Getting Glut's book

I've finally got a first edition copy of Donald F. Glut's True vampires of history (1971), thanks to the magic of eBay.


I'd previously bought reprints of it by Castle Books (Secaucus, N.J.). However, I'm a stickler for first editions, so I had to find a copy of the HC Publishers, Inc. (New York) original.

How far did I go in my quest? I resorted to contacting its author. It was never that easy growing up, I'll tell ya. I sent him a cheque last year (Don doesn't 'do' PayPal), but it never arrived.

I got the urge to go trawling through eBay recently and lo, I serendipitously found a copy for US$9. This time, I doublechecked its publication info with the seller. After confirming a positive ident, I made an offer of five bucks. Not for the hell of it, mind you, but based on the book's condition:

Up for auction is a 1971 True Vampires of History Donald Glut Book. The paperback book is complete and nicely held together. The book has been in storage and it has rolling and warping from age. The pages and cover are yellowing. There is creasing at the corners of the cover and along the bottom of the back. The pages have rounded corners and a few have creases at the corners. The book also has creasing along the spine, and light wear and peeling around the edges. The book has 191 pages.

The seller accepted my offer. I purchased it on 16 June; it arrived on the 27th. Not bad. Incidentally, if you're interested in buying a copy of the book, feel free to contact Don. He'll probably even sign it for you, if you ask nicely. I would've gotten my copy from him, if there wasn't that hassle with the cheque. However, if you're a US resident, you probably won't encounter the same problem I did.

Catch-Up Time

It's been a bit quiet since my previous rant, so time to fill the void with a few random updates on what's been happening since.

Finished reading Daniel J. Wood's Realm of the vampire: history and the undead (2011), which I'll be reviewing soon enough. The extent of the sources used for his book certainly made my rant worthwhile. Strangely, it appears to be available from only one source. Hopefully, it'll receive wider distribution, as it covers a largely neglected aspect of vampire folklore.

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Speaking of vampire folklore, it's great to see Niels went ahead and purchased Daniela Soloviova-Horvilla's Les vampires : Du folklore slave à la littérature occidentale after I drew his attention to it. Better yet, he described it as looking 'very, very promising'. From him, that's high praise indeed. Hopefully, it pays off.

He also notes 'Soloviova-Horvilla herself has a background in Bulgaria which provides her with a working knowledge of the languages pertinent to the Slavic vampire' and 'her work obviously draws on a number of sources otherwise not easily available to Western scholars', which touches on the basis of my rant: we're seriously deprived in terms of non-English resources on the undead. This is especially pertinent considering that the vampire myth essentially has its basis in Slavic regions. Notably few English language authors tap into these resources, barring, of course, guys like Jan L. Perkowski and Bruce A. McClelland.

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Came across an interview with Theresa Cheung, author of The Element encyclopedia of vampires (2009) which I've discussed before. She expresses a remarkably open-minded view on the existence of vampires which, if I might be snarky for a moment, could explain her susceptibility to the FVZA's claims.

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I dunno if it's apparent in my blog, but I'm a fan of the vampire's 'modernity' in terms of its depiction in folklore and don't really buy into the 'universality' of the vampire mythos. So, it's great to see Niels giving this angle some coverage, also including Toby Lichtig well-researched review. Indeed, the discussion of Roger Luckhurst's notes to the Oxford World's Classics' edition of Dracula is seriously tempting me to buy a copy.

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Yesterday, my eBay-purchased copy of Vampiri: miti, leggende, letteratura, cinema, fumetti, multimedialità (1998) arrived in the mail (bought on the 22nd). Can't say much about its contents, as my Italian is piss-weak, but I was surprised to discover it's actually a non-fiction vampire anthology. That makes it a bit of a rarity in its own right. Lots of pretty pictures, too.

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I like the formatting and layout of my WordPress blog so much, that I'm thinking of creating an offshoot to this one. But never fear: I won't be shutting down this one. Either way, it's just a thought. Nothing set in stone. Yet. We'll see how it goes.

Bite-Size Halloween Bits

Happy Halloween, everyone! What perfect timing for a neglected round-up edition! What've I bought? What've I joined? What's coming up on the blog? Read on.

Ok, first up: a few eBay purchases came in the mail recently. Rosemary Ellen Guiley's Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena: Vampires (New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2008) arrived on the 8th. I scored it for US $5.45 (not including shipping, of course).


It's tailored for a Young Adult readership, but still fairly informative. And better still, it's got sweet, sweet endnotes (115) and a bibliography (116-117). What's the big deal about that? Read this and you'll see. It's not often you see 'em in books for that audience, so bonus points for that. In my view, kids should be encouraged to develop this academic habit so they'll appreciate the importance of paper trails for themselves and for others.

Also, as you might know, I'm big into first editions. So, if you relish 'em as much as I do, avoid the the Checkmark Books 2009 copy. That is a paperback reprint. Or paperback edition, if you will. Stick with the Chelsea House Publishers version.


On the 13th, Charlotte Montague's From Dracula to Twilight: Vampires: The Complete Guide to Vampire Mythology (New York: Chartwell Books, Inc., 2010) arrived. Apart from its cumbersome title, it served as a marked contrast to Guiley's book on several counts. Firstly, it wasn't a first edition, as I found out the hard way. However, it wasn't falsely listed as a first edition, at least, so I really should have double-checked before I placed my bid. That said, I won it for the princely sum of US $1.77, so let's say my vision was somewhat obscured in this regard.

For the record, the original was published by Omnipress, a London-based publishing company. Or, so you'd think going on the book's copyright info. So, I'm wondering what's the go with this Sphere version. Might look into that.

Apart from a few rare photographs, there's nothing overly remarkable about the book. Its simplistic text and voluminous illustrations indicate it's for the young'uns, too. However, it not only lacks endnotes but has no bibliography, either. That's especially troubling when we're fed practically unverifiable info. See Andrew's review for Montague's coverage of the vampire's reaction to sunlight. I expected a lot more from an author with an MA degree in history.


The last eBay book to arrive was Timothy d'Arch Smith's Montague Summers: A Bibliography (Wellingborough: The Aquarian Press, 1983). Bought it for a fairly reasonable GBP 11.66. It's actually a 2nd rev. ed. of Smith's A Bibliography of the Works of Montague Summers (Nicholas Vane, 1964).

Incidentally, I like collecting further editions, too (as opposed to reprints), but I saw little in the way of revision from my recollections of the 1964 edition. Hell, Sewell's foreward and Smith's introduction from the first edition have been retained. Of course, at that time, Summers' autobiography, The Gallanty Show (1980), had yet to see published, so I can see why the book was revised (ever so slightly). But, come on! Give us a little more material, please. Something a bit more substantial than a coupla pages here and there.

That's not to say the book isn't handy, of course. Summers was a wildly prolific writer and Smith thoroughly and meticulously documents his writings wherever they've appeared. It must've been a nightmarish task. That said, in light of Summers contributions to modern vampire studies, it's a shame to find out that his writings on the subject were seemingly confined to two books and a letter to Time and Tide (January 18, 1929), pp. 60-61, correcting a reviewer's comments on his book, The Vampire: His Kith and Kin (1928). That's not Smith's fault, of course, but still...

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Speaking of Guiley and further editions, The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves and Other Monsters (2004) has a second edition on the way. It's scheduled publication date is June 30, 2011.

It's title's been shortened to The Encyclopedia of Vampires & Werewolves, which is probably for the best, as the "other monsters" bit was largely drowned out by the vampire and werewolf entries in the first edition. It's also got a beaut new cover.

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On Tuesday (26th), I received an important letter from Elizabeth Miller, along with the Spring and Summer issues of The Borgo Post. What was so important about this letter, praytell? It confirmed my registration with the Transylvanian Society of Dracula. Yep, I'm now a member of the TSD!

It's the first time I've ever been part of a vampire "fan club", if you will. Concurrent to signing with them, I was thinking of joining The Vampire Empire, only to find out that it "now serves as a Research facility only." D'oh!

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I get a kick out of seeing what brings you guys to my blog. And what tops the list? Of all things, looks like you can't get enough of my posts on "antique" vampire killing kits (see here, here and here). They've scored mentions on the Daily Kos and The BS Historian. The latter was even inspired to continue their coverage of the kits, emphasising the silver bullet angle. Be sure to check it out.

Oh, and I can't help but be amused by those "Twilight porn" searches. Hahaha! Naughty, naughty! I'll say this, though: the infamous Rule 34 works in your favour.

Incidentally, I do see a few research ones, like "what kind of degree does a vampirologist need" from Albuquerque, New Mexico. So, if any of you have any queries, I'm happy to help. My e-mail's on my profile.

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Dr. Peter Mario Kreuter's kindly agreed to participate in an instalment of the "Q & A" sessions. So, in the next few days, I've gotta drum up some q's. I've previously interviewed Niels K. Petersen, Martin V. Riccardo and Bruce A. McClelland. Check 'em out here.

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It's taken a while for Halloween to catch on here in Australia, but it's getting there. Seamus O'Tooles Irish Pub in Wantirna South is even transforming into "Club Fangtastica" tonight.


It invites punters to "Take a trip into the depths of Louisiana’s historic vampire culture", which, in this case, also serves as a testament True Blood's popularity, even on this far-flung corner of the globe.

This is sure to be the hottest spot in town for both mortals and vamps this Halloween. If you’re the the baddest vamp around, come down and order an ice cold bottle of Tru Blood to quench your thirst; but watch out for werewolves or there could be trouble!

Sip on some tantalising Tru Blood cocktails served by “Fangtasia” waitresses, and dance until the sun comes up to the sounds of our DJ and band. The Tru Blood cocktail list includes such classics as the Tequila Moonrise, The Blood Maker-ita, The Fangbanger, and Death on the Beach.

Even though V.I.P tix went for $36.00 and General Admission $26.00, they're now sold out. And on that chilling note, I wish everyone of you a safe and happy Halloween.

Round-Up Time

Just a few items concerning vampire-related things in my life at the moment. We start off with my pursuit of Montague Summers, an eBay purchase, a rambling (brief) film review and giving props to Amazon.

I've gotten onto a bit of a Montague Summers (1880-1948) kick. A very prolific writer, best known in vampire studies for writing The Vampire: His Kith and Kin (1928) and its companion tome, The Vampire in Europe (1929). Even though he only wrote these two books in the genre, their impact was massive. Indeed, you'll still find them in print today. He's even spawned a blatant imitator.

Anyhoo, I've been looking for biographical info on the guy, so I ordered two books about him through interlibrary loan. Borrowed both of 'em, yesterday. They are Timothy D'Arch Smith's The Books of the Beast: Essays on Aleister Crowley, Montague Summers, Francis Barrett and Others (Crucible, 1987) and Frederick S. Frank's Montague Summers: A Bibliographic Portrait (Metuchen: The Scarecrow Press, 1988).

I was, quite frankly, disappointed with both. Not with their content, though. You see, I was expecting primarily original material from both, but, alas, they're essentially anthologies of previously published material. D'Arch Smith's book has two essays on Summers: "Montague Summers" (51-57) and "R. A. Caton, Montague Summers, and The Fortune Press" (58-74).

The first essay (presumably published with the second), is reproduced from his 1984 booklet, Montague Summers: A Talk (Edinburgh: Trargara Press). The preface mispells this as "Trargars".

One section of the book did startle me, though: the confirmation that Summers participated in a Black Mass on 26 December, 1918 (56-57). As to one of the other rumours swirling about Summers, the pederasty coverage is relatively hazy, but plausible enough to feel quite disconcerting.

Frank's book is indeed a "bibliographic portrait", consisting of a stack of content mainly reproduced from Summers' own works. The essays that comprise the first part of the book (3-34) have all been published elsewhere. However, the bibliographic chronology and annotated bibliography (156-246) seem to be unique to the book. So, props for that.

I know these might sound like harsh assessements, but just to clarify, these books certainly possess high value for those digging up info on Summers. The harshness is merely one of personal taste. I am keen on original material, you see. First editions. Items as close to a primary source as possible. The books are valuable in that they collate some pretty rare stuff into a solid whole. So, yes, I still recommend them. Personally, though, it means I gotta track down the original sources. At least I've got leads to work with!

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Speaking of original prints, Christopher Frayling's Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula (London: Faber and Faber, 1991) arrived in the mail today. I purchased the item from eBay on the 26th of September for GBP 4.99 (after requesting a markdown from 7.99). Quite a bargain.

I already own the paperback edition, which was published the following year. But, I just had to add this '91 hardback to my collection. Incidentally, it's a revised edition of Frayling's The Vampyre: Lord Ruthven to Count Dracula (1978). That one's on my of to-gets, too.

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Watched Suck (2009) on DVD today. Although the title's probably ironic, it's not far from the truth. It features a swathe of cameos, namely Henry Rollins, Alice Cooper, Moby, Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins, hell, even Alex Lifeson from Rush. As you might've gathered, it's a vampire rock 'n' roll flick. But the music was pretty average and none of those aforementioned musos actually sing in the movie.

It's a bit of an odd flick, incorporating stop motion and dramatic lighting during various scenes. And, I gotta admit, Dimitri Coats made a pretty damn effective vampire...despite his dodgy clothes. I just felt that the flick ran out of steam once the band (The Winners) hit the US border. Just kind've ambled along at that point. It certainly has some clever moments, like the flashback scenes for Malcolm McDowell's vampire hunter. Rather than make him look young or hire a younger actor to play him, the director deftly integrated footage from an actual young McDowell. Nice touch.

