The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vampires

by Jay Stevenson

Vampires are the hottest topic in popular culture today. From the now classic novels of Anne Rice, to the mega- selling series by Stephanie Meyer to the hit HBO series "True Blood" based on the bestselling novels of Charlaine Harris, the undead are certainly not dead in terms of books sales. Now, those curious about the history and lore of these creatures can get up to speed in the refreshed edition of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vampires . It provides a detailed explanation of the origins of vampires and insight into the fascination they hold in literature and belief.

--Complete history and origins of this mythic creature
--An explanation of the various rules that vampires exist by
--A lively and exhaustive literary discussion of vampires and their importance in fiction

Genres: Nonfiction, Vampires, Reference, History, Adult, Supernatural, Research

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2001

Reviews

[Ladiibbug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non-Fiction

Couldn't resist this item from the library's New Releases shelf.

An in depth look at the vampire myth from ancient times (BC) to present day goth, films, etc. Seems like virtually every region on Earth has some form of the vampire myth, from Serbia to Nigeria to China to Peru ... and on and on.

There's even a short section on how Freud and Jung's theories relate to fears and anxieties relating to vampires, and those whose real life role playing are taken to the extreme.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't expecting much, didn't get much. Though some of the author's paraphrasing of some of the original folk myths were rather amusing(intentionally, I think), and it was fun to see some of the earliest incarnations of vampire stories.

[Jadelynn]

I love vampires so obviously I love vampire lore. There wasn’t much of that. I got to about half way when he starting incorrectly talking about goth culture. I mean I’ll give him some leeway, this was written quite a while ago, but if you’re going to write a book meant to be a guide do better research. Also, why so much about goths???
There was a lot of repetition, worded differently, and found under different headers as if trying to disguise that it was the same stuff being written. Felt like he was just trying to reach a word count.
He called vampire bats ugly for no reason too and that was the start of my disinterest. Didn’t ask for his opinions when I picked this book up at the thrift store. Bad opinion too.

[Tracy Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much idiot, not enough vampire.

[Allyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading the "idiot's guides" series, and this one was no exception. it was a pleasant read, but i did have some issues with it.

Your personal beliefs will influence how seriously you take this book. quite a few parts were quite amusing, and hard to take seriously.

Also, quite often it groups "witches" into the "mythical" or "dark" types of creatures. I did NOT find this amusing. i am a pagan witch, and don't appreciate being referred to as practically subhuman. The author makes one tiny reference to wiccan witches, but this does not excuse the flagrant story spinning throughout the rest of the book.

Aside from that, i did enjoy the book. i learned some things that i didnt know, and i enjoyed my reading experience. i dont regret buying it.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good, but it really should have been titled "The Complete Idoit's Guide to Vampires in Film and Litature". It talked about media vampires a lot more than vampire lore, etc (which was disapointing since that's the reason I bought the book, not the evolution of writing genres and how vampires fit into it. Or entire chapters dedicated to summeries of book plots for that matter). Not what I expected or actually wanted, even if it was entertaining.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having already read a book about the origin of the vampire myth some of this was a repeat. However there was also plenty of new information. I enjoyed reading about the history of vampires in print, and then in movies and TV. There was even a chapter on Buffy the vampire slayer!

[Davienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. We touched on the early myths and legends of where vampires come from. We went through how they evolved into what they are now. Very informative; gave trivia on the authors, books, actors, everything we were discussing.

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book to read. Has some really good historical references to check out.

[Bryan Richard]

It was strange and weird, but very, very interesting. I definitely enjoyed reading it.

[Ashley]

Stopped at page 66; not really holding my attention like I thought it might. Will come back to it later!

[Korynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, I love learning about the history of vampires and how vampires became in society. It was such a good book to read and an interesting book.

[Sondra Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book helpful on some of my research of vampires for a novel I was writing and I would recommend it to others. Don't be thrown off by the idiots guide of the title its actually helpful.

[Dylan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Watch out, I might give this to you for your birthday.