The Obscene and Banned Poetry of Charles Baudelaire

Sex, blood and death can be found in the twisted works of poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) and while some found these poems captivating, others felt that they were positively obscene. In the 1857 original edition of Flowers of Evil, the influential poet wrote two poems, “The Vampire” and “Metamorphoses of the Vampire.” These vampire poems…

Vampires Hidden Among Coleridge’s ‘Christabel?’

Published in 1813 is a lovely, yet haunting, poem titled Christabel. Written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Christabel tells the tale of one young maiden attacked by another maiden, and it’s told in a lavish Gothic style. While vampires are never directly mentioned in the poem, it is believed by some that vampirism is indeed the…

The Hauntingly Beautiful Poetry of Conrad Aiken

There are quite a few lovely vampire poems that have been penned, but one of my (many) favorites is Conrad Aiken’s The Vampire. This chilling and bloody poem captures both the allure and horror of the vampire. Published in 1914, The Vampire is a poem about a remarkably beautiful vampiress who captures the hearts of…

The Vampyre of the Fens

There is a poem titled, “The Vampyre of the Fens,” which is so revered that countless sources cite this work as the first Anglo-Saxon record of vampires in literature. In my research I have come across numerous websites, books, and articles that claim “The Vampyre of the Fens” as being a treasured relic. Yet what…

The Bride of Corinth

In 1797 the brilliant German poet and novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published a poem titled Die Braut von Korinth, a poem that forever changed the way people saw vampire literature. Later translated to The Bride of Corinth, this beautifully dark poem is believed to have been based on the classic tale by Phlegon of…

GIVEAWAY & Review: A Silver Kiss by Dianna Hardy

I’ve got quite a tasty treat for you my lovelies, for this review and giveaway isn’t like the others. A Silver Kiss by Dianna Hardy is no ordinary vampire book, instead of being another cliché novel, it’s a collection of enthralling poetry about our favorites creatures of the night. The best part is that two…

The Meaning Behind ‘The Vampire’ by Rudyard Kipling

Everyone that reads poetry occasionally comes across a poem that doesn’t make complete sense to them. While reading some classic vampire poetry I came across such a poem – The Vampire by Rudyard Kipling. Had this poem not had “vampire” in the title I would have never thought it was about vampires at all. But…

La Belle Dame Sans Merci

John Keats is one of the most studied and admired of British poets.  Keats is considered one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time for creating such stunning masterpieces. His poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci (meaning “the beautiful woman without mercy”) is a exquisite and captivating poem that I first learned of through…

Classic Vampire Poetry

Vampires in fiction is nothing new, we all know that. There are hundreds of vampire novels out there, but what about poetry? We have covered the first vampire poem, Der Vampir, but what about the other notable poetry contributions out there? There have been some remarkable poems written about vampires, many that came out long…

The First: Der Vampire

Vampires have been part of literature for ages and ages now. Almost all of today’s popular fiction authors have at least one vampire story out there; the recently released vampire anthology, By Blood We Live, has shown us that. There are many that think that it was the renowned Bram Stoker and his legendary novel,…