Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings! Today’s post is going to be my list of six tips to enhance the Dark Allure of the Silent Screen Vamp in your daily life, inspired by the life and legend of Theda Bara. For those who do not know, Theda Bara was a silent film star of the 1910s who epitomized the label of the Vamp. Short for Vampire, naturally, the Silent Screen Vamp was full of sexual allure and a mystique that made her difficult to forget! I will break down a section for each of my Theda Bara-themed tips. Without further ado, here are Theda’s six tips to Live Your Most Vampy Life!
~Embrace Dark Edwardian and Victorian Inspired Looks~
~Theda Bara’s heyday was in the Edwardian Era, so many of her looks in films would have been inspired by Edwardian and Victorian fashions. Yet, this did not mean that she lacked the ability to truly adore risqué looks, as she was famed for her skin-revealing costumes in the lost film Cleopatra. When we look at the costumes in her only complete surviving film A Fool There Was, we get to see this darkly mysterious Edwardian style perfectly showcased. As a bonus, that film also includes scenes of her wearing gauzy sleepwear, perfect for the Gothic Heroine to don in general!
~Revel in Reading Tarot, for Yourself & for Other People~
~Theda Bara was known to read Tarot, or at least interpret omens from playing cards, with a series of several photos and movie stills existing which famously depicting her doing just that! The idea of the esoteric and metaphysical was immediately tied to the discomfort many felt around the Occult in general in Theda Bara’s time. Having your famous actress showing a genuine interest in Occult subject matter made her Vamp credibility go up by a mile! As a bonus, this one is something that will help truly improve your life by reaping all the benefits of gaining self-knowledge through learning to interpret the cards!
~Embrace a Love for Skulls & Skeletons~
~Some of the most famous publicity stills of Theda Bara feature her getting very cozy with a skeleton! These are some of the best examples of taking a very taboo subject and making it palatable for the public that was itching to see Theda Bara as a Femme Fatale. While there is nothing in the photos to suggest anything inappropriate is going on, just the mere thought that necrophilia could happen is enough to send legions of people clambering to find out more about the Vamp!
~Interact Fondly with Your Crow or Raven Familiar~
~My absolute favorite photos of Theda Bara feature her with a stuffed, or at least it looks to be taxidermied, Crow, or Raven! To add to the Vamp element, I refer to this as interacting with your familiar in the form of these gorgeous and intelligent birds, often seen to be omens of death! In day-to-day life, showing a deep appreciation and affinity for these birds in particular will mark you as someone who is a bit eccentric, adding to your appeal as a Vamp!
~Be at Ease in Your Own Skin~
~One thing that is very obvious to people who have seen photos, or watched footage of Theda Bara is that she was very comfortable in her own skin. She seems to be at home in her own body, in an era when taking pleasure in the sensuous side of life was often seen as unseemly! Taking a page from Theda’s book, we can learn to love our bodies and take good care of them so that we can continue to revel in the sensuous pleasures that life has to offer us!
~Cultivate an Aura of Mystery About Yourself~
~My final Theda-themed tip is the one that Theda most excelled at when it came to the persona that she concocted for herself as a Silent Screen Vamp. Theda Bara was born Theodosia Goodman and created the name she became famous for, stating that it was an anagram for ‘Arab Death’ in order to add to her own mystique. In this way, she was her own mythographer, creating many wild tales of her origins in order to engage the public in their frenzied desire to learn more about her. For the Silent Screen Vamp, having an aura of the mysterious adds to the macabre and alluring nature of your person! It is just a good idea to keep some things unsaid or private, even in this world where we can share all we want. That is why, as much as I share about myself, I make sure that I still leave room for mystery. Both here on my blog (or on my YouTube channel) and in my daily life. After all, life is most fun when some things are left to the imagination!
~I hope you have enjoyed this post. What is your favorite Theda tip? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a poster of a film where Theda Bara read Tarot. I found the image on https://fennario.wordpress.com/2019/04/12/vamp-the-theda-bara-tarot-from-jook-art/.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading/Watching
- Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara by Eve Golden
- A Fool There Was (1915)