End of an era

After more than three years and 276 posts (including this one), I've decided to call it a day. This is the last entry for Diary of an amateur vampirologist.

Sudden, I know, but it's been on my mind for a while. It's been a good run, but I feel it's time to move on. I'm proud of what I've achieved with it. I'm proud of the readership and followers I've accrued since kicking it off. You guys honour me with your presence.

I've had the privledge of contributing guest blogs, elsewhere. One for Reading with bite; two for VampChix (this one and this one). Niels mentioned my blog in a paper he presented to the 2009 Vienna vampire conference. Considering the influence he's had on my online writings, not to mention the respect I hold his work, that was incredibly flattering.

Another incredible honour, was the blog's inclusion on Carrie Carolin's 'Best of the Dark Side: 13 great vampire blogs'. Even more so, as we had never been acquainted before!

While writing thing thing, I also joined a vampire 'club' for the first time: the Transylvanian Society of Dracula (I'm still a member). The first article I've ever had published (in print form), was for their newsletter, The Borgo Post.

How about a round for my 'Q & A' participants? Niels K. Petersen, Martin V. Riccardo, Bruce A. McClelland and Thomas J. Garza. They were all great. I didn't know what to expect from their answers, but each and everyone was insightful, open and interesting. Great work, guys!

I've also enjoyed the interaction with my commentators. Our 'discussions' often prompted elaboration and exploration via blog entries. Erwin tipped me off on the source of a so-called 'vampire' picture; I consoled Angela Cameron, after she felt the vampire thing was 'overdone'; I vindicated Elizabeth Miller; and Jonathan forced me to re-examine my conclusions on Peter Haining's source for the nosferatu.

Meanwhile, bshistorian triggered a search for the 'first' vampire and another one for the vampire of Croglin Grange. In doing so, I discovered a coupla pre-Hare sources. I also dealt with a commentator who was kinda pissed off in the way I 'dismissed' Theresa Bane's Actual factual, Dracula: a compendium of vampires (2007). Bane, herself, wasn't too pleased, either. Understandable, but I had my reasons. That said, I certainly respect her work. On a lighter note, Fra Moretta directed my attention to a modern manifestation of the vampire belief.

It's also been interesting seeing what draws readers to this blog. I had no idea my discussion on so-called antique vampire killing kits would be so popular. Honestly. I'd also like to think those who've found my writings on the FVZA, specifically their fake books, have now 'seen the light'. Rest assured, it's not a factual resource, guys.

A lot of others have been lured to the revelation that Johann Ludwig Tieck wasn't the author of 'Wake not the dead', despite popular attribution. I was surprised to find that out, too. Oh, and I'm still amused that others are drawn here by, well, searches for explicit entertainment relating to a certain, popular saga. You know the one.

Well, all good things, as they say, must come to an end. Here's the final stop. Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for reading, for commenting and participating on this blog. I've learned that having your own blog's a great networker, scores you free merch (thanks again, Justin!)—and a lotta spam and requests to review things—as well as great interaction via comments. Ok, not all comments (I'm looking at you, Melody!), but most.

For those worried about all this stuff 'disappearing': don't. I'm not shutting this blog down, but I am closing off comments. You can still wend your way through the goodies inside, but there'll be no more entries here.

I hope you've been enlightened, entertained and, most importantly, inspired in your quest to 'get' vampires. I've pointed you in some pretty good directions, and they've been pointed right back at me! I also hope you'll see that studying the undead doesn't need to be a stuffy pursuit. It can be fun! This is Anthony Hogg, amateur vampirologist, signing off.

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But not for good...

The Year That Was, Pt. 1

The year's drawing to a close. What better opportunity for a retrospective! Time to review what went down on this in 2010. Cue excess linkage!


I began the year complaining about a slow delivery from the Canadian postal service. As it happens, I'm currently awaiting the arrival of a package from there. It was sent in mid-October, so I guess we've come full circle there.

I've given some decent coverage to the Twilight phenomena this year, but no post specifically on the subject drew as much attention as this. In fact, it was my 10th post popular post overall.

I began Q & A this year. My first interviewee was Niels K. Petersen. He was followed by Martin V. Riccardo and Bruce A. McClelland.

A Brian Solomon post served as a wake-up call and inspired my own rant on blogging ethics.

My third most popular post dealt with fake vampire books, namely Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Vampire or Vesalius' Five Books on the Structure of the Vampire Body. They're inventions of the FVZA. Yet, just like the Necronomicon, some people think they're real. I caught reference to one in Vlad III's Wikipedia entry, and allusions to 'em occur in a non-fictional work: Theresa Cheung's The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires (2009). Who knows where else they'll turn up.

The most popular post, however, concerned the mistaken authorship of a famous vampire story, "Wake Not the Dead". You probably thought it was written by Johann Ludwig Tieck. No surprises there, as that's who it's usually attributed to.

My coverage of the Ojai Vampire scored a few hits. I first read about that case in Rosemary Ellen Guiley's The Complete Vampire Companion (1994). I did a li'l more digging by contacting the Ventura County Parks Department. Here's what they said.

In the midst of that, I gave tips on how to be a vampirologist in my contribution to Michele Hauf's VampChix.

Justin Blair, one of the directors of Across the Forest (2009), kindly sent me a copy of his documentary for review. I was suitably impressed. It wasn't perfect, but a pretty damn good job overall.

I shined a light on a few relatively obscure vampire cases, namely the Gorbals Vampire, Sarah Ellen Roberts and the Birmingham Vampire. Incidentally, the latter post was this blog's 6th most popular.

After reading Andrew's review of Mystery and Imagination: Dracula (1968), I spotted a familiar rendering amidst the screencaps. Speaking of Dracula, I also reviewed a biography written by Stoker's great-nephew.

As the remake (oh, sorry, "reboot") train rolled on this year, I glanced through the casting choices for the upcoming reboot of one of my favourite vampire movies.

Then, after some prompting by one of Theresa Bane's posts, I imagined a world without Dracula.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this blog entry. In the meantime, I wish everyone a safe and happy new year! Thanks for joining me and I look forward to your company in 2011.

I'll leave you with a couple of treats. Firstly, I came across coverage of an interesting beauty pageant from 1970. Second, while it's a bit late to even think of attempting it, here's Jack Baker's "Steal the Show at the Vampire New Year Party". Just goes to show there's vampire-related everything.

New Years' Wishes

Wishing all my readers a safe and joyous New Year as we move on from the Noughties and into...the Noughteens!

Thanks for your comments, contributions and correspondence. As I've said before, couldn't do it without ya!

And remember kids, if you're gonna have a night out on the tiles, drink responsibly.