I'm also savvy enough to know that the director reproduced a few classic album covers in his shots, namely The Beatles' Abbey Road, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., The Who's The Kids are Alright and T. Rex's Electric Warrior. While quietly amusing at first, it got a bit repetitive, real quick. Didn't really fit the narrative, either. And speaking of "quietly amusing", I don't think I even laughed once during the film. It's a horror comedy. Seemed too limp for that. That said, it was vaguely entertaining. Probably needed a faster pace.

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The problems I had with Day's book (mentioned here), were fixed up shortly after I wrote that blog entry. I requested a partial refund (half of the total price), as I was still gonna keep the book, which they granted. Kudos, Amazon, for swiftly stitching that up.

New Additions and Editions

A few recent purchases arrived in the mail. I'll be giving my immediate impressions of these books and why you should double-check item descriptions before you hit "buy".

On the 9th, I ordered three books via Amazon: William Patrick Day's Vampire Legends in Contemporary American Culture: What Becomes a Legend Most (2002), J. Gordon Melton's The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead, 3rd ed. (2010) and Margaret L. Carter's Different Blood: The Vampire As Alien (2004). Day's book hasn't arrived yet, but the other two came yesterday.

Let's start with Melton's book. Just as I anticipated, the book injects a focus on Twilight. The success of that franchise has provided the book with it's very raison d'être. Here's what Melton has to say in his "Introduction":

The last edition came out in 1998, just as we realized that Buffy was going to be a hit. Now, sitting at the close of the first decade of the new century, this new edition can explore the Buffy phenomenon and its immense fallout fully. New entries discuss the vampire on television, the Twilight saga, romance novels, and vampire-related paraphernalia (xvii).

As I said here, there's nothing wrong with coasting the wave of contemporary vampire popularity. What matters, is how you utilise it. Fortunately, Melton's work transcends these trends and is invaluable to the vampire scholar, regardless.

This particular edition has been streamlined. For instance, the appendices in the second edition have been jettisoned. Instead, we jump from the last entry to a massive index (833-909). The "Sources" attached to the entries have been cleaned up. There are no colour pics.

Oh, and for those intending on citing the book in future: it has a 2011 copyright date. Yet, it was obviously published this year. So what gives? I've covered that here. Same applies to the second edition, which has a 1999 copyright date, but was actually published the year before.

Next up, Carter's Different Blood. I've only had the briefest flick through it, but going on her previous works, I suspect it'll be a goodie. I love books that survey specific angles of the vampire mythos. In this case, Carter focuses on depictions of the vampire-as-extraterrestrial. Yep, alien vampires. Here's the scoop from her blurb:

Different Blood surveys the literary vampire as alien from the mid-1800s to the 1990s, analyzing the many uses to which science fiction and fantasy authors have put this theme. Their works explore issues of species, race, ecological responsibility, gender, eroticism, xenophobia, parasitism, symbiosis, intimacy, and the bridging of differences.

Bet you didn't think you'd get all that from a bunch of books on vampires from space! I'm also chuffed that it's such a recurring genre staple, that there was enough material to devote an entire book to it. Incredible.

Next up, a book I purchased on eBay, also on the 9th. It arrived today and serves as a classic example of impulse buying. I was cruising about, looking for cheap copies of Melton's third edition (before I purchased the Amazon one), when I stumbled upon a coupla cover variations I hadn't seen before.



The book was cheap (US $16), hardcover and in brand new condition. But, there was no publication date. I just assumed it was the new edition. So, bam! I clicked "buy". What I should have done, was check the book's ISBN (9781578593156). Sure enough, when I later checked it, I realised I'd purchased a hardcover copy of the second edition. An edition I already own, in paperback. D'oh!

I didn't want to welsh out of the purchase on account of my own oversight, so I let it proceed. If you wanna know what the first and second edition paperback covers look like, click here. The third edition paperback cover's here. So, word to the wise: if in doubt, check the ISBN!

Book Purchase Round-Up

Yesterday, two Amazon purchases arrived. Namely, Mark Collins Jenkins' Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2010) and Claude Lecouteux's The Secret History of Vampires: Their Multiple Forms and Hidden Purposes (Rochester, Vermont/Toronto, Canada: Inner Traditions, 2010).

