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A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture: Love at First Bite
Our enduring love of vampires - the bad boys (and girls) of paranormal fantasy - has persisted for centuries. Despite being bloodthirsty, heartless killers, vampire stories commonly carry erotic overtones that are missing from other paranormal or horror stories.
Even when monstrous teeth are sinking into pale, helpless throats - especially then - vampires are sexy. But why? In A History Of The Vampire In Popular Culture, author Violet Fenn takes the reader through the history of vampires in 'fact' and fiction, their origins in mythology and literature and their enduring appeal on tv and film. We'll delve into the sexuality - and sexism - of vampire lore, as well as how modern audiences still hunger for a pair of sharp fangs in the middle of the night.
Even when monstrous teeth are sinking into pale, helpless throats - especially then - vampires are sexy. But why? In A History Of The Vampire In Popular Culture, author Violet Fenn takes the reader through the history of vampires in 'fact' and fiction, their origins in mythology and literature and their enduring appeal on tv and film. We'll delve into the sexuality - and sexism - of vampire lore, as well as how modern audiences still hunger for a pair of sharp fangs in the middle of the night.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 2021
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January 25, 2024
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A HISTORY OF THE VAMPIRE IN POPULAR CULTURE is a beautifully chaotic mess that deep-dives into the vampire mythos, tying it to actual science (rare diseases and processes of decomposition that "mimic" vampirism), goth culture, queer culture, and even actual historical figures who were slandered posthumously (most notably and infamously, Elizabeth Bathory). This is also an analysis of pop-cultural phenomena, starting from the gothic lit of the early Victorian era and ending with modern-day Dracula movies.
I thought this was wonderfully fun. The interviews with famous goths about their thoughts on vampires was quite entertaining-- she actually managed to track down and interview one of Bram Stoker's living relatives! Is it cohesive? No, but the wandering narrative is part of its charm. So many times while reading this, I found myself taking notes and thinking that Fenn seemed like the type of person that I would just love to be friends with. It was especially fun seeing vampires being discussed from the Gen-X goth lens, since vampires are goth in every sense of the word.
I'm a little surprised that she didn't bring up Fright Night (either of them) or Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, though. I feel like Fright Night marries the horror and sex elements of the vampire quite nicely (well, in the original), and I think it's an even better vampire movie than Lost Boys. Likewise, Chelsea Quinn Yabro's St. Germain is a long-suffering, good-hearted vampire, who kind of feels like a direct response to the flamboyant deviancies of Lestat. They were contemporaries, too, and-- I imagine-- just as crucial in shaping vampires as mainstream, romantic figures. I definitely felt like there was a Dracula bias in this book, because it seemed like this author was curating vampires based on what she enjoyed, and while that's fine, people who are hoping for a more broad and impartial scope may be disappointed.
Overall, though, this was amazing. I'll definitely be keeping this for reference. :F
4 to 4.5 stars
May 1, 2021
Violet Fenn’s A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture: Love at First Bite is a convoluted and disorganized book. Some of the history is interesting but the book lacks depth and cohesion, the writing is repetitive, and it’s ultimately quite boring.
This book examines the history of vampires in “real life” as well as popular media. Fenn includes some folklore and vampire history from around the world. We learn about vampiric incidents in 1700s Serbia as well as the “vampire panic” incidents in nineteenth century New England. Fenn also highlights the usual suspects like Dracula, Carmilla, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. However, there are lesser-known media like Poppy Z. Brite’s book Lost Souls and new TV shows like BBC’s Dracula and True Blood. The book also includes interviews with people associated with vampire culture.
I love vampires and I was really looking forward to this but I was very disappointed. I did enjoy reading about some of the global folklore but the book really missed the mark for me. The chapters lack organization and coherency. Fenn’s writing is repetitive, dry, and unengaging. Moreover, a lot of the analysis is very superficial. There is too much summarizing and not enough analysis. References would be made to things and simply dropped without any obvious relevance. Fenn would also keep returning to certain things that were already mentioned in earlier chapters.
I also think that the media featured is too limited. There are countless vampire movies, TV shows, and books out there. This would have been a great opportunity for greater analysis of some of the lesser known or cult favorite media. Instead, Fenn constantly returns to Twilight (although she hated it), and BBC’s Dracula as well as Francis Ford Coppola’s version of Dracula. But, I do appreciate the short chronology of vampire history as well as the bibliography and filmography.
The interviews don’t really fit. I struggled to see how several of them connected with the theme. I wish Fenn had interviewed some more relevant subjects, asked some more interesting questions, or simply didn’t include any interviews at all. However, I did enjoy the interview with Dacre Stoker, the great grandnephew of Bram Stoker.
A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture doesn’t really offer anything new nor is it well-written enough to be an entertaining read. If you’re brand-new to vampire history, you could give this a skim. Otherwise, I really do not recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for this book in exchange for an honest review.
🧛 ½ vampires out of 5!
This book examines the history of vampires in “real life” as well as popular media. Fenn includes some folklore and vampire history from around the world. We learn about vampiric incidents in 1700s Serbia as well as the “vampire panic” incidents in nineteenth century New England. Fenn also highlights the usual suspects like Dracula, Carmilla, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. However, there are lesser-known media like Poppy Z. Brite’s book Lost Souls and new TV shows like BBC’s Dracula and True Blood. The book also includes interviews with people associated with vampire culture.
I love vampires and I was really looking forward to this but I was very disappointed. I did enjoy reading about some of the global folklore but the book really missed the mark for me. The chapters lack organization and coherency. Fenn’s writing is repetitive, dry, and unengaging. Moreover, a lot of the analysis is very superficial. There is too much summarizing and not enough analysis. References would be made to things and simply dropped without any obvious relevance. Fenn would also keep returning to certain things that were already mentioned in earlier chapters.
I also think that the media featured is too limited. There are countless vampire movies, TV shows, and books out there. This would have been a great opportunity for greater analysis of some of the lesser known or cult favorite media. Instead, Fenn constantly returns to Twilight (although she hated it), and BBC’s Dracula as well as Francis Ford Coppola’s version of Dracula. But, I do appreciate the short chronology of vampire history as well as the bibliography and filmography.
The interviews don’t really fit. I struggled to see how several of them connected with the theme. I wish Fenn had interviewed some more relevant subjects, asked some more interesting questions, or simply didn’t include any interviews at all. However, I did enjoy the interview with Dacre Stoker, the great grandnephew of Bram Stoker.
A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture doesn’t really offer anything new nor is it well-written enough to be an entertaining read. If you’re brand-new to vampire history, you could give this a skim. Otherwise, I really do not recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for this book in exchange for an honest review.
🧛 ½ vampires out of 5!
November 8, 2022
This is not so much A History of the Vampire In Popular Culture as a History of Some Vampires In Popular Culture and a bit of a history of Goth culture too. I wonder if it started out as the former, as whilst there are some good historical bits about the birth of pop culture vampires here, there is also a lot of Goth. I am not sure an interview with Wayne Hussey of The Mission is essential in a book about vampires at all but to have that there and no discussion of say, Near Dark, or any mention of Blacula feels weird.
In the intro Violet Fenn tells us a few things. Firstly the book will not be exhaustive, and any book like this will have to be selective. Secondly that she is a goth from the West Midlands and has been so inclined since her teenage years (that being Sisters Of Mercy, Mission wave of Goth, she is now fifty because even if not undead we are all living too long). And so her key vampires are Christopher Lee's Dracula, Gary Oldman and then a bit of Buffy through to the Gatiss/Moffatt Dracula. She doesn't like Twilight. She spends far too much time talking about Twilight. And whilst the book touches on all the main themes you would expect when talking about vampires (eroticism, immortality, transgressive sex), I do think the concentration on things you could have easily consumed in Britain in the 21st century misses a lot. So by all means include the vampire in Being Human, but what does a vampire represent when he is living with a werewolf and a ghost? You can suggest vampires don't work in comedy because Leslie Neilsen in Dracula Dead And Loving It was lousy, but does that cover the times Bela Lugosi played it for laughs? Talk about eroticism, particularly touch on The Hunger, but where is the denuded bondage of Underworld? In the end even when she makes another good point to continually return to the same examples - particularly the 2019 BBC Dracula - feels slapdash.
This is a pity because there is little wrong with many of the arguments, and this is not an academic piece so perhaps just a cursory survey of the vampire stuff you have probably seen is probably good enough. And with the exception of Let The Right One In, every example cited here is in English. So while it's a solid read, it left me wanting a lot more, not least to re-title it to A History Of Goth And Some Vampires In English, Mainly From The Last Forty Years.
In the intro Violet Fenn tells us a few things. Firstly the book will not be exhaustive, and any book like this will have to be selective. Secondly that she is a goth from the West Midlands and has been so inclined since her teenage years (that being Sisters Of Mercy, Mission wave of Goth, she is now fifty because even if not undead we are all living too long). And so her key vampires are Christopher Lee's Dracula, Gary Oldman and then a bit of Buffy through to the Gatiss/Moffatt Dracula. She doesn't like Twilight. She spends far too much time talking about Twilight. And whilst the book touches on all the main themes you would expect when talking about vampires (eroticism, immortality, transgressive sex), I do think the concentration on things you could have easily consumed in Britain in the 21st century misses a lot. So by all means include the vampire in Being Human, but what does a vampire represent when he is living with a werewolf and a ghost? You can suggest vampires don't work in comedy because Leslie Neilsen in Dracula Dead And Loving It was lousy, but does that cover the times Bela Lugosi played it for laughs? Talk about eroticism, particularly touch on The Hunger, but where is the denuded bondage of Underworld? In the end even when she makes another good point to continually return to the same examples - particularly the 2019 BBC Dracula - feels slapdash.
This is a pity because there is little wrong with many of the arguments, and this is not an academic piece so perhaps just a cursory survey of the vampire stuff you have probably seen is probably good enough. And with the exception of Let The Right One In, every example cited here is in English. So while it's a solid read, it left me wanting a lot more, not least to re-title it to A History Of Goth And Some Vampires In English, Mainly From The Last Forty Years.
March 12, 2021
An interesting look at vampires throughout popular culture, but this just wasn’t up my alley, a bit due to the repetitive summary-laden nature of much of it, but also because I do tend to be most interested in the original folkloric and literary vampire culture–not so much the mid-20th century onwards stuff.
Fenn does state in her introduction that this book is intended to be a more casual, fan-based look at vampires and how they manifest in pop culture throughout time. She splits her chapters up into the themes/tropes surrounding vampires–their general mystery of them, immortality, forbidden sexuality, wealth–and gives examples, usually chronologically, of how vampire characters in various mediums have met these tropes. Unsurprisingly, most of these examples are more modern movies or tv shows, so I was not familiar with many of them, and while Fenn summarizes the scenes or characters in question well, she almost OVER-summarizes them, while still not making me very interested in reading more about it. It is a difficult thing to find unique interpretations for multiple types of media when, even with their variations, they’re still using the same exact trope. The analyses given are decent, if mainly more fan-based than academic, but since I wasn’t terribly interested in the media used as examples, nor was the book written in a way to captivate me into being interested in them, I just ended up skimming after the first few chapters. The chapters are also overly-long and never really conclude, and tie together with a chapter thesis, so the focus despite the chapter themes, seemed lacking.
If you are more inclined to enjoy more modern interpretations of vampires and their lore, by all means, you will likely find this MUCH more interesting than I did. It just didn’t have enough traditional myth and history in it…. which I suppose I should have gleaned from the title, those aren’t exactly the “popular” culture any more, however much they may have shaped it.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to review!
(Cross posted on my blog.)
Fenn does state in her introduction that this book is intended to be a more casual, fan-based look at vampires and how they manifest in pop culture throughout time. She splits her chapters up into the themes/tropes surrounding vampires–their general mystery of them, immortality, forbidden sexuality, wealth–and gives examples, usually chronologically, of how vampire characters in various mediums have met these tropes. Unsurprisingly, most of these examples are more modern movies or tv shows, so I was not familiar with many of them, and while Fenn summarizes the scenes or characters in question well, she almost OVER-summarizes them, while still not making me very interested in reading more about it. It is a difficult thing to find unique interpretations for multiple types of media when, even with their variations, they’re still using the same exact trope. The analyses given are decent, if mainly more fan-based than academic, but since I wasn’t terribly interested in the media used as examples, nor was the book written in a way to captivate me into being interested in them, I just ended up skimming after the first few chapters. The chapters are also overly-long and never really conclude, and tie together with a chapter thesis, so the focus despite the chapter themes, seemed lacking.
If you are more inclined to enjoy more modern interpretations of vampires and their lore, by all means, you will likely find this MUCH more interesting than I did. It just didn’t have enough traditional myth and history in it…. which I suppose I should have gleaned from the title, those aren’t exactly the “popular” culture any more, however much they may have shaped it.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to review!
(Cross posted on my blog.)
March 8, 2021
I did not enjoy reading "A history of the Vampire in Popular Culture" and I almost DNFed it.
I did like the beginning when the author dove into the history of Vampires from different countries, myths and legends. When we're getting into the pop culture references, there's a lot of info dumping happening and not much new or groundbreaking information and I didn't see the point the author wanted to make. Those chapters felt all over the place and I'd have preferred to go through less examples, but dive deeper into the subject.
Unfortunately not my cup of tea, but I can see other readers enjoying this more than I did.
Thank you Netgalley for granting a wish in exchange for an honest review.
I did like the beginning when the author dove into the history of Vampires from different countries, myths and legends. When we're getting into the pop culture references, there's a lot of info dumping happening and not much new or groundbreaking information and I didn't see the point the author wanted to make. Those chapters felt all over the place and I'd have preferred to go through less examples, but dive deeper into the subject.
Unfortunately not my cup of tea, but I can see other readers enjoying this more than I did.
Thank you Netgalley for granting a wish in exchange for an honest review.
April 28, 2021
Looking through A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture‘s Goodreads reviews, it’s apparent that it’s the bookish equivalent of Marmite. People either seem to love it, or they hate it. I’m very much in the former camp and I actually think a lot of the criticism that has been levelled at this book is unfair. The criticism largely boils down to the fact that Violet Fenn didn’t mention this book or that movie. Violet openly admits in the book’s introduction that the pop culture vampires that she discusses are her personal favourites. For people to be peeved because she hasn’t mentioned their personal favourites seems a bit petty, to be honest.
I’ve heard many a vampire story over the years – from the tragic case of Mercy Brown and her family to Glasgow’s Gorbals vampire – but I still learned a hell of a lot from this book. For example, like many, I assumed that the iron cages placed over graves in days of old was to keep those pesky corpses in the ground. Thanks to A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture, I learned that it was actually to protect them from would-be grave robbers.
What I really liked about this book is the fact that it’s in no way a chore to read. I don’t often read non-fiction and it’s mostly down to the fact that I find a lot of non-fiction books are dry and slow-paced and rarely hold my interest for more than a chapter or two. This isn’t the case with A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture, though. It’s an easy-going, engaging read and one that I found difficult to put down, something which doesn’t happen all too often.
My only issue with the book is the fact that there are some errors in it. The Lost Boys‘ Star is referred to as Sky, and although Violet talks about the Gorbals vampire incident at Glasgow’s Southern Necropolis, the photos used are of the city’s other Necropolis (I live in Glasgow and have visited both).
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to all my fellow vampire lovers!
I’ve heard many a vampire story over the years – from the tragic case of Mercy Brown and her family to Glasgow’s Gorbals vampire – but I still learned a hell of a lot from this book. For example, like many, I assumed that the iron cages placed over graves in days of old was to keep those pesky corpses in the ground. Thanks to A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture, I learned that it was actually to protect them from would-be grave robbers.
What I really liked about this book is the fact that it’s in no way a chore to read. I don’t often read non-fiction and it’s mostly down to the fact that I find a lot of non-fiction books are dry and slow-paced and rarely hold my interest for more than a chapter or two. This isn’t the case with A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture, though. It’s an easy-going, engaging read and one that I found difficult to put down, something which doesn’t happen all too often.
