Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!ra.nrl.navy.mil!chiapp19.algx.com!allegiance!news-out.visi.com!petbe.visi.com!news.octanews.net!newsfeeds.sol.net!newsfeed.cs.wisc.edu!uwm.edu!alpha1.csd.uwm.edu!bj
From:
[email protected]
Newsgroups: alt.vampyres,alt.answers,news.answers
Subject: [FAQ] The alt.vampyres VAMPIRE LITERATURE faq
Followup-To: alt.vampyres
Date: 3 Jun 2004 13:44:00 GMT
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Lines: 408
Approved:
[email protected]
Message-ID: <
[email protected]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.7.201
Summary: A collection of Frequently Asked Questions about vampire
literature
Originator:
[email protected]
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.vampyres:130687 alt.answers:72953 news.answers:271559
Archive-name: paranormal/vampyres/vampire-lit-faq
Posting-Frequency: bimonthly
Last altered: 15 August 2002
Copyright: (c) 2001 BJ Kuehl
[NOTE:The alt.vampyres VAMPIRE LITERATURE faq may be downloaded for
personal use. However, any publication, webhousing, or reposting of this
faq must be with the writer's permission, and the copyright must remain
intact.] Citations may be attributed to: Kuehl, B.J. (2000). The alt.
vampyres VAMPIRE LITERATURE Faq. Retrieved (date) from Usenet newsgroup:
alt.vampyres.]
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on alt.vampyres
about Vampire Literature
This is the alt.vampyres VAMPIRE LITERATURE FAQ. Comments, corrections,
additions to this FAQ should be directed to the newsgroup. For other
versions of alt.vampyres faqs, consult the faq archives on the HoMePaGe
of the newsgroup at
http://altvampyres.com/
Last altered: 15 Aug 2002: Added 2.06 re: where to get _Varney the
Vampire_.
7 June 2002: Added Wm. Mark Simmons to 2.05.
Created: 16 Jun 2001 as a spinoff from the alt.vampyres VAMPIRE faq.
CONTENTS -
PART 1: QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS NEWSGROUP
[1.01] What is this newsgroup about?
[1.02] Is there some form of netiquette I should follow if I post?
[1.03] Is there a homepage for the alt.vampyres newsgroup?
PART 2: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VAMPIRE IN LITERATURE
[2.01] Can you recommend some good vampire books?
[2.01.1] Vampire Series
[2.01.2] Vampire Novels
[2.02] Did Bram Stoker ever write a sequel to _Dracula_?
[2.03] Are there any stories that treat the vampire in a comedic vein?
[2.04] Was _Dracula_ the first vampire fiction story to be written?
[2.05] Has anyone from alt.vampyres written a book about vampires?
[2.06] Where can I get a copy of the classic _Varney the Vampire_?
PART 3: WHO HAS MADE THIS FAQ POSSIBLE?
[3.01] Special thanks to these contributors who provided ideas,
answers, and corrections.
PART 1: QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS NEWSGROUP
[1.01] What is this newsgroup about?
Alt.vampyres is for the discussion of vampire lore in any culture,
ancient or modern. This group is also for the discussion of vampires in
fiction, such as novels, stories, poetry, comics, movies and television,
as well as for sharing original vampire fiction. Finally, alt.vampyres
is a place for the discussion of theories about biology, psychology,
and sociology with respect to the legendary vampire.
[1.02] Is there some form of netiquette I should follow if I post?
It is not the purpose of the a.v VAMPIRE LITERATURE faq to be a primer
for Usenet or newsgroup etiquette. If you are interested in that, search
out one of the newuser newsgroups, e.g. news.newusers.questions. For a
quick look at how to post to alt.vampyres, see the Posting Guideline
which is posted to the newsgroup at the beginning of each week. In
truth, if you join in with the same friendliness and respect you would
give to any group of people engaged in conversation, you'll be fine.
[1.03] Is there a homepage for the alt.vampyres newsgroup?
There certainly is. The alt.vampyres homepage [
http://altvampyres.com]
was created by DrLucadra when she was the faqkeeper between 1996 and
1998. After a two year medical absence during which she literally died
three times, DrLuc returned to a.v. and redesigned the site, reviving
the newsgroup's homepage. Here you will find copies of other a.v.
faqs, hard-to-find pre-20th century vampire stories, vampire puzzles
and poetry, a Dracula quiz, MSTings of bad vampire movies, and a huge
number of links to other vampire websites.
PART 2: THE VAMPIRE IN LITERATURE
[2.01] Can you recommend some good vampire novels?
Following are the results of a poll I took a few years ago. I asked
readers from various vampire groups to name their favorite vampire
books. These are the ones they mentioned most frequently. Any of them
would probably provide you with good reading.
[2.01.1] Favorite Vampire Series
The most votes went to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. The majority
of the respondents recommended _Interview with the Vampire_ and
_The Vampire Lestat_, but their interest fell off with _Queen of the
Damned_, _Tale of the Body Thief_, and _Memnoch the Devil_. Since
then, Rice has added _The Vampire Arrmand_ to the Chronicle series and
begun the New Tales of the Vampires with _Pandora_ and _Vittorio the
Vampire_.
The second most favored series was the Anita Blake vampire hunter books
by Laurell K. Hamilton. The series currently has nine books: _Guilty
Pleasures_, _The Laughing Corpse_, _Circus of the Damned_, _The Lunatic
Cafe_, _Bloody Bones_, _The Killing Dance_, _Burnt Offerings_, _Blue
Moon_, and _Obsidian Butterfly_.
In third place was Brian Lumley's Necroscope series, with the first
book, _Necroscope_ being mentioned most often. There are three groups
to the Necroscope series. Series 1 (The Necroscope series) includes
_Necroscope_, _Vamphyri!_, _The Source_, _Deadspeak_, and _Deadspawn_.
Series 2 (The Vampire World) includes _Blood Brothers_, _The Last
Aerie_, and _Bloodwars_. Series 3 (The Lost Wars) includes _The Lost
Years_ and _Resurgence_.
Other series mentioned as favorites include the following:
The Bunnicula series by James Howe (includes _Bunnicula_, _The Celery
Stalks at Midnight_, _Howliday Inn_, _Return to Howliday Inn_,
_Nighty-Nightmare_, and _Bunnicula Escapes_.)
The Cold Fire trilogy by C.S. Friedman (includes _Black Sun Rising_,
_When True Night Falls_, and _Crown of Shadows_).
The Saint-Germaine series by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (includes _Hotel
Transylvania_, _The Palace_, _Blood Games_, _Path of the Eclipses_,.
_Tempting Fate_, _Out of the House of Life_, _Darker Jewels_, _Better
in the Dark_, "Manions of Darkness_, _Writ in Blood_, _Blood Roses_,
_Communion Blood_, _Come Twilight_, _A Feast in Exile_, and _Night
Blooming_. _Midnight Harvest_ will be out in Fall 2003).
The Blood series by Tanya Huff (includes _Blood Price_, _Blood Trail_,
_Blood Lines_, _Blood Pact_, and _Blood Debt_).
The Family Dracul series by Jeanne Kalogridis (includes _Covenant with
the Vampire_, _Children of the Vampire_, and _Lord of the Vampires_).
The Vampire Files by P.N. Elrod (includes _Bloodlist_, _Lifeblood_,
_Bloodcircle_, _Art in the Blood_, _Fire in the Blood_, _Blood on
the Water_, _A Chill in the Blood_, _The Dark Sleep_, and _Lady
Crymsyn_).
The Austra Family series by Elaine Bergstrom (includes _Shattered
Glass_, _Blood Alone_, _Blood Rites_, and _Daughter of the Night_),
The Vampire Diaries by Lisa Jane Smith.
Christopher Golden's series: _Of Saints and Shadows_, _Angel Souls and
Devil Hearts_, and "Of Masques and Martyrs_.
The Sonya Blue series by Nancy Collins (includes _Sunglasses After
Dark_, _In the Blood_, _Paint it Black_, and _A Dozen Black Roses_.).
The Don Sebastian Series by Les Daniels (includes _The Black Castle_,
_The Silver Skull_, _Citizen Vampire_, _Yellow Fog_, and _No Blood
Spilled_).
[2.01.2] Favorite Vampire Novels
_Dracula_ by Bram Stoker just narrowly edged out _Salem's Lot_ by
Stephen King. Third place was a tie between _Lost Souls_ by Poppy Z.
Brite, _I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire_ by P.N.Elrod, and _I Am
Legend_ by Richard Matheson.
