Question: Best sources for vampire lore?

Cranky · Nov 21, 2007

I debated whether or not this post is right for this forum, or for the research one, so I hope y'all will bear with me.

I'm in the planning stages for a new book, and I'm finding my working knowlege of vampires to be a bit...er, cliched, to say the least.

I've been doing the google thing, and finding some pretty good stuff. What I am really needing now is some ideas for good reference books on the subject, so if someone could give me a few recommendations, I would be very grateful.

Thanks so much!

Adam Israel · Nov 21, 2007

I picked up a copy of The Vampire Book on the bargain rack at a Borders a few months back. It's been a pretty decent reference.

Cranky · Nov 21, 2007

StoneTable said:
I picked up a copy of The Vampire Book on the bargain rack at a Borders a few months back. It's been a pretty decent reference.

Thank you! That sounds like the sort of think I'm looking for. Quick question: does this cover vampires from other parts of the world besides Europe/Americas? I couldn't tell from that, and the excerpt page print was too tiny for me to read.

Adam Israel · Nov 21, 2007

Cranky said:
Thank you! That sounds like the sort of think I'm looking for. Quick question: does this cover vampires from other parts of the world besides Europe/Americas? I couldn't tell from that, and the excerpt page print was too tiny for me to read.

It looks like it, yes. Just flipping through the table of contents I see talk of vampires in Africa and Japan.

Cranky · Nov 21, 2007

StoneTable said:
It looks like it, yes. Just flipping through the table of contents I see talk of vampires in Africa and Japan.

Excellent! Many thanks.

Shadow_Ferret · Nov 21, 2007

You can research vampire lore on the 'net. I'd provide links, but that's on another computer that I can't get to.

I'd also recommend reading Dracula, since it pretty much set the standard that everyone has tried to follow. That was based on the lore of the day.

Cranky · Nov 21, 2007

Shadow_Ferret said:
You can research vampire lore on the 'net. I'd provide links, but that's on another computer that I can't get to.

I'd also recommend reading Dracula, since it pretty much set the standard that everyone has tried to follow. That was based on the lore of the day.

Thanks, SF. I read Dracula some years ago, but maybe it's time for a re-read.

I'm trying to break away a little from the current sexy, angsty vamp. Don't get me wrong, I loved Angel and Spike and other vamps in that mold, but I want mine to be freakin' SCARY! LOL

That's why I'm trying to dig around to see what's out there. Like the hopping Chinese vamps that won't bite you if you hold your breath. (Hilarious, but not quite what I'm going for.) I figure the more sources I can find from various parts o' the world, the more chances I have to find something I can make a little unique, and possibly frightening.

BarbaraKE · Nov 25, 2007

Ok, let's see what I have here...

'The Vampire Book - The Encyclopedia of the Undead' by J. Gordon Melton is excellent. Almost 900 pages long and full of great information. You can look up countries and learn about the type of vampire in that area. My favorite vampire reference book.

'Vampires - Encounters with the Undead', edited by David J. Skal is a collection of literature about vampires. It's interesting to see different takes on the vampire legend in the past couple of centuries. Another big book, almost 600 pages long.

'Vampires - A Field Guide to the Creatures That Stalk The Night' by Dr. Bob Curran is specifically about vampires in different parts of the world. The areas covered are
'Germany/Austria', 'Sumeria/Babylonia', 'Philippines', 'Puerto Rico/Mexico', 'Ireland', 'France/Scotland', 'Iceland', 'Hebrew', 'Wales', 'Brazil', 'Malaysia', 'India', 'Albania', 'Romania', 'South Africa', 'United States', and 'Greece'. Smaller book, just over 200 pages.

'Vampires - A Complete Guide to the World of the Undead' by Manuela Dunn Mascetti. This one is hard to categorize and much of the information is available elsewhere. But it's a good read and has many interesting pictures. Just over 200 pages.

'Vampires, Burial, and Death - Folklore and Reality' by Paul Barber. Supposedly offers the 'first scientific explanation for the origins of the vampire legends'. Gives quite a bit of information about burial customs in different parts of the world and what exactly happens to a body after death. Just over 200 pages.

'The Vampire in Europe - True Tales of the Undead' by Montague Summers. A collection of supposedly true accounts of real encounters with vampires. Originally published in the 1920's but there have been several reprints. Just over 300 pages

'The Science of Vampires' by Katherine Ramsland. A more 'scientific' look at all aspects of vampries. Unfortunately (IMHO), she lumps 'psychic' vampires (who steal 'life energy') in with 'real' vampires (who drink blood). Roughly 250 pages.