I've had 'em both on my Wish List for a while. Michele's review of Jenkins' book partly spurred me into finally buying it, and when I saw Lecouteux's book as its Amazonian "Frequently Bought Together" item, I thought "Oh, hell yeah!" and went ahead with the purchase.

Now, I wasn't expecting too much out of Jenkins' book, after all, it looks a little too glossy, for something of a scholarly nature. Well, at least, its cover does.

I thought it was gonna be a shiny, glossy thing, filled with lots of disturbing pics of dessicated corpses and whatnot, in light of its National Geographic pedigree. What it lacked in content, it'd make up for in visual "appeal".

Well, dear reader, I can tell you that it has bugger all pictures and I'm not overly thrilled about the content thus far, either. As of this writing, I'm up to page 76 and I haven't encountered much that I wouldn't find in other mainstream, run-of-the-mill works on the subject. It's the usual stroll through the same old, same old vampire stuff you've encountered a million times before (Vlad Ţepeş, Count Dracula, Arnold Paole, Polidori's "The Vampyre"), told in a narrative style.

At most, I'd say this book would be a passable, cursory introduction into the genre. It's also a pretty breezy read, so you'll work your way through it, quickly enough. But, from my reading thus far, there are waaay better books out there. Unless it turns a sharp corner into some meaty, scholarly stuff, can't say I'd really recommend this one.

I haven't started on Lecouteux's book, yet, but Niels' post on the possible inaccuracies of its translation, has given me cause for concern. I did point out, however, that he was working off a German translation of the original French book. As I mentioned, I actually own a copy of the original French version, but since I can't speak the language, I can hardly make comparisons of my own, heh heh.

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Today, I received Hagen Schaub's Blutspuren: Die Geschichte der Vampire (Graz: Leykam, 2008) in the post. I bought it from eBay after re-reading Niels' appraisal of it.

Again, I can't comment too much on its content, as I don't know the language, but it's surprising to see that a book covering the "magia posthuma" era, would only have fleeting mentions of Peter Plogojowitz (90) and Arnold Paole (91).

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Last Tuesday, I received another eBay purchase, that is, Tim Kane's The Changing Vampire of Film and Television: A Critical Study of the Growth of a Genre (Jefferson, North Carolina/London: McFarland & Comany, Inc., Publishers, 2006).

This one turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Its scope is admittedly narrow, as it focuses on the supernatural vampire variant in movies and only covers about 19 of 'em in total, but its application of genre "semantics" and "syntax" in correspondence with the evolution of the vampire's appearance, attributes and wards, in these mediums, is quite a fascinating concept.

Kane divides these films into eras: the Malignant Cycle (1931-1948), the Erotic Cycle (1957-1985) and the Sympathetic Cycle (1987- ). He even includes a Semantic-Syntactic Timeline (192-218), which is to die for.

Sure, a lot of what Kane covers has been said before, but never has it been boiled down, taken apart and articulated so well. Definitely recommended.

Critiquing Cheung

My eBay-ordered copy of Theresa Cheung's The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires (London: HarperElement, 2009) arrived in the post today. I featured it on my Amazon wishlist some time ago.

From cursory glances, let's say J. Gordon Melton can rest easy.

Take her Arnold Paole entry (445-448). She claims he was stationed in Greece when he was (allegedly) attacked by a vampire (446). Bzzzt. Wrong. He was actually stationed in Ottoman-occupied ("Turkish") Serbia.

She also uses a faulty source for her Peter Plogojowitz entry (454-456), the giveaway being that she states his death as being in September 1725 (455). Which is kinda strange, considering the Plogojowitz case was dealt with in the July 21, 1725 issue of the Wienerisches Diarium. Whoops!

A source on Polish vampirism is also misspelled, that is Everio Athiesm (462, 671), which is actually Eversio Atheismi seu pro Deo contra Atheos libri duo by Georgio Gengell (who she doesn't name).

I'm also disturbed by the fact that she includes an entry on Dr. Hugh Pecos (449). She says, "Although Pecos's knowledge of vampire lore, and the science of real vampires, is extensive he remains a controversial figure, and the FVZA has frequently been dismissed by historians and researchers as a fictional organization."

Well, Theresa, that's because it is a fictional organization.

Let's keep in mind that the Federal Vampire & Zombie Agency (FVZA) claims to have been founded by Ulysses S. Grant, as a governmental department for the eradication of vampires and zombies in the US. If this wasn't enough to make one suspicious of their claims, there's always the "Disclaimer" on their homepage:

This site is is fictional and is for entertainment purposes only. We are not affiliated with the U.S. Government in any way. Under no cirumstances are you to harm anyone based on information from this site.

