Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures from the Darkside [Paperback]

Brad Steiger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

A chilling chronicle of the often ignored history of vampirism as it has surfaced repeatedly in news articles, historical accounts, and first person interviews, this shocking account of occultist rituals and the inhuman forces that influence them shines a light on the horrifying truth. Revealing that real vampires are not immortal, do not have fangs or sleep in coffins, and have no fear of sunlight or crucifixes, the examination dispels many myths but also confirms the truth behind several traits of real vampires, such as the insatiable thirst for blood and the dream of an eternal soul. Complete with 30 spine-tingling tales of the hideous wraiths and creatures that lurk in shadow, this fascinating collection includes the stories of the Mexican prostitute who mesmerized an entire village, convincing them she was an Incan goddess who required human sacrifice for her magic; the three teenagers who left a trail across the South as they conducted blood-drinking rituals with animals; and the mysterious Lady in Black who draws psychic energy from men who dare approach her as she wanders through city streets and parks.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up—Steiger has brought back to life an eerie account of an overlooked and often-forgotten history of vampirism. These creatures are not the sexy, strong, gorgeous, blood-sucking, supernatural beings made popular in literature and film. These vamps are shape-shifting parasites that invade the host like a virus and feed upon its soul, energy, and life force. They are truly monsters and murderers that offer only pain and suffering to their victims. Steiger dispels most vampire lore that has circulated for hundreds of years and discusses a variety of topics including blood cults, clinical vampirism, demon sacrifices, vampire ghosts, cannibalistic murderers, and serial killers, to name a few. His goal is to broaden the definition of vampirism, chronicling known and unknown tales and incorporating real-life experiences to support his research and findings. This dark and sinister read is not for "Twilight" followers, but rather for hardcore enthusiasts of vampire lore, the occult, and the paranormal.—Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

"In a period dominated by the Twilight series, this book travels beneath fictional myths . . . [A] thought-provoking subject survey."  —Library Journal

"Steiger has brought back to life an eerie account of an overlooked and often-forgotten history of vampirism. This dark and sinister read is not for

Twilight followers, but rather for hardcore enthusiasts of vampire lore, the occult, and the paranormal."  —School Library Journal

"I have to wonder if Stephenie Meyer would ever have written Twilight if she had read Steiger's book first. I highly recommend Real Vampires for anyone willing to take a look at the kind of night creatures that do not sparkle in the sun."  —Linda Godfrey, Linda's Bloghouse

"A very compelling book that feels much like sitting around a campfire listening to [Brad Steiger] entertain and amaze. Damn good book—check it out!"  —horrornews.net

"Those interested in [vampires] will find the profiles and history fascinating."  — ForeWord Magazine

"Real Vampires is thought-provoking, intriguing and prevalent in putting all of the vampire pieces of the puzzle together! A true tour-de-force with solid ramifications that lead only to one thing. A standing ovation!! Bravo."  —Sacramento Press

"Brad Steiger carefully, thoroughly, and yet entertainingly examines the vampire legend . . . A true must read, though you might want to read it in the daytime rather than late at night on a full moon,"  —Alternate Perceptions Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Visible Ink Press (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578592550
• ISBN-13: 978-1578592555
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #579,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Twilight zoneish compilation, January 9, 2010

By 

hanyi ishtouk (Budapest, Hungary) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures from the Darkside (Paperback)

made up of general background info and complemented with sample stories or personal accounts about parasitic entities (human - preternatural, visible - unseen) feeding on human blood, fear and/or life-force/energy. Unsettling topics discussed comprise the vampire lore, lycanthropy, modern-day vampire subculture, clinical vampirism, blood cults in Africa and MesoAmerica, historical figures from Europe, cannibalistic murders and serial killers, possession by dark forces, encounters w/ menacing ghosts, eerie black-eyed kids, multidimensional spirit mimics, and suchlike.
Apart from several stories from fellow paranormal researchers like Chris Holly, Sharon McCabe, Nick Redfern, Paul Dale Roberts, Tim R. Swartz, Robin Swope, and Angela Thomas, the author apparently has been contacted by many readers/fans eager to share their purported experiences, some of which are related in the smooth prose of thematically organized chapters. As we are not privy to the vetting method, if any, Mr. Steiger applies, one is advised to be on guard when it comes to gullibility. Even more so because some of the historical references seem to be inaccurate.

Corrigenda:

+ pg. 9: Etimologically 'vampire' doesn't derive from *"Slavonic Magyar", Magyar/Hungarian not being a Slavic language, *'vam' (blood) + *'Tpir' (monster), but maybe from Old Slavonic/Slavic 'upir/oper' (compare w/ p. 55). According to another theory, "The Turkish, or properly Galatian word Uber, meaning 'Witch'...linguistically corresponds...to the variations found in Gothic, German, Dutch, Norse English, Greek, Latin and Sanskrit [?], where finally, as Upari, we discover that originally Uber - Vampire - meant Overlord." (See p[p. 53-] 56 in Nicholas de Vere's oddly fascinating book "The Dragon Legacy. From Transylvania to Tunbridge Wells," 2004.)
+ pg. 55: Simon (IV de) Montfort (5th Earl of Leicester) is not a figure from the 11th century, but one who lived between 1160-1218 and participated in the Crusade against the Albigensians. He ordered 140 Cathars be burned at the stake not in Toulouse, where - well-deservedly - he was struck to death during the siege, but at the village of Minerve. Note that on pages 55-6 two paragraphs, and one on pg. 60 (& perhaps elsewhere), correspond verbatim to those found at the website dubbed "unexplainedstuff", which is the online version of the Steigers' "The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained," 2003, being equipped with a search engine.
+ pg. 271: The author writes that accusations were levelled against the Templars in 1305, when in reality it was not until sometime in May, 1307, that the French king Philippe IV le Bel slandered the Knights in a private conversation with pope Clement V. The arrest warrants had been issued from the Maubuisson Abbey on 14 September, but the seals on the circulars were to be broken only at midnight of October 12th. Hence we have 'Black Friday,' commemorating 13 October, 1307.
+ The Grand Master and his three companions in distress were burned alive on 18 March, 1314, not in 1313 as the writer suggests (p. 272).

+ One would expect in vain that a best-selling author like Brad Steiger avoids regurgitating centuries-old, sensationalist falsehoods surrounding the so-called "blood countess" Erzsébet (Elizabeth) Báthory (pp. 18-21). Historical investigation has revealed that she was a victim of ruthless political intrigue masterminded by the palatine of Hungary, György (George, not Juraj) Thurzó, who - contrary to the writer's assertion - was not related by blood (pun unintended) to the ill-fated noblewoman. His fellow conspirators were Elizabeth Báthory's two sons-in-law Miklós (Nicholas) Zrinyi and György Drugeth, plus the preceptor to his son, Imre Megyery. Beside the palatine's ambition to secure the throne of the Transylvanian principality (Erdély) for himself, which at the time was occupied by Gábor (Gabriel) Báthory (r. 1608-13), the nephew of Elizabeth, the main motive of the conspirators was to prevent complete confiscation of the widowed countess' landed estates in case she were accused of disloyalty to and treason of the Habsburg king Matthias II of Hungary for allegedly aiding her nephew's efforts to (re)gain the Hungarian crown by force.
Her trial resembled that of a medieval kangaroo court for the following reasons: confessions were extracted under severe torture from Elizabeth's servants who then were summarily executed; Thurzó disregarded the King's repeated injuctions to allow the accused countess to have a fair hearing in her own defence. However, it cannot be ruled out with full certainty that she didn't cause the death of a couple of her maids in some furious outburst(s). Heavy-handedness was quite widespread in disciplining, both among commoners and in noble households, in those times. But that's still a far cry from the horrific rumours of hundreds of maidens being tortured to death in her dungeon, then bathing in their blood, etc., which are more likely to be the products of overactive imagination and biased intellectual laziness on the part of writers such as the Jesuit priest László (Louis) Thurzó (1729; keep in mind E. Báthory was a Calvinist, and as such the target of the Catholic counter-reformation), 'historian' Aurel Ignatius Fessler (1824), von Elsberg ("Die Blutgrafin," 1894), and many of their 20th century imitators. (Source: Nagy, László - A rossz hírü Báthoryak [The ill-reputed Báthorys], pp. 15-76, 1983 Budapest.) There's a new book (2009) in English on the subject, penned by a certain Kimberly L. Craft, titled "Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory".