My only issue with the book is the fact that there are some errors in it. The Lost Boys‘ Star is referred to as Sky, and although Violet talks about the Gorbals vampire incident at Glasgow’s Southern Necropolis, the photos used are of the city’s other Necropolis (I live in Glasgow and have visited both).
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to all my fellow vampire lovers!
March 16, 2021
Dracula has been around for over 200 years (or close to 1000 if you count the stories and legends), beginning with written publications by Lord George Gordon Byron (The Giaour) and John William Polidori (The Vampyre). Through the years the vampire legends have grown and become a part of our pop culture, and many of us have embraced them and hungered for more.
Author Violet Fenn leads us on a tour through the years, recounting the earlier tales when science played little part in the things that went bump in the night, including the periods when even newspapers would report the unexplainable as fact. As civilization evolved the tales found new ways to spread, reaching out into movies, television, and song.
Some may feel that the book rambles at times, running back and forth across the centuries. With a subject like this, though, there could be so much content that the book could easily double in size. Rather than producing a bloated and potentially boring collection of chronological facts, Ms. Fenn has separated the book into different themes. Chapters titled “Dead Sexy,” “Vampire Next Door,” “Virtue and Vampires,” and “The Last Sunrise” each paint a picture and help prepare the reader for what’s coming. I liked that not only was the written word featured, but movies were touched on along with TV shows, poetry, pop songs, and comic books. Yes, comic books! The book also discusses our fascination with vampires, tastefully delving into the sexy aspect of vampires and conjecturing how close do we want to get (i.e., from holding vampires at arms-length to wondering if we want to be one?).
The back of the book contains an interesting chronology of items mentioned in the book, followed by a bibliography, a filmography, and an index. The author has also included an interesting assortment of pictures at the very end.
In the author’s own words, Dracula “…is all of us – our innermost desires and dreams and fears, pulled together and brought to life in an overwhelming mixture of terror and lust.” Ms. Fenn presents her subject with a touch of wit, sure to keep readers entertained. Four stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for a complimentary electronic copy of this book.
Author Violet Fenn leads us on a tour through the years, recounting the earlier tales when science played little part in the things that went bump in the night, including the periods when even newspapers would report the unexplainable as fact. As civilization evolved the tales found new ways to spread, reaching out into movies, television, and song.
Some may feel that the book rambles at times, running back and forth across the centuries. With a subject like this, though, there could be so much content that the book could easily double in size. Rather than producing a bloated and potentially boring collection of chronological facts, Ms. Fenn has separated the book into different themes. Chapters titled “Dead Sexy,” “Vampire Next Door,” “Virtue and Vampires,” and “The Last Sunrise” each paint a picture and help prepare the reader for what’s coming. I liked that not only was the written word featured, but movies were touched on along with TV shows, poetry, pop songs, and comic books. Yes, comic books! The book also discusses our fascination with vampires, tastefully delving into the sexy aspect of vampires and conjecturing how close do we want to get (i.e., from holding vampires at arms-length to wondering if we want to be one?).
The back of the book contains an interesting chronology of items mentioned in the book, followed by a bibliography, a filmography, and an index. The author has also included an interesting assortment of pictures at the very end.
In the author’s own words, Dracula “…is all of us – our innermost desires and dreams and fears, pulled together and brought to life in an overwhelming mixture of terror and lust.” Ms. Fenn presents her subject with a touch of wit, sure to keep readers entertained. Four stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for a complimentary electronic copy of this book.
May 4, 2021
Like the author, I have always been fascinated by vampires, so I was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, this really didn't scratch my itch. The book opens with some really interesting discussion of folklore and the history of vampiric legends. It's a bit rambling and repetitive, and lot of it has been covered before in more detail in many other books - but obviously there's not much new in vampiric history - and to be completely honest, I did learn a few things - so I'm willing to give the author a pass there. Her exuberance for her subject is obvious throughout.
I did add a few items to my to-read and to-watch lists, but unfortunately I found the popular culture part to be lacking. I know there's a lot of material to choose from, but so much has been ignored here. There's a lot of Dracula (but mainly the Francis Ford Coppola version and the BBC's 2020 version with a bit of Christopher Lee thrown in... but where's Bela Lugosi? Frank Langella?), a bit too much Twilight (especially considering the author's obvious intense dislike of the series), a lot of Carmilla, a touch of Buffy and True Blood and a lot of missed opportunities. Even Anne Rice's Louis and Lestat barely get a mention.
The end of the book is a collection of random interviews that had little to do with Vampires and far more to do with Goths. I ended up skimming most of them, with the exception being the interview with author Dacre Stoker, the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker which was quite interesting.
All in all, this isn't a terrible resource on vampires. It's pretty good, actually... but it just could have been so much better.
#AHistoryOfTheVampireInPopularCulture #VioletFenn #Vampires #Goth #NetGalley #BookReviews #Bookstagram #BookReview #Books #Bookstagrammer #Bookworm #Booklover #BooksOfInstagram #BookRecommendations #ReadersOfInstagram #BookNerd #Bookish #Bibliophile #Reading #BookReviewer #Book #BookAddict #Reader #BookLovers #Bookshelf #Goodreads #Review #BookRecommendation #BookClub #Reviews #BookReader
I did add a few items to my to-read and to-watch lists, but unfortunately I found the popular culture part to be lacking. I know there's a lot of material to choose from, but so much has been ignored here. There's a lot of Dracula (but mainly the Francis Ford Coppola version and the BBC's 2020 version with a bit of Christopher Lee thrown in... but where's Bela Lugosi? Frank Langella?), a bit too much Twilight (especially considering the author's obvious intense dislike of the series), a lot of Carmilla, a touch of Buffy and True Blood and a lot of missed opportunities. Even Anne Rice's Louis and Lestat barely get a mention.
The end of the book is a collection of random interviews that had little to do with Vampires and far more to do with Goths. I ended up skimming most of them, with the exception being the interview with author Dacre Stoker, the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker which was quite interesting.
All in all, this isn't a terrible resource on vampires. It's pretty good, actually... but it just could have been so much better.
#AHistoryOfTheVampireInPopularCulture #VioletFenn #Vampires #Goth #NetGalley #BookReviews #Bookstagram #BookReview #Books #Bookstagrammer #Bookworm #Booklover #BooksOfInstagram #BookRecommendations #ReadersOfInstagram #BookNerd #Bookish #Bibliophile #Reading #BookReviewer #Book #BookAddict #Reader #BookLovers #Bookshelf #Goodreads #Review #BookRecommendation #BookClub #Reviews #BookReader
April 20, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this romp through popular culture and the vampires role within it, particularly the up to date references to the latest BBC adaptation, which I also thoroughly enjoyed, and Fenn's entertaining opinions on the Twilight franchise (if you like this series you may want to avoid this book...). While it's clearly not a comprehensive history or an academic one, Fenn's writing style is easy going and a joy to read, portraying her passion and enthusiasm for the subject in such a way that you can't help but get swept along with her. The chapters cover certain aspects of vampire lore, from their origins and the drive for blood to immortality, sexuality, and the vampire next door, so its not a chronological history either but this makes for a more relaxed and 'chatty' feel rather than a dry run through the facts. I also quite liked some of the interpretations and views Fenn has on some of the more common books and movies within the vampire genre, some of which have given me a new perspective on my go to vampire options, which is always a good thing in my opinion (you can only read Dracula so many times...probably).
March 8, 2021
Fairly interesting, but badly hampered by the lack of organization - each chapter had a loose theme, but the information presented wasn't necessarily chronological, and often, the theme became vague by the end of the chapter. The final timeline at the end was more helpful in setting out the history of vampires in popular culture than the rest of the book! That said, I still enjoyed this, and anyone with a passing interest in vampires or gothic culture in general would likely enjoy it as well.
March 31, 2021
trigger warning
In this book, the author explores the history of vampires starting by myths and then going into detail about media that contains them, exploring different themes that come up time and time again.
Though this book has a very long appendix, there are no footnotes. I am not sure why. It would have improves this book greatly.
