Vampire Blogs and Books

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Erin Chapman in Blog // 0 Comments

When it comes to reading I enjoy a vast variety of topics, but one of my favourites is vampires. This year I’ve gotten into the vampire folklore groove more so by expanding my own personal library, when before I was more into fiction. What interests me, is this stuff relates to real history, investigations into what happened, and basically taking some of the myth out of the equation. Intertwining it with some works of fiction you can totes see where some theories originated and fictional authors got their inspiration from. I admit I am a little behind in my reading, but it’s all good. My books are always there and I can pick them up anytime.

I have been building my library throughout this year, based on Anthony’s recommendations. Yes that’s right, I have purchased a bunch of books without laying eyes on them first. I personally love browsing book stores. You could leave me there for hours and I’d never get bored. So when I was introduced to this niche by Anthony, it was quite a different mind set for me because I love to look before I buy. These unique titles I’ve purchased, can’t be picked up at my local Indigo Book Store. His personal library is quite extensive so it is safe to say he knows his shit and I trust his recommendations completely.

Years ago my personal career goal was to get into forensic anthropology. I got accepted into the program at University of Toronto and honestly the only reason I backed out was there was no way I could afford to repay 8 years of student loans for the program. So you can say my interest in the undead has been around for a while. One of the first books he recommended for me was actually received as a Christmas present last year from my other half, Paul Barber’s Vampires, Burial & Death (2010)

This book was right up my alley and is what contributed to the further expansion of my library. I have always loved books and I use my iPad to read ebooks, but nothing replaces having the actual book in your hand so I opt for the hard copy versions. This is the more expensive route to go of course and some of the titles can be tracked down on Amazon, eBay, or another good source he shared with me is the Book Depository. My first order experience with them wasn’t fantastic, but they did end of sending me a new copy for free when mine was lost so brownie points for customer service.

So many blogs, so little time. (kidspot.com.au)[/caption]

The thing is if you are looking for some insight into the world of vampire folklore and aren’t quite ready to invest hundreds of dollars for some key library necessities, the next best thing you do is check out Anthony’s blogs. I’m a big fan of his work as you can tell from an interview I did with him on our site Vamped, early this year. I’m not trying to promote him for the sake of being my colleague, but because he is an extremely thorough and talented writer. I have mentioned before on Vamped he inspires me every day.

Some of his posts are super long to read, but those are the ones that I enjoy most. He presents his case, investigates, and supports it without bias and concrete facts. It amazes since I have started writing if you do a little digging what you can find. My only complaint about his articles is the links he shares in the posts. I get sucked in some days like when I watch YouTube and continue reading other articles. Next thing I know my whole evening is gone, but this isn’t a bad thing at all. Also I like his newer citation style better that he currently uses on The Vampirologist as opposed to his older blog, Diary of an Amateur Vampirologist. The other thing is he has a bunch of blogs! Argh, so much to read!

If you are interested in checking his stuff out, which you should, I have compiled my top list to save you hours of browsing. I had to include a couple of posts from our site Vamped as well, because they are just awesome! They are in no particular order because if I had to pick a favourite it would be too difficult.

End of an era (September 21, 2011)
Q & A with Edward Meyer (October 7, 2011)
Vampire$ (September 9, 2013)
Building a Vampire Library (November 29, 2013)
My Number One Fan (April 30, 2014)
Real Vampires (May 8, 2014)
6 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Buy an ‘Antique’ Vampire Killing Kit (October 31, 2014)
‘Vampire Hunter’ Hammers Stake Through Article (November 27, 2014)

One last thing to add, is I have compiled this list pertaining only to what I have read up to date. Not to say the other articles are bad, just these resonated with me more.

To give you an idea of how many entries we are talking about, his older blog DOAAV has 276 articles! I barely touch on his other blog Did a Wampyr Walk in Highgate?, which I only included one entry for.

Since Christmas is coming up I have asked Santa for a few titles this year, so I am hoping he is able to track them down. On my current wish list is: