A brush with FATE

Yesterday, I received photocopies of a bunch of articles I'd ordered from popular paranormal mag, Fate. Let's take a look at my swag.

That didn't quite sound right. Anyway, I'm interested in various perspectives on vampirism. But one that particularly fascinates me (apart from folklore), is the paranormalist viewpoint.

I was able to track down several of the articles thanks to citations in Martin V. Riccardo's Vampires unearthed: the complete multi-media vampire and Dracula bibliography (1983). I can't emphasise the importance of such bibliographies to research. Without further ado, here's what I scored:

Shay, VB 1949, 'James Brown, vampire', November, p. 59.

Berger, S 1951, 'Do vampires exist?', November–December, pp. 79–82.

Dyall, V 1954, 'Vampire of Croglin Hall', April, pp. 96–104.

Hoeller, SA 1963, 'The lady was a vampire', June, pp. 57–63.

Heiman, L 1968, 'Meet the real Count Dracula', March, pp. 53–60.

Rogo, S 1968, 'Second thoughts on the vampire of Croglin Grange', June, pp. 44–8.

Rogo, S 1968, 'In-depth analysis of the vampire legend', September, pp. 70–77.

Santore, V 1977, 'The vengeful succubus', September, pp. 43–6.

Riccardo, MV 1978, 'The persistent vampire', July, pp. 74–81.

Thompson, PB 1985, 'The Highgate vampire', May, pp. 74–80.*

'Scientist says no to vampire theory' 1986, January, p. 73.

Guiley, RE 1993, 'Real vampires', February, pp. 48–60.

Riccardo, MV 1993, 'Vampires–an unearthly reality', February, pp. 61–70.

Bjorling, J, 1996, 'A walk on the dark side', February, pp. 44–7.

Karagiannis, K 1996, 'Psychic vampires', May, pp. 40–3.

Miller, C 1997, 'The vampire prioress at Robin Hood’s grave', July, pp. 42–5.

D’Agostino, T 2001, 'Rhode Island: the vampire capital of America', October, pp. 19–21.

Guiley, RE 2004, 'Vampires sorcerers and witches', November, pp. 40–7.

Belanger, M 2005, 'The lord of vampires', January, pp. 24–30.

Redfern, N 2005, 'In search of the chupacabras', January, pp. 31–7.

Wood, DJ 2007, 'Vampires and disease: the bloodsucking corpse of English tradition', December, pp. 28–34.

Wood, DJ 2008, 'The White Death of New England', January, pp. 27–33.

There's a couple which eluded me, namely, Ivor J. Brown's 'The unquiet grave of the vampire' (January 1967) and Guiley, Rosemary Ellen Guiley's 'Vampires from outer space' (2005 FATE UFO Special). The customer service rep suggested I might've cited them incorrectly**, so I'll be on the watch for those. Also, if any readers think I've missed any of Fate's vampire articles, drop me a line.

If you're interested in any of the articles, yourself, I'll warn you that they're US$5 a pop (plus postage). They gave me an exception on postage, though, on account of how many of the buggers I ordered. Very nice of 'em. Speaking of nice, their customer service was exemplary. Props goes to Christine for responding promptly and always in a cheerful and helpful manner. Brilliant. So, if you're interested in ordering any, pop over to their online store. You can buy entire issues. I was just after specific articles.

Now, some brief notes on the articles. I'm wondering if V.B. Shay's 'James Brown, vampire' (November 1949) was an inspiration for Robert Damon Schneck's The president's vampire: strange-but-true tales of the United States of America (2005). Can any readers confirm that? Haven't yet obtained a copy of the book, meself. Just curious. If I'm not mistaken, that book primarily deals with the James Brown case (no, not that one).

I've got a feeling that Valentine Dyall's 'Vampire of Croglin Hall' (April 1954) was the originator of the names of the family (Michael, Edward and Amelia Cranswell) afflicted by the Croglin vampire. After all, the family is unnamed in Augustus Hare's original recount (Story of my life, vol. 4, 1900), nor are their names mentioned in Dyall's other sources, Charles G. Harper (Haunted houses***) and Montague Summers (The vampire in Europe). The rest of Dyall's rendering seems kinda embellished, too.

The 'Scientist says no to vampire theory' (January 1986) news snippet is the earliest rebuttal I've seen of the deeply-flawed, yet popular porphyria theory. It quotes Dr. Karl Alexander, certainly a reliable source considering he served (and still serves) on the scientific advisory board of the American Porphyria Foundation.

'Psychic vampires' (May 1996) was written by the author of a popular little tome called Vampires: the occult truth (1996). It's good to see his his full name - Konstantinos Karagiannis - attached to the article, as his usual pen-name (Konstantinos) makes me think of him as the vampire world's answer to Cher.

Thomas D'Agostino's 'Rhode Island: the vampire capital of America' (October 2001) looks like it might've been a precursor to his 2010 book, A history of vampires in New England. I've got a copy, but haven't read it yet. Will it be as good as Michael E. Bell's Food for the dead: on the trail of New England's vampires (2001)? Let's say it's a mighty high benchmark.

Lastly, the two articles by (disclosure: a mate of mine) Daniel J. Wood - 'Vampires and disease: the bloodsucking corpse of English tradition' (December 2007) and 'The White Death of New England' (January 2008) - might be teasers for his book, Realm of the vampire: history and the undead (2011). It's great to see his book score wider distribution, as it was previously only available through Fate's online store. Make sure you score yourself a copy.

* Originally published in Pursuit, vol. 16, no. 3. This was the journal of the Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (SITU).

** 'Re: Enquiry from The Fatemag.com Online Store', Thursday, 4 August 2011 4:37:25 AM.

*** At least, not in the first edition (1907).

Evaluating Bane's Book List

I told a commenter that I was planning a write-up on Theresa Bane's 'Vampire research book list', so without further ado, here 'tis.

It's actually quite an interesting list, notable for the non-vampire books amidst the standard (albeit, useful) fare. Thus, we have Clifton D. Bryant's Handbook of death and dying (2 vols., 2003), Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal (first published in 1818), Moncure Daniel Conway's Demonology and devil-lore (2 vols., 1879, not '1897'), [R.E.L.] Masters' Eros and evil (1962; Bane lists a 1974 edition), Lewis Spence's Encyclopedia of occultism (first published in 1920), William Arens' The man-eating myth (1980) and Véronique Campion-Vincent's Organ theft legends (2005; translated from Légende des vols d'organes, 1997).

Bane also singles out a Hartl[e]y Burr Alexander's contribution (1917) to The mythology of all races (13 vols., 1916-32), but I'm not 100% on her citation. Might ask her to elaborate on it.

The vampire books she recommends are all sound. However, despite its title, Pëtr Bogatyrëv's Vampires in the Carpathians (1998) has practically nothing to do with vampires, except for a coupla minor mentions. Still, it'd probably be useful in providing a context for the region's folkloric beliefs.

There are a few errors on the list, apart from misspelling Bunson's 1993 book as '[The] Vampire Encycloopedia'. Claude Lecouteux's 1999 work, for instance, was not called 'History of the Vampire', but Histoire des Vampires, autopsie d’un mythe. She probably confused it with its English translation, The secret history of vampires (2010), otherwise it's a bit odd that she didn't provide an English title for Adriene Cremene's 'Mythology du Vampire en Romanine' [sic] (Mythologie du vampire en Roumanie, 1981). Incidentally, I wasn't aware that the later book was published in any language other than French ('hard to find in a language not German'), so she might have the drop on me there.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Maberry's Vampire universe was actually published in 2006, not '1996' . There also seems to be some confusion over the publication date of Ornella Volta's The vampire, which Bane lists as '1963'. Volta's book - originally titled Le vampire : la mort, le sang, la peur - was first published in 1962. To my knowledge, the earliest English translations were published by Tandem Books (London) and Award Books (New York). The latter is undated, but the former was released in 1965.

Bane includes three vampire books by Montague Summers on her list, giving all of them a valued four pound (#) sign and vaunting them as 'MUST READ[s]', even though two of them are the same book. 'The Vampire in Lore and Ledgend [sic]' aka The vampire in lore and legend, is actually Dover Publications' 2001 retitled reprint of Summers' The vampire in Europe (1929).

I don't overly mind that Bane alternately abbreviates the titles of certain books in her list, but referring to Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally's Dracula: a biography of Vlad the Impaler, 1431-1476 (1973) as 'Florescu, Radu. “Dracula: A Biography,” 1972' seems a bit too curt.

Other than the issues I've outlined here, Bane's certainly given us an interesting set of resources to work with. It's a nice 'sampler' of diverse contexts, subjects, disciplines and fields we vampire scholars can draw upon, perfectly illustrated in works like Lavery's essay for Slayage.

Online Non-Fiction Vampire Bibliographies

It's not easy coming across online listings for vampire books of a non-fiction persuasion (i.e., the ones I prefer in the vampire genre).

So thank goodness for for Vampress.net's "Non-Fiction" listing.

There's also the relatively scanty "Non Fiction Works" over at The Vampire Library and paranormal romance author, Michele Hauf, also gives listings of such books on her "Non-Fiction" page.

Her list is fairly good and current, however, I also wrote to her a while ago with some corrections:

From: Anthony Hogg
Date: Friday, 1 February 2008 4:25 PM
To: toastfaery@gmail.com
Subject: Notes on Your Non-Fiction List

Good afternoon,

Firstly, it's great to see that you've published a list of non-fiction books, as available here: http://www.michelerhauf.com/vampnon.html

However, I noticed serveral errors on the list, that bear correcting.

They are:

"Conru, Kevin - VAMPIRES: A BLOODTHIRSTY HISTORY IN ART AND LITERATURE - Astrolog Pub. House - 8/03"
The actual author is listed as Diana Phillips-Summers.

"Dickie, James - THE UNDEAD - Pocket Books - 1976"
A collection of short vampire sorts, not a non-fiction book about vampires.

"Hetherington, Grant - EVOLUTION OF THE VAMPIRE - Xlibris Corp. - 7/98"
Deceptive title. It's a work of fiction. See plot synopsis on the Amazon link.

"Jerome, Joseph - MONTAGUE SUMMERS: A MEMOIRE - 1965"
Memoir.

"Johnson, VW - DHAMPIR: CHILD OF THE BLOOD - Mystic Rose Books - 1996 (fiction?)"
Yup. Fiction.

"London, Sandra - VAMPIRES OF TRUE CRIME - Feral House - 10/03"
Proper title: True Vampires: Blood-Sucking Killers Past and Present.

"Lovell, Marc - AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EXISTENCE OF VAMPIRES - Doubleday - 1974 re: Vampire in The Shadows - Coronet Books '74 (fiction?)"
Great title, shame it's only a novel. It is mentioned - with a brief plot synopsis - here: http://www.simegen.com/reviews/vampires/gravedig.htm

"VAMPIRE BOOK: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNDEAD - Visible Ink Press - 1994re: 2nd Edition 11/03"
The 2nd edition was actually published in 1998. Or 1999. I'm still not 100% which. The 2003 version, however, is a reprint.

"Perkowski, Jan L. - THE DARKLING: VAMPIRES OF THE SLAVS - Slavica Publishers - 1976"
I think you've gotten mixed up with his 1989 book, which is called The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism. His 1976 book, however, is simply called Vampires of the Slavs.

"DRACULA: ESSAYS ON THE LIFE AND TIMES OF VLAF TEPES - East European Studies #323 - 1991"
I think you mean Vlad!

"Walker, John Edward - THE ORIGIN OF THE VAMPIRE: HOW IT ALL STARTED - Dorrance Pub. Co. - 1/99"
I, too, have been decieved by the book's title before. It's actually a work of fiction. Check out its description on the Amazon link you provided.

"STAGE BLOOD: VAMPIRES OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY STAGE"
This book was written in 1994, and is by Roxana Stuart, not Dudley Wright.

"Yougston, Keanne Keyes"
Should be Youngson, not Youngston.

All that said, your list provided me with a serious of interesting sources I've never come across before. So, I appreciate that.

Sinc.,
Anthony Hogg

Remember to be vigilant, folks!

A Note on Bad Captions

I know it seems much ado about nothing, but I'm delving into this matter further. But the way I see it, it's the bricks that make the house.

In the previous installment of this saga, I talked about a seeming discrepancy regarding a caption for a picture found in Christopher Frayling's Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula (London: Faber and Faber, 1992).

The book that seems to have inspired its inclusion in Frayling's book, was Ornella Volta's French book, Le Vampire: La Mort, le Sang, la Peur (Paris: Jean-Jaques Pauvert Éditeur, 1962). I also quoted Frayling's "Bibliography and Acknowledgments" to this effect.

However, some eagle-eyed readers might have noticed that the quote that I gave seems to refer to an Italian edition:

On the erotic angle, Ornella Volta's Il Vampiro (1962) is interesting (if a little strange at times) and has some extraordinary illustrations (p. 424)

There was an Italian edition by this name. However, it wasn't published until 1964. See: "Il Vampiro", Il Catafalco - L'avello dei vampiri.

This leaves us with two possibilities: either Frayling got the date of the book wrong or he got the name of the book wrong. Unfortunately, we have little to go on, because Frayling's "Bibliography..." is surprisingly bereft of bibliographic detail. I'm reminded of the atrocious (though not to put Frayling in the same league) bibliography featured in Dudley Wright's famous work, Vampires and Vampirism (1914; 2nd edn. 1924).

Even Montague Summers was moved to comment on it in his "Introduction" to The Vampire: His Kith and Kin (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., 1928):

In the Bibliography we have such entries as "Leo Allatius," "Encyclopaedia Britannica" ; "Frazer's Golden Bough," "Nider's Formicarius," "Phlegon's Fragments," "William of Newbury," all of which are not merely unscholarly and slovenly, but entirely useless from the point of view of reference. (p. xii)

Couldn't agree more.

That said, Frayling's book (and yes, his Bibliography too) certainly make a compelling read. In fact, it might even surprise you to know that it's one of my favourite works on vampires.

That doesn't mean it should be spared from criticism, of course. Indeed, Frayling has no qualms dishing it out himself in the same book:

On vampirism in general Montague Summers's two books, The Vampire: His Kith and Kin (1928) and The Vampire in Europe (1929), and Dudley Wright's Vampires and Vampires (1914) are unreliable and have for too long been treated as gospel. (p. 424)

This fuss about captions also has a deeper undercurrent.

You see, finding 18th century images depicting vampires is quite a difficult task. In fact, I haven't been able to find any such image, thus far. It's possible that vampires were never depicted in that era, via illustration.

Therefore, it's a blight on academic pursuits into the field to misrepresent pictures in such a way.