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Vampires: A Collection of Original Stories
You might meet him at the mall, a handsome boy with a gift for finding bargains. You may come across him sheltered in a town's synagogue. You may see her transformed into a bat on her way home from a long night out. You might find him lying in wait beneath a garlic-draped grave. Or, it might be someone you already know... There's something for everyone in this eclectic collection of thirteen original vampire stories -- some funny, some spooky, all ghoulishly good!
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
2 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Jane Yolen
971 books3,230 followersJane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 17, 2016
I would swear that I have read this book before, as almost every single story was one I remembered reading long ago before I had Goodreads to keep me on track. Usually I do a mini-review in the comment section for each story, but since that wasn't an option I had for this book, I'm going to do my mini-reviews in my review. Please bear with me.
"Nobody Has to Know" by James D. Macdonald and Debra Doyle-3 stars. Quick and interesting, but the last line kind of ruined it for me. Not bad, but I feel it could have been better.
"There's No Such Thing" by Charles de Lint-5 stars. I remember when I read this the first time being so confused when the MC did what she did. The twist was an agreeable shock. But then again, I love de Lint. So not surprised I loved this story.
"Curse of the Undead" by Chuck Rothman-3.5 stars. Not meh, but not much more than meh for me. Uncle Marko was a hoot though.
"Blood Kin" by Delia Sherman-5 stars. I love that little kid in this story. What she went through was horrid and what she did was brave. Completely love her.
"Miss Emily's Roses" by Mary Frances Zambreno-2 stars. Too up in the air. I wasn't sure exactly what had happened, even when it was explained at the end. I didn't think that the reason given made much sense when I read it, which is why I felt it was up in the air. Not my favorite.
"The Blood-Ghoul of Scarsdale" by Esther M. Friesner-5 stars. I loved the "dialect" and the MC had JUST enough brains to live and the setting brought me back to my youth. Completely loved this one.
"The Magic-Stealer" by Josepha Sherman-5 stars. I also loved this one. I liked how it was more historical fantasy instead of taking place in a contemporary setting. I liked the magic system and the MC and her tribe of people. A good story about believing in one's self and doing what needs to be done when the time to step up comes. Excellent story.
"Ahvel" by Mary K. Whittington-5 stars. This one was SO SAD. I'm glad that the kid in this one at least got a teddy bear for the rest of his eternity. SO SAD!
"A Cold Stake" by Phyllis Ann Karr-1.5 stars. Didn't like the futuristic setting, didn't like the characters. Not enough time to really flesh out the world, which left it feeling like I was missing a LOT of back story from a prior book. Not my fav.
"Blood Libel" by Leigh Ann Hussey-5 stars. I also loved the historical setting and how the MC helped his new people and then did so again during WWII. I'm a sucker for WWII, even if it isn't in the forefront of the story. I SOOOO want to know what happens next!
"Aunt Horrible's Last Visit" by Jeff Hecht-5 stars. Loved the MCs/secondary characters. Aunt Horrible definitely lived up to her name. I LOVED how the MC researched different monstrous creatures and how to banish them. I liked the time period this was set in, just about everything about it was perfect. I could see it all clearly. Very well written.
"Mama Gone" by Jane Yolen-4.5 stars. Was really good, just not quite as fantastic as the other 5 star stories in this book. It's Jane Yolen, so you can't help but love it. Didn't ring all of my bells, but hit most of them. It was sad, but the father in it was a fool. I feel badly for the family that lost the baby because he couldn't man up in time.
"Richie" by Lawrence Watt-Evans-2.5 stars. I didn't like the regret in this one. I'm getting older. I don't like to think about regrets. Bit of a downer to end this collection with.
All in all, most of the stories were great. A few clunkers here and there, but not many. I would definitely recommend this book to those who like different types of vampires that don't sparkle...
I wanted to give this 5 stars, the numbers seemed to be heading that way, but when I did the math, it got a solid 4 stars, so that's what this is getting. It's a keeper for me though. Some of those stories are definitely to be re-read multiple times. I highly recommend it!
"Nobody Has to Know" by James D. Macdonald and Debra Doyle-3 stars. Quick and interesting, but the last line kind of ruined it for me. Not bad, but I feel it could have been better.
