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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The "vampire" threat here has little in common with your garden-variety Dracula, the fanged menace of Transylvania; these quiet apparitions are in some ways more macabre. In historical New England, consumption claimed thousands of lives. When several family members fell in quick succession, some suspected interference from the grave the "dead" extending their own lives by claiming those of others. Corpses were disinterred. Hearts were extracted and, if found to contain "living," or fresh, blood, subjected to an elaborate cremation and exorcism. Bell, a folklorist, pursues this grisly tradition one that still survives in legend throughout the Eastern seaboard and records his observations here. Despite tantalizing chapter headings ("I am Waiting and Watching for You," "Ghoulish, Wolfish Shapes"), Bell strives laudably for responsible scholarship, and the book is as much a critique of myth transmission as it is a tale of one man's vampire hunt. He goes to great lengths to forestall and undo exaggerations of his findings, advocating a very qualified and moderate use of the word "vampire" and transcribing oral interviews so painstakingly they can be difficult to read. But Bell himself is a talented stylist, and academics working in folklore and myth will find his study a refreshing departure from the dry fieldwork ordinarily on offer.
The Boston Globe
Major contribution to the study of New England folk beliefs. . . . Give[s] deeper and more somber meaning to . . . rural New England.
See all Editorial Reviews
The "vampire" threat here has little in common with your garden-variety Dracula, the fanged menace of Transylvania; these quiet apparitions are in some ways more macabre. In historical New England, consumption claimed thousands of lives. When several family members fell in quick succession, some suspected interference from the grave the "dead" extending their own lives by claiming those of others. Corpses were disinterred. Hearts were extracted and, if found to contain "living," or fresh, blood, subjected to an elaborate cremation and exorcism. Bell, a folklorist, pursues this grisly tradition one that still survives in legend throughout the Eastern seaboard and records his observations here. Despite tantalizing chapter headings ("I am Waiting and Watching for You," "Ghoulish, Wolfish Shapes"), Bell strives laudably for responsible scholarship, and the book is as much a critique of myth transmission as it is a tale of one man's vampire hunt. He goes to great lengths to forestall and undo exaggerations of his findings, advocating a very qualified and moderate use of the word "vampire" and transcribing oral interviews so painstakingly they can be difficult to read. But Bell himself is a talented stylist, and academics working in folklore and myth will find his study a refreshing departure from the dry fieldwork ordinarily on offer.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
The Boston Globe
Major contribution to the study of New England folk beliefs. . . . Give[s] deeper and more somber meaning to . . . rural New England.
See all Editorial Reviews
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Inside Another Edition of this Book Citations: This book cites 75 books Explore: Citations | Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Key Phrases - SIPs: legend trippers, vampire practice, vampire tradition, vampire incident, shunned house (more) Key Phrases - CAPs: Rhode Island, New England, Mercy Brown, Nellie Vaughn, West Greenwich (more) Browse Sample Pages: Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me! |
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Inside This Book
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Browse and search another edition of this book.
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First Sentence:
I hated to admit, even to myself, that I was excited by the prospect of interviewing Lewis Everett Peck, an Exeter, Rhode Island, farmer and descendent of Mercy Brown, who was probably the last person exhumed as a vampire in America. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
legend trippers, vampire practice, vampire tradition, vampire incident, shunned house, vampire theory, ghost lot, vampire belief, vampire trail, word vampire, vampire story
I hated to admit, even to myself, that I was excited by the prospect of interviewing Lewis Everett Peck, an Exeter, Rhode Island, farmer and descendent of Mercy Brown, who was probably the last person exhumed as a vampire in America. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
legend trippers, vampire practice, vampire tradition, vampire incident, shunned house, vampire theory, ghost lot, vampire belief, vampire trail, word vampire, vampire story