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True Vampires of History
Donald F. Glut's classic is back in print after decades, bringing to life again tales of historical vampires taken from numerous contemporary chronicles dating from the days of the Roman Empire up through the recorded exploits of vampire hunters of the Twentieth Century. From the cobblestone streets of European cities, through the vastness of Asia and the jungles of Africa, to the secret haunts of the New World, the author brings his researches to life in over fifty narratives of vampire case histories. Have you ever wondered whether or not vampires actually exist? Folklore or fact? Donald F. Glut's classic survey of the historical record provides food for thought fascinating insights into sanguinary world of True Vampires of History.
- GenresHorrorVampiresNonfiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
3 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Donald F. Glut
237 books51 followersDONALD F. GLUT has been professionally active in both the entertainment and publishing industries since 1966.
Born in Pecos, Texas, Don grew up in Chicago, IL. At age nine, already bitten by the film-making “bug,” he made Diplodocus at Large, the first of 41 amateur movies featuring dinosaurs, human monsters (Frankenstein’s Monster, Teenage Werewolf, etc.) and superheroes (Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, etc.) Some of these films made during the late 1960s (e.g., Spy Smasher vs. the Purple Monster) were eventually shown in theatres and on TV.
Moving to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California, Don professionally entered show business as an “extra” (a POW) in the movie Von Ryan’s Express (1965), the first of several such “roles.” He began his professional writing career in 1966, writing articles for and finally editing the magazine Modern Monsters. In 1967, after graduating from the University of Southern California with a BA degree (for Cinema) in Letters, Arts and Sciences, Don worked as a musician, singer and songwriter in The Penny Arkade, a rock band produced by “Monkee” Michael Nesmith. Shortly after that he briefly furthered his acting career, having a speaking role in a national television commercial starring Dick Clark.
However, most of Don’s professional life has been as a freelance writer. To date he has authored numerous motion picture and television scripts (Shazam!, Land of the Lost, and animation, e.g., Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, Transformers, G.I.Joe, Duck Tales, Jonny Quest, X-Men, others), comic-book scripts (Captain America, Tarzan, etc., including creating for Gold Key Dagar the Invincible, The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor and Tragg and the Sky Gods), more than 35 novels and nonfiction books, also numerous short stories, articles, songs, album-liner notes, etc. The Dinosaur Dictionary (1972) and Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia (1997), two of Don’s many non-fiction books about dinosaurs, both were listed by the American Library Association among the best reference books of their years of publication. With The Dinosaur Dictionary Don created the much-imitated book format based upon an alphabetical listing of dinosaur names. Perhaps Don is best known for his novelization of the movie The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the nation’s No. 1 bestseller for almost two months, which to date (still in print) has sold over 3.5 million copies. In 1982 he created characters and back story for Mattel’s “Masters of the Universe” toy line. Among his more recent books is Chomper, an entry in the popular “Dinotopia” series.
Don produced, wrote and directed various videos (including the documentaries Dinosaur Movies and Hollywood Goes Ape! and the music-video compilation Dinosaur Tracks®), theatre and movie projects. He has worked as a consultant on numerous other video, film and TV projects, and was “Dinosaur Consultant” on Roger Corman’s movie Carnosaur (1993).
In 1990, Don and Pete Von Sholly founded Fossil Records, which has already produced a half dozen albums. These include Dinosaur Tracks®, More Dinosaur Tracks® and Dinosaur Tracks® Again, featuring paleontology-related rock music written mostly by Don (Dinodon Music/BMI), performed by Don and Pete (as the Iridium Band).
More recently, Don became president of Frontline Entertainment (www.frontlinefilms.com), for which he wrote, directed and co-produced the comedy/fantasy motion picture Dinosaur Valley Girls™, which has already achieved “cult movie” status, and Before La Brea, a documentary commissioned by the George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries in Los Angeles. In 2000, he was commissioned by Irena Belle Productions to direct the movie The Vampire Hunters Club, featuring an all-star genre cast.
Born in Pecos, Texas, Don grew up in Chicago, IL. At age nine, already bitten by the film-making “bug,” he made Diplodocus at Large, the first of 41 amateur movies featuring dinosaurs, human monsters (Frankenstein’s Monster, Teenage Werewolf, etc.) and superheroes (Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, etc.) Some of these films made during the late 1960s (e.g., Spy Smasher vs. the Purple Monster) were eventually shown in theatres and on TV.
Moving to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California, Don professionally entered show business as an “extra” (a POW) in the movie Von Ryan’s Express (1965), the first of several such “roles.” He began his professional writing career in 1966, writing articles for and finally editing the magazine Modern Monsters. In 1967, after graduating from the University of Southern California with a BA degree (for Cinema) in Letters, Arts and Sciences, Don worked as a musician, singer and songwriter in The Penny Arkade, a rock band produced by “Monkee” Michael Nesmith. Shortly after that he briefly furthered his acting career, having a speaking role in a national television commercial starring Dick Clark.
However, most of Don’s professional life has been as a freelance writer. To date he has authored numerous motion picture and television scripts (Shazam!, Land of the Lost, and animation, e.g., Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, Transformers, G.I.Joe, Duck Tales, Jonny Quest, X-Men, others), comic-book scripts (Captain America, Tarzan, etc., including creating for Gold Key Dagar the Invincible, The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor and Tragg and the Sky Gods), more than 35 novels and nonfiction books, also numerous short stories, articles, songs, album-liner notes, etc. The Dinosaur Dictionary (1972) and Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia (1997), two of Don’s many non-fiction books about dinosaurs, both were listed by the American Library Association among the best reference books of their years of publication. With The Dinosaur Dictionary Don created the much-imitated book format based upon an alphabetical listing of dinosaur names. Perhaps Don is best known for his novelization of the movie The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the nation’s No. 1 bestseller for almost two months, which to date (still in print) has sold over 3.5 million copies. In 1982 he created characters and back story for Mattel’s “Masters of the Universe” toy line. Among his more recent books is Chomper, an entry in the popular “Dinotopia” series.
Don produced, wrote and directed various videos (including the documentaries Dinosaur Movies and Hollywood Goes Ape! and the music-video compilation Dinosaur Tracks®), theatre and movie projects. He has worked as a consultant on numerous other video, film and TV projects, and was “Dinosaur Consultant” on Roger Corman’s movie Carnosaur (1993).
In 1990, Don and Pete Von Sholly founded Fossil Records, which has already produced a half dozen albums. These include Dinosaur Tracks®, More Dinosaur Tracks® and Dinosaur Tracks® Again, featuring paleontology-related rock music written mostly by Don (Dinodon Music/BMI), performed by Don and Pete (as the Iridium Band).
More recently, Don became president of Frontline Entertainment (www.frontlinefilms.com), for which he wrote, directed and co-produced the comedy/fantasy motion picture Dinosaur Valley Girls™, which has already achieved “cult movie” status, and Before La Brea, a documentary commissioned by the George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries in Los Angeles. In 2000, he was commissioned by Irena Belle Productions to direct the movie The Vampire Hunters Club, featuring an all-star genre cast.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 9, 2024
Eye opening and things I wouldn't have even considered and how far back this goes.
September 18, 2014
As with its companion volume on werewolves, this book is a fine introduction to vampire tales from history. It reports on the alleged facts in each case, making no judgements on their veracity, leaving the reader to decide. It is a good survey of vampire lore, and though I have read a number of accounts of allegedly true cases of vampirism, many of those recorded here were new to me.
Also similar to its companion volume, this book suffers (at least in this edition) from numerous typographical, punctuation and spelling errors and could benefit from some serious editing.
Also similar to its companion volume, this book suffers (at least in this edition) from numerous typographical, punctuation and spelling errors and could benefit from some serious editing.
October 30, 2019
This was a short read. This collection of historical accounts was very interesting. Some of the stories were more entertaining than others, and even though at times it can get a little slow, the good stories were worth it. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in vampires and accounts of them.
June 27, 2023
I read my first Vampire book over 50 years ago and I still enjoy reading these tales. This book covers many supposed vampires throughout history from ancient Roman times until the recent past. Some of the tales are very short while others are more indepth.
The most famous of these historical figures is Vlad the Impaler, who inspired Dracula. I had read about some of the people featured in this collection, but there were a lot that were new to me. Some of the stories were more folklore, while others were factual depictions of serial killers.
If you enjoy the folklore surrounding Vampires, I recommend this book. The narrator did a good job, but I think I would have retained more from this book by reading it instead of listening. I was given the chance to listen to this book by the publisher and chose to review it.
The most famous of these historical figures is Vlad the Impaler, who inspired Dracula. I had read about some of the people featured in this collection, but there were a lot that were new to me. Some of the stories were more folklore, while others were factual depictions of serial killers.
If you enjoy the folklore surrounding Vampires, I recommend this book. The narrator did a good job, but I think I would have retained more from this book by reading it instead of listening. I was given the chance to listen to this book by the publisher and chose to review it.
March 19, 2022
The quality of writing really varies depending on the sources used. Some are exceptionally creepy, others drag on. A lot of repetitive stories, which isn't wholly unexpected given the subject material.
A good jumping off point for Vampire research but should by no means be your sole source as many of the stories have some very dated information within them, particularly the Dracula tale which was written prior to the release of In Search of Dracula (1972).
This book was in the bibliography for In Search of Dracula however which explains why both have very very similar recounts of Bathory.
Quick and entertaining read for Vampire obsessives.
A good jumping off point for Vampire research but should by no means be your sole source as many of the stories have some very dated information within them, particularly the Dracula tale which was written prior to the release of In Search of Dracula (1972).
This book was in the bibliography for In Search of Dracula however which explains why both have very very similar recounts of Bathory.
Quick and entertaining read for Vampire obsessives.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews