The Monster with a Thousand Faces: Guises of the Vampire in Myth and Literature

by Brian J. Frost

Brian Frost chronicles the history of the vampire in myth and literature, providing a sumptuous repast for all devotees of the bizarre. In a wide-ranging survey, including plot summaries of hundreds of novels and short stories, the reader meets an amazing assortment of vampires from the pages of weird fiction, ranging from the 10,000-year-old femme fatale in Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Conqueror to the malevolent fetus in Eddy C. Bertin’s “Something Small, Something Hungry.” Nostalgia buffs will enjoy a discussion of the vampire yarns in the pulp magazines of the interwar years, while fans of contemporary vampire fiction will also be sated.

Genres: Nonfiction, Vampires

160 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 1989

Reviews

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book packs a nice punch. In exactly 124 pages, the author takes his reader on a historical ride of vampire lore and fiction. Every stone is upturned in the vampiric publishing world. Seriously, I am aware of some extremely obscure vampire short stories in various publications, and they are covered in this book. So if you dig vampire fiction and lore, this book is a must read.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this one to have a lot more analysis than it did, but this is still an impressive overview of vampire literature. Like, unbelievably well researched. It's more of an extended annotated bibliography than anything, so I give it credit for lengthening my TBR if nothing else.