Vampire 101: A history of the fanged one

jacksonville.com: Definition of a Vampire: A vampire is a reanimated, soulless, dead human who must drink the blood of others to remain “alive.”

Vampires then and now: Then: Vampires were things of fear and disgust. Sunlight was painful, debilitating and resulted in death if exposed long enough. Their goal was simply survival.
Now: Vampires possess unearthly physical beauty. Sunlight causes pain but can be endured as they now try to blend into human civilization.

We’ve been told countless times ways to identify and possibly even kill a vampire, but those “rules” don’t hold true anymore. Vampires are not supposed to cast reflections in mirrors. Holy symbols such as crosses, crucifixes and holy water would debilitate a vampire. Garlic was a cure-all and was believed to repel all types of evil. Above all, a wooden stake through the heart, decapitation and burning were guaranteed ways to kill a vampire.

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So, what do you think about all this differences and chanchings?

A bit of vampire history for your Halloween bash

baltimoresun.com: Pssst, you with the soggy cornflakes floating around your bowl. You might wanna put your spoon down.
WARNING: This is gonna get gross.
The subject here is vampires. Sorry, but it’s that time of year. And this year bloodsuckin’ is … well … bloody, bloody hot.

Seems like prime time for a Hallowed Eve’s bash that’s drip-drop-drippin’ with the gory, the gross, the all-in-bloody-good-fun. Not even the Count himself would have counted on so many being so bitten by this O-positive plunge.
This vampire thing goes back, all the way to antiquity. Old blood indeed. The trail begins in ancient Persia, where someone discovered a vase depicting a man struggling with a blood-sucking creature. The Aztecs, too, got in on the sanguineness, convinced that offering a victim’s blood ensured fertilization of the Earth.

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Think red, think bloody and forget the garlic. Do you celebrate your Halloween vampire-style?

Fall vampire books provide a bloody good read

bostonherald.com: Vampires plus zombies, werewolves, demons, pixies and other assorted supernatural types, have made monster strides in their invasion of popular culture niches.
They appear in books, movies and TV. In many cases, a big dash of paranormal romance mixes with a tendency toward mayhem.

If it’s spooky Halloween-time reading you’re looking for, consider this sampling:
– Any of the titles in the series of novels by the five biggest names in “urban fantasy,” as the subgenre is known: Kim Harrison, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon.
– “The Strain” by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan.
– “Werewolf Sanctuary” and “Beast Warrior” by Eva Gordon.
– “American Fantastic Tales: From the 1940s to Now,” edited by Peter Straub.
– “Zombies: Encounters With the Hungry Dead,” edited by John Skipp.
– “Meridian” by Amber Kizer.

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Nice assortment of books – are you going to read any of them?