Vampires: Encounters with the Undead by David J. Skal

Vampires: Encounters with the Undead by David J. Skal is a large collection of vampire stories that have been collected over two centuries. The commentary by the editor includes additional information about the stories and vampires in general. It really makes you think about the myth and legends behind all of these tales.

Book Description

“The most wide-ranging collection of vampire tales ever features two centuries of spine-tingling writing, from John Polidori to Robert Block, Alexis Tolstoy to Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to Henry Kuttner. Every page of Vampires features a column of commentary by the editor, expanding upon the stories and exploring the evolution of the vampire mystique in folklore, literature, and popular culture. More than 200 beautifully rendered black-and-white images of vintage engravings, film posters, and popular artifacts make this big book the “living end” of vampire fact, fiction, and lore.” – Vampires: Encounters with the Undead

My Thoughts

Vampires: Encounters with the Undead is a well written and compiled anthology of vampire stories. The stories included in this book are the best of the best when it comes to vampire tales. Having them all in one book is handy for late night reading. You could read it all in a weekend, or prolong it into reading one section each night, or at whatever pace you want to enjoy it at.

Aside from the actual vampire tales, I really enjoyed reading the editor’s commentary and information about vampires that he researched. Even if you think you know everything about vampires, there is sure to be information included in the sidebars that you probably didn’t know or haven’t seen before.

If you have a fascination with vampires or just want to take a walk into the nightlife of the vampire lifestyle, this is seriously a must have book for you. I highly recommend it and am quite certain that you would also enjoy it.

* Thank you to the publisher of Vampires: Encounters with the Undead, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.