Count Orlok - Legacy

Legacy

Orlok is the main model for a style of fictional vampire that is often nicknamed Nosferatu after the movie. Although based upon Count Dracula, Orlok possesses none of his predecessor's aristocratic charm or seductiveness. He resembles something between a rat and a spider and is much more analogous to historical folklore accounts of vampires, which were described as walking corpses inhabited by a demonic presence. He sleeps in "unhallowed" soil infected with the Black Death, and brings plague and disease with him. He is followed everywhere by rats, traditional carriers of the feared Black Death. Orlok is famous for being the first vampire in history to be destroyed by sunlight. In earlier folklore, vampires were disgusted by but could survive sunlight.

• The 1979 film Nosferatu the Vampyre was a remake of the original. Some of the characters reverted to their original Stoker names, including Dracula, but he was clearly based on the Orlok variation. Dracula was portrayed by Klaus Kinski as a pathetic, lonely creature yearning for human love.
• The 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire presented a fictional account of the filming of Nosferatu in which Max Schreck (played by Willem Dafoe) is actually a vampire.
• In Kim Newman's Anno Dracula, Orlok serves in the Carpathian Guards of Dracula and is the Governor of the Tower of London. Orlok appears as part of the German forces, along with other silent film characters such as Doctor Caligari and Doctor Mabuse, trying to create the Red Baron in Newman's sequel, The Bloody Red Baron.
• Orlok has also been featured on several occasions in the popular Castlevania video game series. First, he served as a boss in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, in which he is referred to as Olrox (in the Japanese version of the game, his name is Orlok). Also, in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Olrox's Suit can be equipped as an armor.
• In White Wolf's "Vampire: The Masquerade" and "Vampire: The Requiem" franchises, there is a vampire clan known as the Nosferatu. They look extremely similar to Count Orlok.
• Count Orlok has appeared in comic books as well, such as Viper Comics's 2010 graphic novel titled Nosferatu, which features Orlok in a modern setting.
• He also appeared in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants entitled "Graveyard Shift". He is revealed to be the one flickering the lights just like in Squidward's scary story. When he is discovered, he smiles and the episode ends.
• In the anime Hellsing, the main antagonist, Incognito, is believed to have been based on Orlok.
• In the 2000 video game Muppet Monster Adventure, evil energies had transformed Gonzo the Great into a spoof of Count Orlok called "Noseferatu."
• In 2003, Sideshow Collectibles released two Graf Orlock figures. One is a Limited Edition 5,000, 12 inch figure and the other is a Limited Edition 700 18 inch figure.