Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures from the Darkside

by Brad Steiger

A chilling chronicle of the often ignored history of vampirism as it has surfaced repeatedly in news articles, historical accounts, and first person interviews, this shocking account of occultist rituals and the inhuman forces that influence them shines a light on the horrifying truth. Revealing that real vampires are not immortal, do not have fangs or sleep in coffins, and have no fear of sunlight or crucifixes, the examination dispels many myths but also confirms the truth behind several traits of real vampires, such as the insatiable thirst for blood and the dream of an eternal soul. Complete with 30 spine-tingling tales of the hideous wraiths and creatures that lurk in shadow, this fascinating collection includes the stories of the Mexican prostitute who mesmerized an entire village, convincing them she was an Incan goddess who required human sacrifice for her magic; the three teenagers who left a trail across the South as they conducted blood-drinking rituals with animals; and the mysterious Lady in Black who draws psychic energy from men who dare approach her as she wanders through city streets and parks.

Genres: Paranormal, Nonfiction, Vampires, Horror, Mystery, Monsters, Reference

305 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Alfredo Maceda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can talk about the vampire characters. Talk about what they are and how they got here. There are many legends, but it seems that this book has some of the best stories of them. They talk about the life they have in the evening and also talk about who or what ther enemies are the werewolves. This book says a lot about the ancient vampires and how there were lots of well known vampires like dracula and all of them. This book has lots of stories and teal of the vampires.


In the book they explain how they exict in the real world and how the son of the vampires should live forever and they will never die.
There are some storys of how diffent people got rid of them its a good book if you like storys about different creatures. I think that this book is interesting and it's also fun to read because it gives you lots of detels. I recoment the book to everyone.

[L8blmr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a somewhat interesting compilation of stories about people who thought they were vampires, people who wanted to be vampires and people who witnessed the genuine article, or so they believed. Other creatures were addressed as well, the common bond being a desire for human blood or flesh and/or sacrifice for some supposed religious ritual (although vampires that fed on emotions and such were covered as well). This author writes in a matter-of-fact way that was more believable to me than some of the more sensational, over-the-top things I have read before on the subject. It's not hard at all to convince me that evil exists in our world, and I am hardly shocked anymore at the extent some will go to in order to fulfill their twisted desires. All you have to do is watch the news, something which I try to avoid.

[Blair Hodgkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointment. I found the author's Werewolf Book a useful reference and that convinced me to buy this book. What I found was that the author's selection of stories from history and anecdotes related to him by members of the public were often grouped together without rhyme or reason. Some of his connections to vampires in these stories are tenuous at best and a strong editor might have helped the author shape the book into a more readable format. The author's professed belief in the occult supernatural, which I believe is sincere, destroys the book's objectivity about the subject matter, making it a painful read for a skeptic who is interested in the folklore and social history of vampirism. That said, some of the stories are quite interesting, from anecdotes to urban legends. I likely won't read this again, but may dip into some of the better parts.

[Jo Besser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually I can finish books faster than this. I think it's because it started out slow, and then picked up. However, when it picked up I couldn't believe what was going on. Some of what was being talked about was so far fetched.

[kritika :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

real! vampires! wow!

[Raine]

I have to say, it is incredibly nice to have a book about vampires it is not 90% about Dracula and Anne Rice. That's not to say that Dracula and Anne Rice aren't very important in vampire history and legend, but to be honest, if I'm going to the trouble of researching vampires, I would really like to learn about more than simply Dracula and Anne Rice is vampires.

Because of this, Real Vampires, Night Stalkers, and Creatures from the Dark Side by Brad Steiger was rather refreshing. Steiger does have an interesting thought on what "real" vampires, though; that they are parasitic spiritual force that will possess humans and give them vampiric tendencies such as drinking blood, or that they are demons, the children of Lilith, who drain people's blood or energy, thereby working at possessing their souls.

Overall the first 200 pages of the book gives some interesting insights, thoughts and ideas about vampires, the kind that are often difficult to get at in other books because of the focus on the "traditional" vampire in literature. The end of the book becomes more difficult to read. In places, the writing seems stilted, though it's possible that these stilted sections are accounts from others in their own words; Steiger doesn't always make these sections clear as to who the writer is, sometimes flipping back and forth between reports sent to him and his thoughts on them. And at the very end of the book was something I really wasn't expecting, a section on extraterrestrial beings. Sure, I suppose they could fit into the night stalkers or creatures from the dark side, but I was really not expecting to read about aliens in a book titled Real Vampires.

Still, despite these shortcomings in the end of the book, I am still glad I read it as it gave me ideas for my book.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this book with the belief that the content would focus on historical figures, true crimes, and disorders involving vampire-like tendencies. There were certainly some new figures to me such as Elizabeth Bathory (who bathed in victims' blood for immortality) and Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo (a drug lord that used a distorted form of Santeria to dispose of his opponents and "spiritually" empower his followers). Other stories were interesting but seemed more folkloric or urban legend in nature.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for more information about the origin myths and differing ideas of what it means to be a werewolf/vampire etc and their traits, but it was a good real none-the-less. The true stories were definitely disturbing.

[Heather Domin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This didn't have the particular bit of info I was looking for, but I really enjoyed it. I'd love to find a Kindle version.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthology of vampires, criminals who act like vampires, and would be vampires.
Not bad, but rather dry.

Wound up just skimming.

[Juicy_Groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories but they were very wrong about Wiccan and Satanic beliefs,so I don't know if the rest of the book is accurate.Still this was a good book to flip through.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parts of this book literally kept me up at night.

[Darci Huddleston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little sensationalist at times. Good stories