Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Tales [Paperback]

Pam Keesey (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2006

Lesbian vampires — the quintessential bad girls — indulge in their perverse pleasures in this red-hot collection.
The female vampire is so deliciously wicked that her powerful sexual nature was hidden for centuries. But the vampire story has always been one of submerged eroticism. The vampire emerges from the shadows, seduces her intended victim, and feeds on her, defying all rules in her pursuit of pleasure. In Daughters of Darkness, editor Pam Keesey brings the eroticism of the female vampire front and center with explicit tales from some of the finest contemporary queer writers.
Patrick Califia’s “The Vampire” confounds conventional views of the subject as he uncovers Sapphic bloodlust in the S/M netherworld. Katherine V. Forrest imagines the lesbian vampire cruising the galaxies in search of bed-and-blood partners in the witty sci-fi adventure “O Captain, My Captain.” In “Louisiana: 1850,” Lambda Award-winner Jewelle Gomez delights readers with a curious ménage in the antebellum South. Also included is the first major lesbian vampire tale, J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” (1871).

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Although this collection is probably for a fairly specialized market, there are some excellent stories here--including works by Jewelle Gomez, Kathryn Forrest, and Robbi Sommers--which, as editor Keesey points out, are hard to find elsewhere. Before Dracula, much vampire lore in fact centered around female vampires, and Keesey is bringing to light some of that tradition. By combining the ideas of women as vampires and women as seductive lesbians, Keesey doubles the force of images that have historically crystallized society's fear of powerful women. This book will be particularly at home in collections of feminist fiction, folklore, and popular culture; the explicit eroticism may limit its use in popular fiction collections.
- Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. , Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In the fascinating, scholarly introduction to these 10 tales, editor Keesey examines the role of women, especially lesbians, in vampire lore. She traces her own interest to the 1970s--"the golden age of lesbian vampire movies"--and pursues her quarry throughout literature, postulating that its origin might lie in traditions as old as the Bible. Discovering traditional characteristics of the female vampire, she concludes that the lesbian may be the skeleton-in-the-closet of vampire lore. Her choices for the anthology proper include LeFanu's classic "Carmilla" (1871) and nine much more contemporary stories, including sex-advice columnist Pat Califia's "Vampire," set in contemporary leather and S&M bars; mystery writer Katherine V. Forrest's "O Captain, My Captain," with its vampire of the future cruising the galaxies like the Flying Dutchman; and Jewelle Gomez's "Louisiana: 1850" from her Gilda Stories. The other choices are as varied and intriguing, and all are followed by a brief annotated filmography and unannotated bibliography. Marie Kuda --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Cleis Press; 3rd edition (March 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157344233X
• ISBN-13: 978-1573442336
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,265,781 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

31 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Should have been SO MUCH BETTER!!!, June 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Stories (Paperback)

How can you miss with a book about lesbian vampires?!!! This should EASILY have been both scary and intensely erotic --- but it was NEITHER!!! Problem #1: Too many P.C. authors, trying to make their lesbian vampires champions of the political plight of lesbian women --- BORING!!! Problem #2: Very poor mixing of terror and sensuality, which like terror and humor can very often mix together very well! Problem #3: Isn't the whole vampire thing usually portrayed as an older evil guy rapaciously pursuing innocent, virginal young women? So what's so hard about replacing the older guy with a beautiful slightly older woman, having her seducing pretty young women with or without their consent? No, this book was a failure because Ms. Kesey tried to go the politically correct route, and the result is a disappointing, very un-erotic collection of so-so stories.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Contribution for Hard Core Fans of Queer Horror, December 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Stories (Paperback)

For those of us interested in the Queer Horror Genre, Daughters of Darkness is yet another of Keesey's exceptional contributions. First, the editorial introduction provides more insight into the genre, a map to seeing more between the lines of the stories -- in what has become a rarity in writing about literature -- an easy to read, accessible format. I actually _learned_ about what I was reading in the stories that followed. Second, the book provides an outlet for what are historically and contemporarily undervalued authors of meaningful horror stories, all respectful of the positive contribution of lesbian imagery and ideas in literature. No, this isn't an erotic pulp novel. It is also NOT the usual feminist PC approach in which all lesbian vampires are made out to be evil or pornographic characters. Instead, sexy and empowering images of lesbian vampires is celebrated in another luscious volume.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring, July 28, 2011

By 

Ms.Tiptress "Reading life away." (RALEIGH, NC, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Stories (Paperback)

There was not enough action, not enough sex,and the vampire characters SUCKED big time.. Horrible read I would not recommend anyone let alone lesbians read this story.. Unless you like old English and vampires.