Dracula is the vampire lord who brought fame to the undead monster of legend, the one we’re all most familiar with. But the concept of vampires didn’t spring fully formed from Bram Stoker’s mind. Who were the literary vampires that came before Dracula and paved the path for him? Editor James Grant Goldin seeks to answer that question in his two-volume collection Vampires: First Blood, published back in July. The volumes are divided by gender, with the first volume focusing specifically on “The Vampire Lords.” This is the one I’ll be reviewing today. Continue reading Vampires: First Blood, Volume I Review
Tag: Varney
The Vampire Literary Canon
Now, how can we possibly talk about gothic literature without mentioning the vampire genre? Of all the creatures that go bump in the night, vampires have long been a favorite of writers and readers alike. Today of course, the word brings to mind the type of teenage vampire love story popularized by Stephanie Meyer. To have a true appreciation of the genre however, I urge you to check out some of the classic stories that established the concept of vampires as we think of them today and informed the countless vampire novels that followed: