The vampire in legend, fact and art

by Basil Copper

In the pages of this fascinating book appear Bram Stoker and his famous creation, Count Dracula; Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla; Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigating a Sussex vampire; and that celebrated creature, E.F. Benson's Mrs. Amworth. Here too will be found analysis of classic silent films and discussions of key works of the sound film. Discussed also are real-life acts of vampirism, such as those of Fritz Hoarman and John George Haigh. **Lightning Print On Demand Title

Genres: Vampires, Nonfiction, Horror

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Basil Copper was an English writer and former journalist and newspaper editor. He has written over 50 books and scripts. In addition to fantasy and horror, Copper is known for his series of Solar Pons stories continuing the character created by August Derleth.

Copper edited a 1982 two-volume omnibus collection of Derleth's stories of the 'Pontine' canon, published by Arkham House, a publishing firm founded by Derleth himself and chiefly publishing weird fiction (such as Cthulhu Mythos tales); in that edition, Copper "edited" most of the tales in ways that many Pontine aficionados found objectionable[citation needed]. A later omnibus, The Original Text Solar Pons Omnibus Edition, was issued in 2000 under the imprint of Mycroft & Moran (a name which is itself a Holmesian jest).

He also wrote the long-running hard-boiled detective stories of "Mike Faraday" (58 novels from 1966 to 1988).

Copper has received many honours in recent years. In 1979, the Mark Twain Society of America elected him a Knight of Mark Twain for his outstanding "contribution to modern fiction", while the Praed Street Irregulars have twice honoured him for his work on the Solar Pons series. He has been a member of the Crime Writer's Association for over thirty years, serving as chairman in 1981/82 and on its committee for a total of seven years.

In early 2008, a bio-bibliography was published on him: Basil Copper: A Life in Books, compiled and edited by Stephen Jones.

In March 2010, Darkness, Mist and Shadow: The Collected Macabre Tales of Basil Copper was launched at the Brighton World Horror Convention as a two-volume set by PS Publishing.

Reviews

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, did this thing suck. For some reason the guy seems to think that once in a while droning on in a purple vein is quite the ticket. He's also rather irritatingly priggish in spots. The blurb informs me he's a horror writer, although I had never heard of him (yet I just found out that he wrote the story for "Camera Obscura," one of the episodes of the Night Gallery). Anyway, at one point he actually pauses to quote somebody else praising his work! Unbelievable. What a jackass.

[Jami · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not the age that makes this a not very good book, it's the glaring mistakes Mr. Copper makes. He confuses the names and even genders of the various characters in the books and movies so badly it makes me wonder if he put any real research into anything.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a bit dated, but the author collects all kind of facts about the legendary creatures: justice at the crossroads, the identification of such a creature, the growth of the legend, the vampire of Medusegna. Then in literature: Polidori, Prest's Varney, Stoker's Dracula and vampires with Derleth and Matheson. In film and theatres: Nosferatu, Lugosi, afterwards some facts in medical vampirism, Fritz Haarmann, the Phantom of Montparnasse, Highgate Cemetery. Here it ends with a short bibliography. Well, I really enjoyed some of its passages, liked the author's style, but seriously missed photos and illustrations. Otherwise a good book for those who want to know more about vampires. Really recommended!

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads like a textbook and can be very dry. Basil gives a very through examination of the vampire; unfortunately he often spoils the plots of major books and movies in the process. It did give me several lesser known vampire films and books to look into that I was not aware of, so for that reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 2. If you don't mind textbook like reading and spoilers, this book can give you some new perspectives and material to look at.

[Nila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Outdated and not overly informative but it gave me a few new stories put on my to-read-list.

[Mutedsanity · Rating 4 out of 5]

an interesting if a little outdated analysis on the vampire in its many incarnations in our cultures. many fantastic and otherwise unknown works of vampiric lit. are discussed here, and its worth owning if just for the list of referenced works and the index, as these would be invaluable to the serious hunter of vampire tales.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not finding this all that interesting. It's a commentary on historical literature on the subject - which I wasnt expecting. I'm half-way through and can happily put it down. Whilst some aspects are interesting, there isnt enough to keep me going.

[J.L. Peridot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful and informative with lots of references to look up. Makes for good research material on depiction of vampires in classic and modern fiction.