Secrets of the Vampire: A Supernatural Sourcebook of Our Legend and Lore

by Julie Legere, Elsa Whyte, Laura Perez (Illustrator)

Overview

Step into the shadows and uncover the centuries-old myths and legends that lie beneath the figure of the vampire, with this magical compendium of facts and fiction.

Whether rising from a coffin in the dead of night or stalking its prey, hidden in plain sight, the vampire is one of the most alluring beings in world folklore. These undead bloodsuckers are as alive as ever in modern pop culture, from movies and books to video games and TV shows.

But despite their cultural immortality, mystery still surrounds their shadowy origins. Secrets of the Vampire compiles every scrap of vampire lore into one essential volume, covering everything from famous vampires such as Count Dracula and his historical counterpart, to the vampiric aversion to sunlight and garlic and their supernatural abilities.

With this lavishly illustrated field guide, decode the deathly world of the vampire. Discover the meanings behind occult symbols, the ancient origins of vampire tropes, the most powerful and frightening vampires from stories around the world, and the real people said to have inspired the grisly tales of these creatures of the night. Learn how to tell a vampire from a living person and get wise to their tricks and powers.

Secrets of the Vampire is the perfect deep-dive into a fascinating figure of folklore, for any and all vampire-obsessed 9-14 year-olds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780711285071
Publisher:	Wide Eyed Editions
Publication date:	08/08/2023
Series:	Supernatural Sourcebook Series , #2
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	979,763
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 10.55(h) x (d)
Age Range:	9 - 14 Years

About the Author

Julie Légère is a writer living and practicing in Paris. Secrets of the Witch was her first book for children.

Elsa Whyte is a writer, editor, and witch living in Paris. She is the author of Le Génie Pissenlit (The Lucky Dandelion, Le Cosmographe, 2018) and Les Saisons Dans l’Art (Seasons in Art, De La Martinière Jeunesse, 2019), and has translated children’s books into French including Look Up at the Stars (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2019).

Laura Pérez is an illustrator, animator, and witch. She studied illustration in Spain, France, and Canada and her artwork has been exhibited all over Europe and Asia. She has illustrated several graphic novels. Secrets of the Witch was her first book for children. Her exquisite illustrations have been featured in many publications including The Washington Post, National Geographic and the Wall Street Journal. Laura was awarded the Valendia National Comic Illustration Award in 2015.

Table of Contents

By Way of Introduction…
Vampires around the world
Antiquity & the Origins of Thirst
The reign of bloodthirsty goddesses
Lamia
Revenants of the ancient world
Philinnion, living dead of antiquity
Blood, elixir of the gods
Lilith the accursed
Strigoi, the first Slavic vampires
The Middle Ages, When Revenants Take Shape
When the dead arise from the grave
The draugar of Norse sagas
Vampires and epidemics
Fear of the living dead
The Renaissance, a Dance Led by the Devil
Demonology and vampiric phenomena
Dance of the living dead
The origins of the nightmare
Vampires and werewolves
The Gandillon family
Eastern Europe, Land of the Vampire
The shroud-munching dead
Outbreaks of hasty burials
Vlad the Impaler
Elizabeth Báthory
The faces of the vampire multiply
A gallery of Eastern European vampires
The Enlightenment Paradox: the Vampire is Born
The vampire is baptized
The case of Arnold Paole
Dom Augustin Calmet and the quest for truth
The pope’s letter to the archbishop
Voltaire and the vampire
Vampirism in the light of science and reason
Vampirism put to the medical test
The Vampire Transforms
A triumph of ink and blood
Romantic heroes and femmes fatales
Victorian England shivers with delight
Dracula, the modern myth
Bram Stoker and Marie Nizet
The Mercy Brown case
New Generation Vampires
Dracula on screen, a tale of love and blood
Coppola’s Dracula, the vampire tormented by his sins
Down with Dracula: the birth of the modern vampire
From darkness to light
Buffy the stereotype slayer
Edward Cullen, the eternal Prince Charming
Adam and Eve, immortal lovers of a world in decline
Vampire Symbols and Emblems
Garlic, Silver, Hawthorn, The Vampire Ball, Mist, Canines, Coffin, Bat, Cross, Daylight, Wolf, Shadow, Stake, Dust, Rats, Reflection, Blood, Birthplace, Poppy seeds, Salt, Talons
Glossary
 

Editorial Reviews

“A sumptuously illustrated, elegantly chiaroscuro guide to vampire history around the world.”—The Guardian

“This book will entrance those with a curiosity about the myth behind the legend.”—WRD Magazine

From the Publisher

2023-05-09
The team behind Secrets of the Witch (2020) takes on another legendary being.

Cautiously skirting the creature’s sexual overtones, most of this conversational book provides a history of vampire lore narrated by a pale-skinned vampire who promises to do readers no harm. Following a gallery of seven vampires (and zombie or witch hybrids) from African, Mexican, Caribbean, and Asian Pacific folklore, the concise text moves from antiquity to the present. The inclusion of the obscure first vampires reflects the writers’ research: They frame demonic goddesses such as Mesopotamia’s Lamashtu and Sekhmet and the Greeks’ Lamia and Empusa as the first vampires. Roman and Hindu revenants, Lilith of Jewish lore, and the Dacian strigoi give way to medieval European reanimated corpses and to the Renaissance undead, devils incarnated in werewolves. Along the way, the definition of vampire is stretched to accommodate the fantastical figures here. Only halfway through the book do we meet Vlad Tepes, the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but every forerunner is fascinating. Post-Enlightenment, after reason puts a stake through the predator’s heart, literature gives fresh lifeblood to vampires. As in the previous book, the copious dramatic art is a big attraction. Pérez’s romantic style (one drawing channels Henry Fuseli), using dark/light contrast and touches of color to chilling effect, perfectly fits its subject. Seven pages of symbols and emblems (garlic, stake, coffin, etc.) and a glossary close out the work.

An attractive, entertaining, and insightful introduction to the bloodsucking undead. (Nonfiction. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews