The Secret History of Vampires

by Darrell Schweitzer (Editor)

Garlic cloves and wooden stakes are no match for centuries of the undead's mischief and seduction. Here are thirteen original and imaginative stories that reveal the vampiric truths behind certain historical happenings.

Genres: Vampires, Horror, Anthologies, Fantasy, Short Stories

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Darrell Schweitzer is an American writer, editor, and essayist in the field of speculative fiction. Much of his focus has been on dark fantasy and horror, although he does also work in science fiction and fantasy.

Schweitzer is also a prolific writer of literary criticism and editor of collections of essays on various writers within his preferred genres.

Reviews

[Spiderorchid · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is often the case with anthologies, the theme is interesting but a lot of the stories fail to deliver.

The two best stories - "Under St. Peter's" by Harry Turtledove (a brilliant re-interpretation of the origins of the Christian faith - probably blasphemous so read at your own risk) and Carrie Vaughn's "A Princess of Spain" (about Catherine of Aragorn, for once the main focus of the plot and not just Henry VIII's first wife) - have since been republished in other anthologies (By Blood we live & Kitty's Greatest Hits).
Very well researched and also beautifully written are Sarah A. Hoyt's "Blood of Dreams" (featuring Lenin) and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's "Harpy" (set in Ancient Greek).
Sadly, the other stories have great premises with protagonists like Houdini, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Greta Garbo and Napoleon Bonaparte among others, but are either clumsily written or simply too long and therefore boring.

Worth reading for the four stories by Turtledove, Vaughn, Hoyt and Yarbro, but all in all a rather weak collection.

[Witch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being a fan of Carrie Vaughn, her short story A Princess of Spain was the only story I actually read. I also knew the history behind Katherine of Aragon, which probably helped, as I didn't know much about the others. I am really not a short story anthology person; I tried to start the others but they didn't really hold my interest.

[Amanda Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most anthologies there are good and not as good stories. This one, in my opinion, has more to reccomend it than not. I particularly enjoyed the first and last stories. I had high hopes for the story purportedly about Helen of Troy but couldnt get into the verse. And I'm not sure about 'The Harpy' even having a vampire in it for it has only ghe very merest suggestion of such.
But overall a good read.

[Sarah Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

How do I do the grimace emoji but with vampire fangs?

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of vampire short stories set in the past was better than the silly cover would indicate.All of these stories concerned historical figures. We have a vampire Jesus imprisoned in the depths of the Vatican, Teddy Roosevelt versus a vampire crime lord, Dueling vampires Lenin and Stalin(One of the weaker stories), a vampire cult in 1940s Hollywood, an encounter between Houdini And a vampire, vampires in the court of Catherine of Aragon and the young prince George. Another one was set in Egypt In the time of the pharaohs, another in ancient Greece where a mysterious man who may or may not be a vampire encounters Socrates' wife on the eve of his death– I'm aware that these all sound kind of absurd, but the authors were good at making them interesting. One of my favorites was a retelling of The Iliad in poetic form. That obviously took some skill. Overall, I enjoyed the stories, it was a nice entertaining break from the heavy stuff I usually read

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this book of short stories had potential describing some really interesting ways vampires have influenced history behind the scenes. However, it just didn't live up to that potential. The stories were dull and unexciting. (I mean - how can you make vampires unexciting?) Some of them seemed like the authors were trying to hard to be creative but just weren't (like the short story written in poet form like the Iliad). The stories that did have potential to really be interesting reads (was Jesus a vampire?) just weren't developed enough within the context of a short story. All in all - skip this one.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Did he even have a spirit anymore? Or was he all body, all hunger, all appetite? He didn’t know. He didn’t much care, either."

With this 13 story anthology, we see a lot of different author's takes on vampires throughout "history." Not all of them are as enthralling as others, some are boring or seems forced, but the few that are good, are really good.

"Under St. Peter's" by Harry Turtledove was so good, I read it twice in a row. If you're very religious, this might be blasphemous for you, so I'd caution you when beginning this tale. But, man, is it amazing - the story, the texture, the flow, just phenomenal.

[Schnaucl · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good anthology. There were more than a few above average stories, which isn't always true for an anthology. I particularly enjoyed Harry Turtledove's story.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories. Loved the idea of a French Succubus killing Prince Arthur.

[Crymsyn Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was okay. I appreciate anthologies and some of the stories were great. Others not so much. It's neat how the alternative history and vampires comes into play though.

[Justyn Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Princess of Spain by Carrie Vaughn...3 stars