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Lurking Musings

~ Musings of a newly published writer

Lurking Musings

Tag Archives: Bram Stoker

[Vampire Month] Martin Tracey interview

15 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings, Vampire Month

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Tags

Ann Rice, Beneath the Floodlights, Birmingham, Brad Pitt, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Lestat, Martin Tracey, Sutton Park, Tom Cruise


The third victim for Vampire month this year is Martin Tracey, author of Beneath the Floodlights, a book combining Vampires with Football (that’s Soccer for our American readers). Here he answers the questions and Wednesday he entertains us with a blog post.

1) What is the earliest memory you have of writing? What did you write about?

As a young schoolboy I won 2 back to back national story writing competitions, one was about the dangers of playing on building sites and the other was keeping safe when crossing the road. The latter saw me creating a magic ice cream van which appeared like a superhero offering safety advice, so from an early age I was destined to write about supernatural elements.103_0397
2) When did you decide to become a professional writer? Why did you take this step?

My debut novel Beneath the Floodlights was released in 2011 and it was vampire themed. Building on my answer to question 1, my writing creativity evolved into song writing and becoming a pop star was more on my agenda than becoming an author. I had some musical success via supporting the Fine Young Cannibals & securing my song Raging Bull on the album Old Gold Anthems – The Songs of Wolves, but then as ‘stardom’ seemed to be passing me by as I reached the ripe old age of 30 plus, I remembered the story writing success of my younger years and that famous cliché ‘everyone has a book inside them’. However, I haven’t stopped at one book because I simply love the novel writing process.

3) What would you consider to be your greatest strength as a writer? What about your greatest weakness? How do you overcome this weakness?

My greatest strengths are: working within a framework rather than a rigid plan which enables me to explore many twists and turns and subplots in order to keep the reader engaged; writing in a style that comes over as honest and therefore believable even when writing about the paranormal – I have a knack of telling great stories as opposed to being a literary genius like the ‘classic’ writers of yesteryear. My weakness is definitely trying to devote enough time to my craft. Other writers are far more prolific with their output than I am, and I find juggling life with writing extremely challenging. I am trying to discipline myself to find more time.

41grui6y21l-_sx311_bo1204203200_4) Tell us about the place where you live. Have you ever derived any inspiration from your home or from anywhere you have visited?

I live in Birmingham and Birmingham and the surrounding areas feature heavily in my books. In Beneath the Floodlights I use Sutton Park as the training base for the footballers and I have the world’s first vampire buried there. Sutton Park is centuries old and soaked in history. It is amazing to think that this piece of unspoilt land is in Birmingham, but such historical points to note are King Henry VIII using the land to hunt deer and a Roman road still exists within the park. Both references are utilised in Beneath the Floodlights.

5) Which book, if any, would you consider to be your greatest influence and inspiration?

That’s a tough one. Not the book itself but more the concept around the book and its character has inspired me which is Dracula by Bram Stoker. Sorry to be a bit obvious there but if writing about vampires its influence can’t be ignored, much like the influence of The Beatles can’t be ignored in the music world. A vampire book that I also found inspiring is The Travelling Vampire Show by Richard Laymon. In terms of inspiring authors, I like Peter James as he manages to weave supernatural elements into very believable and entertaining stories, Martina Cole for her straight-talking style and Dan Brown for leading the way for mixing fact with fiction. All of these authors can be seen as inspiring my work.
6) What drove you to write about Vampires?

Since an early age I’ve always been fascinated by werewolves, ghosts and of course vampires. My original idea for Beneath the Floodlights was to use werewolves but then I felt that vampires had more scope with the plot and the two films of The Lost Boys and From Dusk till Dawn were a huge inspiration

7) What do you think is the attraction for Vampire fiction? Why is it such a popular topic?

That’s a great question and perhaps a very subjective debate could be had. However, for 000_0003 (2)me I think it opens up temptation in the mind. ‘Lust’ and even ‘Love’ seem to always be connected to the ‘sexy’ vampires and the reader falls into that world of, ‘well I shouldn’t but I probably would!’ There is a magnetic quality about vampires -they have the X Factor.

8) In a fight between all the greatest Vampires of fiction, who do you think would come out on top?

Count Dracula. Bram Stoker’s creation set it all in motion so respect is due.

9) What about in some other contest such as sexiness or dress sense? Who would win that one?

I think Anne Rice created something a bit different with her vampires so her vampires win in that department for me. After all Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt played her vampires in Interview with The Vampire. Le Stat is a cool creation. Enough said!

10) How well do you think one of your characters would fare against the winner(s) of the above?

Professor Cezar Prodanescu would give the Count a run for his money. Cezar is from the bloodline of original master vampires. He is wise, cruel, manipulative, magnetic and good at what he does – killing for blood and recruiting for his vampire nest.

11) Tell us the basic premise behind your latest novel.

I’m giving vampires a rest for now. The project I’m currently working on is a haunted house novel. A failing rock star buys a haunted house in the Peak District. Mind you I may yet weave a vampire into the mix!

Biography:

Martin Tracey is an author who likes to push the boundaries of reality. Weaving fact with fiction he likes to explore elements of the supernatural but aims to keep his novels relatable, ensuring that he is able to connect with the reader in a gripping fashion. Martin has had several interviews to showcase his work on BBC radio and attended several book signing events. A short story, Divine Inspiration was published in Words magazine. Martin’s first novel Beneath The Floodlights remarkably brought together the worlds of vampires and soccer. Martin Tracey lives in Birmingham and is married with 2 daughters.

Website:

www.martintracey.co.uk

Blog:

https://martintracey.wordpress.com/

twitter:

https://twitter.com/martintracey1

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Martin-Tracey-Author-162311767171904/

Amazon page:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Martin-Tracey/e/B009ANTBWG/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1456595773&sr=1-1

Beneath the Floodlights on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BENEATH-THE-FLOODLIGHTS-MARTIN-TRACEY-ebook/dp/B005FQK84M/ref=pd_sim_sbs_351_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=413Swz0eCuL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR100%2C160_&refRID=03AJDW4AZYEPXYMXEEHR

 

 

[Vampire Month] A stake in the heart

30 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Vampire Month

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Tags

A.J Campbell, Alex Campbell, Ann Rice, Bram Stoker, Jennifer Ponce, R.A Smith, Terry Pratchett, Vampire apocalypse, Vampire Month


Waiting for Dawn

Well, that is Vampire Month over with for another year. I’d like to extend my thanks to all the talented writers who have contributed to the fun this month and made this the very special event that it always is.

I’d also like to thank Ste and Izzy of Quattrofoto for supplying some of the photos we have showcased this year including the lovely one above of me as a Buffy style Watcher. They do weddings and other special occasions too and promise to only add lightening bolt special effects and demon horns to your wedding memories if you ask them to.

We’ve learned a lot this year. How to date a vampire, why they are so appealing, a little of the history of Vampire literature and why Alex Campbell rarely gets any sleep (because of all the famous vampires knocking on her window). I was going to contribute a post of my own to add to this collection but frankly I’m in awe and would feel out of place amongst such great articles. Also, the evil time goblins stole all my free hours. Oh and I did my Pratchett obituary and revealed how this blog helped stop the vampire apocalypse, so that was sort of my slot anyway.

Vampire month will be back next year. Same Vamp month, same Vamp url. If you want to get involved, feel free to contact me. We accept contributions from any writers, artists or academics with an interest in the topic of vampires. The format rarely changes – an interview and a guest post, spread over the course of a week. Four victims a year, repeat offenders welcome. First four to contact me get the four slots.

Also get in touch if you want to make suggestions about how to make Vampire month even more awesome than it already is. Suggestions for article topics feedback on posts… anything you want to talk about. You can email me on: dalascelles-writing@yahoo.co.uk, leave a comment below or find me on Facebook or twitter

I’m still waiting for Ann Rice, Rachel Caine or Bram Stoker to get in touch… Though Stoker is proving very difficult to contact for some reason. He doesn’t even seem to have a Twitter account…

[Vampire Month] The Vampires of my life by A.J Campbell

26 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings, Vampire Month

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Angel, Bram Stoker, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, David Boreanz, David Cameron, Dracula, Francis Ford Coppola, Gary Oldman, Otto Criek, Pratchett, Spike, Terry Pratchett, The Little Vampire, Twilight, Vampire, Xander


For her guest post, Alex gives us this quirky little play… Spot the not so subtle political metaphor for bonus points…

Scene: A bedroom, at night. Long white curtains billow at a casement window. Three redhaircandles, in a tall wrought-iron stand gutter threateningly in the draft. Our protagonist lies, in a gauzy nightgown, on the high four-poster bed. Suddenly, she awakens to a rapping at the window.  

Protagonist: Who’s there? What is it? [Through the window enters a small, scruffy boy, ghostly pale with small fangs poking over his bottom lip.]

Boy: Muahahaha! I am here to suck your blood!

Protagonist: What? Who the… Oh, it’s you.

Boy: [Strikes a pose] Yes! ‘Tis I. The nightmare of your childhood! The creature who gave you sleepless moonlit hours and began your life-long fascination with the denizens of the night!

Protagonist: You’re The Littlest Vampire, aren’t you? When did you learn a word like “denizens”?

LV: Ah… you remember me!

Protagonist: Yes, I remember you. I remember hiding your book as far away from me as possible in my room so you wouldn’t crawl out of the pages and nibble on me in my sleep. I was still in junior school at the time though.

LV: [Looks pleased with himself] And since then? Do I still terrify you?

Protagonist: Are you kidding me? I used to think that sleeping with a scarf on would stop you being able to get to my neck. You were a good first introduction to the genre, but the only thing making you scary was the fact that I was a bit too young when someone gave me your book to read.

LV: [Subsides, crestfallen] Oh.

Protagonist: Go on. Go home before it gets light.

[The Littlest Vampire exits, and our protagonist settles back down to sleep, but is soon awakened once more by a knocking at the window.]

Protagonist: Littlest Vampire? I thought I told you to go home.

Sultry Voice from Outside: “Littlest” Vampire?

[At the window, David Boreanaz appears, doing his best to smoulder.]

Protagonist: Oh my… What are you doing out there?

DB: I can’t come in unless you invite me.

Protagonist: Oh yes… I remember that little bit. That’s about the first thing that stopped me being quite so terrified of Vamps. The idea that they couldn’t get at me unless I let them in. Problematic idea, really, tallying with notions of victim-blaming and bad things only happening to bad people. But it’s very much a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing, only able to be countered with a lot more knowledge. Like the time we did the Black Death in school, and I had nightmares for weeks until Mum told me about Penicillin.

DB: So…

Protagonist: Oh no, you’re not getting an invite. You can stay right there, mister. I remember Angelus. And your Irish accent Sucks.

DB: You’re a… fan then?

Protagonist: Oh, I used to love Buffy. Still do. It’s a cult classic. Makes me feel very old knowing it finished over ten years ago now. It was something of a defining feature of my teenage years – forget Edward or Jacob – the question was always whether you fancied Angel or Spike more.

DB: Which team were you on?

Protagonist: I was a geek. I fancied Xander.

DB: Oh. I should probably go then. See, I had this whole bit worked out about coming in, representing your every teenage fantasy, showing you how sexy vampires can be…

Protagonist: Nah. Sorry. Not tonight. Whilst it might be fun someday to revisit my burgeoning youth, I just want to crack out this article and get to bed.

DB: Another time then?

Protagonist: Perhaps. Shut the window on the way out?

[Boreanaz blows a kiss, and exits. Our protagonist again addresses herself to sleep, when a further knock on the window disturbs her attempt at slumber…]

Protagonist: Again? Really? Who is it this time?

[A tall, immaculately dressed Victorian gentleman appears at the window, incongruous only because of the small, round, black-tinted spectacles he is wearing.]

[Guest Post] What is Horror? by Rebeka HarringtonProtagonist: [Squealing like a completely star-struck fan-girl] Oh My God, it’s Garry Oldman as Dracula… Oh, this is the Francis Ford Coppola version! I remember this! I’d just read Bram Stoker’s book, and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread! My English Teacher at the time had this theory that if Stoker was alive today he would have published the book as an interactive work – just a box full of diaries and notes and newspaper clippings and “phonograph recordings” which would probably be MP3s or something these days. You’d get the entirety of Dracula on a USB stick and have to piece it all together. Wow! And I saw that film, and I was thinking, I don’t remember all those sexy bits in the book, but I was seventeen, so I didn’t care, and… and… and… Keanu Reeves was a perfect Johnathan Harker, because he has all the acting ability of a wet dishrag, and that’s absolutely fine, because Johnathan Harker is a wet dishrag – seriously, who cuts themselves shaving, watches a grown man that he’s only just met lick the blood off the razor and then hurl the mirror out of the window, and his only thought is “That’s most inconvenient, I’ll have to get a new shaving mirror.”? Oh my God, I am amazingly psyched to meet you, sir, this is fantastic.

GO: [Mildly perturbed] Are you going to be like this all evening?

Protagonist: I’m sorry, I may settle down soon, but I’m not at all certain.

GO: In which case, I think I’d probably better go. It was a pleasure meeting you. [He tips his top hat]

Protagonist: No, don’t go! See, that’s exactly why you were amazing, you showed how vampires could be suave and sophisticated, yet also menacing and creepy and sexy and… and… [realises how over the top she is being.] Ok. I get it. You probably should go. I’m really sorry, I’m not usually like this. I don’t know what’s come over me…

[Gary Oldman turns into a bat and flies away, blowing the entire special effects budget in the process. With a sigh, our protagonist once again turns to the bed. She has not long laid down when there is a clicking sound, like that of a camera shutter, and a doctorwhotwilightsmall flash of light.]

Otto Chreik: Vonderful! Simply vonderful! Ze vay ze candlelight shines on ze flowing curtains, and ze hair spread like zat on ze pillow! Ya, ya, von more! Svoon please! Ya, more svooning, zat is perfect!

Protagonist: Otto?

Otto: Ya? Von second please… [he takes another picture, then puts down the camera.] Can I help you?

Protagonist: Otto Chreik? Otto: Ya, ya, it is me?

Protagonist: You must be here to represent my Pratchett phase. Which, in fairness never really ended. It’s wonderful to see you. I’m so, so sorry about Sir Terry. He was a master of the genre, this must be a terrible time for you.

Otto: Ya, ya… Vell, unlife goes on, as they say.

Protagonist: Pratchett’s vampires taught me so much about the genre… Count Magpyr and his family – the fact that the worst villains are those who pretend they’re doing this for your own good…

[A spectre of David Cameron floats lazily past]

Cameron: Don’t mind me, I’m just a metaphor.

Protagonist: [after his retreating back] Now there’s a vampire I could quite happily stake.

Otto: Indeed.

Protagonist: Even the comic vampires – I’ve always loved comedy, wish I could write it myself, but I tend to overdo it. Comedy is the best teacher, because it allows learning to sneak in round the edges while we’re laughing. Even a character like yourself can show us that there is so much that vampires can teach us about the nature of humanity, the nature of evil – your own comic persona being just that, hammed up round the edges deliberately to seem non-threatening, because we all know where we are vis a silly accent, and we forget about the blood.

Otto: [Bows slightly] Vell, I’m glad to haf been of service. But now, I really must be goink, I haf a scoop to catch for ze evenink edition.

Protagonist: Send me a copy of the pictures, won’t you?

[Otto exits with a dramatic flourish.]

Protagonist: Well, that really must be everyone – I can’t see how…

[At this point Edward Cullen pops up at the windowsill]

EC: You know, you’re like my own personal brand of…

Protagonist: No! No, no, no, no, no! You can fuck right off! I had to read your books when I was considering writing my PhD, but that was only ever so I could rip them apart!

EC: But teenage girls love me! Protagonist: Yes, and I probably would have done so when I was fifteen, but I’m a lot more savvy now, and I’ve discovered feminism, so screw you and the dodgy paperback you rode in on! You’re as bad as Fifty Shades of Grey, what with teaching impressionable young girls that stalking is the basis of a good relationship. And I don’t even think you’re a real vampire – you’re some sort of crystalline blood-powered golem anyway. Vampires don’t sparkle!

EC: I’m only sparkling because I love you…

[At this point, our protagonist punches Cullen square in the face, causing him to fall out of the window. There are loud cheers. She then pulls down the casement and locks it firmly against any further night-time intrusions. Finally, she manages to get a good night’s sleep, though what she dreams about is anyone’s guess…]

Bio

Alex Campbell was born in the wilds of Northumbria, and from an early age cut her teeth on legends like that of the Lampton Worm, which formed the inspiration for her first book, Wyrm’s Reckoning, out later this year..

She obtained a degree in English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick, then in a shameless attempt to avoid Real Life, followed this up with two Masters Degrees in Science Fiction and in Writing from the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores respectively.

Now, she lives in Portsmouth, at what she insists on referring to as the “wrong” end of the country, with her fiance and a number of dead house-plants. She is a keen gamer and LARPer, for which she makes many of her own costumes. She is not ashamed of being a geek

You can find her on her blog:  https://galacticavoice.wordpress.com/ and also on her facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/AJ-Campbell/1525096601059912

[Vampire Month] Let’s Talk About Vamps by Elizabeth Morgan

12 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings, Vampire Month

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Ageless Vampire, Bram Stoker, Cranberry Blood, Dracula, Elizabeth Morgan, Immortality, Paranormal, paranormal romance, Romantic vampire, Vampire


So the end of the week is in sight and Elizabeth is back again to wow us with her guest post… here she talks about why she loves vampires so much.Elizabeth Morgan

Let’s talk Vampires and why I think we love them so much.

What is it about these creatures of the night that excites us as readers? Is it their immortality and the idea that they are endless; that they can see how the world changes? That they can experience everything the world will ever have to offer them over time? Is it the fact that age does not touch them? That they will remain young and possibly perfect forever? Is it that they are dangerous? That they are killers and there is a part deep in all of us Vamp lovers that longs for their redemption? Is it their kiss? Bloody, and deadly, yet said to give a form of pleasure that no human could possibly imagine? Is it their allure? The fact that deep down we know they are dangerous, but we yearn for such risks? Is it that we find them romantic? They’re mature and full of knowledge; the fact they are from a different lifetime?

Vampires are ageless, and I don’t mean in the sense that they are the undead and frozen at a particular age. There are myths descending back further than the 14th Century which tell of creatures that prey on the weak and thirst for blood. Every culture in the world has its own brand of Vampires. Thousand – if not more – books have been written on this particular species and a ton of films have been made. No one, despite the ever wavering interest in this particular being, will ever tire of hearing about Vampires, but why? What is it that we love so much about them? I have been a fan of Vampires since I was a child. That infatuation first began when I watched the movie Bram Stokers, Dracula. Now, I can hold my hands up and say that the big appeal was naturally the love story. I’m a sucker – forgive the pun – for love. I’m a huge romantic, and the idea of a man condemning god and turning himself into something so beastly, so evil, simply because he felt betrayed and was grieving for his soul mate . . . Well, be still my heart. We have centuries of heartache and turmoil and undying hope mixed in with that, and hot damn, it’s magical.

When I was a child, Vampires were terrifying, but seemed really cool at the same time; they were like the bad boys and girls, rebels, dangerous, and otherworldly. What kid didn’t imagine possessing powers and getting away with all sorts of kick ass things? Naturally, once I was older I began to see other sides of their appeal. They are flawless, sexual creatures. Who doesn’t love that? Who hasn’t at some point in their life liked the idea of being that appealing, or of having someone that hot and mysterious pay them attention? I’m not afraid to say I have, and on many occasions. Then there is power; they are strong, and fast, and they remain healthy. They are past death; something very appealing for anyone who fears death, or for someone who feels they haven’t had enough time in this life. Vampires move with the ages, they can watch the world climb and falPageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00064]l around them. They can be a part of history. Just think of all those experiences!

Lastly, and probably the most appealing side to these beings, would be the fight for their soul – whether or not you believe they have one. As readers we all want to believe that these dark and sometimes tortured creatures can be saved, and naturally, we want the heroine/hero – heck, sometimes we want to be in their place – to do the saving. We want the vampire to be redeemed, and to have hope, and love, and happiness. We want a happily ever after for these bloodsuckers.

In my opinion Vampires – or rather the paranormal genre in general – is limitless. Each person will have their own idea of what a vampire is, how they should look, how they should act. In my Blood Series my Vampires are the bad guys and they look similar to the guy from Salem’s lot. They have human features, but when they are ready to feed or fight, their hair falls out, their jaws dislocate and their fangs extend to a horrible length. You really wouldn’t want to bump into them. Trust me.

No one’s view of Vampires is wrong. It is interpretation and belief. It is what a person’s imagination creates. As I said earlier there is a variety of different type of Vampires, depending which country they come from. Every writer will create them differently, tell them differently; some have souls, and some don’t. Some look human, but with fangs and others will shift forms. Some Vampires sparkle and some are blue, bald, and completely terrifying, but no matter what form they come in or how handsome or scary they are, we love them. I think the reason for that is because they are an altered, magical, and limitless version of ourselves. They are the impossible. Humans “aren’t” supposed to survive after death; they “aren’t” supposed to live forever, and they “aren’t” supposed to remain ageless. Vampires break the natural code; heck, they break all the rules and they do it with such style.

