M. J. Trow – A Brief History Of Vampires

M. J. Trow – A Brief History Of Vampires (Robinson, July 2010)

Blurb:
Vampire culture is everywhere: in the bookshops, on TV, in nightclubs, and in the cinemas. With the success of the Twilight saga and True Blood, the lore of the undead is a global phenomenon. But where does the legend of the Vampire come from, and why does it have such a perennial appeal? Historian and vampire aficionado M. J. Trow goes in search of the origins of this blood craze a long way from the shopping malls, to the story of the fifteenth century Hungarian warrior prince, Vlad of Wallachia, who was famed for his brutality in war as well as his passion for excruciating torture. Vlad would later become the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the film Nosferatu.

Trow’s fascinating search uncovers the forgotten story of Vlad and charts his legacy throughout history up to the present day. He shows that the legend and lore of vampirism has evolved over centuries and still has a powerful hold on our imaginations.

Press Release Robinson
From Vlad the Impaler to Edward Cullen, M.J. Trow goes in search of the allure of the vampire.

A Brief History of Vampires

By M.J. Trow
Published by Robinson
July 8th 2010 Paperback, £8.99

A must-have book for all vampire fans, A Brief History of Vampires charts the phenomenal craze of ‘popular vampires’ such as Nosferatu and Count Dracula to screen vampires such as those played by Bela Lugosi and Robert Pattinson. With the current global vampire craze taking the book, film and TV charts by storms with the Twilight saga and True Blood, this book begs the question: why do we love to be frightened?

Within a society which has become increasingly desensitised to horror, M.J. Trow charts the vampire’s global phenomenon and seeks its terrifying origins. A long way from the billboard we learn the story of Vlad ‘The Impaler’ of Wallachia. a ruler infamous for his brutality in war as well as his passion for ‘impaling’ his victims, and who later became the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s infamous Dracula.

In order to uncover the fascinating, forgotten story of ‘The Impaler’, Trow looks into the history, legend and lore of his legacy. Compellingly and historically, he shows how the legend of the vampire has evolved over centuries and explains how it still has such an intense hold on modern day imagination.

About the Author
M. Trow studied history at university, after which he has spent years teaching. He is also an established crime writer and biographer, with a reputation as a scholar who peels away myths to reveal the true history behind them. Originally from Rhondda, South Wales, he now lives on the Isle of White.

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Ernest Rhys & M. Larigot – The Haunted And The Haunters

Ernest Rhys & M. Larigot (ed.) – The Haunted And The Haunters (Donald O’Connor, 1921;  Aegypan, 2007)

Reissued by Aegypan Press of North Hollywood, 2007. Prefer to read it all online? Short, Scary Ghost Stories

Cover of 2007 reissue

Ernest Rhys – Introduction

I. GHOST STORIES FROM LITERARY SOURCES

Edgar Allan Poe – The Fall Of The House Of Usher
George MacDonald – The Old Nurses Story
Thomas Hardy – The Superstitious Man’s Story
Boccaccioa – A Story Of Ravenna
Douglass Hyde [Trans] – Teig O’Kane And The Corpse
E. Bulwer Lytton – The Haunted And The Haunters
R. S. Hawker – The Bothanan Ghost
Arnold Bennett – The Ghost Of Lord Clarenceux
Arthur Machen – Dr Duthoit’s Vision
John Wilson – The Seven Lights
Anonymous – The Spectral Coach Of Blackadon
William Hunt – Drake’s Drum
William Hunt – The Spectre Bridegroom
Greville MacDonald – The Pool In The Graveyard
William Carleton – The Liahan Shee
Sir George Douglas – The Haunted Cove
Sir Walter Scott – Wandering Willie’s Tale

II. GHOST STORIES FROM LOCAL RECORDS, FOLK LORE, AND LEGEND

Anonymous – Glamis Castle
Anonymous – Powys Castle
Augustus Hare – Croglin Grange
Joseph Glanvil – The Ghost of Major Sydenham
Anonymous – Miraculous Case of Jesch Claes
Anonymous – The Radiant Boy of Corby Castle
Anonymous – Clerk Saunders
Mrs Catherine Crowe – Dorothy Durant
C. K. Sharpe – Pearlin Jean
Anonymous – The Denton Hall Ghost
Anonymous – The Goodwood Ghost Story
Dale Owen – Captain Wheatcroft
Mrs Catherine Crowe – The Iron Cage
William Hunt – The Ghost of Rosewarne
Joseph Glanvil – The Iron Chest of Durley
Anonymous – The Strange Case of M. Bezeul
Anonymous – The Marquis de Rambouillet
Anonymous – The Altheim Revenant
Anonymous – Sertorius and His Hind
E. W. Godwin – Erichto

