A natural history of the vampire

In Michael Sims’ upcoming anthology, Dracula’s Guest, readers can look to an earlier time when vampire literature reigned supreme: the Victorian era. The 19th century was a breeding ground for stories of the undead, which culminated in 1897 with the indelible classic, Dracula.

Illustration from the 1840s serial novel 'Varney the Vampire'

In Dracula’s Guest, Sims has collected a wide range of tales prefaced by an introduction that charts what he calls “the natural history of the vampire.” In a Behind the Book essay for BookPage, he explains the constants—and the variables—of vampire lore.

Some vampires are very pale, but then so is Taylor Swift, and she’s not a vampire. Probably. Some flee from a cross the way Superman dodges kryptonite, but others could march into a Baptist revival and not blink an eye. Many have a serious case of death breath, but clearly some sparkly tousled young boy vamps do not, or moody teenage girls would not be so eager to kiss them.

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A still from the 1922 German vampire film 'Nosferatu'

More about Michael Sims can be found in the BookPage archives or on his blog, Kingfisher Days.