Whatever the reason may be for why we are fascinated by this particular species, I honestly believe that they will continue to be one of the most – if not the most – written about species in literature.

 

About the Author:

Elizabeth Morgan is a multi-published author of urban fantasy, paranormal, erotic horror, f/f, and contemporary; all with a degree of romance, a dose of action and a hit of sarcasm, sizzle or blood, but you can be sure that no matter what the genre, Elizabeth always manages to give a unique and often humorous spin to her stories.

Like her tagline says; A pick ‘n’ mix genre author. “I’m not greedy. I just like variety.”

And that she does, author of erotic ménage horror, Creak, paranormal erotic horror and UK, US & Australian Amazon best seller (Gay/Lesbian, Fiction, Lesbian), On the Rocks, erotic romance, US, UK & Spanish Amazon bestseller (Erotica Short Story) Truth or Dare? And sweet contemporary romance, UK & US Amazon bestseller (British/Drama & Plays) Stepping Stones.

She also has her hand in self-publishing. Look out for more information on her upcoming releases at her website: www.e-morgan.com

Away from the computer, Elizabeth can be found in the garden trying hard not to kill her plants, dancing around her little cottage with the radio on while she cleans, watching movies or good television programmes – Dr Who? Atlantis? The Musketeers? Heck, yes! – Or curled up with her two cats reading a book.

Where to find Elizabeth Online:

Website: www.e-morgan.com Blog: www.xxxxmyworldxxxx.blogspot.co.uk Twitter: @EMorgan2010 Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/ElizabethMorgan Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.morgan.944 Blood Series Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheBloodSeries?ref=hl Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/elizabethm2012/boards/ TSU: https://www.tsu.co/ElizabethMorgan Blog: (Shared with Dianna Hardy): http://notjustastiffupperlip.blogspot.co.uk/

[Vampire Month] Vampire Killing Kits – Real or Fake? by Jonathan Ferguson

20 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Vampire Month

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Bram Stoker, deviant burials, Fortean Times, Hammer Horror, Jonathan Ferguson, Mercer museum, Michael De Winter, Montagu Summers, Professor Blomberg, Real or fake?, revenants, Royal Armouries, Royal Armouries Leeds, Silver bullets, Slavic folklore, Vampire, Vampire Killing Kits, Vampires, Victorian or Edwardian Novelties


In today’s guest post, Jonathan Ferguson of the Royal Armouries in Leeds discusses the authenticity of the Vampire Killing kits.

 
In 2007 I wrote a blog post pretty much scoffing at the very idea of a ‘vampire killing kit’. During 2012, I published the definitive article on the subject in Fortean Times (#288), was interviewed for US TV about them, and found myself sitting at the back of an auction house in Yorkshire, actually bidding on one for the Royal Armouries collection. Why the change of heart? It’s not because I’ve gone from sceptic to believer. Let me explain. VKK-2
If you’ve never come across one, vampire killing kits are what they sound like; boxed sets of tools for self-defence against the undead. One thing we know for sure is that they are not rare. So far, I have documented the existence of 100 kits that either purport, or appear to be, real. What do we mean by ‘real’? Well, ‘real’ can be a tricky concept, but most would probably suggest that it means ‘old’. Some might also say that it would include genuine purpose, as in kits created to actually slay vampires. As all evidence points to an American or western European origin some time in the twentieth century, it’s unlikely that they were made by, or for, believers in vampires. The vampire is a Slavic monster, and belief in it was roundly scoffed at by the English-speaking world as soon as stories from the east began to emerge in the 18th century. We also know from folklore that vampires were killed with improvised weapons like gravedigger’s spades, not expensive specialist tools like this, and that historical ‘slayers’ don’t really fit the profile of the professional, pseudoscientific vampire hunter created by Bram Stoker.

The most common claim, often made by auction houses, is that they are period novelties, something to buy a friend before a trip to eastern Europe. This is certainly plausible, but even this is lacking in evidence. I have yet to come across any advertisement, letter, diary, or other connection to any known retailer or purchaser, though I live in hope! The only physical evidence we do have are the kits themselves, and it is remarkably easy to take an antique box, refurbish it with antique innards, and fill it with antique objects. Only invasive scientific techniques could begin to tell you how old the result really was. As each kit is different, for every kit ‘debunked’ there would be dozens of others to which the same conclusion couldn’t be applied.
To overcome this difficulty, I did two things. Firstly, I selected the most high-profile subset of kits and the first to be spotted ‘in the wild’; those supposedly made by ‘Professor Blomberg’. These kits come with a label and a more-or-less standard set of contents. Whilst the gunmaker mentioned on the label did exist, the good Professor was a fabrication. In itself, this didn’t point to a later date; these could easily be DSC01380Victorian or Edwardian novelties as suggested by those in the antiques industry.

The second weapon in my toolbag to assess the likely date of this group of kits was vampire lore. Whenever they were produced, the design of the kits would have been informed by the type of vampire and vampire hunter current when they were made. To sell to any customer, they would have to have recognition factor, to include tools known to the public. For this reason, I embraced fiction as well as folklore. I assessed each component, from stake to silver bullet, and determined when it first appeared in print or film. The most useful features proved to be the pistol, and the cross-marked silver bullets. Whilst firearms were recorded in folklore as a viable weapon against vampires, it was little known in fiction until the Hammer movies of the 1970s. Meanwhile, the earliest written reference to silver bullets against vampires was somewhat earlier, in 1928 (Montagu Summers), but no-one was talking about marking them with a cross until 1965 (an issue of ‘Penthouse’!).
This agreed with the historical and scientific evidence. The Mercer Museum in the U.S. had their kit tested and determined it to be no later than 1945. A London man, Michael de Winter, claimed online to have created the first kit in 1972 as a way to draw people to his antiques stall; I contacted him by post to confirm his story, though of course he may not have been the first. Finally, I researched the first written reference to a VKK1vampire kit, which turned out to be a militaria catalogue from 1986. This version of the kit was small, with all the usual ‘ingredients’, but the pistol was clearly the main feature. The kits seem to have become more elaborate in their casing over time. All of the dates I could come up with were late 20th century. I discovered that even some of the auction houses were selling kits as pieces of modern art, or reserving judgement on their antiquity, yet they were still selling for thousands of dollars.

So are vampire killing kits real? That depends. No doubt some have been created and many more sold in order to deceive, but if there are indeed no ‘real’ vampire kits, then it is not technically possible to fake them. After seven years of exhaustive research, I still can’t tell you that there’s no such thing as vampire killing kits. There are various ‘non-Blomberg’ kits that could easily be older. I do suspect that all of them are late twentieth century in origin, but I think they are important artefacts regardless. At the Armouries, our kit, however old it proves to be, lets us represent and talk about the hidden history of self-defence weapons that we could not otherwise, and has been a big hit with visitors. The kits reflect the real weapons used to ‘slay’ vampires as much as they do the fictional versions that we have all now grown up with. The only physical evidence that we have for supernatural creatures like vampires are the ‘deviant burials’ of people that may have been seen as revenants of some kind, and the stones or rusty pieces of iron that were used to stop them coming back. This fascinates us, but fails to meet our fictional expectations of what a vampire-slaying weapon should look like, and so we as a culture have addressed this shortcoming.  I think kit creator Michael de Winter was right when he told me in 2011 that he was ‘not making a fake, merely inventing an item’. Inspired by our own folklore; the classic horror movies of the 60s and 70s, we have invented artefacts of our beloved monster, the vampire. That has to be worth preserving.
IMG_6068Jonathan Ferguson is Curator of Firearms at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. His research interests include their use, effect, and depiction in popular culture. His sceptical interest in the paranormal is more of a hobby, stemming from the gift of a Ladybird version of ‘Dracula’ at a young age. However, he is especially enthusiastic when the two things overlap! He has made several television and radio appearances, including National Geographic’s ‘How Sherlock Changed the World’, and BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Lifecycle of a Bullet’.

The Royal Armouries holds in trust for the public one of the finest collections of arms and armour in the world, from exquisite pieces of the gunmaker’s art, to the most functional military weapons, and from the medieval period to the present day.

Find the Royal Armouries on Facebook and Twitter:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Royal-Armouries/215812575369
https://twitter.com/royal_Armouries

 

How to kill a Vampire

03 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings

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Blade, Bram Stoker, Buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dracula, Ferguson, Halloween, How to Kill a Vampire, Jonathan Ferguson, lectures, Leeds Armouries, Leeds Vampire, Royal Armouries, Royal Armouries Leeds, supernatural, Ultraviolet, vampire fiction, Vampire Killing Kits, Vampires, Varney the Vampire


Jonathan Ferguson takes questions

Jonathan Ferguson takes questions

It was Halloween over the school half term break and so the Royal Armouries in Leeds were putting on some themed events. This allowed them to get out all their exhibits that were related to witchcraft or other supernatural occurrences and show them off to appreciative audiences.

One such event was a lecture by their curator of firearms, Jonathan Ferguson, entitled How to Kill a Vampire, which took place on the evening of the 30th October in the museum’s own lecture hall, the Bury Theatre.

This two hour lecture was split vaguely into two parts. In the first he talked about the traditional methods used, both in real life and fiction, to kill the undead. This was full of fascinating facts, even if the lecturer was somewhat hesitant in his delivery, and outlined the differences between mythological and fictional creatures such as zombies (reanimated corpses), Revenants (a lesser used term in the modern days for a visible ghost or animated corpse) and Vampires (which are typified by their tendency to drain lifeforce or blood). Some of it was common knowledge – stakes, garlic, sunlight – but through reference to folklore sources and archaeological evidence he quite ably linked the methods used to slay vampire in fiction (referencing everything from Varney the Vampire to Buffy and Blade) to what has been used in (mostly) eastern European villages for centuries to put an end to supposed curses – disease, ill fortune – that are attributed to vampires.

The Leeds Vampire Killing Kit

The Leeds Vampire Killing Kit

The practise of effectively scapegoating a recently deceased person is a common one in several cultures and generally arises because of anomalies in the decay process of a corpse. Maybe they do not decay fast enough because of sterile soil, for example, and this singles the corpse out as a vampire. According to Ferguson, in cases like this where villages attributed their woes to such a corpse, they generally went through several steps to ‘kill’ the vampire, trying all of the methods they could think of and only stopping if the bad things stopped happening. These methods involved a host of improvised weapons – mainly farm implements like sickles and even the traditional ‘stake’ so popular in vampire fiction is based on nothing more than a convenient fence post – and usually ended with the complete destruction of the body using fire (after which, as Ferguson states, there is usually nothing left anyway). There were some lesser known methods discussed too. For example, piercing the body with nails, which may be linked to the stake as well. One possible theory as to why this method was used might be linked to the ways corpses bloat due to trapped gases post mortem – another anomaly in the decay process that might be observed as supernatural in the uneducated. Piercing the flesh with a nail (or a stake) allows the gases to escape – restoring the corpse to normal. The ‘Vampire’ is slain. It was interesting to see the comparison between these rather morbid methods of solving a misunderstood problem by dismembering a helpless corpse and the more active methods employed in fiction, especially the evolution (and plausibility) of such esoteric devices as wooden bullets (or graphite ones as used in Ultraviolet), silver bullets and ultraviolet bombs and bullets. The ludicrous idea of using a small stake and thrusting it into the heart accurately while in combat with a Vampire (as seen multiple times in fiction but especially in Buffy) was also touched upon with reference back to Bram Stoker’d Dracula and Varney the Vampire where the protagonists use mallets to hammer the stakes through the breastbone.

The lecture then neatly segued into the second half which was more focused on the

A museum employee points out interesting features of the Vampire Killing Kit

A museum employee points out interesting features of the Vampire Killing Kit

Vampire Killing kit that the museum had acquired. Here Ferguson was clearly more in his comfort zone as his delivery was more confident and natural. A typical vampire killing kit usually comprises a number of items which are purported to be useful in dealing with vampiric threats – stakes, bottles of holy water and garlic essence, bibles or books of common prayer, crucifixes and guns loaded with silver bullets*. The controversy around these items is whether they were genuine 19th or early 20th century artefacts, created either as curios for tourists visiting eastern Europe or because someone really did think they needed protection from Vampires, or more modern fakes. Ferguson discussed in detail the evidence for and against these arguments, citing references from auction houses, folklore and even internet forums to build a convincing case that the balance of probability places the majority of these items firmly in the category of fakes. Such points as the inclusion of guns with silver bullets suggests that the earliest these items could have been made was after 1928 (rather than the late Victorian period as usually claimed) and certain facts about the methods of manufacture and the materials used are also damning. Most convincing of all, of course, is the confession of one poster on an internet forum who admitted to having produced a number of these items in the 1970s.

This does not, of course, stop Vampire Killing kits being sold on ebay and in real world auction houses for thousands of dollars (indeed, Ferguson described how he acquired the museum’s kit from a local auction house after a house clearance in Yorkshire). Nor does it demean the value of them as museum pieces – even if they were made as recently as the 1970s (and there is some evidence that the one Leeds have may have been made earlier, possibly even the 1920s) they are still antiques** and a well done fake with an intriguing story about why it was made in the first place is something just as worthy of museum space as a genuine article. In this respect they are much the same as the fake suits of armour displayed in the Tower of London. These were put there by the Victorians to demonstrate ‘armour through the ages’ but later historic research shows they do not represent the armours used in those periods. However, the Tower keeps them in place as examples of historic misconceptions. Ferguson mentioned that when this kit is on display he labels it clearly to show the belief about its authenticity, allowing the visitor an insight into how such fakes can arise and why.

At the end of the lecture, the audience were allowed to ask questions and to go up on stage to view the kit. It was quite fascinating to see it close up and it was even possible to handle the items inside it under guidance from a member of the museum staff.

