or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead [Paperback]

Bruce McClelland (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

List Price: $21.95
Price: $17.20 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $4.75 (22%)
  Special Offers Available
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Wednesday, February 1? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Textbook Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover $80.00  
Paperback $17.20  

Book Description

0472069233 978-0472069231 July 28, 2006
The first book to explore the origins of the vampire slayer
 
“A fascinating comparison of the original vampire myths to their later literary transformations.”
—Adam Morton, author of On Evil
 
“From the Balkan Mountains to Beverly Hills, Bruce has mapped the vampire’s migration. There’s no better guide for the trek.”
—Jan L. Perkowski, Professor, Slavic Department, University of Virginia, and author of Vampires of the Slavs and The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism
 
“The vampire slayer is our protector, our hero, our Buffy. But how much do we really know about him—or her? Very little, it turns out, and Bruce McClelland shows us why: because the vampire slayer is an unsettling figure, almost as disturbing as the evil she is set to destroy. Prepare to be frightened . . . and enlightened.”
—Corey Robin, author of Fear: The History of a Political Idea
 
“What is unique about this book is that it is the first of its kind to focus on the vampire hunter, rather than the vampire. As such, it makes a significant contribution to the field. This book will appeal to scholars and researchers of folklore, as well as anyone interested in the literature and popular culture of the vampire.”
—Elizabeth Miller, author of Dracula and A Dracula Handbook
 
“Shades of Van Helsing! Vampirologist extraordinaire Bruce McClelland has managed that rarest of feats: developing a radically new and thoroughly enlightening perspective on a topic of eternal fascination. Ranging from the icons of popular culture to previously overlooked details of Balkan and Slavic history and folk practice, he has rethought the borders of life and death, good and evil, saint and sinner, vampires and their slayers. Excellent scholarship, and a story that never flags.”
—Bruce Lincoln, Caroline E. Haskell Professor of History of Religions, University of Chicago, and author of Theorizing Myth: Narrative, Ideology, and Scholarship, Authority: Construction and Corrosion, and Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology and Practice

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)

Frequently Bought Together

Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead + In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires + The Vampire: A Casebook
Price For All Three: $51.75

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together
  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires $18.95

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Vampire: A Casebook $15.60

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Product Details

  • Paperback: 280 pages
  • Publisher: University of Michigan Press (July 28, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0472069233
  • ISBN-13: 978-0472069231
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #484,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The First Non-Fiction Book on Vampire Hunters, November 29, 2006
This review is from: Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead (Paperback)
McClelland takes up a rather daunting task: writing the first non-fiction book devoted to the subject of vampire hunters.

The first half of the book is largely a chronicle of the origins of the vampire myth itself. It is certainly one of the best examinations of this rather murky area of vampire scholarship since Barber's "Vampires, Burial, and Death" (1988) and Perkowski's "The Darkling" (1989).

Unlike most authors of non-fiction vampire literature, McClelland is versed in several languages (and one of the few that will readily admit to being a vampirologist) - which helps give us English-speakers access into a world of vampires rarely seen. His study on Bulgarian folklore is quite eye-opening.

From there, we springboard into little known lore about Eastern and Central European vampire hunters of different name. McClelland makes a compelling link between them and their connection to shamanism (among other things) - something delved into further in Jackson's "The Compleat Vampyre" (1995).

The next section goes into the modern incarnation of the vampire hunter, i.e., Van Helsing, Kolchak, Buffy, etc. I found this section a bit thin on the ground, especially in regards to the supposed inspiration for Stoker's perennial vampire hunter, Abraham Van Helsing.

Overall though, I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in learning the historic/folkloric origins and development of the myth as we know it today. I look forward to (hopefully) further publications in the field from this author who breaks out of the stale non-fiction vampire mold.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ember days, unclean days, pagan days, term vampir, word vampir, folkloric vampire, vampire folklore, vampire beliefs, vampire lore, vampire slayer, vampire tales
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Van Swieten, Van Helsing, Western Europe, The X-Files, Maria Theresa, Count Dracula, South Slavic, Wolf Days, The Rational Slayer, Bram Stoker, East European, Eastern Europe, Habsburg Empire, Central Europe, The Mummy, Middle Ages, The Night Stalker, The Wolf Man, Byzantine Orthodoxy, The Slayer Generation, Evil Spirit, East Slavic, Near East, Universal Pictures, Ottoman Empire
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:


What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Late shipping? 0 Aug 1, 2006
See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject