Saturday, 19 January 2013

A Brief History of Vampires in Literature

by Scott Laming



Vampire by Hans Heinz Ewers
Between Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels and Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries (also known as the Sookie Stackhouse or True Blood books) vampires are the hottest thing in literature these days. But this genre, where gothic horror often meets romance, is no johnny-come-lately; the vampire has a long, colourful history in literature.
The first instances of vampire tales originally appeared in eastern European folklore.  Some of these stories began to trickle into western European literature in the 18th century, and German and English authors started to put their own spin on the myths.
The short German poem, The Vampire (1748) by Heinrich August Ossenfelde, is often cited as being the first major work to mention these mythical undead creatures but vampires really became a popular phenomenon in the 19th century.




Five Collectable Vampire Books


Bram Stoker's Dracula


Dracula
Bram Stoker


The most expensive copy ever sold on AbeBooks was a first American edition for £2,405.





Twilight by Stephenie Meyer


Twilight
Stephenie Meyer


A first US edition signed by the author sold for £1,200.





Salem's Lot by Stephen King


Salem's Lot
Stephen King


A first edition with a second edition dust jacket signed in blood red ink sold for £2,000.

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice


Vampire Chronicles
Anne Rice


A complete set of the Vampire Chronicles, all first editions signed by author, sold for £1,804.

 
 

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

I am Legend
Richard Matheson


First British edition originally published in paperback in 1954 signed by author sold for £451.

A Timeline of Vampire Lit

1816
A group of friends were holidaying in a villa near Lake Geneva during the unseasonably cold “year without a summer.”  John William Polidori, Claire Clairmont, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley decided to pass the time with a ghost story competition.  This epic gathering produced two of the first vampire tales in English literature - Polidori’s The Vampyre and Lord Byron’s unfinished Fragment of a Novel.  Mary Shelley’s entry was to become the basis for her classic contribution to horror, Frankenstein.
1845-47
Vampire stories started to become more popular in this period and they also began to make their way on to youth reading lists.  James Malcolm Rymer published Varney the Vampire as a series of penny dreadfuls (which were an early type of pulp pamphlet aimed at working class adolescents).  The serialisation proved to be very popular, so much so that it was later published as a single epic book.  The story was highly influential on future vampire lore, perpetuating many themes common in vampire tales today such as having fangs leaving two puncture wounds, coming through a window to attack a sleeping maiden, hypnotic powers, and superhuman strength.  Varney was also the first example of a sympathetic vampire who loathes his own condition but is helpless to stop it.
Carmilla, Joseph Sheridan le Fanu 1872
Sheridan le Fanu's classic novella Carmilla was the one of the first to successfully add erotic fixations into vampire literature, with a female vampire seducing the novel’s heroine to draw her vital fluids. This was also one of the first examples of the lesbian vampire trope.
1897
Dracula by Bram Stoker; the quintessential vampire book is published. The book mixed medieval myths and previous vampire fiction with sex, blood and death to create a novel that struck a chord with late 19th century Britain.  Stoker’s vampire hunter, Abraham Van Helsing, helped create a trend for heroes willing to fight the undead. After Dracula, authors continued to create vampire stories but most failed to captivate reading audiences in the same way. No new concepts were introduced until the golden age of science fiction.
1954
I am Legend by Richard Matheson popularises the use of vampires in science fiction in his post-apocalyptic vision of a world crippled by a disease that induces vampirism.  The book has been adapted into multiple films over the years. I am Legend is often referred to as the first modern vampire novel.
1975
Stephen King, the master of modern horror, pens Salem’s Lot and thereby re-opens the doors of vampirism to a new set of fans.  The book puts vampires into a sleepy Maine, USA town in the 20th century and mayhem ensures.
Interview with the Vampire, one of the Vampire Chronicles books by Anne Rice1976-2003
Anne Rice publishes her Vampire Chronicles and things start to change.  This multi-volume series re-invigorates the concept of erotic vampires found in Carmilla, the gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. The book also steps away from vampires being treated as intrinsically evil and portrays them as romantic anti-heroes caught in a poetic and tragic web.
Gothic subculture and vampirism merges.  Rice’s popularity inspires many romance writers to delve into fantasy helping push the paranormal romance craze which has become one of the largest sub-genres in romance publishing - these authors include Christine Feehan’s Dark series and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series among many others.
Present
 Vampires are once again at the top of the bestseller lists.  Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series has sold millions of copies worldwide and turned an entire generation of young girls onto fantasy and vampires. Charlaine Harris has picked up where Meyer left off giving young, and sometimes not so young, readers a place to get their vampire fix with the Sookie Stackhouse books.  While borrowing from the past, both authors have added their own flavour to the myths.  Meyer’s vampires continue to play the role of the romantic hero but her universe lacks the steamy sexuality of Rice’s novels, while Harris sets her world in an alternate history where vampires have lived among humans for thousands of years in hiding only to reveal themselves after a medical breakthrough produces a synthetic blood which they are able to sustain themselves with without killing people.


20 Assorted Vampire Books


Lord Byron's The Giaour


The Giaour
George Gordon Byron

Giaour is turned into a vampire as punishment for murder.


The House of the Vampire by George Sylvester Viereck


The House of the Vampire
George Viereck


Gay vampire novel with the first example of psychic vampires who feed on more than blood.



La Morte Amoureuse - Theophile Gautier


La Morte Amoureuse
Theophile Gautier



A priest falls deeply in love with Clarimonde - a mysterious, beautiful vampire.


Revelations in Black by Carl Jacobi


Revelations in Black
Carl Jacobi



A short vampire story within the anthology of the same name.

Barnabas Collins series by Marilyn Ross

Barnabas Collins series
Marilyn Ross


Barnabas Collins is a 175-year-old vampire who is in search of fresh blood and his lost love.


The Keep by Paul F. Wilson


The Keep
Paul F. Wilson


German soldiers are being killed off in a Carpathian castle.

They Thirst by Robert R. McCammon


They Thirst
Robert R. McCammon


LA is turned into a necropolis by a hoard of vampires.


Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin


Fevre Dream
George R.R. Martin


Bram Stoker meets Mark Twain on the grand Mississippi.


Live Girls by Ray Garton


Live Girls
Ray Garton


'Live Girls'? Maybe not - these strippers are vampires!

The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas

The Vampire Tapestry
Suzy McKee Charnas

A lone vampire learns an uneasy empathy for his prey.


The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause


The Silver Kiss
Annette Curtis Klause


Teenage girl falls in love with 300-year-old vampire boy.

Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite


Lost Souls
Poppy Z. Brite


These Vampires do not transform humans, but are a separate species.


Empire of Fear by Brian Stableford


Empire of Fear
Brian Stableford


Alternate history where Attila the Hun, Richard the Lionheart and the Pope are all vampires.


Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons


Carrion Comfort
Dan Simmons


Psychic vampires, rather than the traditional blood eaters.

Vampire$ by John Steakley

Vampire$
John Steakley

Vampire$ Inc. is a large commercial vampire-hunting business.


The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez


The Gilda Stories
Jewelle Gomez

Escaped lesbian feminist vampire slave comes of age.

Suckers by Anne Billson


Suckers
Anne Billson


A vampire heads up a multinational media conglomerate.


Fangland by John Marks


Fangland
John Marks

A reimagined story for the Dracula tale by Bram Stoker, setting in a post 9/11 New York.





The Cowboy and the Vampire by Clark Hays


The Cowboy and the Vampire
Clark Hays

Wyoming cowboy trucker falls in love with vampire.



The Nymphos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevedo

The Nymphos of Rocky Flats
Mario Acevedo

A vampire private investigator takes on some nymphomaniacs.


Slake your thirst - more about Stephenie Meyer and vampires.

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