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Night Bites: Vampire Stories by Women Tales of Blood and Lust
An anthology of seventeen original vampire tales by women includes such chilling works as Terri de la Pen+a1a's "Refugio," Linda K. Wright's "The Last Train," and "Anita Polish Vampire Holds Forth at the Jewish Cafe of the Dead" by Judith Katz. Original. IP.
264 pages, Paperback
First published December 28, 1995
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About the author
Victoria A. Brownworth
23 books18 followersVictoria A. Brownworth was an American journalist, writer, and editor. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, she wrote numerous award-winning articles about AIDS in women, children, and people of color. She was the first person in the United States to write a column about lesbianism in a daily newspaper.
In 1983, Brownworth reported on the "corruption at a Philadelphia based social service agency." She also won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery for her 2016 novel Ordinary Mayhem.
Brownworth used "she" and "they" pronouns.
In 1983, Brownworth reported on the "corruption at a Philadelphia based social service agency." She also won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery for her 2016 novel Ordinary Mayhem.
Brownworth used "she" and "they" pronouns.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 19, 2016
Love can suck.
The esteemed Victoria Brownworth originally conceived this collection of vampire stories by women as a showcase for the writings of some of her students. However, she succeeded in attracting contributions from writers as diverse as novelist Judith Katz and poet Lisa Williamson, and as with her previous anthologies like Out for Blood, Tales of Mystery and Suspense by Women, the results are chillingly satisfying. These new variations on the concept of the eternal feminine (accent on eternal) pretty much cover the range of vampiric possibilities: lesbian revenants, reluctant bloodsuckers, insatiable succubi, and assorted other children of the night all put in a ghoulish appearance… and all exhibit distinctly addictive/compulsive behavior.
Forget those bats flapping at the window. Marianne Suzanne Baird’s entry THEY HAVE NO FACES infuses new blood into the customary Gothic nightmare, whereas Diane Dekalb-Rittenhouse’s contribution TO DIE FOR (actually a fragment from a novel-in-progress) stakes out territory closer to Anias Ninn’s erotica than to Anne Rice’s demonography, but all the entries display a distinctly feminist perspective and serious – if seriously iconoclastic – literary intent. And why not? From Mary Shelley to Ann Radcliffe, distaff writers established so many of the conventions of what would become the modern horror genre. (Even Lousis May Alcott wrote supernatural thrillers under a male pseudonym.) These are sophisticated chills, no ravening beasts, just seductively insinuating night visitors. After all, the keynote of the vampire story is romanticism. The Undead define glamour, and the imagery remains profoundly sexual. All that nibbling can’t help but be evocative.
Expect surprises. These stories are personal, intense, political. They might take place in traditional settings like the mist-shrouded Carpathians, or in locations as timely as Bosnia or Rwanda. Replete with scares of all descriptions, NIGHT BITES is just the thing to curl up with some dark, solitary evening. (Thunder and lightning optional.) Just be sure to check under the bed first.
The esteemed Victoria Brownworth originally conceived this collection of vampire stories by women as a showcase for the writings of some of her students. However, she succeeded in attracting contributions from writers as diverse as novelist Judith Katz and poet Lisa Williamson, and as with her previous anthologies like Out for Blood, Tales of Mystery and Suspense by Women, the results are chillingly satisfying. These new variations on the concept of the eternal feminine (accent on eternal) pretty much cover the range of vampiric possibilities: lesbian revenants, reluctant bloodsuckers, insatiable succubi, and assorted other children of the night all put in a ghoulish appearance… and all exhibit distinctly addictive/compulsive behavior.
Forget those bats flapping at the window. Marianne Suzanne Baird’s entry THEY HAVE NO FACES infuses new blood into the customary Gothic nightmare, whereas Diane Dekalb-Rittenhouse’s contribution TO DIE FOR (actually a fragment from a novel-in-progress) stakes out territory closer to Anias Ninn’s erotica than to Anne Rice’s demonography, but all the entries display a distinctly feminist perspective and serious – if seriously iconoclastic – literary intent. And why not? From Mary Shelley to Ann Radcliffe, distaff writers established so many of the conventions of what would become the modern horror genre. (Even Lousis May Alcott wrote supernatural thrillers under a male pseudonym.) These are sophisticated chills, no ravening beasts, just seductively insinuating night visitors. After all, the keynote of the vampire story is romanticism. The Undead define glamour, and the imagery remains profoundly sexual. All that nibbling can’t help but be evocative.
Expect surprises. These stories are personal, intense, political. They might take place in traditional settings like the mist-shrouded Carpathians, or in locations as timely as Bosnia or Rwanda. Replete with scares of all descriptions, NIGHT BITES is just the thing to curl up with some dark, solitary evening. (Thunder and lightning optional.) Just be sure to check under the bed first.
February 25, 2012
Brings the vampire tale into modern urban settings. It includes works by minority writers that interject different cultural perspective on the genre. Female vampires ranging from the rich party girl from high school to an HIV infected former hooker seekin revenge on those who wronged her when she was alive. Ms. Brownworth's own story a very interesting take; vampires following war as reporters and finding a limitless supply of blood. Many stories have an erotic lesbian color, Much like Carmilla, the mother of female vampire stories.
May 23, 2025
I am giving this review EXCLUSIVELY for Mabel Maney's "Almost the Color of Summer Sky." Nothing else in this book really hit for me,but "Summer Sky" is like nothing else I've ever read. As far as I can tell, it's also unlike anything else the author has written.
This is as much a long poem as a short story. This is what short stories should be: intriguing, beautiful, staying with you for years like a friend from childhood.
This is as much a long poem as a short story. This is what short stories should be: intriguing, beautiful, staying with you for years like a friend from childhood.
March 26, 2018
Hit or miss. Some really good stories, others not as good. I think my favorites were the one about the Mexican lesbian vampire trying to stop the serial killer in the inner city with her partner who could shape shift, and the one with the war reporter. The one with the child vampire was good too.
March 5, 2019
Well written and great stories. Lacked interest to continue at a certain point. Will be returning the book.
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February 10, 2025dnf @ 37% .... i read a handful and they were all just kinda bad!!! i dont want to stick around to maybe find a single good one
January 20, 2026
“Sleep, like death, so often restores the youth that life steals away.” (15)
February 27, 2017
A few of these stories get 5 stars for their resonance: Immunity/Toni Brown Sustenance/ Susanna Sturgis Apologia/Jan Carr and Twelfth Night/Victoria Brownworth. All of the stories held a new breath of dark eroticism and paths not yet fully explored in vampire literature. Twelfth Night was my overall fave.
August 31, 2010
This was a book of short stories about vampires, written by women. A million times better than that BeVampyred book. Most the stories seemed to have a feminist agenda, but that's OK. There was a really good variety-some stories of lust, between lesbians and straights, some tells of housewives and children, some of violence, fulls of metaphors, etc.
The introduction itself was fascinating with it's information on vampire history, and I learned a lot. :p Also, now I have a lot of books and movies to add to my lists. The best stories in the book:
(Some small spoilers here in the descriptions)
Immunity-About a mother (who's a vampire) and loving, but also feeding, on her child.
Sustenance-Along the same lines of Immunity in some respects-a mother who's burnt out and feels like her husband and kids, and people, are all draining her of life and blood and she decides to get it back by volunteering with kids and sucking their blood!
Apologia-About a mother finding out her child is a vampire, and how to deal with it.
Almost the Color of Summer Sky-Written in the voice of a very young girl in the stream of consciousness style, about her father (and family line I think) being vampires. This one is really beautiful I think-my favorite in the whole book.
Best of Friends-Not all that original, but a fun traditional vampire tale about a teenage girl who gets wrapped up in a vampire boy and loses everything else.
Women's Music-I didn't like the whole of this story as much (about a woman trying to make it in the music scene, and dealing with a lover who died), but the ending was fun.
The worst story in the lot is Twelfth Night, which just seems like a typical boring women's club movie, like the Ya-ya sisterhood, or How to Make an American Quilt or something-the type of thing that makes me embarrassed to be a woman when that's the kind of pathetic stuff we're interested in (which I'm not, but some women must be since it's got a niche).
The introduction itself was fascinating with it's information on vampire history, and I learned a lot. :p Also, now I have a lot of books and movies to add to my lists. The best stories in the book:
(Some small spoilers here in the descriptions)
Immunity-About a mother (who's a vampire) and loving, but also feeding, on her child.
Sustenance-Along the same lines of Immunity in some respects-a mother who's burnt out and feels like her husband and kids, and people, are all draining her of life and blood and she decides to get it back by volunteering with kids and sucking their blood!
Apologia-About a mother finding out her child is a vampire, and how to deal with it.
Almost the Color of Summer Sky-Written in the voice of a very young girl in the stream of consciousness style, about her father (and family line I think) being vampires. This one is really beautiful I think-my favorite in the whole book.
Best of Friends-Not all that original, but a fun traditional vampire tale about a teenage girl who gets wrapped up in a vampire boy and loses everything else.
Women's Music-I didn't like the whole of this story as much (about a woman trying to make it in the music scene, and dealing with a lover who died), but the ending was fun.
The worst story in the lot is Twelfth Night, which just seems like a typical boring women's club movie, like the Ya-ya sisterhood, or How to Make an American Quilt or something-the type of thing that makes me embarrassed to be a woman when that's the kind of pathetic stuff we're interested in (which I'm not, but some women must be since it's got a niche).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2014
This is an anthology of short stories and as you might expect there were some that I loved, some that were okay but none that I hated. The one I found most chilling was Diane DeKelb-Rittenhouse's To Die For. A beautiful adventuress, 16 year old Genevra Burke who proves herself to be one of the most cold blooded killers in the genre.
Victoria Brownworth's contribution, Twelfth Night invokes the atmosphere of New Orleans while taking a completely different spin on the life of the vampire and her unique ways of dealing with the world.
They Have No Faces brings the the Gothic vampire story to the modern world. Meredith Suzanne Baird.
Those were my three favourites. Read them all and pick the ones you like the best.
Victoria Brownworth's contribution, Twelfth Night invokes the atmosphere of New Orleans while taking a completely different spin on the life of the vampire and her unique ways of dealing with the world.
They Have No Faces brings the the Gothic vampire story to the modern world. Meredith Suzanne Baird.
Those were my three favourites. Read them all and pick the ones you like the best.
February 13, 2017
1st Read: May 3, 1996 - May 5, 1996
Some of the stories were alright and a couple were really good. I love me some vampire princesses, I do, I do! With an introduction from the author and fellow writer, Judith M. Redding, followed by sixteen short stories, I was satisfied enough that I liked more of them than I thought I would. It was an overall good purchase. I ended up giving this book to a friend for her birthday.
Some of the stories were alright and a couple were really good. I love me some vampire princesses, I do, I do! With an introduction from the author and fellow writer, Judith M. Redding, followed by sixteen short stories, I was satisfied enough that I liked more of them than I thought I would. It was an overall good purchase. I ended up giving this book to a friend for her birthday.
November 2, 2015
It's nice to read a story about vampires by women who think they are more than just 1) literary replacements for imaginary boyfriends, and 2) more interested in preying on the weak (in whatever way, shape or form) instead of having sex with each other. The only weak stories in this omnibus of tales are Bad Company (vampire dolls? really?) and Twelfth Night, in my opinion.
December 9, 2009
Contains a few interesting & unique stories. Worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews