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A Dictionary of Vampires
An impressively researched A-Z reference work about one of the most fascinating - and feared - creatures in supernatural legend.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2001
About the author
Peter Haining
333 books99 followersPeter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 14, 2017
Since I gave you a holy grail of vampire encyclopedias last week, I can't help but show you another example. This, as you could've read, is a dictionary. Which basically works using the same principle as the previous encyclopedia - the alphabetical order.
Sure, if you take a look at how this one look, you can see it pales in comparison. I mean, it's only got 288 pages as opposed to Melton's humble 850. But it doesn't neccesarily mean this book is not worth opening. Not all the keywords are the same which makes this book as important of a source as the Melton's monster of a book.
Which brings us to the bright point of the day - you can take this one on a trip with you and not bother with its weight. The employees at the airport won't even accuse you of having bricks in your cabin luggage. Ha, you didn't see that coming, did you?!
I will not bother you with talking about how important books like these are when you are starting your research and have no idea which end to grasp first. There are so many keywords and ideas which will help you. Yup, it may be a little oudated but who cares? Vampires have been here for some time and some things never change so you won't even notice which year it was published in.
And having a few dictionaries or encyclopedias like these will never hurt - you can always have fun comparing data - I managed to get frustrated when getting years of some publications for my diploma thesis because the authors sometimes vary in them. Who the heck am I supposed to believe?! I know it's mostly just a year difference but I wanted to get things right... Oh, the decisions...
Sure, if you take a look at how this one look, you can see it pales in comparison. I mean, it's only got 288 pages as opposed to Melton's humble 850. But it doesn't neccesarily mean this book is not worth opening. Not all the keywords are the same which makes this book as important of a source as the Melton's monster of a book.
Which brings us to the bright point of the day - you can take this one on a trip with you and not bother with its weight. The employees at the airport won't even accuse you of having bricks in your cabin luggage. Ha, you didn't see that coming, did you?!
I will not bother you with talking about how important books like these are when you are starting your research and have no idea which end to grasp first. There are so many keywords and ideas which will help you. Yup, it may be a little oudated but who cares? Vampires have been here for some time and some things never change so you won't even notice which year it was published in.
And having a few dictionaries or encyclopedias like these will never hurt - you can always have fun comparing data - I managed to get frustrated when getting years of some publications for my diploma thesis because the authors sometimes vary in them. Who the heck am I supposed to believe?! I know it's mostly just a year difference but I wanted to get things right... Oh, the decisions...
Displaying 1 of 1 review