If that doesn't solve that little "mystery", I dunno what will.

So, to sum up, don't buy this book expecting a scholarly guide to vampires. Quite a shame, in light of its extensive list of entries, a pretty good bibliography (659-662) and a sizable index (665-685).

Let's hope Theresa Bane's Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology (2010) proves to be a lot more fruitful.

Lastly, you can read Niels' review of Cheung's book here. His criticisms are a lot more thorough.

Rare Dracula-Related Items on eBay

Came across a coupla interesting Dracula items on eBay while doing one of my sporadic searches.

The first depicts an unusually "decorated" edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

It seems pretty cheap for an asking price of US $18, until you properly read the seller's description:

One 8 x 10 color photo of Forry Ackerman's signed first edition of DRACULA. Clear and sharp. You can read all the signatures including Bram Stoker, Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Vampira.

The next item's one for the Vlad fans. Personally, I can't stand him, but even I can recognise the value in a genealogical study of the Transylvanian Terror. Even more so that it's actually George Florescu's Divanele domnesti din Tara Romanesca (1943).


George also lead an investigation into Vlad's alleged burial site in Snagov monastery, in 1931. This was the same year the first authorised cinematic adaptation of Dracula was released. It was also the year Raymond T. McNally was born.

McNally would later go on to author the book that put Dracula studies on the map: In Search of Dracula: A True History of Dracula and Vampire Legends (Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1972).


Its co-author was Radu Florescu: George's nephew.

Here's a transcript from "Bloodlines: The Dracula Family Tree", which shows other links in the Florescu-Dracula chain.

Vamping Out with Hort

Barbara E. Hort's Unholy Hungers: Encountering the Psychic Vampire in Ourselves and Others (Boston and London: Shambhala, 1996) arrived in the mail yesterday.

From a cursory glance, it seems to deal with vampirism in a psychological manner à la Albert J. Bernstein's Emotional Vampires: Dealing with People Who Drain You Dry (2000). But, it does have some interesting stuff to say about the vampire archetype.

Real Books

Last Thursday, these beauties arrived in the mail from this seller:

Nancy Garden's Vampires (1973)

Donald F. Glut's True Vampires of History (1971)

The first book was one of the early ventures into vampire non-fiction for kids and the second is a compilation of "true" vampire cases, for the paranormally inclined, arranged in chronological order.

And, I already have copies of both.

So why did I buy 'em?

The copy of Garden's book that I already owned is a 1979 Bantam Skylark reprint and in the last coupla years, I've become a stickler for first editions. Or, at the very least, first editions published in the same year and by the same publisher.

They're much prettier to cite and things can get lost along the way when they're reprinted.

For the record, Garden's first edition was published in Philadelphia and New York by J. B. Lippincott Company. The book I have is its fourth printing.

As to Glut's book, the copy I have is a bibliographic nightmare. Its title page lists it as being "An Official Publication of HC Publishers, Inc.," but lower down, says that it's "A Castle Books, Inc. Edition" "Distributed To The Trade" "By Book Sales, Inc."

No place of publication is given, except page 2 reveals it was "Printed in U.S.A."

My copy also had no dust jacket.

So, when I saw this copy on eBay, I couldn't resist, especially as it was listed as a first edition. However, when I turned to the title page, what did I see?

Yep, the same blasted publication info!

So, essentially, I paid for...a dust jacket! D'oh!

The dust jacket, however, does reveal a place of publication, at least: Secaucus, New Jersey. Of course, this is for Castle Books, not H. C. Publishers. Which, of course, means that the original edition is floating about somewhere out there.

Gonna have to chase it up.

Early Kaplan Work

Yesterday, I received an excellent addition to my library.

That is, Stephen Kaplan's In Pursuit of Premature Gods & Contemporary Vampires (South Setauket, Long Island, New York: The Vampire Research Center of America, 1976).

Won it off eBay for US $99.99 (AU $108.26), which was a hell of a bargain, especially as the seller notes that there are "ONLY 40 copies IN EXISTENCE!"

He only wrote one other book on vampires, Vampires Are (as told to Carole Kane), which was published by ETC in Palm Springs, California, in 1984. You can read my review of the book here.

Kaplan (1940-1995) was the founder of the Vampire Research Center and one of the first people to openly refer to himself as a "vampirologist". In many ways, his work anticipated the coverage given to the vampire subculture.

