The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism by Jan Louis Perkowski

by Jan Louis Perkowski

Despite its scholarly rigor, The Darkling is intended not only for the specialist in folklore or literature, but also for the general reader, who should find it both informative and entertaining, since it is very amply illustrated with original vampire accounts translated into English from over twenty languages, many for the first time. (summary from Amazon)

Genres: Vampires, Nonfiction, Mythology, History, Folklore

Paperback

First published June 1, 1989

Reviews

[Mike]

A serious, engrossing, look at the Slavic vampire of folklore—not the one introduced in fiction by Bram Stoker nor certainly today's variants in fiction and film. Dr. Perkowski, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia, is considered one of the greatest experts on the Slavic vampire mythos and one of the first Slavicists to write seriously about it in modern times. Overall, his book is engaging and well-written, and of course very well-researched. However, it is slightly short and could have contained more of Perkowski's many years of research on the topic. Now, near the end of his career, we have a number of short books by Perkowski but not an anthology from him, which is really what I feel we need, especially for faculty who might wish to teach a course on vampires/vampiric folklore such as the one Perkowski himself taught at UVA.

This book, combined with the great Vampires, Burial, and Death (Barber), make for a good introduction to the ethnography of the Slavic vampire of folklore, though, for the most complete study a lot more is needed.

[Marian York]

I really enjoyed this story. Anyone wanting to write a vampire novel should definitely take notes.

While this isn't a work of fiction (which I generally go for) it was very easy to read. I give it three stars instead of four because I don't really like academic writing. That being said, it wasn't very boring.

Again, if you're looking for something to aid vampire lore, this is a book you should read.

[Dean]

Well done,a good read for fans of Vampire non fiction. A must have for a collector.

[T. Frohock]

Excellent source one Slavic vampirism.