If you're looking for further vampire media suggestions, this is a great book and it's possible to jump over the synopsis and more detailed analysis of something if you've still got it on your list. I didn't read the passages about the 2020 series called Dracula, because I haven't had the opportunity to watch it yet.
I have a few problems with this, apart from the footnote question:
- in the segment about Countess Báthory, part of the argument against the myth is simple biology, namely that a literal blood bath would need many corpses for one filling and the blood would coagulate quickly, so I waited at multiple times for "humans can't drink human blood". due to a tonsil removal I have personal experience in what a human's stomach does when presented with certain quantities of human blood. it comes out very quickly. lick over a wound, lap up a few drops, maybe - but drinking? not possible. at least not if you mean with "drinking" that your body accepts it
- the only comic mention in here is Blade, and that seems to only come from the movies with Wesley Snipes. While the author says in the intro they won't mention every vampire story and that there is no special reasoning behind who's in and who's not, if you take out whole groups of media like graphic novel or video games, you should state it at the beginning.
After two books by this author: Will not read more by this author. Ever.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
In this book, the author explores the history of vampires starting by myths and then going into detail about media that contains them, exploring different themes that come up time and time again.
Though this book has a very long appendix, there are no footnotes. I am not sure why. It would have improves this book greatly.
If you're looking for further vampire media suggestions, this is a great book and it's possible to jump over the synopsis and more detailed analysis of something if you've still got it on your list. I didn't read the passages about the 2020 series called Dracula, because I haven't had the opportunity to watch it yet.
I have a few problems with this, apart from the footnote question:
- in the segment about Countess Báthory, part of the argument against the myth is simple biology, namely that a literal blood bath would need many corpses for one filling and the blood would coagulate quickly, so I waited at multiple times for "humans can't drink human blood". due to a tonsil removal I have personal experience in what a human's stomach does when presented with certain quantities of human blood. it comes out very quickly. lick over a wound, lap up a few drops, maybe - but drinking? not possible. at least not if you mean with "drinking" that your body accepts it
- the only comic mention in here is Blade, and that seems to only come from the movies with Wesley Snipes. While the author says in the intro they won't mention every vampire story and that there is no special reasoning behind who's in and who's not, if you take out whole groups of media like graphic novel or video games, you should state it at the beginning.
After two books by this author: Will not read more by this author. Ever.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
February 27, 2021
I love vampires and am always tempted by any book featuring them, whether fiction or non-fiction, so naturally I was quick to request a copy of A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture when I saw it on NetGalley. First, the pros. This book was only written recently, so it includes many up-to-date references, such as the recent BBC production of Dracula, which are not included in similar but older works. Also, Fenn's enthusiasm for the topic definitely shows through in her writing, which is lovely. Finally, I appreciated her comments early in the book regarding that fact that a lot comes down to personal opinion, and some of her favourite representations might not be the same as her readers' choices. Unfortunately, overall this book did not thrill me. Despite the new references, there was really nothing here that hasn't already been discussed in other works of the same ilk, so I struggled to see what value it brought/what the need for it was. I also spotted several factual errors when Fenn was discussing plot points in a couple of the books she referenced, and those irked me. Those errors aside, there is nothing 'wrong' with this work, and those coming to it with no prior experience of such texts will doubtless find something to enjoy in it. But if, like me, you've read several similar books in the past, there is not a great deal in this one to set it above the others as it covers all the usual points with nothing majorly new to say. For me it's a 2.5-star read, but I will round up to a 3 rather than down to a 2 because, as I said, it's not a bad work in and of itself if you are new to the topic.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 5, 2021
Netgalley Review #4
- A History Of Vampires In Populair Culture: Love At First Bite
"Release Date: March 31st 2021"
I have been a big fan of Vampires for years and some of my favourite movies include such classic vampires like Dracula, Lesat, Martin and of cause can't forget Edward? Or let's take the other media TV Series we have great Vampires like Barnabas, Angel, Spike, Nick Knight, Mick ST John. Seems everywhere you look there is a new Vampire movie or TV series being made.
So based on that and the fact that two years ago I did a horror marathon and watched 98 horror films and 65 of them happened to be based on Vampires while 30 of them were Dracula I knew I had to read this book.
I was not disappointed from the first page right too the last one I was interested in and invested this book. I even learnt stuff I didnt know like how vampires came to be the the history behind them (I never had dug that far back before) I was also really pleased to see Carmilla was mentioned in here too.
If you love vampires then this is a no brainer GET THIS BOOK you will not regreat it at all and if you already know everytdidn'tthere is aboutinspiress then still read this book you may learn somthing you didnt know even so its still an enjoyable read regardless.
"I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review"
- A History Of Vampires In Populair Culture: Love At First Bite
"Release Date: March 31st 2021"
I have been a big fan of Vampires for years and some of my favourite movies include such classic vampires like Dracula, Lesat, Martin and of cause can't forget Edward? Or let's take the other media TV Series we have great Vampires like Barnabas, Angel, Spike, Nick Knight, Mick ST John. Seems everywhere you look there is a new Vampire movie or TV series being made.
So based on that and the fact that two years ago I did a horror marathon and watched 98 horror films and 65 of them happened to be based on Vampires while 30 of them were Dracula I knew I had to read this book.
I was not disappointed from the first page right too the last one I was interested in and invested this book. I even learnt stuff I didnt know like how vampires came to be the the history behind them (I never had dug that far back before) I was also really pleased to see Carmilla was mentioned in here too.
If you love vampires then this is a no brainer GET THIS BOOK you will not regreat it at all and if you already know everytdidn'tthere is aboutinspiress then still read this book you may learn somthing you didnt know even so its still an enjoyable read regardless.
"I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review"
March 18, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
The subject matter of this book is absolutely in my wheelhouse, so you can imagine how excited I was to read this. And how sad I am to give it such a low score. Firstly, it needs major editing. There are run-on sentences galore, dependent clauses modifying subjects incorrectly, and the occasional odd word choice. The author also names Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley as Godstone. Not once, but multiple times. Was this an instance of bad auto correcting? As for the history, most of it is already old hat to anyone interested in vampires and goth subculture. Very little new info is to be found. The discussion of different vampire media is choppy and reads more like a hackneyed encyclopedia of movie summaries with some thoughts in why humans love vampires so much. There are random, sometimes snarky parenthetical asides that offer little to the discussion. I feel as though I just read a paper by a moderately clever fifteen year-old, not a fifty year-old author. The best part, the most relevant to our interests, was the final interview chapter with different, relevant people, either involved in the goth lifestyle or involved in pertinent media. I think the author interviewed Dacre Stoker, but somehow forget to inform the reader when the voice of the interviewee abruptly changed. This needs heavy editing before its published.
The subject matter of this book is absolutely in my wheelhouse, so you can imagine how excited I was to read this. And how sad I am to give it such a low score. Firstly, it needs major editing. There are run-on sentences galore, dependent clauses modifying subjects incorrectly, and the occasional odd word choice. The author also names Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley as Godstone. Not once, but multiple times. Was this an instance of bad auto correcting? As for the history, most of it is already old hat to anyone interested in vampires and goth subculture. Very little new info is to be found. The discussion of different vampire media is choppy and reads more like a hackneyed encyclopedia of movie summaries with some thoughts in why humans love vampires so much. There are random, sometimes snarky parenthetical asides that offer little to the discussion. I feel as though I just read a paper by a moderately clever fifteen year-old, not a fifty year-old author. The best part, the most relevant to our interests, was the final interview chapter with different, relevant people, either involved in the goth lifestyle or involved in pertinent media. I think the author interviewed Dacre Stoker, but somehow forget to inform the reader when the voice of the interviewee abruptly changed. This needs heavy editing before its published.
March 14, 2021
This was so up my street! I have loved Vampires ever since I was a child. I mean, who doesn't love a Vampire?
This book was brilliant! Not only did it look at some of the folklore, origins and rules about Vampires throughout the world and throughout the years. But, it also used specific popular culture references to explain various points about Vampires too. It looked at poetry, artwork, literature, films and music.
