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Vampires: The Myths, Legends, and Lore
A thrilling treasury of vampire lore!
Since the seventeenth century, people have been frightened, mesmerized, and fascinated by the terrifying tales of vampires. In this book, you'll uncover the history and mystery behind these bloodthirsty monsters with folklore, mythology, and poetry from every tradition in the world. From the Bosnian Lampir, whose disease-ridden corpse spread infection and death throughout villages, to Bram Stoker's charming Dracula, who helped define modern-day vampires, the wicked stories surrounding these nocturnal beings are sure to captivate anyone who has ever wondered about these shadow-loving creatures. Whether you're interested in exploring the culture of vampires or just want to learn more about their supernatural abilities, you'll discover dozens of compelling tales, historical accounts, and haunting legends that shed some light on these sinister beings.
Complete with detailed illustrations, Vampires reveals the dark allure and gruesome power of these creatures of the night.
Since the seventeenth century, people have been frightened, mesmerized, and fascinated by the terrifying tales of vampires. In this book, you'll uncover the history and mystery behind these bloodthirsty monsters with folklore, mythology, and poetry from every tradition in the world. From the Bosnian Lampir, whose disease-ridden corpse spread infection and death throughout villages, to Bram Stoker's charming Dracula, who helped define modern-day vampires, the wicked stories surrounding these nocturnal beings are sure to captivate anyone who has ever wondered about these shadow-loving creatures. Whether you're interested in exploring the culture of vampires or just want to learn more about their supernatural abilities, you'll discover dozens of compelling tales, historical accounts, and haunting legends that shed some light on these sinister beings.
Complete with detailed illustrations, Vampires reveals the dark allure and gruesome power of these creatures of the night.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published July 4, 2014
125 people are currently reading
917 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 25, 2024
3,75 round up to 4 stars
A pretty comprehensive reference book about vampire, especially from myth and legends. Bonus point to include "vampire" from Indonesia, although I'm a little bit confused when read the vampire name is "penanggalan". Is this a new evil spirit/demon/etc? Then, when reading the description, I'll be like "oh, this is kuyang". Yep, I'm much familiar with "kuyang" rather than "penanggalan". Sadly, no vampiric creatures from Africa, Australia or Oceania mythology. Some of the vampiric creatures also more like demonic in nature and pretty sketchy to be categorized into vampire.
The book divided of some parts, focused into myth, legend and also vampire appearance in the world, such as vampire hysteria in the 13-15th century. There were also mentions of serial killer vampire that pretty much chilling to read, you wonder if you have already know it all form of serial killer then boom, there's serial killer mimicking vampire. What make this book shine is how the author pretty much knowledgeable when detailing vampire in literature, movie, tv series and games. From classic, of course there's detail explanation about Dracula by Bram Stoker. After all, Stoker's book was book that make vampire popular. BUT, before Stoker, there was Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu and the author also explain it thoroughly. For modern literature, there's Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris and don't forget, Twilight.
My complaint is, why there's no Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R.Ward in the example of romantic vampire books? The author mentioned some titles, including Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress and Alexandra Ivy's Guardian of Eternity. But no BDB? Seriously? No Dark Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon as well, but the lack of BDB is pretty much insulting because while I don't read it anymore, I admit that BDB is one of those vampire romance book that also achieve cult following. Also for a book that said to have illustrations in the blurb, the illustration are pretty much sporadic and sometimes just put there for being a decorations. It will be nice if there's a drawing of vampires from some mythology.
If you like all things vampire, this book is a must. I admit, despite my complaints, there's some knowledge about vampire that I only know after I read this book. Also, its piqued my interest to read Dracula by Bram Stoker. Hmm, maybe next Halloween, it's time to read Count Dracula!
A pretty comprehensive reference book about vampire, especially from myth and legends. Bonus point to include "vampire" from Indonesia, although I'm a little bit confused when read the vampire name is "penanggalan". Is this a new evil spirit/demon/etc? Then, when reading the description, I'll be like "oh, this is kuyang". Yep, I'm much familiar with "kuyang" rather than "penanggalan". Sadly, no vampiric creatures from Africa, Australia or Oceania mythology. Some of the vampiric creatures also more like demonic in nature and pretty sketchy to be categorized into vampire.
The book divided of some parts, focused into myth, legend and also vampire appearance in the world, such as vampire hysteria in the 13-15th century. There were also mentions of serial killer vampire that pretty much chilling to read, you wonder if you have already know it all form of serial killer then boom, there's serial killer mimicking vampire. What make this book shine is how the author pretty much knowledgeable when detailing vampire in literature, movie, tv series and games. From classic, of course there's detail explanation about Dracula by Bram Stoker. After all, Stoker's book was book that make vampire popular. BUT, before Stoker, there was Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu and the author also explain it thoroughly. For modern literature, there's Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris and don't forget, Twilight.
My complaint is, why there's no Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R.Ward in the example of romantic vampire books? The author mentioned some titles, including Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress and Alexandra Ivy's Guardian of Eternity. But no BDB? Seriously? No Dark Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon as well, but the lack of BDB is pretty much insulting because while I don't read it anymore, I admit that BDB is one of those vampire romance book that also achieve cult following. Also for a book that said to have illustrations in the blurb, the illustration are pretty much sporadic and sometimes just put there for being a decorations. It will be nice if there's a drawing of vampires from some mythology.
