The Vampire Encyclopedia [Hardcover]

 

 

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In my humble opinion, I consider "The Vampire Encyclopedia" to live up to its name -- this is THE vampire encyclopedia, and I haven't seen another one (including the "Vampire Book") with this much information. Matthew Bunson seems to have cobbled together every scrap of vampire trivia he could, including everything from movies to ancient myths, literature to obscure history.

The book is (obviously) set up as an encyclopedia with alphabetical entries for just about everything related to vampires -- Bunson explores vampire movies, literature, theater, poetry and art from countless sources. While some of these are obvious choices ("Dracula," "Carmilla," Stephen King, Anne Rice, movie adaptations of said books, Hammer Horror), Bunson includes loads of lesser-known and obscure examples of art (Munsch paintings, operas, penny dreadfuls, ancient Anglo-Saxon poems, "The Night Stalker"). Some of the more obscure authors are quite surprising.

In fact, that is one of the most fascinating aspects of the book. While Bunson sometimes goes overboard on what he considers vampire fiction (I don't really see Dorian Gray as a vampire, okay?), he chronicles quite a few works that you normally would not hear when you hear about vampire fiction. No, it does not list "Twilight," so don't even ask.

Additionally, Benson addresses vampires in history... no, not REAL vampires, but people/incidents that cropped up throughout history. There are scholars who did studies on the undead, incidents that were blamed on vampirism (a necrophiliac, Middle-Eastern "ghouls," people who believed they were vampires), and lots of other real-life incidents that were connected to what people thought was vampirism.

But in my humble opinion, the best part is the vampire mythology. We don't just get the garden-variety Draculaean bloodsuckers -- Bunson collects vampiric creatures from literally all across the world. Examples: the Phillipine aswang, the polecat-like bajang, psychic vampires, the Scottish fairy known as the baobhan-sith, the Arabic algul, the Chinese Hsi-hsue-kuei and Kuang-shi, the Ashanti obayifo, the sexually voracious gypsy mullo, the Albanian lugat, the Malaysian penanggalan, the Mexican tlaciques, and many many more.

And just in case there is a single bloodstained stone left unturned, Bunson includes entries for just about everything connected to vampires -- countries where they are found, weaknesses, strengths, powers, victim types, rituals to prevent/stop vampirism (such as prone burials, holy items, certain woods), lifespans, animals, scientific names, plants, and pretty much anything else that is associated with vampires.

Whew. As you can see, this is a pretty comprehensive guide to vampires, and is heavier on mythology, history and folklore than the more pop-culturish "Vampire Book." The main problem is that it's also quite light on sources -- there are some appendices that give you book titles and "vampire societies," but it's unclear whether these were also Bunson's source material. It would be nice to know where he got all this info from.

"The Vampire Encyclopedia" is indeed a vampire encyclopedia -- it takes bloodsucker art, pop culture, world myth, history and literature and mashes it all gleefully into one expansive tome. Definitely a must-have if you love all things vampiric.

"The Vampire Encyclopedia" by Matthew Bunson is a good place to start with if you know little to nothing on vampires. I have been researching for over four years on vampires, so I really didn't find anything in here that I didn't all ready know.

This is a must have for Vampire fans, be they cultural, literary, historical, or film vampires. This book isn't a one stop book on vampire, but it's a good reference. It covers different kind of vampires in different culture, historical vampires, literary vampires (up to 1993), and vampires on film. This book doesn't even need to be for reference, I read it cover to cover.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Good Vampyre Fictional History
This book was not what I expected for it to be. However I was very pleased at its' context and that the book presented a sturdy history of the vampyre in both fiction and... Read more

Published on Sep 7 2001 by raoh

5.0 out of 5 stars great book-buy it now!
This book first came out in '93 and has rather unfortuneately lived in the shadow of J. Gordon Melton's epic tome (that book also uses this one as a reference by the way). Read more

Published on Aug 29 2001 by Anthony

5.0 out of 5 stars Want a vampire 101 guide; then get this!
Do you have deepseated curiosity about vampires?;well, then this book in question, i.e.,The Vampire Encyclopedia by Matthew Bunson, is the perfect guide and will help you find out... Read more

Published on May 22 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars The second best basic reference book on Vampires
I do not really have any major complaints about "The Vampire Encyclopedia," I just think "The Vampire Book" is a better reference work on the undead. Read more

Published on Nov 3 2000 by AmazingMrKimble

5.0 out of 5 stars Blood Quickie
A good overall resource for vampire information, The Vampire Encyclopedia has some good tidbits that are hard to come by anywhere else. Read more

Published on Aug 27 2000 by Kat Brooks

5.0 out of 5 stars chalk full of vamp facts (wow does that sound corny)
chalk full of vamp facts (wow does that sound corny), but it's true! this is a great book for brushing up on your vampfact knowledge. Read more

Published on July 9 2000 by vampress.net

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but limited
This book does provide an interesting and eclectic collection of vampire facts. However, Bunson's lack of documentation limits its usefullness. Read more

Published on April 2 2000 by grey1066

5.0 out of 5 stars Vampire Encyclopedia
Good book,5 stars all the way.

Published on Mar 14 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Sink Your Teeth into this Excellent Encyclopedia
I can remember watching the various vampiric episodes of The X-Files and envying Agent Fox Mulder's encyclopedic knowledge of vampire lore. Read more

Published on Mar 9 2000 by Hank Robbins

5.0 out of 5 stars Knowledge Seekers: GET THIS BOOK!
What a book! If you are researching (or just want to know about) vampires, THIS is a MUST read! Some vampires hunt during broad daylight. Read more

Published on Nov 2 1999

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