric representation of rats as souls of the dead, the Rat Kings or rat masters that control them, the uncanny migrant journeys these figures undertake and the unyielding sense of outsiderness, a motif that originates in the Pied Piper fairytale and is carried through via Dracula to vampire film in the twentieth century.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5-25
Number of pages20
JournalGramarye: The Journal of the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy
Volume5
Issue numberSpring 2025
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 1 Mar 2025

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