If you like all things vampire, this book is a must. I admit, despite my complaints, there's some knowledge about vampire that I only know after I read this book. Also, its piqued my interest to read Dracula by Bram Stoker. Hmm, maybe next Halloween, it's time to read Count Dracula!
May 22, 2017
This book is an interesting look at the concept of the vampire and how it has grown and evolved from folklore, books, movies and television. You will definitely learn something new about vampires and even the history of some real life vampires! Recommend for all vampire enthusiasts, you won't be disappointed! There is also a list of books in the back if you want to further your vampire studies.
May 4, 2018
This book was interesting to read, but a bit disappointing due to the lack of in depth information about the lore, legends or folklore from europe to britian about historical or urban legends about vampires or revenants. If you are looking for a extensive and very detailed accounts of vampires then you will feel a bit let down which is a shame, the type of book this is a missed opportunity due to lack of information and doesn't seem very thoroughly researched. There are a lot of accounts of vampires documented by vampireologists but the amount of detai is glossed over and very vague and there is no known reason why a person has become a revenant (a vampire) Bram Stoker wrote the infamous novel Dracula and the authorof the bo ok seems to think that was the only vampire book written at the time but there have been many authors that have created interesting vampiric characters not just Bram Stoker!
I would have prefered it if this book was about the folklore related to vampires and cryptids or other creatures from urban legends and folklore that had vampiric traits. I am surprised that the Atlas vampire murder which was never solved was not included in the chapter of the book involving vampiric crimes, since the murderer was a vampire, he used a ladle after cutting the throat of the victim to drink their blood. There are more countries that could have beenmentioned but won't such as Italy, France, Haiti, New Orleans, The Carribean and there is also a lack of visual representation of what the vampires might have looked like. I wish there ws a book tat ws similar in thee to this but about various types of mthlogical, cryptozoological, folkloric and from legends and urban legends because there are a lot of creaturesthat might not be a vampire but it has vampiric traits such as drinking the blood of their intended victim. Some vampire lore is not explain forexample if a vampire died and it reduced to ash can they be resurrected by a necromancer, witch, satanist? Can vampires enter an abandoned home? Do vampires have a gender or sexuality? Can they walk in sunlight? Can a vampire shapeshift like dracula? Why isn't the full extent of dracula's powers ever explained?
Can a vampire sire children ad if tey do will tbeir childen become avampire orwould they born as a vampire?
My favourite chapters or sections of chapters would have to be historical vampire sightings, vampiric crimes reading about Gile de rais, Elizabeth Bathory or vampiric serial killers was interesing. I liked the section about vampires in pop cultufe, iconic, interesting, terrifying, bloodthirsty yet still sexy, attractive (vampires have a sexual lure or aura in the same way a werewolf does, people are drawn to them but they don't know why but they find the person seductive, sexually alurong or attractive sometimesagainst their will) Vampires have a way of mesmerising people that are suseptible to hypnosis, so they are easy to glamour (to control the mind of another person, but to also make them forget that they have bee fed on by a vampire).
Vampires from europe: Greek/Slavic vampires
Zeus created a vampire princess called Lamia also spelt a Lamiae (in some cultures a Lamia is also a demon)
The Lamia had the upper body of a woman and the lower part of her body was serpentine, it was a shapeshifter and seduced men
Empusa & Mormo: Empusa was a one legged vampiric succubus while Mormo bit children that were behaving badly.
The Vrykolakas: A reanimated dead revenant. The vrykolakas are demos that cause misery to the living, they torment them. Usuallythe following would become a vrykolakas: an unborn/stillborn baby, a sinful lifestyle, excommunicated from the church or being bornon a holy day. A lot of the reason why a person become a revenant after death is usually related to how they ived their life, if it was a unhoy lifestyle or sinful or if the person was evil. There are also a lotof similarities between many countries related to how the vampire/revenant was discovered, due to documented accounts of sightings of the vampires and, the townspeople that were plagued by fear, bloodloss, disease and death, until the vampire(s) were killed and permanently prevent the vampire from harming anyone else. Usually the grave was dug up, the limbs were removed, staked, or sometime there were stones placed onto the corpse to prevent it rising from the grave, the heart was also removed, burnt, sometimes consumed to "cure" people of vampirism which didn't always work. The limbs were cut off and sometimes burnt, the head was decapitated and garlic was placed in the mouth.
There are some lesser known factsabout european vampires which are interesting however such as Slavic vampires can shapeshift into bat or butterfly.
Lesser known names of vampires: Kukudhi (Albanian), Lampir Tenati (Monternegro), Upyr (Ukraine), Opyri Vipir (Bulgaria), Vokolak Pricosac (Croatia), Nosophorous (Greece), Vampir (Hungary), Upierczi (Russia), Vampyres (Serbia)
The Upir & Nelapsi: A vampire wit two earts and two souls that kill people with tbeir crushing embrace, it spreads disease and has an evil eye.
Pijavica: A person born that has led an evil life or born from an incestuous union.
1689 was one of many of the earliest documented acounts of a vampire in europe.
Gypsies and vampire lore: (Types of vampires):
Kali-Sara or the black goddess
Mullo: A creature that drinks tbe blood of a relative that did not observe proper burial rights
The Bulgarians believed in a religious perspective or myth that a deseased person would travel around the area near where they lived when they were alive with their guardian angel for 40 days before going to the spiritual realm. Living a life as a drunk or sinful person or a sudden and violent death would mean you would possibly become a vampire after death.
