The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories [Paperback]

Alan Ryan (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 1989

They're lurking under the cover of darkness … and between the covers of this book. Here, in all their horror and all their glory, are the great vampires of literature: male and female, invisible and metamorphic, doomed and daring.

Their skin deathly pale, their nails curved like claws, their fangs sharpened for the attack, they are gathered for the kill and for the chill, brought frighteningly to life by Bram Stoker, Fritz Leiber, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Charles L. Grant, Tanith Lee, and other masters of the macabre. Careful—they are all crafty enough to steal their way into your imagination and steal away your hopes for a restful sleep.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alan Ryan has served as a judge for the Film Fantasy Awards and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. He regularly contributes to The Washington Post, USA Today, The Smithsonian, and Travel and Leisure, among other publications.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (October 3, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140124454
• ISBN-13: 978-0140124453
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best there is., December 25, 2000

By 

E. M. Dale (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories (Paperback)

Alan Ryan has assembled here both a history of vampire short fiction and a compelling collection of never-lose-their-edge stories. The volume contains the very first vampire story to appear in English, fragments of Byron's vampire stories, a chapter Stoker never included in Dracula, excerpts from the "penny-dreadfuls" popular at the turn of the century, and several of the most important works for the genre, including the full text of the story Carmilla. Ryan introduces each story with a bit of background information and the author's place in the pantheon, which is helpful because many of these authors are otherwise unknown or known only within genre literature. This is the single best anthology available for a real introduction to vampire literature.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, Vampires Used To Be Scary!, January 19, 2006

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories (Paperback)

In the last couple of decades, vampires have been emasculated and neutered. Modern sensationalist authors have turned vampires into forbidden lust objects and sensitive outcasts, rather than the embodiments of pure evil that they're supposed to be. If you're unhappy with the insufficient horror of current vampire tales, track down this collection or one like it. (At least some editions of this volume, originally from 1987, will be difficult to find, but you could also try to locate a different collection that features the old stories I will discuss here.) Enthusiasts will know that vampires were significant in medieval folklore, especially in Eastern Europe, and the earliest of the stories here reflect these true robust traditions. We get "The Vampyre" by John Polidori (1819) and "Varney the Vampyre" by James Malcolm Rhymer (1845), both of which were incredibly influential for all subsequent horror writing. Another early treasure in this book is a lost chapter from Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897).

After this, writers started to get creative with the vampire mythos, growing the literary tradition in fascinating and always frightening ways. This collection's greatest find is the stupendous "Shambleau" by C.L. Moore (1933), a terrifying early landmark for both horror and science fiction. Other old favorites include "Revelations in Black" by Carl Jacobi (1933) which explores the connections between vampires and insanity; and "Over the River" by P. Schuyler Miller (1941), a truly disturbing and upsetting tale of a man who has become a vampire against his will and is rejected by his loved ones. On the fun side, down miss the freaky supermodel vampire in Fritz Leiber's "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" (1949) or Robert Bloch's actor who plays a vampire way too well in "The Living Dead" (1967). By the time we get to the 70s and 80s we get early goodies from excellent and still active authors such as Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Ramsey Campbell, and Tanith Lee. The emerging modern development of vampire literature can be seen in "Unicorn Tapestry" by Suzy McKee Charnas (1980), which is stronger than today's unscary schlock but is a chilling omen of the currently rampant vampire-as-forbidden-lover motif. Fans of real horror and real vampires must pick up this collection, or one with similar story selection, that compiles these important and truly scary old classics. [~doomsdayer520~]

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic tales on creatures of the night., October 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories (Paperback)

Rather than a collection of modern-day stories, this collection features tales through the ages that start from the 1816 and range until the publication of the book. Among the edition are several classics, such as George Gordon and Lord Byron's "Fragment of a Novel," an excerpt from "Varney the Vampire, or, The Feast of Blood" by James Malcom Rymer, Bram Stoker's "Dracula's Guest" and "Carmilla." Modern writers include Robert Bloch's "The Living Dead" and Tanitha Lee's "Bite-Me-Not or, Fleur de Feu."