I learnt so much! Brilliantly written, and incredibly fascinating.
This book was brilliant! Not only did it look at some of the folklore, origins and rules about Vampires throughout the world and throughout the years. But, it also used specific popular culture references to explain various points about Vampires too. It looked at poetry, artwork, literature, films and music.
I learnt so much! Brilliantly written, and incredibly fascinating.
March 17, 2021
This looked like an interesting read. I enjoyed learning about how vampires have been presented throughout history, and I particularly liked learning about the different myths and superstitions that people used to have.
My one criticism is that the amount of summary for some movies or texts seemed to outweigh the analyses. Even though I wasn’t familiar with some of the movies described, I felt like there was too much summary.
My one criticism is that the amount of summary for some movies or texts seemed to outweigh the analyses. Even though I wasn’t familiar with some of the movies described, I felt like there was too much summary.
September 24, 2023
An entertaining enough account of various popular culture vampires. I would say that Violet Fenn appears to be seeking universals in what attracts us to vampires, rather than considering how our relation to and use of vampire myth, folklore, and tropes has changed over time. This results in what I would generously call a very personal analysis and ungenerously call a very shallow analysis of the vampire.
February 19, 2021
This was a very interesting book. I liked how it jumped around in vampire pop culture. It was short enough to keep me entertained while still being fun.
March 2, 2021
I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Here is my honest review.
I enjoyed some parts of this book, but as a whole it felt like a summary of anything in pop culture that featured a vampire in it. I wanted more about the historical aspects, how it has impacted people over time, and less of an omnibus of pop culture featuring vampires. The addition of the interviews in the end didn't interest me at all and took away from the flow of the book.
I enjoyed some parts of this book, but as a whole it felt like a summary of anything in pop culture that featured a vampire in it. I wanted more about the historical aspects, how it has impacted people over time, and less of an omnibus of pop culture featuring vampires. The addition of the interviews in the end didn't interest me at all and took away from the flow of the book.
Shelved as 'dnfed'
February 24, 2021Thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for providing an ARC! SO EXCITED FOR IT!
August 24, 2023
Book Review
Title: A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture: Love at First Bite by Violet Fenn
Genre: Non-Fiction, Popular Culture, Analysis
Rating: 5 Stars
I initially requested this from NetGalley or Edelweiss, possibly both, because as I reader all my life I have quite frequently succumbed to the allure of vampires in literature, in their varying forms. Thinking on this, knowing that vampires at their core are monsters who feed off others, I wondered why we are draw to creatures like vampires and werewolves and not others. What is unique about these creatures that we have developed and further a fascination with them that began centuries ago and these are just some of the questions that Violet Fenn sets out to answer within the book. However, Fenn makes it clear that this isn’t an encyclopaedia but an in-depth analysis on a fascination that has lasted centuries and seen a resurgence in the last 200 or so years.
The opening chapters looks at the historical fascination with vampires and what people believed to have been a vampire before the era of technology and medical advancements that we have now. Obviously, we know that historically things people didn’t understand because of a lack of knowledge or education were treated as demonic or something similar because during these time religious was the ruling force that people lived by. Fenn shows example of the vampire in fiction but differing in looks and personality starting with Byron, how they inspire Mary Shelley and right up to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A lot of the works she references will be know to a semi well-read reader but the significance behind them might not be and this was intriguing but I can’t wait to get to more recent trends like Twilight and see what Fenn makes of those.
Fenn then takes a left turn from literature to look at vampires wards throughout time, starting with garlic. Now, I didn’t know this is a fairly modern warn against vampires because as we understood more about the human body we connected the fact that certain things that were said to deter vampires like sulphur are found in high concentration in foods like garlic and could therefore ward off a vampiric prescence. However, things like holy water and the sign of the cross are seen to affect vampires because when vampires came to public knowledge people were widely ruled by the church. This gave rise to the idea that since vampires go against God, signs of God and faith would deter the vampire although in modern interpretation of Dracula it is widely assumed that vampires take on the fears of those they consume so those that were religious if a vampire fed from them then they would fear those symbols. In modern takes on vampires these have all but been written out because religion no longer plays a huge role in our lives as it did in the past. Fenn also looks at sunlight and actually speculates that vampires develop an actual medical condition which causes their skin to blister and burn in the sunlight which is why the come out at night but she hasn’t looked at the coffin myth, transformations or other things like that yet.
Fenn then takes another left turn delving into the psychology of the vampire with a focus on sexuality and loneliness as well as the battle for power. We can see that after those early years, vampire became highly sexualised with the rise of Dracula and she even reference both Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey here (that’s Twilight fanfiction if you didn’t know). She talks how sex, fear and power are so intertwined in some aspects that they being to overlap and entwine making it impossible to separate them from the source. However, one aspect of this that I found interesting was her discussion of the loneliness of Dracula, in most versions of the tale, the Count is seeking a companion, the version I know is Mina. He seeks to reclaim his lost love and give her eternity but in the end he can’t bring himself to do that to the woman he loves, thus giving her the power to truly kill him. In the 2020 adaptation, it goes one step further as certain characters are seen to be almost reincarnations of others or that the echoes of their other lives is in their blood and as the current body weakens and dies those older selves come to the surface. In both version, Dracula isn’t alone at the end which was the one thing he has been seeking for the entirety of the story, companionship.
The following segments on vampire morality were ones that I really enjoyed since Fenn references several different pop culture vampires. Obviously, she looks at Dracula himself whose actions are out of loneliness but she goes one step further looking at Lestat from the Vampire Chronicles who is more brutal and finds a sense of freedom in being a vampire having broken out of the mortal chains. The vampires were spend the most time with though during this section are the Cullens from Twilight. While they are vampires, they are still bound to mortal morality leading them to adopt a completely different lifestyle to other vampires and are often looked down upon for this very reason. However, they don’t see themselves are superior since they don’t try and convert others to their lifestyle or force it upon them as we can see in Breaking Dawn when many of their allies are human drinkers and are allowed to continue with this lifestyle with some obvious restrictions for hunting locations. The look at morality was interesting for me since vampires are often portrayed as being less than human aka monsters or they seem to see themselves as above humans aka Gods when neither are the case.
I really liked how Fenn looked at vampires through several different lens and through different mediums as well. She first looks at how vampires can be portrayed as monsters like in Let The Right One In but to the characters involved they aren’t monsters but saviours and that was really interesting. Fenn also looks at how vampires are portrayed in different genres from comedy with the Addams Family to children’s in Sesame Street to more fantasy and romantic in Sookie Stackhouse and Discworld. It is clear that vampires have been portrayed in different ways in different mediums based on the idea of what a vampire is from the people creating the thirst vampires. Fenn also makes sure that we understand that all of these are vampires but not in the traditional sense but it makes you question what does and doesn’t make a vampire especially when in some series like Discworld the vampire don’t even drink blood.
Fenn then dives even deeper into vampire lore as she looks at both the seduction nature and the reality of being immortal. From the view point of a mortal the prospect of immortality is alluring and seductive in some many levels and yet the reality we witness in media like Dracula, Being Human and Twilight shows us it is anything but that and yet we are still drawn to it without knowing why. From the perspective of an immortal, it does grant them certain perks like being able to acquire vast amounts of wealth and learn many skills but become tedious over time and installs a sense of fear in them. This fear of death is present in mortals too but to a lesser degree since we are aware of our mortality and the dichotomy was interesting to see.
Coming to the end of the book, Fenn takes us outside the realm of the vampire to look at goth culture and how that was influenced by the vampire myth and how that culture influenced vampires right back. The ending of speaking to different people about the culture and subcultures involving vampires was really interesting and added a hard human element to the book especially with Stoker’s relatives. Overall, I found A History of the Vampire in Pop Culture to be a great book packed with interesting information pulled from various media and sources. If you ever went through a vampire phase, are still in your vampire phase or just enjoy vampires then definitely check this book out.
Title: A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture: Love at First Bite by Violet Fenn
Genre: Non-Fiction, Popular Culture, Analysis
Rating: 5 Stars
I initially requested this from NetGalley or Edelweiss, possibly both, because as I reader all my life I have quite frequently succumbed to the allure of vampires in literature, in their varying forms. Thinking on this, knowing that vampires at their core are monsters who feed off others, I wondered why we are draw to creatures like vampires and werewolves and not others. What is unique about these creatures that we have developed and further a fascination with them that began centuries ago and these are just some of the questions that Violet Fenn sets out to answer within the book. However, Fenn makes it clear that this isn’t an encyclopaedia but an in-depth analysis on a fascination that has lasted centuries and seen a resurgence in the last 200 or so years.
The opening chapters looks at the historical fascination with vampires and what people believed to have been a vampire before the era of technology and medical advancements that we have now. Obviously, we know that historically things people didn’t understand because of a lack of knowledge or education were treated as demonic or something similar because during these time religious was the ruling force that people lived by. Fenn shows example of the vampire in fiction but differing in looks and personality starting with Byron, how they inspire Mary Shelley and right up to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A lot of the works she references will be know to a semi well-read reader but the significance behind them might not be and this was intriguing but I can’t wait to get to more recent trends like Twilight and see what Fenn makes of those.
Fenn then takes a left turn from literature to look at vampires wards throughout time, starting with garlic. Now, I didn’t know this is a fairly modern warn against vampires because as we understood more about the human body we connected the fact that certain things that were said to deter vampires like sulphur are found in high concentration in foods like garlic and could therefore ward off a vampiric prescence. However, things like holy water and the sign of the cross are seen to affect vampires because when vampires came to public knowledge people were widely ruled by the church. This gave rise to the idea that since vampires go against God, signs of God and faith would deter the vampire although in modern interpretation of Dracula it is widely assumed that vampires take on the fears of those they consume so those that were religious if a vampire fed from them then they would fear those symbols. In modern takes on vampires these have all but been written out because religion no longer plays a huge role in our lives as it did in the past. Fenn also looks at sunlight and actually speculates that vampires develop an actual medical condition which causes their skin to blister and burn in the sunlight which is why the come out at night but she hasn’t looked at the coffin myth, transformations or other things like that yet.
Fenn then takes another left turn delving into the psychology of the vampire with a focus on sexuality and loneliness as well as the battle for power. We can see that after those early years, vampire became highly sexualised with the rise of Dracula and she even reference both Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey here (that’s Twilight fanfiction if you didn’t know). She talks how sex, fear and power are so intertwined in some aspects that they being to overlap and entwine making it impossible to separate them from the source. However, one aspect of this that I found interesting was her discussion of the loneliness of Dracula, in most versions of the tale, the Count is seeking a companion, the version I know is Mina. He seeks to reclaim his lost love and give her eternity but in the end he can’t bring himself to do that to the woman he loves, thus giving her the power to truly kill him. In the 2020 adaptation, it goes one step further as certain characters are seen to be almost reincarnations of others or that the echoes of their other lives is in their blood and as the current body weakens and dies those older selves come to the surface. In both version, Dracula isn’t alone at the end which was the one thing he has been seeking for the entirety of the story, companionship.
The following segments on vampire morality were ones that I really enjoyed since Fenn references several different pop culture vampires. Obviously, she looks at Dracula himself whose actions are out of loneliness but she goes one step further looking at Lestat from the Vampire Chronicles who is more brutal and finds a sense of freedom in being a vampire having broken out of the mortal chains. The vampires were spend the most time with though during this section are the Cullens from Twilight. While they are vampires, they are still bound to mortal morality leading them to adopt a completely different lifestyle to other vampires and are often looked down upon for this very reason. However, they don’t see themselves are superior since they don’t try and convert others to their lifestyle or force it upon them as we can see in Breaking Dawn when many of their allies are human drinkers and are allowed to continue with this lifestyle with some obvious restrictions for hunting locations. The look at morality was interesting for me since vampires are often portrayed as being less than human aka monsters or they seem to see themselves as above humans aka Gods when neither are the case.
I really liked how Fenn looked at vampires through several different lens and through different mediums as well. She first looks at how vampires can be portrayed as monsters like in Let The Right One In but to the characters involved they aren’t monsters but saviours and that was really interesting. Fenn also looks at how vampires are portrayed in different genres from comedy with the Addams Family to children’s in Sesame Street to more fantasy and romantic in Sookie Stackhouse and Discworld. It is clear that vampires have been portrayed in different ways in different mediums based on the idea of what a vampire is from the people creating the thirst vampires. Fenn also makes sure that we understand that all of these are vampires but not in the traditional sense but it makes you question what does and doesn’t make a vampire especially when in some series like Discworld the vampire don’t even drink blood.
Fenn then dives even deeper into vampire lore as she looks at both the seduction nature and the reality of being immortal. From the view point of a mortal the prospect of immortality is alluring and seductive in some many levels and yet the reality we witness in media like Dracula, Being Human and Twilight shows us it is anything but that and yet we are still drawn to it without knowing why. From the perspective of an immortal, it does grant them certain perks like being able to acquire vast amounts of wealth and learn many skills but become tedious over time and installs a sense of fear in them. This fear of death is present in mortals too but to a lesser degree since we are aware of our mortality and the dichotomy was interesting to see.
Coming to the end of the book, Fenn takes us outside the realm of the vampire to look at goth culture and how that was influenced by the vampire myth and how that culture influenced vampires right back. The ending of speaking to different people about the culture and subcultures involving vampires was really interesting and added a hard human element to the book especially with Stoker’s relatives. Overall, I found A History of the Vampire in Pop Culture to be a great book packed with interesting information pulled from various media and sources. If you ever went through a vampire phase, are still in your vampire phase or just enjoy vampires then definitely check this book out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2021
A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture is a interesting new book that goes in detail of the subject matter at hand trying to inform, but not necessarily, as the author stresses, to be some sort of encyclopedia of vampires or the like. large swaths of vampire history are not present, but that’s fine as the point of the book is to look at common tropes within vampire media, and elaborate on them using examples from various TV Shows, Books, Films and even folklore.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, as the author used quite a few examples that are usually never referenced in books such as this; for example, referencing something like the popular gothic soap opera Dark Shadows is usually not something you see in books like this, despite its popularity many decades ago. Other topics included everything to Count Von Count of Sesame Street fame, as well as Twilight (shudders). While I’m not a fan at all of that franchise, I begrudgingly respect its place in popular culture.
There’s a fair bit of historical discussion here as well, including forays into various vampire themed moral panics, including a bizarre one where children were led to believe a random cemetery was home to a murdering vampire, which led to hundreds of pint-sized Van Helsings to descend on it – with the entire debacle being used as a catalyst to push comic book censorship.
I think there were a few missed opportunities here; perhaps a sequel might be in order? Most of this opinion comes from the fact that the more Romance-based vampire things (Twilight, True Blood etc) are not my cup of tea, but the author was very passionate about them and their presence in vampire history, so I can’t fault her for that (once again, its not an encyclopedia). None-the-less, this is an enjoyable read, and gave me a few thigs to jot down to read or watch in the future. The book is well-written, packed full of facts and anecdotes, even a couple of interviews. While not a perfect book, there is a lot to sink your teeth into.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, as the author used quite a few examples that are usually never referenced in books such as this; for example, referencing something like the popular gothic soap opera Dark Shadows is usually not something you see in books like this, despite its popularity many decades ago. Other topics included everything to Count Von Count of Sesame Street fame, as well as Twilight (shudders). While I’m not a fan at all of that franchise, I begrudgingly respect its place in popular culture.
There’s a fair bit of historical discussion here as well, including forays into various vampire themed moral panics, including a bizarre one where children were led to believe a random cemetery was home to a murdering vampire, which led to hundreds of pint-sized Van Helsings to descend on it – with the entire debacle being used as a catalyst to push comic book censorship.
I think there were a few missed opportunities here; perhaps a sequel might be in order? Most of this opinion comes from the fact that the more Romance-based vampire things (Twilight, True Blood etc) are not my cup of tea, but the author was very passionate about them and their presence in vampire history, so I can’t fault her for that (once again, its not an encyclopedia). None-the-less, this is an enjoyable read, and gave me a few thigs to jot down to read or watch in the future. The book is well-written, packed full of facts and anecdotes, even a couple of interviews. While not a perfect book, there is a lot to sink your teeth into.
April 14, 2021
*4.5 stars*
Detailed and wildly entertaining…
Ahh, vampires. Sexy, scary, and all things in between, if you read, watch movies or spend any time on the internet you don’t have to go far to find them. While I’ve stayed on the lighter side of these books and movies, the interpretations of what and who they are seem endless. This book gathers many of these familiar stories and interpretations together in one volume while also digging deeper into how they came to be part of the human experience. From folk legends to centuries old history, there is familiar as well as brand new material here, waiting to be explored…
I loved how this author loved this subject! She admitted her fascination with all things goth and subsequently vampires, and her enthusiasm was infectious. From surprising quotes and tidbits, to common knowledge, it was all woven together into a non-academic but in-depth dive into vampires and their impact, and depth, in pop culture (today and times gone by). There is a raft of references and I will be using that to add to my TBR and TBW lists for sure.
If you are looking for a detailed (not dry), personal (fun to read), book on this subject, I would definitely recommend this one.
*I happily reviewed this book
**Thank you to NetGalley
Detailed and wildly entertaining…
Ahh, vampires. Sexy, scary, and all things in between, if you read, watch movies or spend any time on the internet you don’t have to go far to find them. While I’ve stayed on the lighter side of these books and movies, the interpretations of what and who they are seem endless. This book gathers many of these familiar stories and interpretations together in one volume while also digging deeper into how they came to be part of the human experience. From folk legends to centuries old history, there is familiar as well as brand new material here, waiting to be explored…
I loved how this author loved this subject! She admitted her fascination with all things goth and subsequently vampires, and her enthusiasm was infectious. From surprising quotes and tidbits, to common knowledge, it was all woven together into a non-academic but in-depth dive into vampires and their impact, and depth, in pop culture (today and times gone by). There is a raft of references and I will be using that to add to my TBR and TBW lists for sure.
If you are looking for a detailed (not dry), personal (fun to read), book on this subject, I would definitely recommend this one.
*I happily reviewed this book
**Thank you to NetGalley
April 2, 2021
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book provides a comprehensive, up to date introduction to the the inclusion of vampires in media, from the early Gothic influence to Dracula (which formed the blueprint for all subsequent vampire stories) to the more modern takes, like Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and Twilight. While not exhaustive, I like how the text explores its rise in literature, then how said literature influenced film and television, whether in the form of adaptations or just works inspired by the overall aesthetic. I also appreciate the inclusion of an interview with a musician who embraces the Gothic aesthetic. This is definitely a work that will delight many fans of the vampire and its many media appearances throughout history.
This book provides a comprehensive, up to date introduction to the the inclusion of vampires in media, from the early Gothic influence to Dracula (which formed the blueprint for all subsequent vampire stories) to the more modern takes, like Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and Twilight. While not exhaustive, I like how the text explores its rise in literature, then how said literature influenced film and television, whether in the form of adaptations or just works inspired by the overall aesthetic. I also appreciate the inclusion of an interview with a musician who embraces the Gothic aesthetic. This is definitely a work that will delight many fans of the vampire and its many media appearances throughout history.
May 2, 2021
Read more like a fan blog than a "history" book - full of opinions, swoony fan-girl interviews of people completely unrelated to "vampires in popular culture," and mostly surface-level summaries of various vampire movies and books. No discussion of actual history, no in-depth discussion of anything really.
April 12, 2021
This book was an interesting read. Loved reading about the different versions of vampires over the course of several years and books, and other sources. I would tell my friends and family who are into vampires to check it out.
May 24, 2021
An interesting and informative book. I learned something new and found it entertaining and well written.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
March 4, 2021
This is an ARC review. Many thanks to Pen & Sword and Netgalley.
This book is a fun, informative look into, you guessed it, the history of the vampire in popular culture.
As usual, you must read the introduction to know what you're getting into. According to Fenn:
This book begins with an overview of the arrival of the "vampire" into Western culture (if this interests you, check out this fantastic book which goes into even more detail on some of the cases Fenn includes). It then begins to delve into Victorian culture, which we continue to conflate with vampires today and not only because that's when they started to make their most popular appearances. To illustrate why that might be, Fenn includes a fantastic quote by Gill Hoffs:
The rest of this book dissects everything from John Polidori and Lord Byron to Goth culture, What We Do In The Shadows to Twilight. It is expansive and touches on the many different iterations of the vampire in order to ask its ultimate question: Why is the image of the vampire so intoxicating and enduring in our culture? The conclusion that Fenn comes to is twofold. First, the vampire is impervious to the all-too-human condition of change. The vampire is safe from that final death we all must face, there is no unknown "other side" for the vampire. He remains in a state of constancy in our human world and yet in a position above any "normal" human for he will not age and his consciousness will never die (barring, of course, stake- and sunlight-related incidents). Second, "Vampires don't bother pretending to be human. [...] They are fangs and blood and sex and urges the like of which many of us would never even dare utter in our own minds [...]." In other words, only through the vampire are we allowed to live out our basest fantasies of hunger, sex, and giving entirely into temptation and our most primitive, uncivilized desires. This is particularly relevant to female vampires and their relation to (creation by) our cultural fear of women's sexuality. (Quick interjection - Fenn's further exploration of this idea and its relation to early childhood is absolutely fascinating).
One of the weaker points of this book (and I know I just said that I can't exactly fault it for this because Fenn did warn us in her introduction) is that some of the subject jumps are just a little bit jarring (kind of like this sentence). I think the whole experience would have been smoother if she had created chapters around specific books/movies/music instead of specific subjects and their inclusion in certain books/movies/music. For instance, a whole chapter on the 2020 BBC Dracula instead of coming back to it countless times over the course of the book. It would have had a better flow, in my opinion. Then again, she clearly wrote this book the way she did for a reason. My opinion may be the odd one out, here.
I also found that the chapters repeated each other frequently, almost as if they were written as separate essays. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and it would also explain some of the subject jumps. Perhaps, then, the book should have been organized around "essays" and not chapters.
Finally, I did not love the inclusion of the interviews at the end. Mostly, it just felt like a way of padding the book. The interviews I did find interesting (Deacon from WWDITS and Dacre Stoker) seemed to have some sort of formatting issue so that the two interviews were melded together without a break, making it hard to tell where Fenn stopped interviewing Deacon and started interviewing Dacre until you're like, "Wait, this is talking about how your relative is Bram Stoker, this isn't Deacon?" Hopefully this will be fixed in further edits.
Overall, this is an interesting and informative look into the popularity and persistence of the vampire in Western popular culture. It presents some really great thinking points and is well written and well-researched. It could do with a bit more editing, in my opinion, but it is at its core an awesome little book and a great addition to the oeuvre of the vampire.
This book is a fun, informative look into, you guessed it, the history of the vampire in popular culture.
As usual, you must read the introduction to know what you're getting into. According to Fenn:
This book is intended as an overview of how vampires are portrayed in popular culture, rather than a chronology or encyclopedia, and as such jumps back and forth across its subjects with gleeful abandon. [...] It is unapologetically weighted toward Western interpretations, because that is where the 'classic' vampire began [...].Criticisms, then, must be tempered by the author's own admission of the book's aim and potential shortcomings.
This book begins with an overview of the arrival of the "vampire" into Western culture (if this interests you, check out this fantastic book which goes into even more detail on some of the cases Fenn includes). It then begins to delve into Victorian culture, which we continue to conflate with vampires today and not only because that's when they started to make their most popular appearances. To illustrate why that might be, Fenn includes a fantastic quote by Gill Hoffs:
Victorian Britain was a strange cultural mix of glory and guilt, prim delicacy and delight in the macabre. The world was changing at a frightening rate [...] a time of industrial development and discovery, yet [...] newspapers reported incidents of witchcraft as fact.
