Dark Angels: Lesbian Vampire Stories [Paperback]

Pam Keesey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 1995

Like its prequel Daughters of Darkness, Dark Angels reclaims the vampire as a sensual, homoerotic being, whose female essence has been overwritten by Hollywood images of heterosexual seduction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sexual and seductive, violently jealous, the lesbian vampire enthralls every lesbian she meets -- and anyone else who happens to catch a glimpse of folklore's quintessential bad girl. In fact, the lesbian vampire is so terrifying and seductively wicked, so powerfully ancient and alluring, that even vampire buffs have tried to keep her under wraps -- enter Dark Angels: Lesbian Vampire Stories. This unique anthology includes classics such as "The Vampire" from Sardia: A Love Story (1891) by Cora Linn Daniels; "The Bloody Countess" by Alejandra Pizarnik, and many more. Dark Angels features a bit of gender twist as well, with both male and female authors writing from a lesbian point of view. Keesey's introduction and bibliography also make Dark Angels appropriate for scholars in women's studies, gay and lesbian studies, popular cultural studies, or comparative literature. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 145 pages
• Publisher: Cleis Press; First Thus edition (September 13, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573440140
• ISBN-13: 978-1573440141
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,710,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pam Keesey is well known for her writing on women in horror, including her books Daughters of Darkness, Dark Angels, Women Who Run with the Werewolves, and Vamps: An Illustrated History of the Femme Fatale. She is the editor and publisher of MonsterZine, an online horror movie magazine that, in the words of Dr. Frank C. Baxter of The Mole People (1956), explores the meaning and significance of horror movies in the 21st century. Pam has also worked as a technical writer, a news editor, and as an editor of occult books in Spanish.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting collection of erotic vampire stories, April 8, 2004

By 

Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dark Angels: Lesbian Vampire Stories (Paperback)

I'm always on the quest for a good vampire novel. I have read my fair share of good vampire books and atrocious vampire books. My favorite are Anne Rice's vampire chronicle series. I first stumbled upon Pam Keesey with her first collection "Daughters of Darkness". I was curious when I saw a picture of Kim Deal reading this book in a local magazine several years ago. When I came across the book, I thought I would check it out. Being a big vampire fan, I am extremely open-minded about this particular subject matter. In this case, I thought the idea of lesbian vampires was intriguing.

I enjoyed "Daughters of Darkness" a lot. A few years later in 1999 when I was still living in another state, I had the opportunity to meet Pam at a book signing for her latest book (at the time) "Dark Angels". This time the stories in "Dark Angels" focused more on vampires while "Daughters of Darkness" focused more on lesbianism. I found myself enjoying "Dark Angels" slightly more. The stores aren't as lengthy as say "Carmilla" by J. Sheridan LeFanu or "Louisana: 1850" by Jewelle Gomez. I didn't care if the vampires in a lot of these stories weren't your atypical vampire ala Dracula. It gets pretty old reading vampires who just sucks blood and terrorize people. Throughout both books, there is a huge female empowerment theme that runs throughout the stories. For those who have a disdain for feminism or wants vampires to be one dimensional and cartoony Pam Keesy's books aren't for you. For vampire fans who considers themselves feminists, Pam Keesy's books are certainly worth looking into.

19 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not scary. Not erotic. Disappointing., December 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dark Angels: Lesbian Vampire Stories (Paperback)

This book was the sequel to Pam Keesey's other lesbian vampire anthology, "Daughters of Darkness", which was actually a better collection. Both books, however, suffer from too much lesbian politics and not enough raw eroticism. Maybe that's because Pam solicits her stories from the serious "women's issues" oriented writers who are fine in their way but can't write erotica worth a damn! VAMPIRES DON'T LOOK FOR CONSENTING PARTNERS TO SHARE THEIR FEELINGS WITH! They're rapacious and evil and prey on the young & beautiful. These stories could easily be creative & imaginative and incredibly hot... but they're NOT, at least not the majority of them. But if you're looking for an ideological study of feminist lesbian thought, then I heartily recommend you purchase this book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read It for the Vampires and Not for the Sex, December 3, 2010

By 

Randy Stafford (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dark Angels: Lesbian Vampire Stories (Paperback)

All lesbians all the time every story. So this anthology's title is truth in advertising - though a slightly broader definition of vampire is in play rather than the standard bloodsucker. Though a Cleis Press book, this isn't a book of erotica. Not every story has sex and not all the sex is erotic, and the blood comes in the regular and menstrual variety. As a male reader, I almost think I've learned something about female sexuality and some of the things menstruation means to women.

Here's the rundown, in order.

"Wandering", Amelia G - Lesbian makeup artist reunites, after 15 years, with a goth musician. A hot time ensues with ropes and ice cubes. Didn't much care for the smart-alecky tone of the narrator's voice.

"Blood Wedding", Gary Bowen - Effective, sensual erotica of the swirlings about in Victorian society when a pale and beautiful Russian bride shows up.

"Presence", Melanie Tem - Tem is an interesting writer. This is no exception. Not erotic in the least, it's a story, in brief scenes, of an 80 year old woman's life. Death as the ultimate sexual transport, a reunion with old lovers? Senility or literal vampires? Not sure, but I liked it.

"The Countess Visonti", Cora Linn Daniels - Actually this is an excerpt of the 1891 novel Sardia, a Story of Love. Not a bit of sex here but plenty of erotic tension as the young Lulu becomes psychologically subjugated by Sybil.

"Medea", Carol Leonard - Not erotic and full of Goddess mythology nonsense but its fixation on menstruation was fascinating.

"Femme-de-Siecle", Lawrence Schimel - More of a joke story about vampires and diets. Not a lot of onstage sex and nothing erotic.

"The Tale of Christina", Cecilia Tan - An interesting story, another one erotic with little sex. Vampires, here, are not exclusively bloodsuckers but creatures of generalized wanting, self-created and self-damned to an eternity of needing.

"Orphans", Thomas S. Roche - The meeting of two women at the Orphanage goth club is not very interesting, clear, or erotic.

"Cinammon Roses", Renee M. Charles - One of the better stories here, an erotic day at work for our barber narrator who shaves "heads and tails" and her encounter with one particular customer.

"The Bloody Countess", Alejandra Pizarnik - Condensed novel-like account of the original lesbian vampire (according to legend, at least): Countess Erzebet Bathory. Bloody and horrifying and not in the least bit erotic. Seemingly drawn from Valentine Penrose's The Bloody Countess: Atrocities of Erzsebet Bathory.

"Daria Dangerous", Shawn Dell - Dyke on a bike and the old plot of sexual desire being pursued at all costs, nigh unto death.

Pam Keesey's introduction is somewhat informative on the various sexually rapacious, lethal female figures of world mythology: lamia, Kali, and Lilith.