"There's No Such Thing" by Charles de Lint-5 stars. I remember when I read this the first time being so confused when the MC did what she did. The twist was an agreeable shock. But then again, I love de Lint. So not surprised I loved this story.
"Curse of the Undead" by Chuck Rothman-3.5 stars. Not meh, but not much more than meh for me. Uncle Marko was a hoot though.
"Blood Kin" by Delia Sherman-5 stars. I love that little kid in this story. What she went through was horrid and what she did was brave. Completely love her.
"Miss Emily's Roses" by Mary Frances Zambreno-2 stars. Too up in the air. I wasn't sure exactly what had happened, even when it was explained at the end. I didn't think that the reason given made much sense when I read it, which is why I felt it was up in the air. Not my favorite.
"The Blood-Ghoul of Scarsdale" by Esther M. Friesner-5 stars. I loved the "dialect" and the MC had JUST enough brains to live and the setting brought me back to my youth. Completely loved this one.
"The Magic-Stealer" by Josepha Sherman-5 stars. I also loved this one. I liked how it was more historical fantasy instead of taking place in a contemporary setting. I liked the magic system and the MC and her tribe of people. A good story about believing in one's self and doing what needs to be done when the time to step up comes. Excellent story.
"Ahvel" by Mary K. Whittington-5 stars. This one was SO SAD. I'm glad that the kid in this one at least got a teddy bear for the rest of his eternity. SO SAD!
"A Cold Stake" by Phyllis Ann Karr-1.5 stars. Didn't like the futuristic setting, didn't like the characters. Not enough time to really flesh out the world, which left it feeling like I was missing a LOT of back story from a prior book. Not my fav.
"Blood Libel" by Leigh Ann Hussey-5 stars. I also loved the historical setting and how the MC helped his new people and then did so again during WWII. I'm a sucker for WWII, even if it isn't in the forefront of the story. I SOOOO want to know what happens next!
"Aunt Horrible's Last Visit" by Jeff Hecht-5 stars. Loved the MCs/secondary characters. Aunt Horrible definitely lived up to her name. I LOVED how the MC researched different monstrous creatures and how to banish them. I liked the time period this was set in, just about everything about it was perfect. I could see it all clearly. Very well written.
"Mama Gone" by Jane Yolen-4.5 stars. Was really good, just not quite as fantastic as the other 5 star stories in this book. It's Jane Yolen, so you can't help but love it. Didn't ring all of my bells, but hit most of them. It was sad, but the father in it was a fool. I feel badly for the family that lost the baby because he couldn't man up in time.
"Richie" by Lawrence Watt-Evans-2.5 stars. I didn't like the regret in this one. I'm getting older. I don't like to think about regrets. Bit of a downer to end this collection with.
All in all, most of the stories were great. A few clunkers here and there, but not many. I would definitely recommend this book to those who like different types of vampires that don't sparkle...
I wanted to give this 5 stars, the numbers seemed to be heading that way, but when I did the math, it got a solid 4 stars, so that's what this is getting. It's a keeper for me though. Some of those stories are definitely to be re-read multiple times. I highly recommend it!
July 12, 2016
This collection holds up fairly well, even if it was published over 20 years ago and trends in vampire lit have somewhat changed. I loved the last story, Richie, for basically pointing out the realities of the plot of Twilight a decade or so earlier, including the fact that being eternally a teenager would actually suck pretty hard. I've read both Yolen and DeLint's stories before, and they're both pretty good. However, I think it's much better to read DeLint's story in his collection Waifs and Strays because he includes a second story newly written for that collection that greatly expands on his characters and ideas of vampirism. A few of the stories were kind of clunky, and A Cold Stake especially bugged me since it had the same heavy handed, nonsensical sort of world that a lot of YA dystopias have. However, the whole collection is worth it alone for Blood Libel, an absolutely amazing story about a Jewish vampire. There's a lot of great stuff with discussions of how to treat a vampire from the perspective of Jewish religious law, and the vampire himself does a lot to protect his people during the Middle Ages time period of the story. It's a fairly intense story but well worth reading. So, all in all, I didn't expect this to be the best set of vampire stories ever, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the best offerings.