In all this was a very interesting way to spend an evening on the night before Halloween.

* Yes, this is normally believed to be for Werewolves but the boundary between Vampire and Werewolf is often blurred in myth, especially with a concept of shape-shifting vampires and some cases like the Greek Vrykolakas which are wolf like vampires. According to Ferguson the first movie reference to the use of silver bullets for Vampires was in 1928, though silver as protecting against and harming evil is a common theme in folklore.

** As something made in the 1970s myself, I would like to say that I now feel old…

[Vampire Month] Aaron Smith Interview

04 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Vampire Month

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000 Midnights, 100, Aaron Smith, Arthur Conan Doyle, Batman, Blood Oath, Bram Stoker, Chicago, Christopher Farnsworth, Dracula, Gene Colan, Jeremy Brett, Kim Newman, New Jersey, New York, Roger Zelazny, Sherlock Holmes, The President's Vampire, Thundarr the Barbarian, Vampire, Vampires


The first Vampire month victim for this year is Aaron Smith

Aaron Smith can’t stand to go a day without writing. He’s the author of more than twenty-five published stories in genres including mystery, horror, science fiction, and fantasy. He has written stories featuring well-known characters such as Sherlock Holmes and Allan Quatermain. His novels include Gods and Galaxies, Season of Madness, and, most recently, 100,000 Midnights.DSC00358

Information about his work can be found on his blog or his Amazon page.

1) What is the earliest memory you have of writing? What did you write about?

I seem to have always had this habit of wanting to participate in whatever fictional world I was enjoying at any particular time. When I was a kid, even a very small boy of 5 or 6, and I discovered characters that I liked, I wasn’t satisfied that a book or movie or series of stories was all there was. I had to continue the story, so I started to write my own versions of those characters. I remember being in the second grade and not paying attention to what the teacher was saying and sitting there trying to write an Indiana Jones novel. I made my own comic books, writing Batman or Spider-Man stories and drawing them. I spent hours and hours of my childhood writing fan fiction (although at the time I didn’t know it was called that) about Star Wars and Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. When I was in the Cub Scouts, which would have made me about 8 or 9 at the time, we had to do a skit in front of all the parents and I wrote a Star Trek episode for the project. Of course, I cast myself as Captain Kirk!

2) When did you decide to become a professional writer? Why did you take this step?

Looking back on it now, it seems ridiculous that it took me until about five years ago to decide to really push myself to pursue writing as a career. I started writing for my own satisfaction very early in life, but kept leaning toward other creative endeavours through my teenage years and my twenties. I tried visual art, music, acting, and had fun with all those things but none of them were quite right for me. In my late twenties, I rediscovered comics, which is a medium that I loved as a child. I tried to get work writing them and while I enjoyed it I found that it’s an industry that’s very, very difficult to break into. My getting back to prose writing was an offshoot of that, and the main reason I ended up sticking with writing and taking it more seriously is that I had a wonderful early success that encouraged me. I discovered a company called Airship 27 Productions {http://robmdavis.com/Airship27Hangar/airship27hangar.html} that published new stories (in novels and anthologies) featuring classic characters from old pulp fiction. I sent them a writing sample and they liked it and wanted me to write for them. I had just started my first story for them, about an old pulp vigilante called the Black Bat, when the editor contacted me and asked if I’d want to put the Black Bat on hold and do something for a Sherlock Holmes anthology instead. I was stunned, in the best possible way, and I said yes. Sherlock Holmes is my all-time favourite fictional character and to have a Holmes story as my first published work really was a dream come true. That book came out and had some nice reviews and sold well. After an amazing experience like that, I knew I could never turn back. Writing was what I would do for the rest of my life. That was about five years ago and I’m happy I stuck with it. Of course, it hasn’t all been as easy as that first step. Writing, for anybody, has its ups and downs. I’ve had my share of rejections, every review hasn’t been great, and some books sell better than others. Writing can have you high and happy one minute and drop you into a pit of despair the next, but it’s what I do now and I’m glad I took that step when I did.

3) What would you consider to be your greatest strength as a writer? What about your greatest weakness? How do you overcome this weakness?

I’d have to say that my greatest strength as a writer is my versatility. I love all forms of storytelling and I refuse to stick to just one genre. This has allowed me to try writing about many different things and I’m equally comfortable with most of them. I’ve written Victorian-era mysteries and modern police procedurals, science fiction, fantasy, superheroes, spy stories, World War I aviation stories, a western. And even within a genre, I like to try different styles. For example, my vampire novel 100,000 Midnights, while containing some pretty gruesome scenes, is also, I hope, a fun experience for the reader with some humour and romance in the story to balance all the blood and fear; but I’ve also written some horror that’s made me a little queasy while writing it, some brutally nasty splatterpunk-level stuff. I don’t think there’s any genre I wouldn’t be willing to try writing in if given the opportunity.

As for a weakness in my writing, a very bad habit I used to have (and hopefully have conquered) was being too verbose, going on for too long while explaining the way a character felt, or inserting too much background information all at once. I had a brutally honest editor help me with this and I’ll always be grateful for that. What I had to do to fix this habit was learn to trust my ability to get the point across efficiently, and learn to trust the intelligence of the reader and their ability to get the point without having to be hit over the head with it a dozen times! Once I let go of the insecurity of not fully trusting my skills, I could see the difference by watching the word count drop as I trimmed away excess clutter in a story. It was amazing to see how much fat could be cut away and still leave a good story in place.

4) Tell us about the place where you live. Have you ever derived any inspiration from your home or from anywhere you have visited?

I live in Ringwood, New Jersey, which is a beautiful quiet area with mountains and woods but still close enough to the major highways to not be too out of the way. It’s a perfect place for a writer to live because it’s so peaceful. I’ve lived my whole life in Passaic County, which has amazing variety. I grew up in the city of Paterson, which is very urban with both good sections and bad areas, so I learned what city life is like. Then I lived a few years in the town of Wayne, which is more suburban, then went back to the city and life in a small apartment when I got married, and then finally bought the house I live in now where it’s more a country environment. That’s the great thing about New Jersey: so many different kinds of areas so close together. Any kind of inspiration is only a short drive away. As far as being inspired by other places I’ve visited, sure. I’m close to New York City, but I dislike going there as it’s too crowded and expensive to get in and out of. As far as major U.S. cities go, I really prefer Chicago, which is big but not so congested. I’ve been inspired, in one way or another, by almost any place I’ve visited. There are always things to see and people to observe. The changes are the best thing. When I was growing up or later living in that small apartment, there was rarely a moment when I couldn’t hear people outside or car horns honking. Now it’s quiet here in the mountains and if I look out the back door there’s a good chance I’ll see a deer walking by.

5) Which book, if any, would you consider to be your greatest influence and inspiration?

51hKI8Sq6DL._SS500_I’m going to cheat on this question and name three books because each one means something different to me in a very important way and each has had an influence on my writing. The first would be The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I first found Holmes via the wonderful Jeremy Brett TV adaptations. When my grandfather heard I’d developed an interest in the great detective, he dug out his personal copy of the complete Holmes and gave it to me for Christmas. It’s a beautiful edition printed in 1938 and it’s still the copy I reach for when I want to reread those stories or do some research. Since Holmes is my favourite character of all and I’ve done some published work about him, that book obviously had an impact.

