Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead [Illustrated] [Paperback]

J. Gordon Melton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1998

In addition to 200 sketches of fictional vampire characters of the 19th and 20th century, this book also contains essays about vampires, from literature, graphic novels, music, and other areas.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Melton (The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead, Visible Ink, 1998. 2d ed.) has taken on the daunting task of composing brief biographies for the multitude of vampire characters that haunt novels, short stories, graphic novels, children's books, films, and TV. Unfortunately, some of these biographical sketches give away too much?if you haven't read the book or seen the movie in which the character appears, the plot may be spoiled. Melton has gathered a representative sample from the thousands of vampire characters in film and print and has attempted to include the most popular, but how he has determined that popularity is unclear. This is a frustrating book?Melton's obvious enthusiasm for all things vampiric is infectious and can make for enjoyable reading, but the omission of characters from the works of such authors as Wendy Haley, Nancy Kilpatrick, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch plus occasionally erroneous information severely limits the book's value as a reference tool. It would, however, be a good addition to a circulating collection where there is interest in the vampire genre.?Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Bowie, MD
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 500 pages
• Publisher: Visible Ink Pr; illustrated edition edition (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578590531
• ISBN-13: 978-1578590537
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,455,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J. Gordon Melton is the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History at the Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University, and the Director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion also based in Waco, Texas.

He is the author of more than 35 books, the great majority reference works or scholarly texts in American religious history, including the "Encyclopedia of American Religions" (eighth edition, 2009), and most recently "Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances and Spiritual Commemorations" (2011). He has also written several reference books in Dracula and vampire studies including the award winning "The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead" (third edition 2010).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An okay read, but could have been better..., July 10, 2002

By 

Anthony Hogg (VIC., AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead (Paperback)

Similar, in format, to Melton's far-better "The Vampire book", this tome attempts to document the various kinds of vampires that have graced the screen, novels, short stories, and even comics, but does not quite succeed in whole.

Firstly, with such a wide range of media to choose from, why does Melton feel he has to cover vampires from the same stories under different entries, e.g.; Dave, Howler, Mink, Screech, Skeeter and Whipsnake - all characters in DC/Vertigo's "Vamps" series, for instance? This seems like a waste of space, and I'm sure they could have been lumped under one heading.
I felt like this space could have been occupied by further entries, more diverse than the selection the book has on offer.

Secondly, it's all well and good incorporating the vampire's archnemesis - the vampire hunter - into the book, but shouldn't this be mentioned in the title? It does make the book a little misleading afterall...Not to mention that they only have 27 enties anyway (and several also overlap, because they also feature in the same stories) for the latter section. It almost seems like this section was put in as an after-thought, or pieced together from left-over material.

Thirdly, although some may commend it for including profiles of very recently created vampires, like tv's "Angel (as portrayed by David Boreanaz)", I think this actually DETRACTS points from the book. The reason for this is, that Angel's story is a continuing one, with various plots developed revolving around himself, more revelations about the character, something impossible to keep up with without further editions of "The Vampire Gallery", and therefore, makes it seem "unfinished".

Lastly, however feasible, i would've loved to have seen every entry accompanied by a picture of the vamp it profiles. It would give it a sense of "wholeness" from which this book is sadly lacking.

A good book for the beginner vampire enthusiaist, but for this "seasoned veteran", it lacks the "cover-all-the-stops" feel of "The Vampire Book" and is somewhat of a let-down.

A suggestion (for possible future editions?): although the book is in "encyclopedia" form, perhaps it could be expanded by having double-cloumned pages - that way, far more vampire profiles could be squeezed in!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but too many glaring errors, May 14, 2001

By 

Katrina - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead (Paperback)

I borrowed this book from the library, and was impressed with some of the entries. I am learning about some movies and books that I'm now interested in renting or borrowing, but I've also learned to take the information in the entries with a grain of salt. As soon as I read his short bio on Ben Cortman from I Am Legend, I began scrutinizing the other entries. There was no war in I Am Legend, and it took place over a matter of YEARS, not evenings as the author states. I was very disappointed in this.

On the other hand, I was happy to see so many current vampires included, such as Angel (although he made an error there too, Angel was not born on a Greek island, he was born in Ireland), and the inclusion of vampire hunters.

All in all, I'd say this is a good reference if you don't take all the information as the last word on the subject. Other research is required.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Lot of Effort, But Heavily Flawed, June 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead (Paperback)

Like Melton's "The Vampire Book," this edition contains lots of information that is outright incorrect or, worse, mixes good info with factual errors. Considering that Visible Ink is a division of Gale Research, this is inexcusable! One fact-checker could have corrected a lot of Melton's errors. Did "Forever Knight" last three or four seasons? Is Vampirella really the reincarnation of Cleopatra? All of these mistakes make the book essentially useless as a reliable source of reference!