The rest of this book dissects everything from John Polidori and Lord Byron to Goth culture, What We Do In The Shadows to Twilight. It is expansive and touches on the many different iterations of the vampire in order to ask its ultimate question: Why is the image of the vampire so intoxicating and enduring in our culture? The conclusion that Fenn comes to is twofold. First, the vampire is impervious to the all-too-human condition of change. The vampire is safe from that final death we all must face, there is no unknown "other side" for the vampire. He remains in a state of constancy in our human world and yet in a position above any "normal" human for he will not age and his consciousness will never die (barring, of course, stake- and sunlight-related incidents). Second, "Vampires don't bother pretending to be human. [...] They are fangs and blood and sex and urges the like of which many of us would never even dare utter in our own minds [...]." In other words, only through the vampire are we allowed to live out our basest fantasies of hunger, sex, and giving entirely into temptation and our most primitive, uncivilized desires. This is particularly relevant to female vampires and their relation to (creation by) our cultural fear of women's sexuality. (Quick interjection - Fenn's further exploration of this idea and its relation to early childhood is absolutely fascinating).
One of the weaker points of this book (and I know I just said that I can't exactly fault it for this because Fenn did warn us in her introduction) is that some of the subject jumps are just a little bit jarring (kind of like this sentence). I think the whole experience would have been smoother if she had created chapters around specific books/movies/music instead of specific subjects and their inclusion in certain books/movies/music. For instance, a whole chapter on the 2020 BBC Dracula instead of coming back to it countless times over the course of the book. It would have had a better flow, in my opinion. Then again, she clearly wrote this book the way she did for a reason. My opinion may be the odd one out, here.
I also found that the chapters repeated each other frequently, almost as if they were written as separate essays. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and it would also explain some of the subject jumps. Perhaps, then, the book should have been organized around "essays" and not chapters.
Finally, I did not love the inclusion of the interviews at the end. Mostly, it just felt like a way of padding the book. The interviews I did find interesting (Deacon from WWDITS and Dacre Stoker) seemed to have some sort of formatting issue so that the two interviews were melded together without a break, making it hard to tell where Fenn stopped interviewing Deacon and started interviewing Dacre until you're like, "Wait, this is talking about how your relative is Bram Stoker, this isn't Deacon?" Hopefully this will be fixed in further edits.
Overall, this is an interesting and informative look into the popularity and persistence of the vampire in Western popular culture. It presents some really great thinking points and is well written and well-researched. It could do with a bit more editing, in my opinion, but it is at its core an awesome little book and a great addition to the oeuvre of the vampire.
January 30, 2024
An enjoyable enough, though highly personal and meandering look at vampires in popular culture (used largely to mean films, TV and books in this case), I found this just too limited by the author's tastes and interests to really recommend it. It starts well with a good summary of vampire folklore from Eastern Europe, the odd newspaper hoax and a discussion of some of the earlier and most influential works of Western vampire literature. If you know anything about the history of the vampire novel, you'll know exactly which names keep cropping up.
Early on, Violet Fenn is very clear that this is a personal selection and not an encyclopedia of vampire fiction, nor does it cover vampire myths from Asia. So, no Mr Vampire (a riotous 1985 vampire/martial arts/comedy from Hong Kong that must be seen by everybody), then? I can't say I wasn't warned but... Fenn's very tight focus on the 'sexy vampire' archetype feels limited. Yes, she discusses Murnau's 1922 Nosferatu (a very readable and informative section of the book) but there's nothing really of some of the other iconic and savage, beastly vampires of Salem's Lot or 30 Days of Night (30 Days... *is* discussed in an interview at the end of the book but never referenced before that point).
Again, this is Fenn's own selection. It's just frustratingly limited. That is, until it goes off at weird tangents like the woman who has vampire Sims or, more annoyingly, the endless digressions, especially towards the end of the book, into Goth culture. Yes, the link is obvious but she meanders much too far down that lane. And I genuinely lost track of the number of times she writes "from time immemorial" - a lazyily phrased cliche I strongly dislike.
It's a shame the book feels this disorganised and idiosyncratic because, as noted, I found a lot to enjoy. Best of all, is probably her witheringly funny shoeing of the Twilight series and it's internalised misogyny. Fenn is really, really good on this, as she lays into just how utterly, utterly dependent Bella is on her undead boyfriend and just how little agency she actually has.
Fenn also gives a solid recounting of the horror comics outcry of he 1950s that led to the creation of the Comics Code Authority. But then, weirdly, never mentions the fact that relaxations of the Code in the early '70s (and Stan Lee's bandwagon-jumping skills) led to a hugely successful Marvel series - the Tomb of Dracula. Nor does she mention DC's selective dumping of the CCA stamp from the mid-80s onwards, until eventually bypassing it altogether (as Marvel finally did in 2001). Her only mention of vampire comics is a sneering dismissal of the 1992 film adaptation of Blade having cheesy acting, which is apparently to be expected from a comic book adaptation. It's a real shame she has such a blind spot about comics as there is such a rich history of vampires in comics that she's missed out on entirely.
She returns again and again to the 1992 'Bram Stoker's Dracula (unsurprisingly and deservedly so) but never once mentions that one of the film's central plot points - that Mina is/could be the reincarnation of the Count's long lost love - is directly nicked from the 1974 Jack Palance TV movie. Fenn is good at describing her vampires so I was hoping she'd have a few words to see about Palance's weirdly stiff-but-menacing and oddly gurning take on the character. 1994's Interview with the Vampire also gets plenty of space and again Fenn's discussion of the film, and especially the sheer ickyness of some of it, is well worth a read.
A disappoint really, but certainly not without its moments.
Early on, Violet Fenn is very clear that this is a personal selection and not an encyclopedia of vampire fiction, nor does it cover vampire myths from Asia. So, no Mr Vampire (a riotous 1985 vampire/martial arts/comedy from Hong Kong that must be seen by everybody), then? I can't say I wasn't warned but... Fenn's very tight focus on the 'sexy vampire' archetype feels limited. Yes, she discusses Murnau's 1922 Nosferatu (a very readable and informative section of the book) but there's nothing really of some of the other iconic and savage, beastly vampires of Salem's Lot or 30 Days of Night (30 Days... *is* discussed in an interview at the end of the book but never referenced before that point).
Again, this is Fenn's own selection. It's just frustratingly limited. That is, until it goes off at weird tangents like the woman who has vampire Sims or, more annoyingly, the endless digressions, especially towards the end of the book, into Goth culture. Yes, the link is obvious but she meanders much too far down that lane. And I genuinely lost track of the number of times she writes "from time immemorial" - a lazyily phrased cliche I strongly dislike.
It's a shame the book feels this disorganised and idiosyncratic because, as noted, I found a lot to enjoy. Best of all, is probably her witheringly funny shoeing of the Twilight series and it's internalised misogyny. Fenn is really, really good on this, as she lays into just how utterly, utterly dependent Bella is on her undead boyfriend and just how little agency she actually has.
Fenn also gives a solid recounting of the horror comics outcry of he 1950s that led to the creation of the Comics Code Authority. But then, weirdly, never mentions the fact that relaxations of the Code in the early '70s (and Stan Lee's bandwagon-jumping skills) led to a hugely successful Marvel series - the Tomb of Dracula. Nor does she mention DC's selective dumping of the CCA stamp from the mid-80s onwards, until eventually bypassing it altogether (as Marvel finally did in 2001). Her only mention of vampire comics is a sneering dismissal of the 1992 film adaptation of Blade having cheesy acting, which is apparently to be expected from a comic book adaptation. It's a real shame she has such a blind spot about comics as there is such a rich history of vampires in comics that she's missed out on entirely.
She returns again and again to the 1992 'Bram Stoker's Dracula (unsurprisingly and deservedly so) but never once mentions that one of the film's central plot points - that Mina is/could be the reincarnation of the Count's long lost love - is directly nicked from the 1974 Jack Palance TV movie. Fenn is good at describing her vampires so I was hoping she'd have a few words to see about Palance's weirdly stiff-but-menacing and oddly gurning take on the character. 1994's Interview with the Vampire also gets plenty of space and again Fenn's discussion of the film, and especially the sheer ickyness of some of it, is well worth a read.
A disappoint really, but certainly not without its moments.
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