Other novels mentioned included:
_Blood Hunt_ and _Bloodlinks_, both by Lee Killough
_Bloodsucking Fiends_ by Christopher Moore
_Carrion Comfort_ by Dan Simmons
_Children of the Night_ by Mercedes Lackey
_Children of the Night_ by Dan Simmons
_The Children's Hour_ by Douglas Clegg
_Companions of the Night_ by Vivian Vande Velde
_A Deeper Hunger_ by Sabine Kells
_The Delicate Dependency_ by Michael Talbot
_The Dragon Waiting_ by John M. Ford
_The Dracula Tapes_ by Fred Saberhagen
_Fevre Dream_ by George R.R. Martin
_The Gilda Stories: A Novel_ by Jewelle Gomez
_The Hunger_ by Whitley Strieber
_The Keep_ by F. Paul Wilson
_Live Girls_ and _Lot Lizards_, both by Ray Garton
_The Night Inside_ aka _Kiss of the Vampire_ by Nancy Baker
_The Secret Life of Laszlo, Count Dracula_ by Roderick Anscombe
_The Silver Kiss_ by Annette Curtis Klause
_The Stake_ by Richard Laymon
_A Taste of Blood Wine_ by Freda Warrington
_They Thirst_ by Robert McCammon
_Those Who Hunt the Night_ by Barbra Hambly
_The World on Blood_ by Jonathan Nasaw
[2.02] Did Bram Stoker ever write a sequel to _Dracula_?
No, although he did publish a short story called "Dracula's Guest"
which some say was originally written to be the first chapter in
_Dracula_ (this is being disputed). A copy of "Dracula's Guest" can
be downloaded from the alt.vampyres homepage (q.v. 1.03). You'll be
happy to know, however, that other authors have added to the novel
with a number of prequels, sequels, retellings and alternative
timelines. These include:
Prequels to _Dracula_:
The Family Dracul series by Jeanne Kalogridis (includes _Covenant
with the Vampire_, _Children of the Vampire_, and _Lord of the
Vampires_)
_The Secret Life of Laszlo, Count Dracula_ by Roderick Anscombe
_Dracula Began_ by Gail Kimberly (@Roger Elwood)
_Crimson Kisses_ by Asa Drake
_I am Dracula_ by C. Dean Anderson (rewrite of Drake)
Sequels, retellings, anthologies, etc. to _Dracula_:
_Mina_, by Marie Kiraly
_Blood to Blood_ by Elaine Bergstrom
_Anno Dracula_ by Kim Newman
_Dracula the Undead_ by Freda Warrington
_The Holmes-Dracula File_ by Fred Saberhagen
_The Dracula Tape_ by Fred Saberhagen
_An Old Friend of the Family_ by Fred Saberhagen
_A Matter of Taste_ by Fred Saberhagen
_A Question of Time_ by Fred Saberhagen
_Seance for a Vampire_ by Fred Saberhagen
_A Sharpness in the Neck_ by Fred Saberhagen
_Dracula in Love_, John Shirley
_Dark Destiny III: Children of Dracula_, ed. Edward E. Kramer
_Rivals of Dracula_, eds. Weinberg, Dziemianowocz, & Greenberg
_Dracula: A Symphony in Moonlight and Nightmares_, ed. Jon J. Muth
_The Dracula Collection_, no author given
_Dracula Unborn_ by Peter Tremayne
_The Revenge of Dracula_ by Peter Tremayne
_Dracula My Love_ by Peter Tremayne
(NOTE: The Tremayne stories were also published together under
the title of _Dracula Lives_)
_The Darker Passions: Dracula_ by Amarantha Knight
_The Adult Version of Dracula_
_Dracula: Prince of Darkness_, ed. Martin H. Greenberg.
_The Mammoth Book of Dracula_, ed. Stephen Jones
_Drakulya_ by Earl Lee
_Drakulya_ by P.C. Doherty (omnibus of two previously published
books, _The Prince Drakulya_ and _The Lord Count Drakulya_)
_Vlad the Undead_ by Hanna Lutzen
_Quincey Morris, Vampire_ by P.N. Elrod
[2.03] Are there any stories that treat the vampire in a comedic vein?
I recommend _The World on Blood_ by Jonathan Nasaw. he deals with
Vampires Anonymous, the 12-step program for vampires. It's quite funny!
Also Chetwynd-Hayes wrote _The Monster Club_ which has that very funny
story about the werewolf and the vampire. There's a short story in
_The Ultimate Dracula_ entitled "A Little Night Music" that had me
rolling over in laughter (it's about a rock band called Vlad and the
Impalers). And you can include Saberhagen's _The Dracula Tape_ in the
"humor" category. He did start to write it as a joke [Elizabeth Miller].
Vampires appear in several Terry Pratchett books, i.e., _Carpe Jugulum_
and _The Fifth Elephant_. _Reaper Man_ has Count Notfaroutou, who
inherited the title suddenly, and whose wife insists that he wears
opera dress the whole time (to keep up appearances). "Witches Abroad_
has an unnamed vampire who gets hit by a thrown garlic sausage and then
eaten by a particularly brutal cat. Then there's Otto Chriek in _The
Truth_, a vampire Black Ribboner - one who's signed The Pledge and who
now has to make do with black pudding, a cup of cocoa and a rousing
sing-song. And Dragon King of Arms in _Feet of Clay_; he's not
terribly funny, but he's an interesting interpretation of how a vampire
might find a niche in human society. There's another unnamed vamp who
insists that he has the right, without discrimination, to work in such
places as a holy water factory, a pencil factory, testing sunglasses.
[Mike Kew].
I recommend the comic parody _Blood and Roses_ by Sharon Bainbridge,
although not all readers might recognize it as such. P.D. Cacek's
_Night Prayers_ and _Tabitha fffoulkes_ by John Linssen are humorous,
or at least intended to be. Mark Ivanhoe's novel _Virgintooth_ is meant
to be a satire, but I'm not sure how humorous it's intended to be. Are
you interested in books for children? Books for children *meant* to be
funny include _The Vampire Who Came for Christmas_ by Dian Curtis Regan
and _Monster of the Year_ by Bruce Coville [Cathy Krusberg].
You might also want to consider the "Bunnicula" series of children's
books by James Howe, about a vampire rabbit who drains vegetables of
color. There are (IIRC) 6 of them, all still in print and readily
available. [Richard Morrison]
In Germany we have the _Little Vampire_ Series by Angela Sommer-
Bodenburg that is very popular. It has even been translated (or rather
adapted) for the American market, not something to happen frequently
to German books. [Birte Lilienthal]
You mustn't forget _Vampire Blood Bank_ by Harry Zelenko which is about
a Jewish hemophiliac bitten by a rabbi vampire in Central Park. One of
the side effects of Zelenko's vampires happens to be a perpetual
erection. It isn't great literature but I enjoyed the hell out of it.
"Count Dracula" is a short story by Woody Allen in the anthology
_Vampires, Wine & Roses_ where the poor Count mistakes an eclipse for
nightfall and leaves his sanctuary. In _Vampire Junkies_ by Norman
Spinrad, the Count visits New York and becomes addicted to heroin
after feasting on a junkie hooker shortly after he arrives [Kitsune].
_Vampire Detectives_ (ed: Martin Greenerg) includes William Saunder's
"The Count's Mailbox." It's an epistolary story about Dracula's efforts
to publish a book about his life. [Bill Thompson]
_Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story_ by Christopher Moore is a humorous
vampire story of note. [Lord Ruthven]
[2.04] Was _Dracula_ the first fictional vampire story to be written?
Vampires were popular in fictional literature even before _Dracula_.
Here's a smattering of some of the books and short stories written
about vampires pre-Dracula:
1748 "The Vampire" Ossenfelder (verse)
1797 "The Bride of Corinth" by Goethe (verse)
1798 "The Old Woman of Berkeley" by Robert Southey (verse)
1810 "The Vampyre" by John Stagg (poem originally published in Stagg's
_Minstrel of the North_)
@1815 "The Bride of the Grave" by Johann Ludwig Tieck
1816 "A Fragment" aka "The Burial" by Lord Byron
1816 "The Vampire" by John Stagg (poem)
1819 "The Vampyre" by John Polidori
1819 _Lord Ruthven ou les Vampires_ by Berard (said to be the first
vampire novel)
1820 "Wake Not the Dead" attributed to Johann Ludwig Tieck (may be by
Ernst Raupach)
@1820 "Lamia" by John Keats (verse)
@1820 "La Belle Dame sans Merci" by John Keats (verse)
@1820 "The Giaour" by Lord Byron (verse)
1828 "The Skeleton Count, or the Vampire Mistress" by Elizabeth Grey
1830 "The Dead Lover" by Theophile Gautier
1835 "Viy" by Nikolai Gogol
1845 _Varney the Vampyre, or, the Feast of Blood_ by James Malcolm
Rymer
1800s "A Visit to the Theatre" by Alexandre Dumas
1849 "The Pale Lady" by Alexandre Dumas & Paul Bocage
1860 "The Mysterious Stranger", anonymous
1860 "The Cold Embrace" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
@1860 "Carpathian Castle" by Jules Verne
1867 "The Last Lords of Gardonal" by William Gilbert
1872 "Carmilla" by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
1880 "The Fate of Madame Cabanel" by Eliza Lynn Linton
1881 "The Man-Eating Tree" by Phil Robinson
1884 "The Family of the Vourdalak" by Alexis Tolstoy
1887 "Ken's Mystery" aka "The Grave of Ethelind Fionguala"
by Julian Hawthorne
1887 "The Horla" by Guy de Maupassant
1887 "A Mystery of the Campagna" by Anne Crawford
1890 "The Tomb of Sarah" by Frederick George Loring
1890 "Let Loose" by Mary Cholmondeley
1893 _Vikram the Vampire_ ed/Richard Burton
1894 "The Parasite" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1896 "Good Lady Ducayne" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
[2.05] Has anyone from alt.vampyres ever written a book about vampires?
Sure. In her position as professor of English at Memorial University
of Newfoundland, Dr. Elizabeth Miller (://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/) has
written several articles and papers and has authored four nonfiction
books about Dracula. These include _Reflections on Dracula_, _Shade
and Shadow_, Dracula: Sense and Nonsense_, and _Dracula_.
In the fiction department, visitors to alt.vampyres have included
Lois Tilton (://www.darkspawn.com) who has written three books about
vampires, including _Darkness on the Ice_, _Vampire Winter_, and
_DarkSpawn_. Thomas J. Hardman, Jr. (://earthops.org) is the author
of _In Darkness' District_. Don Harstad came out with _Code Sixty-
One_ in January 2002. William Meikle (://www.williemeikle.btinternet.
co.uk) just sold the first two books (_Watchers of the Wall_ and
_Berserker_) in a Scottish vampire trilogy.
Other visitors to alt.vampyres who have authored vampire books include
Poppy Z. Brite (://www.poppyzbrite.com/ and ://www.negia.net/~pandora),
author of _Lost Souls_ and editor of _Love in Vein_ and _Love in Vein
II_, Konstantinos (_Vampires: The Occult Truth_), and Michael Romkey
(
http://www.thevampire.com), author of Vampire_, _The Vampire Papers_,
_The Vampire Princess_, _The Vampire Virus_, and _The London Vampire
Panic_. David Dvorkin has given us _Insatiable_ and _Unquenchable_, and
Nancy Collins (://www.concentric.net/~syllabub) her Sonya Blue series.
Karen Taylor, author of the Vampire Legacy series, recently breezed
in and out, along with Karen Koehler (://www.khpindustries.com), the
author of the _Slayer_ series, Cary Rainey, author of _Stacy's Heart_,
and Wm. Mark Simmons, who published _One Foot in the Grave_ and who
is coming out soon with the sequel _Dead on My Feet_.
[2.06] Where can I get a copy of the classic _Varney the Vampire_?
E-copies can be downloaded from:
http://www.unicorngarden.com/misc.htm
http://varney.50megs.com
Dover published a 2 volume paperback version in 1972, which is currently
out of print. Copies may occasionally pop up at auction on eBay. Serious
collectors say that this is the version of choice as it was essentially
photographed from the original book, so it has all the artwork.
Ayer Co. Publishers has put out two hardcover versions, one published
in 1970 with a forward by Devendra Varma and Margaret L. Carter, and a
second edition [publishing date unknown]. Both of these consist of three
volumes. Contact Ayer Co. Publishers for more information at:
1 Lower Mill Road N.
Stratford NH 03590
[information provided in part by Cathy Krusberg]
PART 3: WHO HAS HELPED TO MAKE THIS FAQ POSSIBLE?
In order to give thanks where thanks are due, the names of faq
contributors appear in brackets following the passages they have
written. If your contribution appears uncredited in the a.v. VAMPIRE
LITERATURE faq, please contact the faqkeeper with the details.
[3.01] Special thanks to these contributors who provided ideas, answers,
and corrections.
Cathy Krusberg
Elizabeth Miller
Bill Thompson
Birte Lilienthal
Lord Ruthven