However, his search wasn't merely for people who drink blood and don fangs, as this article reveals:

When Dr. Kaplan speaks of vampires, he is not just referring to individuals who have a mania for drinking blood, but of individuals with a special genetic make-up that enables them to live extremely long lives by drinking blood. He has met with many of these individuals and has investigated their lives. He estimates that there are 80 to 100 vampires living in the U.S. today.

You can read more about him and his Center here, here and here.

Title and Cover Variations

When vampire books are translated into other languages, their covers and titles can vary quite drastically.

Here's an example I came across on eBay:

It is a retitled Spanish edition, called Los vampiros aun existen ("Vampires Still Do Exist"), of a popular American work on the subject. See if you can guess which one.

Give up?

Look no further than Konstantinos' Vampires: The Occult Truth (St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1996):


This process sometimes occurs even in English language works for British and American markets. For instance, Gabriel Ronay's The Dracula Myth (1972) is more commonly known by its American retitling, The Truth about Dracula (1972) and Christopher Frayling's The Vampyre: Lord Ruthven to Count Dracula (1978) was published in the US as Vampyre: A Bedside Companion (1978).

Vampire Book Covers

I've found that eBay isn't just a boon for buying hard-to-get vampire books, but also a decent source for vampire book cover images.

The following dust jacket cover is reproduced in this sale for a fiction anthology, Tales of the Undead: Vampires and Visitants (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1947), collected and illustrated by Elinore Blaisdell:


As it happens, I own a copy of this book, sans dust jacket. Never even knew what its dust jacket looked like.

Till now.

Instead, I've had to contend with this cover (which was also reproduced by the seller):


Incidentally, the seller's asking price is US $39.99.

The Wright Book for You

I've just come across an interesting sale on eBay, courtesy of this seller.

You can snap up a copy of Dudley Wright's Vampires and Vampirism (rev. ed., 1924) for US$160.


I'd buy it myself if I had the available fundage!

From a critical perspective, the work is pretty shabby (you can get a variety of reprints of this book, to see for yourself), but it still serves as one of the seminal entries in vampires studies of the twentieth century.

The original edition was published in 1914 and helped filled a gap in vampire studies at the time, which was primarily occupied by occultic articles and works like A. Osbourne Eaves' Modern Vampirism: Its Dangers, and How to Avoid Them (1904), a treatise on psychic vampirism.

Montague Summers was brutal in his review of Wright's work, noting

it were not an easy task to find a more insipid olio than Vampires and Vampirism, of which the ingredients, so far as I am able to judge, are most palpably derived at second, and even at third hand.

But one wonders if Summers would have made his own contributions to the genre, if it hadn't been for Wright stepping up to the plate.

O Canada!

Sometimes I feel like it'd be quicker for the Canadian postal service to strap deliveries on the back of a Galápagos tortoise, than to follow their usual procedures.

I paid for a copy of François Ribadeau Dumas' A la recherche des vampires (1976) from an eBay seller in Quebec on October 7, 2009.

I received the item today. It's not the first time I've experienced such delays with their postal service.

Some Brief Notes on Real Vampires

Received my copy of Brad Steiger's Real Vampires, Night Stalkers, and Creatures from the Darkside today.

I ordered it from a seller on eBay and it was one of the items on my Amazon Wishlist.

And, I gotta say, I was a tad...disappointed.

Not by the content of the book itself. Haven't had a chance to read it yet. No, I'm talking page length. You see, the book's Amazon listing credits it with 400 pages. The book's publisher, Visible Ink Press (VIP), says it contains 300 pages.

How many does it actually have?

A measly 287.

Also, somewhat bizarrely (at least, to me), the copyright date of the book is 2010. Both its Amazon and VIP listing note its publication date as September 2009. Whether this means you can plagiarise huge chunks of it willy-nilly till next year, remains to be seen.

I've e-mailed VIP about this page length and copyright date anomaly and eagerly await their reply.

Speaking of Calmet...

The previous entry briefly touched on the expense in purchasing original copies of Calmet's disserations.

Here's a perfect case in point:

The book, which is being sold by uofarkscott44 on eBay, isn't even one of the French originals (1746, 1749, 1751).

It appears to be a German, reprint translation of the second edition (1749) of Calmet's work. But this is hard to determine, as it appears that the seller appears to have cribbed the item's description...

Title details: Des hochwürdigen Herrn Augustini Calmet ... Gelehrte Verhandlung der Materi von Erscheinungen der Geisteren, und denen Vampiren in Ungarn, Mahren etc [microform] / Französisch beschreiben und in dieser Sprach zum Zweytenmal aufgelegt zu Einsidlen, Anno 1749. mit merckwürdigen Zusätzen, welche im Französischen nicht enthalten, sondern nach dessen Ubersetzung des Ubersetzer von dem hochwürdigen Herrn Authore in Zweymalen erst schrifftlich seynd übersandt worden, vermehrt ; die Nutzbarkeit des Wercks, und die darbey gehabte Absicht des Herrn Authoris ist aus seiner heinach stehenden Vorrede zur ersehen ; ins Teutsche übersetzt durch einen Preister Ord. S. Ben.

[ Dissertations zur les apparitions des anges, des démons & des esprits. German ]

[ Gelehrte Verhandlung der Materi von Erscheinungen der Geistern, und denen Vampiren in Ungarn, Mahren etc. ]

...from Open Library - right down to keeping the "microform" reference intact.

The Calmet biography that accompanies the item description, is clearly taken from Wikipedia, without citation.

It doesn't come without faults, either:

Pages: lacks the title page of the first volume, but is otherwise complete with all 416 pages for volume 1; the second part ends at page 214 and appears to be missing the last page; the book includes extensive indexes, preface, and such; generally free from marking or foxing;

I wish him all the best with his sale.

The Problem with Abbreviations

I was having a browse for vampire books on eBay, when I came across this rather unfortunate entry:

It's actually an entry for Beverly Gray's Roger Corman: Blood-Sucking Vampires, Flesh-Eating Cockroaches, and Driller Killers (Da Capo Press, 2003).

Its seller, rangerpaper, obviously tried to incorporate the book's entire title into the ad...with unintentional, amusing results!

You can buy your copy, today, for US $6.99! (not including postage)

Staked Vampire Picture Source Revealed

In Daniel Farson's Mysterious Monsters (1978), there's a picture of a vampire with a stake embedded in its heart, the origin of which, I've never been able to locate.

It also appears in his earlier work, The Supernatural: Vampires, Zombies, and Monster Men (The Danbury Press, n.d. Originally published by Aldus Books, 1975) on page 22. The source given is vague ("22(BL) The Bettmann Archive", p. 144). The Bettmann Archive itself, only yields this info: "Engraving of the Death of a Vampire. PG6298| RM| © Bettmann/CORBIS."

The same image is replicated (albeit, in a highly manipulated form) on the front of the dust jacket to Wayne Bartlett & Flavia Idriceanu's Legends of Blood: The Vampire in History and Myth (Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing, 2005). The credit given on the back of the dust jacket is "engraving of Death of a Vampire (© Bettmann/CORBIS)".

However, I can now happily report that thanks to the wonders of eBay, I now know the title and artist of the picture!

While thoroughly browsing through it yesterday, I came across an entry headed, "Rare MONSTERS & MADONNAS William Mortensen 1948".

I was curious about its contents. So, with absolutely no intent of finding the image there (I was actually looking for books on vampires), I decided to have a browse.

And wouldn't you know it? Staring at me about midway in the page, in sepia-tone, was the image I've known for many years! It even had a link to a scan of the image.

Talk about serendipity.

It turns out the picture, called "The Vampire", was originally drawn by William Mortensen, and published in his 1936 folio, Monsters & Madonnas: A Book of Methods.

The edition being sold, by tinkerstale, is the fourth printing (1948) of the first edition.

If you'd like to know more about the book, have a read of Cary Loren's guest article, "Monsters and Madonnas - Looking at William Mortensen" for Will's Journey Round My Skull.

However, I am left with a bit of a mystery.

The image, as reproduced in Farson's books, are in colour.

I can only presume they were tinted by the books' designers or that Mortensen's original was in colour too. Or that Mortensen himself, obtained it elsewhere...

Two Recent Purchases

One of the greatest boons for vampire research is eBay.

Items of interest are generally available for low prices - barring currency exchange rates and shipping costs.

Here are a couple of recent items I managed to score:

Clive Leatherdale's Dracula: The Novel & the Legend: A Study of Bram Stoker's Gothic Masterpiece (The Leisure Circle, 1985) arrived on August 5th.

I'm not big on Dracula scholarship, but Leatherdale has some interesting things to say on the development of the Vampire Myth.

Jan L. Perkowski's Vampires of the Slavs (Cambridge, Mass.: Slavica Publishers, Inc., 1976) arrived today.

This is the paperback version. I've previously borrowed a hardback copy - but, in hindsight, that may have been a library hardback edition.

Certainly one of the most influential vampire anthologies, it's also not cheap to come by: some copies can sell up to $295 onwards. I was lucky enough to win this one for significantly less.