Vampiric children: Ustrels (a baby born on a saturday but died before being baptised)
They are an invisible spirit of a child that preys on livestock.
The Bosnian Lampir: A disease ridden rotting corpse that rises from the grave to infect others and cause grief, the people infected by it became ill and died. The Russian Uppyr: Anyone that strays from religion will be a likely target for vampirism. "the decaging reanimated remains of tye dead that won't stay dead and buried" Witches are also possible targets for vampirism.
Romanian/German vampires: Strigoi Vul (also known as Strigoi Mort a living vampire):
Naczehrer: (After-eaters) Corpses of women who died during chidbirth, they attack and devour their living victims. They partially gnawed their own hands, arms and extremities.
The Alp: A creature that preys people while they are sleeping that takes many forms depending on what part of Germany it is seen it. Some of the forms it takes are: A sorcerer inthe form of a bird or a cat to cause mischief (it is a witch's familiar)
A sexual predator in human form that attacks sleeping women, it has the ability to enter the mind of the sleeping victim and creates horrific nightmares, convulsions and fits of hysteria. When the alp is present there is an intense feeling of pressure on the chest, or suffocation while sleeping.
Schrattl: A creature that eats the funerary shroud and attacks family members, livestock, the rest of the community until they are driven insane, they were thought of as the cause or spread of disease or plague. Woodwives: Fairies that attackpeople for veturing too far into a forest.
British/North and South American vampires:
Highgate Cemetary vampire: For a long time since the 1960's people have witnessed withtheir own eyes sightings of a spectral vampire, demonic entities and more in the Highgate Cemetary, in London.
Satanic rituals have been performed in the cemetary and may be the reason why demonic entities have been seen in the cemetary. Animals have sacrificed and seen in the cemetary as well. The vampire sightings eventually leads to a "vampire hunt" in the cemetary but it proved to be unsuccessful. The Welsh hag: This is a female demon that appears as a young maiden, mature matron or old crone. Normally people see her washing blood stained clothing in a river, seeing her is an omen of impending doom or death. Gwrach y hibyn: Similar to a banshee in nature attacks sleeping children or anyone that is defenseless or vulnerable draining the blood of their victims until they die. When it is near dried bloodaround their mouth is seen.
Dearg- due- A woman who fell in love with a peasant, while she was from a different class and her father forced to marry an old man from her social class instead. She rose from her grave to take revenge on her father and husband by draining their blood while they slept. Stones were placed on her grave to prevent her from rising from her grave.
Leanan sidhe- A muse for artists
Abhartach- A dwarf magician that repeatedly rosefrom his grave, until he was killed by Mac Cumhail with a sword made from a yew tree. The dwarf was buried upside down and the grave was surrounded by thorns
Berwick- Sightings of a reanimated male corpse were preceded by spectral hounds. A woman was attacked while sleeping, her blood was drained. He died due to the plague and after death spread disease and fear. His face was reported as "a brown face and flaming red eyes" When the vampire was discovered it was shot in the leg, then the corpse was dug up and burnt.
Vlad Tepes (the prince of Wallacia, Romania/Transylvania) He was a hero to his people and protected his people from the invading Turks of the Ottoman empire. The reason he impaled people onto wooden spikes because he w as imprisoned with his brother by the Turks and raped so he impaled people as an act of revenge. (There is a documentary about Vlad Tepes so that's how I know)
The night battle: 15,000 Turks were killed. Order of the dragon or also known as Dracul (which means order of the dragon) The order was an organization of knights in the 15th century, that fought against the muslim turks. Vlad the ii (1431) was named dracul which is why it means order of the dragon. Vlad ii passed his name down to his son Vlad Tepes (Vlad the impaler)
The caves of bones Carpathian area of Romania (2002) Radiocarbon dating humain remains dated the remains to be 40,000 years old which are the oldest human remains to be found anywhere in europe.
Vampire grave: A skeleton vampire from the 13th or 14th century was discovered, (in Socopol) also another skeleton vampire was discovered from the 8th or 9th century (they died during the black plague)
Vampiric crimes/Vampiric murderers/serial killers: Giles montmorency laval de rais (AKA Baron de rais) was a french nobleman and infamous perverted, sadistic and evil torturer of innocents. He fought alongside Joan of arc, but always had evil intentions in his black heart. In 1435 he left the military and bacame involved in dabbling in the occult and satanism and sacrificed 50 young boys in blood-soaked sacrificial ceremonies. It wasn't until 1440 that he was convicted for his disturbing, sadistic and cruel and evil actions that led to his own destruction which was well deserved. The exact details of the gruesome things were too shocking and disturbing to be documented so now there is no true accurate account of what he did or why. He did however engage in drinking tbe blood of his victims, cannibalism, monstrous sexual perversions that involve rape. He was found guilty and hanged for his crimes.
Erzebet Bathory: Erzebet (also known as Elizabeth Bathory, the countess of blood or blood countess) was a Hungarian princess born into royalty in 1560. She was married at tbe age of 15 to Ferenk Madasdy who shared her sadistic and torturous methods from him, since he taught her about BDSM/sadism or torture. They both fueled eacthother's desire to inflict as much pain as possible, and shed blood, the blood was the most important aspect of the torture because Elizabeth believed that the blood of virgins would keep her from aging, it would restore her beauty and youth forever.
