A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture: Love at First Bite

Our enduring love of vampires - the bad boys (and girls) of paranormal fantasy - has persisted for centuries. Despite being bloodthirsty, heartless killers, vampire stories commonly carry erotic overtones that are missing from other paranormal or horror stories. Even when monstrous teeth are sinking into pale, helpless throats - especially then - vampires are sexy. But why? In A History Of The Vampire In Popular Culture, author Violet Fenn takes the reader through the history of vampires in ‘fact’ and fiction, their origins in mythology and literature and their enduring appeal on tv and film. We’ll delve into the sexuality - and sexism - of vampire lore, as well as how modern audiences still hunger for a pair of sharp fangs in the middle of the night. AUTHOR: Violet Fenn has always been fascinated by human behaviour. She specialises in frank and straightforward investigations into the changing cultural attitudes towards sex and mortality and was once turned down for a job at an undertaker’s for being ‘too interested in death’. She lives in Shropshire with her children, a menagerie of pets and endless beautiful but pointless clutter. She firmly believes that black is the happiest colour and that there is no such thing as too much red lipstick.
30 b/w illustrations