The Real Vampires: Death, Terror, and the Supernatural

by Richard Sugg

The real vampires were not suave, polished, cultivated, or rich. They looked like ordinary dead peasants. Yet for those who believed in them, they were terrifying. So terrifying that they prompted live burials, nervous breakdown, hysterical paralysis, and speechlessness. During a real vampire panic, an overworked, underfed community was so terrified that it found the energy to dig up 11 graves, and the wood to burn 11 corpses. Real vampires were so terrifying that the energy of fear they produced actually caused poltergeist attacks. In several cases, they were so terrifying that they quite literally scared people to death. From Russia to New England, from the Scottish borders to Crete, and from the Bronze Age to the days of Twilight , The Real Vampires takes the reader on an unforgettable tour of wonder, horror, and strangeness.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

288 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2019

About the author

I am the author of eleven books, including Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires (Routledge, 2011; 2nd edn 2015; Turkish translation 2018), Fairies: A Dangerous History (Reaktion, 2018) and The Real Vampires (Amberley, 2019). My recent children’s book, Our Week with the Juffle Hunters, is an eco-fable set between the Welsh coast and the North Pole. I have lectured at the universities of Cardiff and Durham.
I am currently completing Talking Dirty: The History of Disgust from Jesus Christ to Donald Trump. My next book will be a groundbreaking study of ghosts and poltergeists, perhaps the strangest open secret of our times. I collect ghost and poltergeist accounts. If anyone has one they wishes to share, please write to me in confidence – richardjsugg@yahoo.co.uk
The new third edition of Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires is not only much cheaper, but substantially updated. Even I was surprised.
I now have the rights to The Smoke of the Soul and have almost completed a new trade version of this book. Please do write if you are interested in that title – it is proving a busy year…
Thanks everyone for reviews and reading. Writing is intrinsically solitary, and this community is a great thing.

Reviews

[Em Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for my thesis on vampires in literature.

Good examples, but the prose was rambling at times and I lost interest. It felt like I had to force myself to pay attention at some points. The research was focused mainly on Western civilizations, when there is definitely vampiric like figures in other folklores. Also, it felt like Sugg was constantly on the verge of answering some unspoken question, but he kept backing off. Frequently, I questioned "why?" to his assertions. But WHY do vampires drink blood? WHY are they attached to THESE cultures?

I highlighted some parts to research further for my thesis, but I wouldn't find it to be a steady piece of source material for my research.

[Antti Ensaro · Rating 1 out of 5]

Making basic geographical mistakes and using a superior attitude towards other cultures in this time and age is really not what I had in mind when I bought a 2020 book. If it wasn't for the occasional modern terms and phrasing one would be excused believing this is a Victorian book, with the same level of science and attitudes as then. Returned it.

[C.P. Siebenhuener · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I really wanted to love this book, it was just too long. I found myself getting very bored and skipping chapters.