January 18, 2012
13 vampire tales, selected by Jane Yolen, whose work I generally love.
However, some of the stories here were too juvenile for me (the book is aimed at 10-12 yr. olds), and some were rather weak. Still, there was some good stuff included.
Delia Sherman's "Blood Kin" was spooky in a classic way: an orphan girl in a mansion has two distant relatives (?) come to care for her... but not all seems right.
"The Magic-Stealer" by Josepha Sherman creates a vivid and believable world where a young girl must come into her magical power and protect her tribe from evil.
"Miss Emily's Roses" by Mary Frances Zambreno describes a little girl's friendship with the woman next door, which is thwarted by that woman's nasty sister - but things don't turn out quite as expected.
Yolen's own "Mama Gone" is bittersweet and touching.
Worth reading, for a vampire fan, but I finished with a hunger for some more adult-oriented stories.
However, some of the stories here were too juvenile for me (the book is aimed at 10-12 yr. olds), and some were rather weak. Still, there was some good stuff included.
Delia Sherman's "Blood Kin" was spooky in a classic way: an orphan girl in a mansion has two distant relatives (?) come to care for her... but not all seems right.
"The Magic-Stealer" by Josepha Sherman creates a vivid and believable world where a young girl must come into her magical power and protect her tribe from evil.
"Miss Emily's Roses" by Mary Frances Zambreno describes a little girl's friendship with the woman next door, which is thwarted by that woman's nasty sister - but things don't turn out quite as expected.
Yolen's own "Mama Gone" is bittersweet and touching.
Worth reading, for a vampire fan, but I finished with a hunger for some more adult-oriented stories.
March 22, 2025
Now, I have read the book Vampires by Jane Yolen, and I find it to be superbly awesome, as well as highly inspiring for writers when they’re in need of ideas to use while trying to cook up their own vampire story to write, too.
Also, I have read some of the best stories in this book: The Blood-Ghoul of Scarsdale, Mama Gone and Blood Libel, to name a few. And if I had to pick a few favorite scenes from this book, here are the ones that I’d choose:
Cousin Jaspar touched her hair lightly, a spider touch. She trembled and fell silent. “Continue,” he said. And willy-nilly, while Cousin Jaspar stroked her hair with his icy hand, Clarisse read on, growing colder and colder with each sentence, both inside and out. She hardly knew what she read, except that it was no longer dull, no longer a travelogue. It had wolves and bats in it, and three women who thirsted for blood. Her fingers grew numb; she fumbled at the page. Cousin Jaspar bent over her, took her hands and chafed them gently, then lifted her up with irresistible strength to perch on his bony knees.
“Have no fear,” he murmured as he lapped her in black woolen wings. “The cold bites, I know. Warm soon. Warm as blood.” He lifted her hand to his mouth; Clarisse felt the stiff brush of his mustache against her skin. “Little cousin. Own flesh and blood.” (p. 54-55)
One night she dreamed and knew she was dreaming. She was lying on her back in a coffin, her limbs cold and very heavy. Gentle hands laid her there; a gentle voice whispered a promise. “Soon you shall be my companion and my helper,” said the voice. “Flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin.” (p. 55)
Right then is when he, like, glides over to where we’re hanging out and looks me right in the eye. Oh wow.
“Good evening.” He’s got this voice that puts all these chills down my back, but I stay cool because you gotta play it that way or you lose. But oh gawd, does he have this voice! It makes your hair sweat. Euw, did I say that?
And he puts out his hand like he wants to shake, but when I put my hand out he lifts it to his lips and kisses it and I want to diiiiiie.
So he goes, “May I have the pleasure of your company, young lady? The night is young and I would find your charming companionship most welcome.” Like that, you know. And he doesn’t even look old enough to have a learner’s permit. Could you just scream?
Nicole and Tina are giggling. Look, I have always known that they are just so incredibly immature that I shouldn’t hang out with them, but what can I do? Tina’s the only one whose old man lets her drive the car and I would sooner go into convulsions and die on the floor before I go ask Daddy to give me a lift to the mall. I mean, then you hafta listen to all this “The mall? Again?” hassle and “Did you do your homework?” and “Your grades would be up where they could be if you spent as much time in math as you do in the mall, young lady.” Ick. So I go with Tina, even though she does look like a pig in spandex. She’s my friend. (p. 82-83)
I mean, a rilly sensitive man knows when to shut up and look like a sick puppy.
Not him: “But no. I read great things in your spirit, my exquisite one. Not for you the commonplace round of drudgery and eventual doom that awaits all ordinary mortals! Not for you this brief awakening between the two great sleeps. Come, lady of my heart, for the eternal awaits us! Say but that you will be mine—unquestioningly, irrevocably!—and I shall pour the secrets of life and death into your fair hands. My devotion to you will be absolute! To none before you have I felt so strongly constrained to offer up a commitment of this magnitude. Ah, Janine”—and he, honest-to-gawd I am not making this up, goes down on one knee in front of me and tries to grab my hands—“I want you to go steady with me for all eternity!” (p. 94)
I highly recommend this book for fans of stories about vampires, as well as writers in need of ideas for a good story about horror, the supernatural and sometimes both. 🧛🏻♂️😎
Also, I have read some of the best stories in this book: The Blood-Ghoul of Scarsdale, Mama Gone and Blood Libel, to name a few. And if I had to pick a few favorite scenes from this book, here are the ones that I’d choose:
Cousin Jaspar touched her hair lightly, a spider touch. She trembled and fell silent. “Continue,” he said. And willy-nilly, while Cousin Jaspar stroked her hair with his icy hand, Clarisse read on, growing colder and colder with each sentence, both inside and out. She hardly knew what she read, except that it was no longer dull, no longer a travelogue. It had wolves and bats in it, and three women who thirsted for blood. Her fingers grew numb; she fumbled at the page. Cousin Jaspar bent over her, took her hands and chafed them gently, then lifted her up with irresistible strength to perch on his bony knees.
“Have no fear,” he murmured as he lapped her in black woolen wings. “The cold bites, I know. Warm soon. Warm as blood.” He lifted her hand to his mouth; Clarisse felt the stiff brush of his mustache against her skin. “Little cousin. Own flesh and blood.” (p. 54-55)
One night she dreamed and knew she was dreaming. She was lying on her back in a coffin, her limbs cold and very heavy. Gentle hands laid her there; a gentle voice whispered a promise. “Soon you shall be my companion and my helper,” said the voice. “Flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin.” (p. 55)
Right then is when he, like, glides over to where we’re hanging out and looks me right in the eye. Oh wow.
“Good evening.” He’s got this voice that puts all these chills down my back, but I stay cool because you gotta play it that way or you lose. But oh gawd, does he have this voice! It makes your hair sweat. Euw, did I say that?
And he puts out his hand like he wants to shake, but when I put my hand out he lifts it to his lips and kisses it and I want to diiiiiie.
So he goes, “May I have the pleasure of your company, young lady? The night is young and I would find your charming companionship most welcome.” Like that, you know. And he doesn’t even look old enough to have a learner’s permit. Could you just scream?
Nicole and Tina are giggling. Look, I have always known that they are just so incredibly immature that I shouldn’t hang out with them, but what can I do? Tina’s the only one whose old man lets her drive the car and I would sooner go into convulsions and die on the floor before I go ask Daddy to give me a lift to the mall. I mean, then you hafta listen to all this “The mall? Again?” hassle and “Did you do your homework?” and “Your grades would be up where they could be if you spent as much time in math as you do in the mall, young lady.” Ick. So I go with Tina, even though she does look like a pig in spandex. She’s my friend. (p. 82-83)
I mean, a rilly sensitive man knows when to shut up and look like a sick puppy.
Not him: “But no. I read great things in your spirit, my exquisite one. Not for you the commonplace round of drudgery and eventual doom that awaits all ordinary mortals! Not for you this brief awakening between the two great sleeps. Come, lady of my heart, for the eternal awaits us! Say but that you will be mine—unquestioningly, irrevocably!—and I shall pour the secrets of life and death into your fair hands. My devotion to you will be absolute! To none before you have I felt so strongly constrained to offer up a commitment of this magnitude. Ah, Janine”—and he, honest-to-gawd I am not making this up, goes down on one knee in front of me and tries to grab my hands—“I want you to go steady with me for all eternity!” (p. 94)
I highly recommend this book for fans of stories about vampires, as well as writers in need of ideas for a good story about horror, the supernatural and sometimes both. 🧛🏻♂️😎
December 31, 2012
I probably checked this book out from the library a hundred times or more when I was a kid. This book helped get me obsessed with horror. I re-read it today, and it's still just as much fun as I remember.
October 17, 2019
A set of 13 vampire stories. They're okay. I know - damning with faint praise, but that's honestly all I have to say. They're nice enough; possibly written with the younger (possibly YA) market in mind as there's nothing particularly gruesome here. There's nothing startlingly original or breathtaking but on a plus side there's no glittery emo-kids either. If you like vampire stories that are fairly harmless, you might enjoy these, but I don't recommend it for horror or hardcore vampire fans.
December 3, 2022
Just creepy.
April 22, 2023
this is shit. just don't. don't. istg
October 23, 2009
I really liked parts of this book. Vampires:A Collection of Original Stories, has short stories of different types of vampires, like in one a girl was at the mall with her friends and she saw this boy, and just so happens he's a vampire. But she didn't know that until the end. Anyways so he started buying her everything she wanted for less than it was...so she started wondering why he could get something for less money than it was. Later on in that one he brought her into a jewlery shop and tryed to buy her a ring...to propose...and she's only 13 or 14 so she kinda freaked out and started running. Only after she relized that he was a vampire that had been sucking the blood out of people to get them all loopy so they would bring the price down. Anyways I really liked that one.
In another one the mother of 4 children died in childbirth but had vampire kin so she would turn into a vampire, and her husband loved her too much to cut her feet and hands off so she started lurking around at night, until her daughter came and layed on her grave,and ended up falling asleep then, nightfall came and her mom woke up and tryed to get out of the grave. So the daughter got up and her mother tryed to get out and ended up getting out...long story short the daughter got the mother to stop lurking around the mountains.
Those are the ones I liked the best in this book.
In another one the mother of 4 children died in childbirth but had vampire kin so she would turn into a vampire, and her husband loved her too much to cut her feet and hands off so she started lurking around at night, until her daughter came and layed on her grave,and ended up falling asleep then, nightfall came and her mom woke up and tryed to get out of the grave. So the daughter got up and her mother tryed to get out and ended up getting out...long story short the daughter got the mother to stop lurking around the mountains.
Those are the ones I liked the best in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2008
I read this hoping to find some short stories that would be good to read to my students for Halloween. I had high hopes since the collection was put together by Jane Yolen. I was a little disappointed. The stories are okay, but I only found two that I think are good for me to read aloud at school, and I am not very excited about them. A couple of the stories have dated references in them so that I was not surprised to find the copyright was 1991. Still, I will recommend this to my students who want to read some mildly amusing vampire stories. It was decent.
August 30, 2015
I thought I had read this book as a child, but it turns out I hadn't. I've been looking for a particular vampire story I read when I was young, but it was not in this collection.
Nevertheless, this was a pretty solid collection with some frightening and some funny vampire stories.
Nevertheless, this was a pretty solid collection with some frightening and some funny vampire stories.
May 8, 2008
A collection of very poorly written vampire stories. I did not like them at all. I was very dissappointed with this collection.
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November 1, 2008Isinya kumpulan cerita-cerita vampir, lebih mirip buku anak-anak (ato jangan-jangan emang buku anak-anak? )
November 22, 2008
Vampires are scared of running water and garlic doesn't help.
Currently reading
September 23, 2010cool
September 13, 2013
Some stories were better then others. But it was a good read.
February 10, 2012
"Creepy" was my one-word description in grade 7.
March 18, 2013
Not great!
December 31, 2014
As with the werewolf book, a lot of mediocre and derivative stories, but also a lot of stories that've stuck with me over time. On the whole, I think the werewolf book was more creative.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews