Horror Aficionados discussion

So I was thinking about the rise of all of these vampire novels that are more romance than anything else. Most of them have themes of humans loving vampires. Now some of them have the vampire and the human having a child together. So my question is this; how does that work? The vampire cries blood, has no heartbeat, the body does not function; so how can it get someone pregnant? Wouldn't the logic train of thought be that since the vampire cries bloody tears because it can't produce tears because the body is dead that it would do the same for other bodily functions? Wouldn't it be just like the tear thing and only secrete blood? And by the way that is nasty!!!


And as a side note I went to the bookstore with my wife yesterday and was curious so I went to the romance aisle and found 6 books about vampires at one glance. lmao I guess the rogue cowboy thing has run it's course lmao.

Let the Right One In

This will restore your faith in vampires. I have been raving about this book ever since I read it.

I guess it depends on the author's interpretation. Lumley's vampires were a sort of brain parasite/symbiote (if I remember correctly)...the ones in Let the Right One in were similar. I suppose it would be possible for those to breed, though I'm not sure how characteristics would be passed on.

Scott wrote: "I guess it depends on the author's interpretation. Lumley's vampires were a sort of brain parasite/symbiote (if I remember correctly)...the ones in Let the Right One in were similar. I suppose it..."

Yeah the Necroscope series I remember it.

I remember in the Anita Blake books that fresher vampire could breed but ran the risk of produce a child with something called Vlad syndrome which was bad. I don't remember details.

Necroscope is definitley a good vampire novel, one of the more unique story lines with vampires I've read. Worth a read for sure [IMO:]. Vampires used to be cool and a great character addition to any novel, now it's over played, over done and just plain pathetic how cliche they have become. Which is sad, I really used to like the vampire, now I can't stand them, in any media.

They're not even anything special any more. They're just human romantic leads with a few superficial details added. If you want a good example of what being a vampire might *really* be like, check out T. M Wright's The Last Vampire--it's not the least bit romantic or glamorous.

I hope zombies don't go the way of the vampire. I've loved zombies since I was a kid, but their popularity is taking off. There are probably already too many zombie films out there...all of which I will see.

the zombie trend seems to die quicker in the public eye than vampires do. Apparently people like the dead they lust after to be in one piece. But I as well still love zombies and would be pissed if they beat that horse to death too.

Oh, I didn't think about that. I guess an eyeball hanging by a thread and a wad of intestines slapping against the thighs isn't very romantic. Zombies forever!

One of my favorite shirts is from www.jinx.com and says "If I Was A Zombie... I'd Eat Your Brains"... good stuff.

I need to buy more zombie paraphernalia. I have some zombie finger puppets from Archie McPhee, but need to look around for some bumper stickers or car tags.

Makes it hard for men to measure up, huh?

Well, we've already ascertained that 7 inches is too much.

YOU ascertained that 7 inches is too much. : P

I know my limits.

Yeah...I just reread what I wrote and should have known my limit on intellectual capacity.

Hoo, boy.

Tressa wrote: "Oh, I didn't think about that. I guess an eyeball hanging by a thread and a wad of intestines slapping against the thighs isn't very romantic. Zombies forever!"

ah jeez u guys! could you wait until after breakfast for the gory stuff

It was before dinner when I wrote it.

Wads of intestines are fun...hehehe

Tressa wrote: "It was before dinner when I wrote it."

I've had to revise my reading schedule

I never know what time it is on the other side of the world.

Mike wrote: "I'm just tired of chicks in books needing a vampire and no one else is good enough.

Just to be a little different I'd settle for guy needing to hook up with a vampire and no normal woman being g..."

I noticed that, too. All of the vampire love interests seem to be male and very dominant. A few of the ones that I've read seem to cast any vampire women as b**ches or just plain uninteresting. All of the vampire males seem to be of the brooding sort.

Yep, Angel and Joss Whedon have a lot to answer for, don't they?

*sigh*

I'm probably the only one in this group that didn't like Buffy or Angel.

Oh, you're not the only one. Never watched them. Never will.

*cry's a little*

*sniff*

I'm not alone!!!

Hi! I'm new, more of a lurker than a poster, but I wanted to get in on this subject because I'm so glad there are others out there that are as sick of the supernatural romance b.s. as I am. Don't get me started on the half-vampire babies! It urks me to no end!
I read the first 10 or 12 Anita Blake books when they used to emphasize the vampire and were-clan politics and the supernatural murder cases she would investigate. The last one I read, Incubus Dreams, I read the first 100 or so pages and I was done. Most of what I read was sex scene after sex scene.
A good vampire series that I read was by Michael Romkey. I only read the first two but he had an interesting take by using real historical figures as vampires.
Um...I have to say I was a huge Buffy and Angel fan. I hope you don't hate me for it. :-)

I'm in good company with Rusty and Jerrod--never saw one Angel or Buffy. I hate TV for the most part.

Touche.

Jaimie: I doubt anyone will hate you for liking Buffy and Angel. :) I think that there are probably a lot of fans of those shows here. Which isn't a bad thing.

As for me, my girlfriend is into them, and has even bought the first season of Buffy. I've tried to watch it, but it never really leaves a good impression on me. I'm not really a fan of prime time television, though.

I like HBO series, and I think that True Blood is a good one. The show has a really dark sense of humor, even though I hear it strays quite a bit from the books by Charlaine Harris. I don't know about that last bit, though, since I haven't read them.

I caught a few episodes of Buffy now and again, but it never made me want to watch it regularly.

I found True Blood to be unwatchable (I made it through 4 eps).

I liked Buffy, I thought it was funny. Guess I'm just wierd, cause I don't have any desire to bother with Twilight and everyone else loves it. I'm so backwards.

Ah well, you know, it's not the inches either that matter, it's the person holding the tool

Jerrod wrote: "*sigh*

I'm probably the only one in this group that didn't like Buffy or Angel."

Uh no your not alone there Jerrod. Didn't like either of them myself.

Jason wrote: "I like HBO series, and I think that True Blood is a good one. The show has a really dark sense of humor, even though I hear it strays quite a bit from the books by Charlaine Harris. I don't know about that last bit, though, since I haven't read them. "

I read the first Charlaine Harris book. It was ok, great characters. But I wasn't a fan of the ending when you find out who the killer is. It just didn't work for me. I watched about 2 or 3 episodes and it did stray a bit but only in the addition of Tara, making Lafayette a bigger character, and they filmed a lot of scenes that were only spoken of in that book.

Jo wrote: "Ive read some vampire books but all kind of like twilight. I like them but want something a bit more hardcore (for lack of a better word)
What do you guys suggest? "

Jo, why don't you try the first couple of Laurel K Hamilton's Anita Blake series. Like I was saying in my earlier post, I enjoyed up to about book 9 or 10.

Del Torro's new book The Strain is a good vampire tale. The characters and their plot lines are set up slowly and with care. All of them have an interesting tale to tell. I'm listening to it on tape and I hate to get out of the car because I don't want it to end.

I am really enjoying this conversation I was a huge Anita Blake fan unit the series took a boring erotic turn. Buffy and Angel were really popular when I was in High School but it seemed too much like a soap opera to capture my attention. I plan get True Blood on DVD and give it a try. I have the first three Sookie Stackhouse books but have not gotten around to them yet. I am a huge zombie fan, when work is slow my co workers and I all debate the best place to hunker down in case of a zombie outbreak.

I'm looking forward to The Strain. I just have to get it first. I heard that it's the first book of a trilogy. Does anyone know if there's any truth to this?

I hadn't heard that. Another book del Torro is associated with--Hater--is supposed to be a trilogy.

Yeah, I read The Strain. A snarky opinion would be that 'I liked it when it was called Blade II.' Even though some of the scenes are scary, I had to roll my eyes at yet another vampire with pro and retracting jaws that open and stick out virus infected tongue that the movie director invented.

I saw your review about not liking Strain, Patrick. But we can either read about the protracting jaw/infected tongue which hasn't been done to death IMO, or the simple "insert two fangs into vein and suck" method, which has been done to death.

I've never seen either Blade movies so it's all new to me. Isn't Wesley Snipes in those movies? If so, that's why I stayed away. Can't stand his acting.

Wesley Snipes acting is indeed bad, but the Blade movies were created with his personality in mind, I swear. So they work as entertaining pieces of film, IMO.

When a friend of my aunt's heard that I like vampires and horror and all that she actually said, "There's this series that you would like then! It's called Buffy the Vampire Slayer!" I think I actually turned green. NOt downing on anyone else but the series did not do it for me. Not to mention I'm not a huge fan of Sarah Michelle Geller either.

I'm looking forward to reading Strain. Although, I'm not a fan of the pro/retracting jaw thing. I think it looks cheesy IMO. I'd rather the vamps have their fangs all the time but through a bit of glamour or suggestion humans seem not to notice like the Anne Rice books.
I've never seen the Blade movies. All I had to hear was he was a half-vampire and that was enough for me.
I'm usually pretty open to different interpretations of vamp lore except for half-vampires and vampires sparkling in the daylight.

I nearly threw up in the first few minutes of True Blood when a vampire in a convenience store opened his mouth and (insert cheesy sliding sound) two sharp fangs slid effortlessly down. I should have jumped ship then and there.

LOL, Scott. That doesn't sound so bad but I didn't see it.

Jason wrote: "Wesley Snipes acting is indeed bad, but the Blade movies were created with his personality in mind, I swear. So they work as entertaining pieces of film, IMO."

Wow...I loved Snipes in Blade!

Has anyone read Those Who Hunt the Night?

I am about halfway through and struggling. I can't put my finger on it but it is just not grabbing me.

The Strain is first in a trilogy. I liked it. But I like lots of stuff. I liked the Buffy Movie, but not the series and I dont think I ever watched angel, but If i would have been younger or more into tv, I may have.

I like some of the vamp romancey stuff, and I also like the dark vamp storyline.