'in search of Dracula - a true history of Dracula and Vampire legends' by Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu. Another older book, originally published in 1972. This focuses exclusively on 'Dracula' as 'Vlad the Impaler'. Just over 200 pages.

Have fun reading!!

Cranky · Nov 25, 2007

BarbaraKE said:
Ok, let's see what I have here...

'The Vampire Book - The Encyclopedia of the Undead' by J. Gordon Melton is excellent. Almost 900 pages long and full of great information. You can look up countries and learn about the type of vampire in that area. My favorite vampire reference book.

'Vampires - Encounters with the Undead', edited by David J. Skal is a collection of literature about vampires. It's interesting to see different takes on the vampire legend in the past couple of centuries. Another big book, almost 600 pages long.

'Vampires - A Field Guide to the Creatures That Stalk The Night' by Dr. Bob Curran is specifically about vampires in different parts of the world. The areas covered are
'Germany/Austria', 'Sumeria/Babylonia', 'Philippines', 'Puerto Rico/Mexico', 'Ireland', 'France/Scotland', 'Iceland', 'Hebrew', 'Wales', 'Brazil', 'Malaysia', 'India', 'Albania', 'Romania', 'South Africa', 'United States', and 'Greece'. Smaller book, just over 200 pages.

'Vampires - A Complete Guide to the World of the Undead' by Manuela Dunn Mascetti. This one is hard to categorize and much of the information is available elsewhere. But it's a good read and has many interesting pictures. Just over 200 pages.

'Vampires, Burial, and Death - Folklore and Reality' by Paul Barber. Supposedly offers the 'first scientific explanation for the origins of the vampire legends'. Gives quite a bit of information about burial customs in different parts of the world and what exactly happens to a body after death. Just over 200 pages.

'The Vampire in Europe - True Tales of the Undead' by Montague Summers. A collection of supposedly true accounts of real encounters with vampires. Originally published in the 1920's but there have been several reprints. Just over 300 pages

'The Science of Vampires' by Katherine Ramsland. A more 'scientific' look at all aspects of vampries. Unfortunately (IMHO), she lumps 'psychic' vampires (who steal 'life energy') in with 'real' vampires (who drink blood). Roughly 250 pages.

'in search of Dracula - a true history of Dracula and Vampire legends' by Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu. Another older book, originally published in 1972. This focuses exclusively on 'Dracula' as 'Vlad the Impaler'. Just over 200 pages.

Have fun reading!!

Excellent list there, thank you for taking the time to write it all out. Muchas gracias.

DonnaDuck · Nov 26, 2007

If you're looking to create your own vampire, your best bet is to make up the lore as you go along. If you want them to be unique and cater to your own style and break away from the "traditional" type of vampires, then create your own lore. The vampires that I've created actually aren't immortal, just live exceptionally long lives. That's a small "for instance" but you get the idea. If you want unique, you can't get a better reference than your own mind because once it take it from another souce, it's not unique. Get it?

Adam Israel · Nov 26, 2007

DonnaDuck said:
If you're looking to create your own vampire, your best bet is to make up the lore as you go along. If you want them to be unique and cater to your own style and break away from the "traditional" type of vampires, then create your own lore. The vampires that I've created actually aren't immortal, just live exceptionally long lives. That's a small "for instance" but you get the idea. If you want unique, you can't get a better reference than your own mind because once it take it from another souce, it's not unique. Get it?

Yes, but knowing what's already been commonly done helps you know what to avoid. That's where resources like this come in handy.

HorrorWriter · Nov 26, 2007

Cranky,
I think you've already got two great resources from Stone and Barbara.

Stone,
Did you notice when you flip the pages really fast on the Vampire book, that the bats are flying. Too cool. I got it years ago when it first came out.

Adam Israel · Nov 26, 2007

HorrorWriter said:
Did you notice when you flip the pages really fast on the Vampire book, that the bats are flying. Too cool. I got it years ago when it first came out.

Yeah, that's pretty cool

DonnaDuck · Nov 26, 2007

StoneTable said:
Yes, but knowing what's already been commonly done helps you know what to avoid. That's where resources like this come in handy.

But if they're already cliche, chances are the author knows about them already, ie stake through the heart, burns easily in the sunlight and so on and so forth. If they come up with something like dangling a vampire by its fourth toe will cause it to eat it's arm, and it happens to be in some obscure 12th century vampire book from Klarkisvania, I think that's excuseable. I think the general, boring cliches are what should be avoided but if they're on a level of being abnormally obscure, I don't think you run the risk of flogging the dead horse and weeding out all possible chances of overlap. Some overlap is ok.

batgirl · Nov 26, 2007

The Paul Barber book Vampires, Burial and Death, is brilliant. It's the only serious examination I know of, of the folkloric vampire contrasted with the literary vampire. There's a huge difference between the two.
And he backs up his information, and cites primary sources. Too many books pass on the old grab-bag of secondary sources, claiming that the vampire myth is universal and ancient. Heck, the word only entered the English language in the 1730s, and then was used mostly figuratively, for landlords and religious figures.
-Barbara

BarbaraKE · Nov 26, 2007

batgirl said:
Heck, the word only entered the English language in the 1730s, and then was used mostly figuratively, for landlords and religious figures.
-Barbara

...and my book explains the origin of the word.

Adam Israel · Nov 26, 2007

DonnaDuck said:
But if they're already cliche, chances are the author knows about them already, ie stake through the heart, burns easily in the sunlight and so on and so forth. If they come up with something like dangling a vampire by its fourth toe will cause it to eat it's arm, and it happens to be in some obscure 12th century vampire book from Klarkisvania, I think that's excuseable. I think the general, boring cliches are what should be avoided but if they're on a level of being abnormally obscure, I don't think you run the risk of flogging the dead horse and weeding out all possible chances of overlap. Some overlap is ok.

And if the author doesn't know what all of the cliches are (and there are a lot of them as far as vampires are concerned), having some books for reference isn't going to hurt. More knowledge is a good thing, in my opinion.

In any case, the book I linked specifically, it's an encyclopedia. It references its sources, so if you're doing research to find out how cliche something is, it's a good starting point. I know I've used it in the past to see how often ideas had been done.

DonnaDuck · Nov 26, 2007

StoneTable said:
And if the author doesn't know what all of the cliches are (and there are a lot of them as far as vampires are concerned), having some books for reference isn't going to hurt. More knowledge is a good thing, in my opinion.

I definately agree on that although I hope you see what I'm getting at. Research, sure, so you can avoid the cliches but if it's insanely obscure, I'm sure the only person that'll pick up on whether it's been done before or not is Stephen Hawking.

Cranky · Nov 26, 2007

Thanks very much, guys. Yeah, I am trying to sort of create a new vampire, but I am trying to find some vampire lore to get inspiration from as well. I will keep at least one old standby (death by sun, lol) because it helps my plot. Most of the other stuff I want to keep out, or tweak in some way that makes it less cliche, or at least more interesting.

Thanks!

sthrnwriter · Dec 2, 2007

This site has a list of vampire lore. I don't know if the information is correct, but it's something to work with: http://www.vampgirl.com/vampmyth.html

I had another website but the link isn't working anymore. You may want to try Monstropedia. It may help too.

Cranky · Dec 2, 2007

sthrnwriter said:
This site has a list of vampire lore. I don't know if the information is correct, but it's something to work with: http://www.vampgirl.com/vampmyth.html

I had another website but the link isn't working anymore. You may want to try Monstropedia. It may help too.

Thanks!

HeronW · Dec 22, 2007

Hey Cranky!

Check out vampire lore from other countries/times--from Lilith on, assorted blood drinkers are in every mythos and country. Aztecs/Mayans have blood-drinking skin eaters, and vroklakis/vrokolac refer to mid-European vamps, some Arabian vampires actually drank the blood of camels or cattle. Course, when in doubt, make up your own VvvvvV

Question: Best sources for vampire lore?

Cranky

Adam Israel

Formerly known as StoneTable

Cranky

Adam Israel

Formerly known as StoneTable

Cranky

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

Cranky

BarbaraKE

Cranky

DonnaDuck

My Worlds Are Building

Adam Israel

Formerly known as StoneTable

HorrorWriter

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.

Adam Israel

Formerly known as StoneTable

DonnaDuck

My Worlds Are Building

batgirl

Writting broad

BarbaraKE

Adam Israel

Formerly known as StoneTable

DonnaDuck

My Worlds Are Building

Cranky

sthrnwriter

Snoopy Dance!

Cranky

HeronW

Down Under Fan