Naturally, Hollywood has capitalized on this fear. Movies, in particularly horror films, have used the idea of germs and germ spreading as plot points to move a story. Probably the most notable of this is Cabin Fever, which obviously uses germs, in particular a flesh eating virus, to attack a group of campers and spread fear and paranoia among them. However, this is not a recent idea, and nor has it been so obvious. In fact, probably long before man developed the fear of germs it has now, Hollywood worked the idea into its early horror films and most famous monsters. Creatures such as vampires, werewolves and zombies all are very different in nature, but they have a couple things in common. First, they are all of supernatural origin and legend. And second, in Hollywood what makes them what they are can be transferred by biting, much like the disease known as rabies.

In other words, they made more of themselves by spreading germs. Lets take a look at these three famous monsters of horror, comparing to their original legends and Hollywood has used their own twists to help expand the fear of germs.

VAMPIRES

There is no more recognizable monster of horror than the vampire. Made famous by writers such as Bram Stoker and Anne Rice, as well as actors such as Bela Legosi, the popularity and image of the vampire is one of the biggest points of pop culture in our modern society. In the eyes of Hollywood, the vampire is often a handsome, seductive being who lures unsuspecting victims with his or her gaze, seducing them into surrender in order to drink their blood. They do this by biting them, usually on the neck with their fangs. Sometimes the victim is drained dry, but more often than not he or she ends up becoming a vampire themselves. Sometimes the bite alone is enough, but usually is also requires a drinking of the vampire's own blood to complete the process.

Surprisingly, Hollywood didn't have to change too much in terms of the vampire. While the original legends stated one could become a vampire if an animal jumped over a corpse or if the person had rebelled against the church in their life (and those are just a couple of ideas), a person could also become a vampire if one bit them. So that concept has always been there. Modern pop culture has simply re-imagined how the process worked, such how many bites and/or how much blood had to be drawn, or if the vampire's own blood had to be used. Just like they changed how a vampire might look, as compared to original legends where it was said a vampire was either gaunt and pale or bloated and ruddy-colored in appearance. More recently has vampirism been viewed on a scientific level rather than a supernatural one, treating the condition like a disease. It began with Robert Matheson's novel I Am Legend and continues to this day with films like Blade and Underworld.

WEREWOLVES

Werewolves are another monster Hollywood has reworked a bit. The original legends of the werewolf, the man who has assumed the shape of a wolf, state that one would become the wolf by putting a piece of clothing made from wolfskin, usually a belt. In other cases, there was a special salve that was rubbed on the body, probably made from wolf fat. Even drinking water from a wolf's pawprint would do the job. Then, of course, there was making a deal with the Devil. These, of course, were all voluntary means of doing so, meaning the person becoming the werewolf had ill-intentions from the start. In some cases being a werewolf was still seen as a curse, the cause being either a birth on Christmas Eve, being born from werewolf parents or being cursed by a witch.

Hollywood, of course, reworked things to go a little easier. In early films such as The Wolf Man, one became a werewolf simply by being bitten by one. This, in a way, works on the involuntary side of becoming a werewolf, making the concept a curse and the person a sympathetic being who wants to be cured. Naturally, it didn't take long for other modern writers and film makers to jump on this idea, which has now stuck. And just like vampirism, being a werewolf is now often seen as a genetic affliction on par with an infectious disease, passed on hereditarily or through a bite or other transfer of body fluids. In a way, werewolfism is almost the true supernatural version of rabies.

ZOMBIES

Now if there's a monster that's been completely reworked by Hollywood to fit man's fear of germs, it's the zombie. The basic concept is the same, a corpse that has risen from the dead in a mindless state. But the original Voodoo concept is that the corpse is raised by a bokor, or Voodoo sorcerer, to serve as a slave. Living people could also be turned into zombies, or at least a zombie-like state, by means of a combination of two unique powders injected into the bloodstream. The first, called coup de poudre, puts the victim into a death-like state due to the key ingredient, tetrodotoxin, which is found in pufferfish. Once injected in near-lethal doses, the powder puts the victim into a state of near-death for several days, all while remaining conscious. Then the second powder, which is composed of dissociatives like datura, is added, which puts the victim into the zombie-like state, where they have no will of their own. In either case, if they're going around attacking people, it's because they were ordered to by their bokor masters, and its doubtful they would eat anyone.

But thanks to films like Night of the Living Dead, the idea that people have of a zombie has changed dramatically. The zombie is still a corpse that rises up and is still totally mindless, but now not only are they truly “living dead”, but they attack anyone in sight and eat them. And anyone who ends up simply being bitten will end up being turned into a zombie themselves. Voodoo magic isn't the cause of this; instead its rather a virus either man-made or space-born that's the cause of the initial infection and resulting plague. Recent films like 28 Days Later added the idea of contact with a zombie's blood could spread the infection.

With such concepts and ideas being used since the "40s and "50s, you can see why man has developed a fear of germs and still continues to have it. Regular viruses and diseases are bad enough. What about one that would, literally, turn you into some kind of monster, no longer considered human? And thanks to recent films treating the concept on a scientific level and even calling such conditions viruses and infections, you can bet that man's fear of germs isn't going to go away any time soon.