III. OMENS AND PHANTASMS

E.H. Blakeney [Trans] – Patroklos [from The Iliad]
“Arise Evans” – Vision of Cromwell
Rev. John Mastin – Lord Stafford’s Warning
Ferrier – Kotter’s Red Circle
Anonymous – The Vision of Charles XI of Sweden
Drummond – Ben Jonson’s Prevision
Anonymous – Queen Ulrica and the Countess Steenbock
Anonymous – Denis Misanger
Anonymous – The Pied Piper
Ferrier – Jeanne D’Arc
Anonymous – Anne Walker
Henderson – The Hand of Glory
Anonymous – The Bloody Footstep
Anonymous – The Ghostly Warriors of Worms
Anonymous – The Wandering Jew in England
Edmund Jones – Bendith Eu Mammau
John F. Campbell – The Red Book of Appin
Anonymous – The Good O’Donoghue
William Hunt – Sarah Polgrain
William Godwin – Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester

The Aegypan edition drops the co-credit although it’s clear from Rhys’ introduction that this compilation of folklore, fact, ‘fact’, legend and fiction is all the mysterious M. Larigot’s work!

In this Ghost Book, M. Larigot, himself a writer of supernatural tales, has collected a remarkable batch of documents, fictive or real, describing the one human experience that is hardest to make good. Perhaps the very difficulty of it has rendered it more tempting to the writers who have dealt with the subject. His collection, notably varied and artfully chosen as it is, yet by no means exhausts the literature, which fills a place apart with its own recognised classics, magic masters, and dealers in the occult. Their testimony serves to show that the forms by which men and women are haunted are far more diverse and subtle than we knew. So much so, that one begins to wonder at last if every person is not liable to be “possessed.”

Rosemary Gray – Scottish Ghost Stories

Rosemary Gray (ed.) – Scottish Ghost Stories
We have to hand it to Wordsworth editions – they’re playing a blinder with their budget ‘Tales of Mystery & The Supernatural’ series and they have the prestigious Vault Publisher of the Year sewn up without us even bothering to vote on it (although we love Robinson too)!  Here’s one  to look forward to early in  2009 !

Rosemary Gray - Scottish Ghost Stories

Due for Publishing February 2009 – ISBN 9781840221688
The Glen Mutchkin Railway – Professor Aytoun
Summer Weather – John Buchan
The Oasis in the Snow – John Buchan
No Man’s Land – John Buchan
The Far Islands – John Buchan
The Wetcher by the Threshold – John Buchan
The Outgoing of the Tide – John Buchan
Skull Skerry – John Buchan
A Cry Across the Black Water – S.R. Crockett
‘The Heather Lintie’ – S.R. Crockett
The Story of Euphemia Hewit – James Hogg
The Mysterious Bride – James Hogg
‘Mary Burnet’ – James Hogg
The Brownie of the Black Haggs – James Hogg
Ticonderoga – Andrew Lang
The Haunted and the Haunters – Lord Lytton
The Old Nurse’s Story – George MacDonald
The Haunted Major – Robert Marshall
Old Lady Mary – Margaret Oliphant
A Little Pilgrim – Margaret Oliphant
The Open Door – Margaret Oliphant
The Library Window – Margaret Oliphant
The Portrait – Margaret Oliphant
The Tapestried Chamber – Sir Walter Scott
Wandering Willie’s Tale – Sir Walter Scott
My Aunt Margaret’s Mirror – Sir Walter Scott
Ticonderoga: A Legend of the West Highlands – Robert Louis Stevenson
Markheim – Robert Louis Stevenson
Thrawn Janet – Robert Louis Stevenson
The Body-Snatcher – Robert Louis Stevenson
Olalla – Robert Louis Stevenson
The Ghost of Craig-Aulnaic – Anonymous
The Doomed Rider – Anonymous
The Weird of the Three Arrows – Anonymous
The Laird of Balmachie’s Wife – Anonymous
Michael Scott – Anonymous
The Haunted Ships – Anonymous
Glamis Castle – Local Records

Angus Black – The Devil’s Coven

Angus Black (ed) – The Devil’s Coven: Classic Stories Of Scottish Witchcraft (New English Library, May 1972)

 

Angus Black – Introduction

George Sinclair – Anent Mother Jackson: Her Witchcraft. From Satan’s Invisible World Discovered
Robert Burns – Tam O’Shanter
Sir Walter Scott – The Tale Of Tod Lapraik
James Hogg – The Hunt Of Eildon
John Howell – Major Weir’s Coach
Robert Louis Stevenson – Thrawn Janet
Eliza Lynn Linton – The Island Witches
Anon – The Warlock Of Duneblane
John Buchan – Skule Skerry

“In Scotland the witch fires began to blaze after the triumph of John Knox and the Reformation and in no country did they blaze more steadily and for so long a period of time”.  – Douglass Bliss

Scotland is a storehouse of supernatural stories second to none in the world. Many of the best relate specifically to witchcraft.

Leading anthologist, Angus Black, has dipped deep into the nation’s charnel house to produce this superlative collection.