Vampires: A Bite-Sized History

Vampires offers a bite-sized overview of the ever-mutating vampire, a phenomenon created by primal human fears of blood-sucking monsters. The book delves into Gothic horrors from the late Middle Ages and takes a fresh look at Vlad Dracula, defender of Wallachia and the Christian faith who was also a feared warrior with grisly torture methods and the basis for Stoker's Count Dracula. The evolution of vampires in literature, film and television is comprehensively covered, from the iconic Dracula tale, Stephen King's Salem's Lot to Stephanie Meyer's 'Twilight' series; Nosferatu, the first Hollywood take on vampires and modern films such as the Blade trilogy and New Moon; and popular TV shows including The Twilight Zone, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries. Key points: broad range of content covers ancient myths of vampires, Bram Stoker's Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the 'Twilight' series; brings together extensive research and analysis into an engaging overview of vampire legends; presented with a Gothic black velvet cover Author Biography Judyth A. McLeod has been a university lecturer in horticulture, landscape design, garden history, graphic art and sustainable architecture, and is the author of In A Unicorn's Garden: Recreating the Mystery and Magic of Medieval Gardens published by Murdoch Books. Her most recent title is The Atlas of Legendary Lands, published by Pier 9.