Scotsferatu: The Vampire in Scottish Culture and Folklore

by Dee Lawlor

We don’t normally associate Scotland with vampires, but there is a hidden history of folklore surrounding the undead – if you only know where to look.From the Pagan baobhan-sith of the Highlands and a sixteenth-century stranger that was suspected of being a vampire in Galloway, to a vampire that was terrorising wildlife in Lochmaben in the 90s, the vampire is alive … or rather, undead … and well in Scottish history and culture. This is a unique exploration of Scottish history and of a horror hero.

Genres: Horror, Supernatural, Vampires, Scotland

156 pages, Paperback

Published September 24, 2026

Reviews

[Ashleigh (a frolic through fiction) · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

An interesting little read for the folkloric. While a tiny book of only 150 pages without its bibliography/references, we cover a lot of ground with vampire stories across Scotland, centuries, and literature. Though familiar with a lot of these tales, there were still new stories to be discovered and interesting connections drawn between cultures and contemporary audiences.

Admittedly this did fall into a style of modern nonfiction writing I don’t personally love, more colloquial and gunning for humour/relatability. I’m sure it’s an aim to counter the ‘boring’ prejudice nonfiction has, to make it more accessible - which to a lot, it’ll work. I’d just rather not. It does make for an incredibly quick read though, enough to satisfy a curiosity and potentially spur a deeper research project if something grabs your attention. It’s handy little thing, and a book I’ll gladly use as inspiration for my adventures around Scotland, knowing now of even more folk tales hidden behind every stone.

[Iona · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

I fear there is just not enough depth in any of this to make a whole book out of, it reads more like a series of fun facts. and was not huge on the voice and formatting of this :(
though bits of this are really interesting! the witches v vampires idea would've been rlly fun to go more in depth on.

[Mads · Rating 2 out of 5]

tonally reminiscent of a tiktok deep dive/video essay script. the title was the best thing about it by a mile

[Lil Bookish Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an interesting wee read!

I had never considered vampires in Scottish mythology and while we don't necessarily have vampires if you look a little closer you can see the commonalities.

This is a well researched deep dive into the curiosity of vampires and it is so fascinating to read I managed to get through this whole book in 2 sittings.

[Brian Doak Carlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather ramshackle slipshod “collection” of Scottish vampiriana. The writing is unimaginative and repetitive, and gives the impression the author is struggling to pan out the stories to beef up the book. It might be ok for a Y A audience looking to pass a couple of hours, but they might find, as I did, the authorial voice a tad annoying.

[marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a very, brief overview that at times felt a bit juvenile however as a scot with a love for vampires i still enjoyed reading it