Halloween Haunts: The Enduring Popularity of Vampires by Michael J. McCann

There’s an ongoing fascination with vampires and the Undead, especially at Halloween. You can probably name a dozen novels and films/television series with vampire themes.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula set forth all of the conventions that were copied—for better or worse—by subsequent generations of writers and film-makers. The legacy of this novel has been immense. The vampire has become synonymous with horror in the popular imagination, and the concept of the “Undead” (which was the original title of the novel), an evil entity that cannot be destroyed but rises up again and again, is central to the horror genre. There have been over two hundred films based on the Dracula character.

But what about the real-life events that prompted the various vampire scares in history? According to Smithsonian Magazine, vampire scares usually began when someone died of a contagious disease. With our present-day knowledge of communicable diseases, we recognize what prompted the subsequent deaths. But in those days, when others started dying of the same sickness, people thought it was the result of the (Un)dead coming back to drain their blood.

The practice of digging up graves to destroy vampires is thought to have begun in eastern Europe, spreading to France and England in the 1700s and to rural New England (which had a high incidence of death by tuberculosis), especially Rhode Island, in the late 1800s. When vampire hunters opened graves, they saw many signs of decay, including bloating and bleeding from various orifices, which looked to be signs that the Undead was feasting on other humans. The means of “destroying” the vampire varied according to region, but included staking, beheading, and burning. (Fans of Bram Stoker’s Dracula will remember that Van Helsing used the first two methods to destroy the undead Lucy so that she could rest in peace.)

If you’re interested in learning more, the Smithsonian magazine article lists numerous historical figures believed by their contemporaries to be vampires, along with the circumstances of their deaths. There is also a related article on the New England vampire scare that you might like to check out. It makes for very interesting reading.

And what better time than Halloween to look at a modern vampire classic? In 2012 the Horror Writers Association bestowed a special Bram Stoker Award on Richard Matheson for the “vampire novel of the century,” I am Legend. This novel had three screen adaptations, as well as inspiring George A. Romero’s 1968 classic, Night of the Living Dead. And you probably have your own list of favorite vampire works that you’d like to revisit.

Happy Halloween and happy vampire-hunting!

TODAY’S GGIVEAWAY: Michael J. McCann is offering three e-books of The Ghost Man. Comment below to enter or e-mail membership@horror.org with “HH Entry” in the header.

Michael J. McCann is a Canadian author of crime fiction and supernatural thrillers. His Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series includes Blood Passage, Marcie’s Murder, The Fregoli Delusion, and The Rainy Day Killer. He is also the author of the supernatural thriller, The Ghost Man. His website is www.mjmccann.com. Check out his horror blog, Behind the Walls of Nightmare, at http://wallsofnightmare.blogspot.ca/. He can also be reached through Twitter (@MichaelJMcCann1) and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-J-McCann/130617140389341 and would love to hear from you.

Overview of : First there was the car accident that claimed his beloved wife. Then came the grueling months of recuperation from his injuries. Now his constant companions are ghosts seeking worldly release. His new home is haunted by the ghost of a young girl demanding his help. His friends and neighbors are under attack by strange, destructive forces. Who is the Angry Man who haunts his dreams … and what does the demon controlling him want of Simon Guthrie?

The Ghost Man is available in eBook and trade paperback versions at Amazon.com.

Praise for The Ghost Man:

By Sheri A. Wilkinson (Five-star Review)

. . . A fantastic nail biting ghost story. I was up late in the night wanting to read more. Ghost story fans will love The Ghost Man.

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!

By BookAddict TOP 1000 REVIEWERHYPERLINK “http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=cm_cr_dp_bdg_help?ie=UTF8&nodeId=14279681&pop-up=1#tr” VINE VOICE

The Ghost Man is one of my favorite reads so far this year. There is so much to love here. The ghost/paranormal aspect is chilling and will appeal to all readers looking for spine tingling, otherworldly horror. But the story goes much deeper. We have a mystery, murders, and the kind of suspense that kept me turning pages even as my eyelids wilted. The characters are all well crafted, and I loved Simon right from the start. This story is well written, and the perfect blend of suspense and drama. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of Michael McCann’s novels.

Read an excerpt from The Ghost Man by Michael J. McCann

The First Day

1

Simon Guthrie awoke later in the morning than usual, a few minutes after eight o’clock. He rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom, his mind still under the influence of the Dream. He stood for a long time under the shower, watching tendrils of soap foam flow down the drain between his feet, thinking about the little girl running between the monuments, the sudden darkness descending over the cemetery, the black mist coiling across the ground toward him. Clenching his teeth, he shampooed his hair and forced the Dream out of his head. There were other, more immediate problems to face. . . .

At the bottom of the stairs he found the portable phone on the floor. He picked it up and put it back in its cradle. On his left, separating the foyer from the kitchen, was an island with bar stools where he often ate his meals. The stools had been stacked on top of the island. One on top of the other, all four of them, balanced with impossible precision in the mathematical centre of the island. He carefully returned them to their places on the floor. The carafe had tumbled out of the coffee maker and sat on its lid on the counter. He checked it for damage, found none, and proceeded to make coffee. As he carried the grounds from last night’s pot of coffee to the trash bin he looked at the calendar on the wall. One of his chef’s knives was impaled in today’s date. Sighing, he stepped on the lever, dumped the coffee grounds in the trash, rescued his knife and dropped it in the dishwasher.

He finished making the coffee, and as it began to percolate he took a quick look around. Yesterday morning there had been a severed raccoon head in his kitchen sink. The morning before that, all the furniture in the great room had been covered with a disgusting slime that had taken more than two hours to clean up. He felt as though he were getting off easy this morning, although the knife trick was a little unsettling. He didn’t want to be around when his cutlery began to remove itself from the drawer and fly through the air.

Was that a message for him? Was today the day? The day for what? Who knew? After two weeks it was all starting to get a little tiresome. . . .