+ 'Serial killers' are given mainstream interpretation. For instance, Jeffrey Dahmer was finally arrested after a 31-year-old fellow child-molester, not "a teenager...wearing handcuffs" (p. 99), managed to escape from his clutches. It's true that a 14-year-old boy did flee Dahmer's apartment, but only to be escorted back, despite protesting neighbours, by the police patrol -- cannibal Jeff subsequently butchered the poor soul. Very little is said about Dahmer's criminal record and list of psychiatric treatments, implicating deliberate law enforcement negligence. There is a strong case for Richard Trenton Chase (pp. 101-03), deranged as he was, not being guilty of the multiple murders he was sentenced for. Chase was indeed a blood-drinker, though not of humans but of dogs...the "numerous dog collars scattered around various rooms, but no sign of any living pets" (p. 103), is a testimony to that. (For details, read pp. 259-64 passim and 157-62, respectively, in David McGowan's meticulous research, "Programmed to Kill. The Politics of Serial Murder," 2004.)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Read!, August 30, 2009

By 

Angela D. Thomas (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures from the Darkside (Paperback)

Brad Steiger does it again! He brings together a fascinating collection which chronicles known and unknown accounts of vampires, creatures and beasts which have plagued our society throughout history. In true Steiger fashion, he captivates the reader while offering insights into a side of our world that often stays hidden behind the scenes.

"Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures of the Darkside" explores the real world of living entities that lurks among society. Packed full of encounters, attacks and unusual experiences, this book goes beyond personal accounts; it is a serious compilation of events which have occurred among us. There's more than meets the eye with "Real Vampires," it also raises the question of these popular monsters (often emulated by subgroups in our society), and where they come from.

In Steiger's own words, he explains the purpose of this book:

"For more than a book that contains a number of frightening true accounts and a collection of truly magnificient original art, what I hope to accomplish with Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures of the Darkside is expand the definition of the vampire - the most popular monster in the world - to include the more complete definition of "parasitic entities that enter our reality from the far reaches of the multidimensional universe to possess their victims and to feed upon their life essence and their very soul."

Brad Steiger is an expert in the field of the paranormal and whose knowledge is shared among the pages he has written throughout his career. Steiger has written over 160 books and "Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures of the Darkside" is another book I proudly add to my own collection of Steiger works.

Angela Thomas
P.O.R.T.A.L. Paranormal Talk Radio

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brad Steiger is Scarier than Stephen King!, September 30, 2009

By 

Emi The Shogun Emperor "Emi Da Shogun" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures from the Darkside (Paperback)

Whenever I get a review copy of a Brad Steiger book, I stop whatever I am doing, open the book and read it from beginning to end without stopping. It's the reason why I take so long for my reviews, to be sure, but it is also the reason why I put my all into what I write. Steiger never ceases to amaze me as a fan and as a fellow writer with his command of the written word and it escapes my wonderment why he hasn't tried his hand at actual fictional Horror Novels yet. There, I said it. I say this because when I was reading this latest REAL non-fiction book, I was literally shaken to my very core with the real, truly compelling stories of real-life encounters with werewolves, vampires and other creatures of the darkness. Don't let the basic premise fool you. This isn't just your run-of-the-mill book filled with theory and second-hand accounts of "oh I thought I saw" stories. No, my dear friends of the weird and unusual. The stories and interviews you will encounter here are REAL and UNCENSORED. They are filled with true, unfettered DREAD and EVIL. You WILL BE SCARED when you read this book, I guarantee it. I warn you, I implore you, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IN THE DARK. You will know when you flip the pages. Just remember, you have been warned. Careful, though, even if fully prepared, as you will learn in this book, the creatures of darkness are always waiting in the shadows of our mind to creep up on us. It's a damn good thing we have someone like Brad Steiger to guide us through the chaos. To protect us...from the dark...from...ourselves. Brace yourselves. Brace yourselves for the Horror Book of the Year!