Similar in nature due her sadistic sadism, to Giles de rais both have earned their infamous staus in history and will never be forgotten. They both shared a literal bloodlust to maim, torture and beat their victims, torture them to death, they both gained a sick pleasure from what they did to their numerous victims. She had inherited epilepsy,and familial madness, her relatives practised witchcraft, alchemy and satanism. She would tie up a naked servantgirl outsidecovered in honey, and then left them to be stung by wasps. Other victims were tied up outside, naked and froze to death. Her husband died in 1604 but she continued torturing her servants who were originally peasant girls from lower class families, but then Elizabeth decided to kiss girls from noble families until rumours started to spread about what was going on at Csejte castle in Hungary, now all remains are ruins. People still claim to feel her presense at the castle ruins even in modern times.
Her main motivation was blood, she took sadistic pleasure from torturing and inflicting pain onto the servant girls and watching them die.
Body parts were removed or manipulated from the bodies with scissors, hot pokers were used to burn the victims, their blood was drained, their flesh was consumed, sometimes the victims were forced to eat tbeir own flesh and then they were beaten to death. Elizabeth Bathory was animalistic, had an insatiable thirst for blood and very cruel and unforgiving, felt no remorse for anything she ever did, be ause she enjoyed being a serial killer. Elizabeth Bathory was not caught until 1609 she was caught, and convicted of 80 murders but may have killed up to 650 people, she had the nerve to claim she was innocent and her servants supposedly died of disease. She was found guilty and died three years later after being walled up in her castle.
I would have prefered it if this book was about the folklore related to vampires and cryptids or other creatures from urban legends and folklore that had vampiric traits. I am surprised that the Atlas vampire murder which was never solved was not included in the chapter of the book involving vampiric crimes, since the murderer was a vampire, he used a ladle after cutting the throat of the victim to drink their blood. There are more countries that could have beenmentioned but won't such as Italy, France, Haiti, New Orleans, The Carribean and there is also a lack of visual representation of what the vampires might have looked like. I wish there ws a book tat ws similar in thee to this but about various types of mthlogical, cryptozoological, folkloric and from legends and urban legends because there are a lot of creaturesthat might not be a vampire but it has vampiric traits such as drinking the blood of their intended victim. Some vampire lore is not explain forexample if a vampire died and it reduced to ash can they be resurrected by a necromancer, witch, satanist? Can vampires enter an abandoned home? Do vampires have a gender or sexuality? Can they walk in sunlight? Can a vampire shapeshift like dracula? Why isn't the full extent of dracula's powers ever explained?
Can a vampire sire children ad if tey do will tbeir childen become avampire orwould they born as a vampire?
My favourite chapters or sections of chapters would have to be historical vampire sightings, vampiric crimes reading about Gile de rais, Elizabeth Bathory or vampiric serial killers was interesing. I liked the section about vampires in pop cultufe, iconic, interesting, terrifying, bloodthirsty yet still sexy, attractive (vampires have a sexual lure or aura in the same way a werewolf does, people are drawn to them but they don't know why but they find the person seductive, sexually alurong or attractive sometimesagainst their will) Vampires have a way of mesmerising people that are suseptible to hypnosis, so they are easy to glamour (to control the mind of another person, but to also make them forget that they have bee fed on by a vampire).
Vampires from europe: Greek/Slavic vampires
Zeus created a vampire princess called Lamia also spelt a Lamiae (in some cultures a Lamia is also a demon)
The Lamia had the upper body of a woman and the lower part of her body was serpentine, it was a shapeshifter and seduced men
Empusa & Mormo: Empusa was a one legged vampiric succubus while Mormo bit children that were behaving badly.
The Vrykolakas: A reanimated dead revenant. The vrykolakas are demos that cause misery to the living, they torment them. Usuallythe following would become a vrykolakas: an unborn/stillborn baby, a sinful lifestyle, excommunicated from the church or being bornon a holy day. A lot of the reason why a person become a revenant after death is usually related to how they ived their life, if it was a unhoy lifestyle or sinful or if the person was evil. There are also a lotof similarities between many countries related to how the vampire/revenant was discovered, due to documented accounts of sightings of the vampires and, the townspeople that were plagued by fear, bloodloss, disease and death, until the vampire(s) were killed and permanently prevent the vampire from harming anyone else. Usually the grave was dug up, the limbs were removed, staked, or sometime there were stones placed onto the corpse to prevent it rising from the grave, the heart was also removed, burnt, sometimes consumed to "cure" people of vampirism which didn't always work. The limbs were cut off and sometimes burnt, the head was decapitated and garlic was placed in the mouth.
There are some lesser known factsabout european vampires which are interesting however such as Slavic vampires can shapeshift into bat or butterfly.
Lesser known names of vampires: Kukudhi (Albanian), Lampir Tenati (Monternegro), Upyr (Ukraine), Opyri Vipir (Bulgaria), Vokolak Pricosac (Croatia), Nosophorous (Greece), Vampir (Hungary), Upierczi (Russia), Vampyres (Serbia)
The Upir & Nelapsi: A vampire wit two earts and two souls that kill people with tbeir crushing embrace, it spreads disease and has an evil eye.
Pijavica: A person born that has led an evil life or born from an incestuous union.
1689 was one of many of the earliest documented acounts of a vampire in europe.
Gypsies and vampire lore: (Types of vampires):
Kali-Sara or the black goddess
Mullo: A creature that drinks tbe blood of a relative that did not observe proper burial rights
The Bulgarians believed in a religious perspective or myth that a deseased person would travel around the area near where they lived when they were alive with their guardian angel for 40 days before going to the spiritual realm. Living a life as a drunk or sinful person or a sudden and violent death would mean you would possibly become a vampire after death.
Vampiric children: Ustrels (a baby born on a saturday but died before being baptised)
They are an invisible spirit of a child that preys on livestock.
The Bosnian Lampir: A disease ridden rotting corpse that rises from the grave to infect others and cause grief, the people infected by it became ill and died. The Russian Uppyr: Anyone that strays from religion will be a likely target for vampirism. "the decaging reanimated remains of tye dead that won't stay dead and buried" Witches are also possible targets for vampirism.
Romanian/German vampires: Strigoi Vul (also known as Strigoi Mort a living vampire):
Naczehrer: (After-eaters) Corpses of women who died during chidbirth, they attack and devour their living victims. They partially gnawed their own hands, arms and extremities.
The Alp: A creature that preys people while they are sleeping that takes many forms depending on what part of Germany it is seen it. Some of the forms it takes are: A sorcerer inthe form of a bird or a cat to cause mischief (it is a witch's familiar)
A sexual predator in human form that attacks sleeping women, it has the ability to enter the mind of the sleeping victim and creates horrific nightmares, convulsions and fits of hysteria. When the alp is present there is an intense feeling of pressure on the chest, or suffocation while sleeping.
Schrattl: A creature that eats the funerary shroud and attacks family members, livestock, the rest of the community until they are driven insane, they were thought of as the cause or spread of disease or plague. Woodwives: Fairies that attackpeople for veturing too far into a forest.
British/North and South American vampires:
Highgate Cemetary vampire: For a long time since the 1960's people have witnessed withtheir own eyes sightings of a spectral vampire, demonic entities and more in the Highgate Cemetary, in London.
Satanic rituals have been performed in the cemetary and may be the reason why demonic entities have been seen in the cemetary. Animals have sacrificed and seen in the cemetary as well. The vampire sightings eventually leads to a "vampire hunt" in the cemetary but it proved to be unsuccessful. The Welsh hag: This is a female demon that appears as a young maiden, mature matron or old crone. Normally people see her washing blood stained clothing in a river, seeing her is an omen of impending doom or death. Gwrach y hibyn: Similar to a banshee in nature attacks sleeping children or anyone that is defenseless or vulnerable draining the blood of their victims until they die. When it is near dried bloodaround their mouth is seen.
Dearg- due- A woman who fell in love with a peasant, while she was from a different class and her father forced to marry an old man from her social class instead. She rose from her grave to take revenge on her father and husband by draining their blood while they slept. Stones were placed on her grave to prevent her from rising from her grave.
Leanan sidhe- A muse for artists
Abhartach- A dwarf magician that repeatedly rosefrom his grave, until he was killed by Mac Cumhail with a sword made from a yew tree. The dwarf was buried upside down and the grave was surrounded by thorns
Berwick- Sightings of a reanimated male corpse were preceded by spectral hounds. A woman was attacked while sleeping, her blood was drained. He died due to the plague and after death spread disease and fear. His face was reported as "a brown face and flaming red eyes" When the vampire was discovered it was shot in the leg, then the corpse was dug up and burnt.
Vlad Tepes (the prince of Wallacia, Romania/Transylvania) He was a hero to his people and protected his people from the invading Turks of the Ottoman empire. The reason he impaled people onto wooden spikes because he w as imprisoned with his brother by the Turks and raped so he impaled people as an act of revenge. (There is a documentary about Vlad Tepes so that's how I know)
The night battle: 15,000 Turks were killed. Order of the dragon or also known as Dracul (which means order of the dragon) The order was an organization of knights in the 15th century, that fought against the muslim turks. Vlad the ii (1431) was named dracul which is why it means order of the dragon. Vlad ii passed his name down to his son Vlad Tepes (Vlad the impaler)
The caves of bones Carpathian area of Romania (2002) Radiocarbon dating humain remains dated the remains to be 40,000 years old which are the oldest human remains to be found anywhere in europe.
Vampire grave: A skeleton vampire from the 13th or 14th century was discovered, (in Socopol) also another skeleton vampire was discovered from the 8th or 9th century (they died during the black plague)
Vampiric crimes/Vampiric murderers/serial killers: Giles montmorency laval de rais (AKA Baron de rais) was a french nobleman and infamous perverted, sadistic and evil torturer of innocents. He fought alongside Joan of arc, but always had evil intentions in his black heart. In 1435 he left the military and bacame involved in dabbling in the occult and satanism and sacrificed 50 young boys in blood-soaked sacrificial ceremonies. It wasn't until 1440 that he was convicted for his disturbing, sadistic and cruel and evil actions that led to his own destruction which was well deserved. The exact details of the gruesome things were too shocking and disturbing to be documented so now there is no true accurate account of what he did or why. He did however engage in drinking tbe blood of his victims, cannibalism, monstrous sexual perversions that involve rape. He was found guilty and hanged for his crimes.
Erzebet Bathory: Erzebet (also known as Elizabeth Bathory, the countess of blood or blood countess) was a Hungarian princess born into royalty in 1560. She was married at tbe age of 15 to Ferenk Madasdy who shared her sadistic and torturous methods from him, since he taught her about BDSM/sadism or torture. They both fueled eacthother's desire to inflict as much pain as possible, and shed blood, the blood was the most important aspect of the torture because Elizabeth believed that the blood of virgins would keep her from aging, it would restore her beauty and youth forever.
Similar in nature due her sadistic sadism, to Giles de rais both have earned their infamous staus in history and will never be forgotten. They both shared a literal bloodlust to maim, torture and beat their victims, torture them to death, they both gained a sick pleasure from what they did to their numerous victims. She had inherited epilepsy,and familial madness, her relatives practised witchcraft, alchemy and satanism. She would tie up a naked servantgirl outsidecovered in honey, and then left them to be stung by wasps. Other victims were tied up outside, naked and froze to death. Her husband died in 1604 but she continued torturing her servants who were originally peasant girls from lower class families, but then Elizabeth decided to kiss girls from noble families until rumours started to spread about what was going on at Csejte castle in Hungary, now all remains are ruins. People still claim to feel her presense at the castle ruins even in modern times.
Her main motivation was blood, she took sadistic pleasure from torturing and inflicting pain onto the servant girls and watching them die.
Body parts were removed or manipulated from the bodies with scissors, hot pokers were used to burn the victims, their blood was drained, their flesh was consumed, sometimes the victims were forced to eat tbeir own flesh and then they were beaten to death. Elizabeth Bathory was animalistic, had an insatiable thirst for blood and very cruel and unforgiving, felt no remorse for anything she ever did, be ause she enjoyed being a serial killer. Elizabeth Bathory was not caught until 1609 she was caught, and convicted of 80 murders but may have killed up to 650 people, she had the nerve to claim she was innocent and her servants supposedly died of disease. She was found guilty and died three years later after being walled up in her castle.
November 2, 2025
Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me.
DNF'd at page 28/248, about 10%
Personally, I found it quite a slog to get through. It was slow, had a tendency to ramble and there was quite a bit of repetition about themes.
I felt like it was more of an opinion/thought piece rather than a collection of facts. For the part I read, there was a lot of mentions of folklore, but very little stories or facts to back it up.
Not really what I was looking for or hoping to read.
DNF'd at page 28/248, about 10%
Personally, I found it quite a slog to get through. It was slow, had a tendency to ramble and there was quite a bit of repetition about themes.
I felt like it was more of an opinion/thought piece rather than a collection of facts. For the part I read, there was a lot of mentions of folklore, but very little stories or facts to back it up.
Not really what I was looking for or hoping to read.
February 25, 2015
I love vampires, and especially the eroticism associated with them. I own numerous vampire movies and books. My all time favourite motion picture is Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Gary Oldman was spectacular. Another favourite is Underworld. I can’t get enough of Kate Beckinsale and Bill Nighy.
So when I happened across Aubrey Sherman’s Vampires - The Myths, Legends, and Lore, I had to buy it. And I wasn’t disappointed. This small, 224 page, hardcover book was worth every dime. From the wonderful introduction to the last page, I couldn’t put it down. Divided into four parts, the author covered every aspect of vampires, starting with the history and finishing with a list of recommended nonfiction reading. Filled with quirky facts, grim legends, chilling true stories, etchings and drawings, this book was a delight to read. But I wouldn’t recommend it with the lights out. :) Definitely 5 Stars, and a must have for vampire lovers everywhere!
To read entire review: http://www.blakrayneblog.com/2015/02/...
So when I happened across Aubrey Sherman’s Vampires - The Myths, Legends, and Lore, I had to buy it. And I wasn’t disappointed. This small, 224 page, hardcover book was worth every dime. From the wonderful introduction to the last page, I couldn’t put it down. Divided into four parts, the author covered every aspect of vampires, starting with the history and finishing with a list of recommended nonfiction reading. Filled with quirky facts, grim legends, chilling true stories, etchings and drawings, this book was a delight to read. But I wouldn’t recommend it with the lights out. :) Definitely 5 Stars, and a must have for vampire lovers everywhere!
To read entire review: http://www.blakrayneblog.com/2015/02/...
January 19, 2018
I'm so happy I finally finished this book!!! This book is ridiculous, basically just read it if you want to play a drinking game: take a shot whenever the author mentions Dracula and you'll be on your way to hospital.
This is an incredibly white book, you can't convince me there are no legends about vampires in Africa, nor can you convince me Dracula was the real OG vampire, because there were TONS before that book.
oh yeah, if you ever wanted to read Dracula, read that book before this one, because honey, you'll get spoiled!!
I'm a person who seriously likes all things legend and fairytale based, but I'd skip this book and get something good instead.
This is an incredibly white book, you can't convince me there are no legends about vampires in Africa, nor can you convince me Dracula was the real OG vampire, because there were TONS before that book.
oh yeah, if you ever wanted to read Dracula, read that book before this one, because honey, you'll get spoiled!!
I'm a person who seriously likes all things legend and fairytale based, but I'd skip this book and get something good instead.
February 16, 2020
Highly informative!🤓 This book has all kinds of lists and details on vampires that I had never heard of before. I'm pleased with the list of recommended nonfiction books at the end😊. Also there was info about historical vamps I'd never read about in other books about vampires. Plus😉there's a great chapter about vampire movies, many I hadn't known existed and am looking forward to seeing in the near future☺.
Highly recommended for anyone who loves vampires, or who is looking for some inspiration for potential books to read or potential movies to watch😎.
10/10
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Highly recommended for anyone who loves vampires, or who is looking for some inspiration for potential books to read or potential movies to watch😎.
10/10
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
September 19, 2024
It's a book with a lot of information about vampires, my favorite parts were the ones where the author presents the types/species of vampires and the legends from which their origin is derived. It's a good book for those who are passionate about the supernatural.
However, the author went too far into references that personally did not interest me, for example, video games or all kinds of adaptations after Dracula. This was surely written by a big fan of Stoker's Dracula. I would have liked to have seen other references to vampires, from all over the world maybe, and a lot of other vampire lore was overlooked.
I loved that there were quotes from movies, books, legends, and history all over the place.
Overall, it's not the best encyclopedia on vampires, but it's a starting point if you like the subject.
However, the author went too far into references that personally did not interest me, for example, video games or all kinds of adaptations after Dracula. This was surely written by a big fan of Stoker's Dracula. I would have liked to have seen other references to vampires, from all over the world maybe, and a lot of other vampire lore was overlooked.
I loved that there were quotes from movies, books, legends, and history all over the place.
Overall, it's not the best encyclopedia on vampires, but it's a starting point if you like the subject.
July 5, 2018
Probably the best book that I have read about the mythology of the vampire, from tradition to modern media. I especially enjoyed the second chapter, which details different vampiric traditions from around the world. I do think that the book could have gone into greater detail from time to time, since most of the book is more of a quick introduction to different themes under the vampire umbrella than a thorough analysis. Still, it was an enjoyable read and certainly in the better end when it comes to non-fiction books on supernatural subjects.
August 3, 2017
Would've like a stronger conclusion and more organization throughout the book. I still enjoyed the theming of the book (text, pictures, etc) and I think there is a good amount of folklore and history, which I felt was lacking in the wizards book. Sherman gives a thorough and comprehensive overview of the history and evolution of vampires, but I'm just left wanting more depth. Also, the chapter regarding all the serial killer 'vampires' freaked me out.
March 29, 2020
Interesting book. At times I couldn't get enough. At other times it seemed to be just a dull list with little meat. But as a whole, it provides a lot of ideas on where the legends started and where they are going. And perhaps more importantly, it brought to light so many other books that I need to add to my list of want-to-reads
January 9, 2024
I found it to be an engaging exploration of vampire folklore. Sherman weaves historical accounts and cultural perspectives- providing a journey into the diverse narratives surrounding them. I commend the author's meticulous research and vivid storytelling. It's a must-read for those fascinated by the allure of vampires throughout history.
January 5, 2018
This was a fantastic read! The author went into a lot of depth about vampires when it came to its origins, history, etc. She began with how vampirism came to be through the very basic religion and then expanded from there: describing what other nations thought of vampirism. A lot did involve Bram Stoker's Dracula, the classical vampire tale. On top of this, other vampire works were created and mentioned. As time went on, she talked about how society developed new vampires. For example, the energy and blood-feeding kinds. In addition to this, she mentioned films, plays, and even internet relations to vampirism. There is a section that I do believe to be somewhat of a "personal" opinion when it came to connections with real life killers.
In the end, it did feel incomplete. Ending with vampire hunters, the author went straight into her references. I do feel that there was something missing in the end.
In conclusion, being someone crazy when it comes to vampires, this is a book that vampire fanatics would love!
In the end, it did feel incomplete. Ending with vampire hunters, the author went straight into her references. I do feel that there was something missing in the end.
In conclusion, being someone crazy when it comes to vampires, this is a book that vampire fanatics would love!
March 22, 2018
It's like a list of Wikipedia entries and anecdotes - just a little better written.
No analysis, neither of cultural signification (of myths), nor of aesthetical feeling (of books, movies, etc.).
No analysis, neither of cultural signification (of myths), nor of aesthetical feeling (of books, movies, etc.).
April 13, 2019
Vampires by Aubrey Sherman
Absolutely Amazing read. It all about vampires from myths and legends from a range of different countries to vampire hunters to vampires in literature and Films. If you are into vampires this is a must read.
Absolutely Amazing read. It all about vampires from myths and legends from a range of different countries to vampire hunters to vampires in literature and Films. If you are into vampires this is a must read.
December 16, 2020
Very interesting and informative book of vampiric creatures around the world. It tells of their strengths and weaknesses. It also talks about the time line of each and their places and influence in/on literature and the film industry.
March 30, 2022
This book is great for those just starting to explore the origins of vampires and their place in pop culture, but not super in depth. Not recommended for those who are already knowledgeable about those concepts, as it doesn’t go very in depth.
April 27, 2024
An interesting and seemingly comprehensive look at vampires from folklore to fiction. On the fiction side, it’s more about Dracula and Lestat, though others are mentioned, too. I would have liked a more in-depth look at the folklore, though, as that is what the title promises.
May 25, 2017
Très bien documenté, complet et extrêmement intéressant
November 20, 2019
Lightweight book about vampires in history, film and books. The parts about historical vampiric serial killers is the most interesting part.
April 16, 2020
Good and full of information!
It was a good read, and I can’t wait to read the suggested books and watch the movies mentioned. Just all around fun!
