Visions of the Vampire – Two Centuries of Immortal Tales
Visions of the Vampire: Two Centuries of Immortal Tales, edited by Sorcha NÃ Fhlainn and Xavier Aldana Reyes / ISBN 9780712353922 / 307-page hardback published by the British Library
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The vampire is one of the great enemies of humanity, a nightmarish figure who feeds on the living in order to sustain themselves. Born from ancient folklore, writers in the nineteenth century gave form to the vampire as we know it today. Still haunting our subconscious in the twentieth century, a new wave of writers continued to develop the imagery and traditions of the vampire — and the vampire continued to evolve.
From John Polidori’s iconic short story ‘The Vampyre’ and tales of parasitic female companions to experimental and freshly thrilling takes by Robert Bloch, Angela Carter and Anne Rice, this new collection sets out to present the enrapturing range of the vampire story and our undying fascination with the monster at its heart.
Sorcha NÃ Fhlainn is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies and American Studies, and founding member of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies, at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is the author of Postmodern Vampires: Film, Fiction and Popular Culture (2019), and specializes in monster studies, subjectivity, and cultural history. Xavier Aldana Reyes is Reader in English Literature and Film at Manchester Metropolitan University and a member of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. He has edited Horror: A Literary History for British Library Publishing, along with collections of stories by Algernon Blackwood, William Hope Hodgson and H. P. Lovecraft.