Second would be Roger Zelazny’s Creatures of Light and Darkness. That book just blew me away. I don’t think any other book has been written in quite that style. It really showed me that an author doesn’t necessarily have to follow the rules to successfully tell a great story. It was inspirational in that way, though I could never write anything similar to that since my style is too straightforward and I prefer to just tell the story rather than try literary acrobatics or mind-bending tricks.

And third, since this interview focuses quite a bit on vampires, would have to be the one great vampire classic, Dracula by Bram Stoker. None of the vampire novels since would probably have been written without Stoker’s work and the novel is still chilling today. One thing that annoys me is that there still hasn’t been a completely faithful film adaptation of the book. Don’t get me wrong; I like many of the screen Draculas, including the movies starring Christopher Lee and Bela Lugosi, but they’ve never done a proper version. The closest, I think, was the 1977 BBC version with Louis Jourdan as the count, but even that one made some major changes to the story and its characters. To anyone who hasn’t read the novel, I’d advise them to put aside what they think they know about Dracula, forget the movies, and allow Stoker’s words to carry them deeper and deeper into one of the best nightmares ever put on paper.

6) What drove you to write about Vampires?

It was inevitable that I’d eventually write something about vampires, as they’ve been present in my imagination since I was very young. My grandmother told me bedtime stories about Dracula when I was four or five years old! That may have given me nightmares, but it did give a nice little spark to my imagination too, for which I’ll always be grateful. She also told me about Jack the Ripper at about the same time, gory details and all, though she left out the fact that his victims were prostitutes (it’s that old “violence is all right, but we can’t discuss sex” attitude!).

And after I understood what a vampire is, they seemed to show up all over the place when I was a kid. One of my first comic books was a Batman story, drawn by the incredible Gene Colan, which ended on a cliffhanger with Batman having been bitten by a vampire. Then there was the space vampires episode of the old Buck Rodgers TV show and I have vague memories of vampires being mentioned on an old cartoon called Thundarr the Barbarian. It always thrilled and frightened me to see or hear of vampires in any sort of fiction in those early years.

Later, as I got older, I always sought out vampire fiction. I read Dracula for the first time, tried some Anne Rice but wasn’t crazy about it, read the works of Kim Newman and other vampire writers, and discovered the Marvel Comics series Tomb of Dracula by the aforementioned Gene Colan. Eventually, I wrote two vampire stories for a magazine and those were later re-edited into the first few chapters of 100,000 Midnights.

7) What do you think is the attraction for Vampire fiction? Why is it such a popular topic?

I think vampire fiction works on two different levels. On one hand, vampires are, obviously, scary. They drink blood, violating the body by piercing the flesh with fangs. If you really think about that, it’s quite disturbing, although the trend toward heroic and sexy and nice vampires seems to have made some people forget about that.

On the other hand, I think we all sometimes fantasize about being a monster of some sort. There is a certain appeal to mythological creatures or monsters and we can’t help but dream of what it might be like to possess that power and live in that strange world of shadow and mystery. The vampire, of all the classic horror creatures, is probably the most appealing in that sense. Zombies are rotting and mindless, being a werewolf requires a dramatic change in appearance, Frankenstein’s monster is a collection of sewn-together pieces…but the vampire is still, more or less, humanoid in shape and possesses powers that could be, under the right circumstances, a lot of fun to have! So I think vampires can be either something we fear or something we’d like to be, or maybe both at the same time.

8) In a fight between all the greatest Vampires of fiction, who do you think would come out on top?

Recently, I read the first two books in an excellent new series by Christopher Farnsworth, Blood Oath and The President’s Vampire. These books feature a character named Nathaniel Cade who works as a secret agent for the United States government. The story behind how Farnsworth got the idea for the series is based on a real historical incident and is quite fascinating. President Andrew Johnson, in 1867, commuted the death sentence of a man accused of being a vampire! Farnsworth bases his novels on the idea that maybe the accused really was a vampire and he was put to work for the government. The series takes place in the modern age and Cade’s been working for the US presidents, one after another, for over 100 years, battling supernatural threats. I’d give Cade a good chance in a fight because in addition to having the strength, speed, and toughness of a vampire, he’s driven by an oath to protect his country, which makes him self-sacrificing enough that he’d have an edge over someone like Dracula who would tend to be more driven by the lust for power and self-preservation. Imagine the powers of the vampire, combine with the experience and skills of a warrior who’s been fighting for his country for over a century, and you have a pretty impressive combination.

9) What about in some other contest such as sexiness or dress sense? Who would win that one?

As far as dress sense goes, I’ve always thought it made more sense for a vampire to dress in clothing typical to whatever time period the story takes place in. Even if a vampire is, say, 500 years old, I think he or she, if intelligent, would adapt to changing styles in order to better blend in and survive, so I’m not a big fan of vampires who refuse to change with the times. On the topic of sexiness, some very attractive vampires that come to mind would be Deborah Ann Woll as Jessica on True Blood and Kate Beckinsale in the Underworld films.

10) How well do you think one of your characters would fare against the winner(s) of the above?

Well Siobhan, the main female vampire in 100,000 Midnights is just as sexy as the two characters I mentioned, at least as I see her when I write about her.

As far as a fight goes, Siobhan is tough, but she’s small and not as strong as some bigger, older vampires, so she’d have a hard time fighting Dracula or Nathaniel Cade. If any of my vampires would have a good chance in a fight against them, it would have to be Siobhan’s friend Phillip. He’s bigger, stronger, a little older, and has a serious mean streak when he needs it. He’s also had a very tough179269709 past, which will be revealed in the next book in the series.

11) Tell us the basic premise behind your latest novel.

100,000 Midnights focuses on a young man named Eric. He’s only in his early twenties, but he’s eccentric and fascinated by the past. He’s a loner, a bit of a hermit, working a dull job and not really going anywhere interesting in life. Then he meets Siobhan, a female vampire who looks about 18 but is really almost 300 years old. Siobhan is about to go through a coming of age called the Eldering, at which point a vampire matures and gains enhanced powers. The problem is, when a vampire reaches this point in their afterlife, they tend to be attacked by a strange race of artificial angels, created at some point in the past, designed to seek out and destroy young vampires. But these angels are, so the legend says, forbidden from harming humans. Siobhan finds Eric and asks him to help her survive the Eldering. That’s the beginning of the story and the rest follows the two of them through a month of events during which they face a number of supernatural threats. It’s a story of change, as Eric discovers that there are many things out there in the shadows, dangerous things of which most humans in the modern world know nothing. Eric has to learn, very quickly, to adapt in order to face some pretty horrible events. It’s also a story about two beings from very different worlds encountering each other and trying to figure out how their lives fit together.

Writing 100,000 Midnights was an exercise in putting together a lot of different influences and ideas that have been with me for a long time. Eric was based, at least at first, on my personality, but he grew into someone else the further I went into the story. And there are little tributes in the book too, elements that have similarities to some of the stories I’ve enjoyed reading over the years while still being different because they’re filtered through my particular style of writing. In many ways, the novel is my love letter to things like the Universal horror movies, some of the works of HG Wells, elements of the works of Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley, and even old Archie comics!

And I’m very happy to be able to report that there will be a sequel. The contract is signed, the book is written, and the editing process is about to begin any day now. So the second book in the series is tentatively scheduled for release in late summer of 2013.

[Vampire Month] Introduction

01 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Vampire Month

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Ann Rice, Being Human, books, Bram Stoker, Doctor Who, Dracula, guest blogging, guest posts, Haemovores, Hammer Horror, Manga, Night Watch, Rachel Caine, Storyteller System, The Lost Boys, Twilight, Underworld, Vampire: The Masquearde, Vampires, White Wolf


So, another year, another Vampire month. Last year’s offerings were epic and I think this year’s will take that level of epicness and redefine it. And, as everyone knows, one way to make something epic is to have Christopher Lee involved in it somewhere. So, here is a photo of him to create the illusion that he is involved.Vampire

The Vampire has been a presence in literature for quite some time and has mutated into many different forms over the years. In fact, I believe that this mutability is what keeps the Vampire genre in such good shape. Had writers stuck to the concepts popularised by Stoker it was likely that the Vampire would have become staid and dull. Instead, like any immortal must do to survive, the Vampire has changed with the times in a number of different ways.

Whether you are talking about Stoker’s Dracula, Hammer’s Dracula, The Lost Boys, Underworld, Twilight, White Wolf’s Storyteller game, Night Watch, Being Human, Doctor Who’s Haemovores or some of the weird stuff you see in Manga you will see a different interpretation of what is essentially the same mythological creature. Vampires have dressed in Victorian garb, Regency velvets, PVC catsuits, 80’s New Romantic frills, shellsuits, police uniforms and Crusader armour. They’ve been lords, ladies, punks, assassins and homeless. Some of them stalk, some of them fly through windows in a floaty way, others hop. They have been obsessed with counting rice and lost socks but they all have that same, all consuming addiction to blood. There is a lot of choice in there. Which makes sense when you consider that your pool for recruiting new blood is the entirity of humanity over the whole of history.

So, this month we intend to celebrate the diversity of the Vampire in all its many forms with a host of writers who all have an interest in the genre.

This year sees a slight change to the format of last year’s Vampire Month. Last year we had four writers with a week each. This year we have six writers who have sent in articles. So, there will be three posts a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday – throughout the month.

If you are interested in taking part in next year’s Vampire month event or know someone who might be, please feel free to contact me on dalascelles-writing@yahoo.co.uk I am, by the way, still waiting for Ann Rice or Rachel Caine to get in touch…

So, without further ado, I hereby declare this, the second Vampire Month, officially open!

Vampire Month – Seeking fresh blood

22 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Guest posts

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Ann Rice, books, Bram Stoker, entertainment, guest blogging, guest posts, Jason Petty, Joss Whedon, literature, Ninfa Hayes, Rachel Caine, Rebeka Harrington, Skyla Dawn Cameron, Stephenie Meyer, Vampires


It has been an age old tradition of this blog, dating back all the way to March 2012 (yes, all those many months ago), for the month of March to be assigned ‘Vampire Month’ and to be taken up with guest posts and interviews by writers who work in genres involving nightstalking bloodsuckers. Last March we had some wonderful posts by Diana Hardy, Skyla Dawn Cameron, Ninfa Hayes and Jason Petty covering subjects ranging from muses to book buying and now it is almost time to get things organised for this March…Vampire

So, with this in mind, I am putting out a call. I need fresh blood to fill the pages of Vampire month this year.

If you are a writer of something which could be construed in some way to be ‘vampire fiction’ or you know a writer who is and can contact them without stalking them I would be very interested in speaking with you. Contact me via this blog, Twitter, Facebook or my email address (dalascelles-writing@yahoo.co.uk) and tell me all about yourself or the author you think you can contact for me.

Of course, while I’d love to be able to get Ann Rice, Rachel Caine, Stephenie Meyer and similar on board for this (or even Jos Whedon or Toby Whitehouse) I am equally happy to accept less famous writers so long as you can do an interesting blog post and answer some interview questions. I would not, of course, say no to any of the above. However, if you contact me claiming to have exclusive access to Bram Stoker, I’d tell you to put him back where you found him and that Grave Robbery is so 1800s, darling…

Bram Stoker (1847 – 1912)

20 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings

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Tags

Ann Rice, Blade, Bram Stoker, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Christopher Lee, Demeter, Dracula, Francis Ford Coppola, Gary Oldman, Godfather, Hammer Horror, horror, John William Polidori, Joss Whedon, Lestat, Lost Boys, Tony Lee, Twilight, Vampires, Vietnam movies, Whitby


I was reminded by the inestimable Tony Lee that today was in fact the centenary of the death of Bram Stoker, who died following a series of strokes on the 20th April, 1912.

Though he is not credited with the creation of the literary vampire (that credit goes to John William Polidori, one time  personal physician to Lord Byron) he certainly did his bit to ensure that the Vampire became the enduring myth we know and love today. Without him there would have been no Lestat, no Lost Boys, no Blade, no Buffy the Vampire Slayer* and, of course, no Christopher Lee or Gary Oldman as Dracula. In fact, Hammer horror would have spent the entirity of the 70s having nothing good to make films about and Francis Ford Coppola would have been stuck making endless sequels to the Godfather and Vietnam war films.

Of course, there would also be no Twilight. But I feel we can forgive the old chap for that one.

I would like commemerate this occasion by talking about something else which was instrumental in the creation of Dracula and hence all of the above… the town of Whitby. Whitby is the place where Stoker may have got the inspiration for Dracula – at least the evidence suggests this to be the case. Based on the notes he left, the only mention of the name ‘Dracula’ comes from a reference to a book called  ‘An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia’by William Wilkinson (1820) which he found in Whitby library.

Whitby Abbey

Of course, Whitby is also the place where the Demeter, the ship that brings Dracula to England, lands. I suspect this was by way of crediting the contribution the town made to his work.

It is easy to see how Whitby can inspire one of the greatest horror stories of all time. While the inspiration for the character came from Wallachia, the moody and misty atmosphere of this little Northern port town must have had some influence on the feel of Stoker’s writing and, indeed, the interpretations that followed. I remember my own visit to Whitby with fondness. I was a teenager, taking a yaught trip down the north east coast with a group from college, and we stopped overnight in Whitby. We visited the Abbey, went to the Dracula Museum and spent a fun day wandering aroung the place. The Abbey alone is an imposing and grand sight and I have always had a love for dynamic coastal views.

And Whitby is not shy about crowing about its connection to Stoker. Not only is there the Dracula museum and the blue plaques commemmorating his visit but it also welcomes the many goths who congreate there twice a year for the Whitby Goth Festival. And personally, I do not see why they shouldn’t be proud of their role in creating a character who is promising to be almost as immortal in popularity as he was in actuality.

*There is absolute evidence which suggests that, had Bram Stoker not written Dracula, Joss Whedon would never have been born.

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