It was a good read, and I can’t wait to read the suggested books and watch the movies mentioned. Just all around fun!
February 16, 2021
I skipped many chapters in the book. So basic and disorganised.
May 28, 2022
I am happy that I finally found a book that focuses on Slavic folklore. However I am dissapointed that Poland was cut from it. The only mention about it had an factual error.. Dissapointed but not surprised. Beside this book brought nothing new
January 17, 2025
Informative. Really enjoyed the section exploring the myths and lores from different parts of the world.
April 11, 2019
Ugh, this dragged toward the end. This is not the first in this series that I’ve read (I think I’ve also read the faeries and dragons one?), but I think it’ll be the last. The first half of them is usually pretty good, delving into the origins, looking at where the mythical creature appears in different cultures, and taking about their traits. And then, for some reason, the second half just repeats itself? Like, honestly, it was talking about vampire hunters, and it would retell all of the previous stories, but from the hunter’s POV, basically, so that we could see how the vampire was defeated. Like, my dude, we already did this. I skimmed a lot of the ending, and I wasn’t all that impressed overall.
July 6, 2022
Throughout every culture there is some modicum of a vampire legend. Created by superstition, fear, madness and no small amount of lustful romance, vampire have intrigued generations for centuries. Hailing from the legends of former human brought back from the dead, feared war heroes, maniacal nobility, serial killers and of course, the brilliant story
Dracula
that brought the whole world to vampire mania.
The vampire has become one of the most prominent staples in supernatural lore. Probably because of their versatility. As long as they have already died in some way and ingest blood (regardless of how it's done), then the sky is the limit when it comes to spinning a good vampire story. Vampires have found their place in pop culture for over 100 years. They were featured in literature as far back as 1816 (and earlier if you count small town folktales) and then made their way onto stage and screen where they have stayed comfortably for years.
As vampire are oftentimes seen as demonic spirits cursed to live on earth, then the idea of right and wrong and the struggle to adapt in a world where they aren't wanted adds a good moral element as well. This is quite often seen in shows such as The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff The Originals . Can vampires have a soul? Can they be redeemed? Or are they no better than the millions of other human murders out in the world? Unlike other supernatural creatures, vampires have always been a controversial source of moral debate and discussion.
I wasn't surprised to find a MLL book on vampires and I wasn't disappointed at the wealth of knowledge that was gathered and compiled. A great deal of the book had to do with the vampire's legendary role in film and television and its never ending inspiration for romance, mystery and sci-fi novels. However, some of it was nothing short of disturbing as well. Especially when regarding serial killers who had the same attributes to vampires. All that set aside, I enjoyed the history of the vampire and its cultural worldwide impact that has no plans of dying anytime soon.
The vampire has become one of the most prominent staples in supernatural lore. Probably because of their versatility. As long as they have already died in some way and ingest blood (regardless of how it's done), then the sky is the limit when it comes to spinning a good vampire story. Vampires have found their place in pop culture for over 100 years. They were featured in literature as far back as 1816 (and earlier if you count small town folktales) and then made their way onto stage and screen where they have stayed comfortably for years.
As vampire are oftentimes seen as demonic spirits cursed to live on earth, then the idea of right and wrong and the struggle to adapt in a world where they aren't wanted adds a good moral element as well. This is quite often seen in shows such as The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff The Originals . Can vampires have a soul? Can they be redeemed? Or are they no better than the millions of other human murders out in the world? Unlike other supernatural creatures, vampires have always been a controversial source of moral debate and discussion.
I wasn't surprised to find a MLL book on vampires and I wasn't disappointed at the wealth of knowledge that was gathered and compiled. A great deal of the book had to do with the vampire's legendary role in film and television and its never ending inspiration for romance, mystery and sci-fi novels. However, some of it was nothing short of disturbing as well. Especially when regarding serial killers who had the same attributes to vampires. All that set aside, I enjoyed the history of the vampire and its cultural worldwide impact that has no plans of dying anytime soon.
August 24, 2015
This book is probably meant to be more of a reference book than something read cover to cover, nevertheless, I slowly made my way through it from start to finish. Being a treatise on vampires with many short anecdotes, it gets incredibly repetitive (they found the body, cut off off its head, stuffed his mouth full of garlic... two pages later: they found the body, cut off off its head, stuffed his mouth full of garlic... etc.)
Not to say there aren't some interesting tidbits here and there, but to me it felt like a slightly more detailed wikipedia entry. I can't really recommend it.
Not to say there aren't some interesting tidbits here and there, but to me it felt like a slightly more detailed wikipedia entry. I can't really recommend it.
July 8, 2016
Au final, une première moitié de livre très intéressante puis une seconde bien moins palpitante. Le chapitre très décevant sur le jeu vidéo et les vampires étant certainement le pivot dans la baisse d'intérêt. La première partie se présente comme une archéologie du vampire. L'approche ethnologique est tout à fait pertinente. La seconde prenant davantage un angle sociologique teintée de délire type "guide de survie" est bien moins convaincante.
September 19, 2016
This was a fascinating and entertaining read. The author not only gives you in-depth information about the varied legends revolving around vampires, but also about witches and werewolves too, and how they co-relate to one another. Also included are many pop references from some of the most known paranormal, horror, and suspense authors like Laurell K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, and Bram Stoker. A must have reference book for anyone who loves vampires.
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