Customer Reviews

The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories

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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.

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~]

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."

A very worth-while compilation of landmark short stories and excerpts from novels. This book is a note-worthy introduction to vampire fiction from its written origins. I can't recommend this book enough as the perfect "starter" book for the vampire fiction enthusiast. "The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories" will inspire any reader to build a vampire fiction library ! There is also an invaluable bonus, the back of the book lists notable vampire fiction and movies. Terrific for those who want to discover more.

This is without question the best collection of vampire fiction currently in print. Editor Ryan has done a fantastic job of selecting stories that illustrate the wide historical and thematic range of vampire stories. The introduction and brief comments that introduce each story are concise and insightful. (my favorite story--M.R.R. James' "An Episode of Cathedral History." It still gives me the shivers! If you want an introduction to vampire literature, this book would be your best starting point.

This was one of several anthologies I picked up in an effort to accumulate much of the early English-language vampire fiction written. This book is excellent, not limiting itself to extremely short stories, but not excluding them either. Because it is trying to cover a broad spectrum it does include many well-known stories which will already be familiar to the accomplished vampire-reader. But it also includes old-fashioned stories of "poor quality" which were written to be mainly sensationalist, but which ended up adding their flavour to many subsequent vampire stories, and other shorts which are usually only mentioned in other books and not reprinted.
Instead of lowering the quality of the book, to me this heightens the experience of discovering vampiric stories. While probably not interesting for fans of modern vampire stories in which the vampire is the central character and the reader is expected to enjoy the vampire's lusts along with it, this book is an excellent place to start reading the stories which have introduced and shaped Western society's concept of vampires and vampirism.

This is a great book! You would have to look everywhere to find each of these stories, yet this book brings you several high-quality vampire stories! Bravo Penguin books!

With stories dating from 1816 (Lord Byron's "Fragment of a Novel") to 1984 (Tanith Lee's "Bite-Me-Not..."), this anthology has everything a vampire lover could want. Not only are the stories all top-notch, but the introductory notes for each story by Alan Ryan are fascinating glimpses into the ever-changing mythos of vampire lore. There are too many highlights to mention, but the sublime thrills of "The Drifting Snow" by August Derleth and "Drink My Blood" by horror master Richard Matheson are guaranteed to give you shivers.

I had to get this for school and ended up keeping it for my personal collection. Some of the stories are a little poorly written, but most present a very entertaining cross-section of vampire stories from the eighteen-hundreds up through the end of the twentieth. As an intoduction to Western vampire myth, I found it very enlightening and entertaining.

This is one of the best collection of vampire stories i've ever read. This book combines traditional vampire tales with those having more psychological or sci-fi elements. I especially recommand reading Shambleau by C.L.Moore, The Girl w/ the Hungry Eyes - F. Leiber, Bite-Me-Not - T. Lee and Unicorn Tapestry -S. M. Charnes. However, all the stories defenetly deserve to be read.