A Look Back...Tara Mae Thornton

As our fangtastic series True Blood is coming to an end, I thought it would be cool to go back and reminisce about some of our most beloved characters. Since this week we lost Tara, I thought it was only right to remember Sookie's best friend.

I think what I like most about Tara was her candidness. Tara never minced words, and she would be the first to tell you exactly how she felt. Holding back what she thought was not quite her strong suit. Tara was also fiercely protective of those she cared about, even if it meant losing her own life as a human. Tara's story is a sad one, raised by an abusive mother, and equally neglected. She lost the love of her life, and she became what she loathed, she even died twice, (even though that's up for debate). But beyond that tough exterior, she was just a girl who wanted to be loved. Tara was defensive and insecure, and equally feisty and a fighter. She struggled with what she became, but she learned to embrace it. Tara was a very complex character.

Below are some of my favorite Tara moments.
Season 1:
"Oh, this aint rude. This is upitty. THAT'S FOR PATTIN' MY ASS TO MUCH! IMA GET MY BABY DADDY, WHO JUST GOT OUTTA PRISON, TO COME KICK YOUR TEETH IN!" And this is our introduction to Tara!!!

Season 2:
Season 2 brought that crazy Maenad Maryann who caused havoc in Bon Temps. We also got to meet Eggs (Benedict) who became Tara's love interest.

Season 3:

Tara depressed over the death of Eggs, took brief comfort in the arms and fangs of the psychopathic vampire Franklin.

Season 4:

In the beginning of the season we find Tara in Nawlins under the alias Tony, cage fighting with her girlfriend Naomi. As soon as she finds out Sookie has returned to Bon Temps,she does as well, only to find herself in another mess, this time with the witches. In a season finale shocker Tara takes a bullet for Sookie...ending her human life.

Season 5:

Tara becomes what she hates the most, a vampire. Pam is Tara's maker and saves her from killing herself, and teaches her how to feed. Tara struggled this season trying to adapt to what she has become.

Season 6:

Tara and Eric turn themselves in when Pam is captured and taken to Vamp Camp. In this season,Tara is starting to get comfortable with what she is now. In the last episode, Pam leaves to find Eric, leaving Tara to look after the newest vamp Willa.

Season 7:

Two minutes into the first episode and Tara is (supposedly) a pile of vampire goo. What a way to start the season. I think its important to point out we never do actually see Tara die in the fight scene with the Hep-V infected vamps. Will we see her again perhaps, I guess we have to wait and see!

We LOVE you Tara!!! And you will be missed. Always a fighter to the very end...

Bram Stoker Descendant To Speak At Vampire Film Screenings

Bram Stoker Descendant To Speak At Vampire Film Screenings

Dacre Stoker's mission in life was decided for him before he was even born. It came to him as a family legacy.

Stoker, the great-grand-nephew of "Dracula" creator Bram Stoker, has spent the last several years traveling the world to talk about his famous ancestor. Whenever Dracula or vampires come up — and those subjects come up a lot in October — Stoker is there to talk about it.

"I really became an authority on Bram the man, not just from a scholarly perspective but also pop culture," Stoker, a resident of Aiken, S.C., said in a phone interview. "I get asked to go to book festivals, film festivals, lots of places, usually around Halloween."

Stoker's latest stops are in Connecticut. He will give presentations at two screening events this week. On Sunday, Oct. 27, Stoker will be in New London, and on Wednesday, Oct. 30, he will be in Hartford, at screenings of "The Tillinghast Nightmare."

The new documentary, directed by Alec Asten of Mystic, was filmed in Groton, Branford, Guilford and Willington. It is based on a true story from Exeter, R.I. in 1799, when a man named Stutely Tillinghast dug up his dead daughter because he believed she had become a vampire and was preying on her family members.

Stoker is among many commentators in the movie, along with Nicholas F. Bellantoni, the state archaeologist with the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Archaeology Center.

Stoker said the subject matter of "The Tillinghast Nightmare" — which also includes a general history of New England vampire beliefs — is coincidental, because a 1896 New York World article headlined "Vampires in New England" was found in his great-grand-uncle's notes for the book "Dracula."

"Bram left 125 pages of notes and a couple of images, but only one article, this one, the only one we know of that survived," Stoker said. "This newspaper article ... plain as day gives us, in my opinion, some very obvious connections between his reasearch and the actual book. 1896 was the newspaper article. 'Dracula' was published in 1897. He saw it near the end of his research.

"People believe that what is in the newspapers is real. To see real scariness and real horror on the pages of newspapers gives credibility to vampire panic," he said. "It affirms what he's been researching."

The New York World article also discusses the vampire bat, noticed by Charles Darwin when he was in Chile. "Most people take for granted that bats and vampries have gone together forever," he said. "But up until then nobody of any credibilty knew that vampire bats or any creature existed that took the blood from something else. Now here's somebody as credible as Darwin."

In "Dracula," the vampire shape-shifted into a bat, and vampires and bats have been associated ever since.

Stoker, 55, a native of Montreal and a retired schoolteacher, is the great-grandson of Bram Stoker's youngest brother, George. He lives in Aiken with his wife, Jenny. They have a daughter, Belle, 24, and a son, Parker, 21.

Stoker has co-written two books, "Dracula The Un-Dead," a sequel to his ancestor's book; and "The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker: The Dublin Years."

He says he tailors his approach to the places he makes his presentations, and in Connecticut, he will discuss Stoker's relationship with Mark Twain. The Hartford appearance is at the Mark Twain House. Dacre Stoker said his ancestor invested in Twain's failed Paige typesetter project.

"When it went belly-up there was this really heartfelt letter from Mark Twain, 'I'm really sorry. I will do my best to repay you'," Dacre Stoker said. "He wasn't legally bound to repay anybody. But he thought it was the right thing to do. He repaid Bram, 100 pounds."

He says he learns new things about Bram Stoker all the time, and adds his new information to his presentations. "Keeping the memory alive is important," he said.

THE TILLINGHAST NIGHTMARE will be shown Sunday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. at Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London. Vampire attire is encouraged. Admission $15. tickets:www.gardearts.org. It also will be shown Wednesday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. at Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Ave. in Hartford. Dacre Stoker will speak at both events. Admission $15. Tickets: 860-280-3130.

Source: courant.com