Where Are the Fantasy Vampires At?

Knights, dragons, quests, castles, wizards… but no vampires. Not in any fantasy land I can think of. Where are my fantasy vampires at?

While wandering around the bookstore the other day and telling myself that I was just going to look and not buy anything (I bought two books), I found myself in the fantasy section (classic fantasy, not urban). It’s the area in the bookstore where you find The Lord of the Rings, The Game of Thrones, Wheel of Time, and on and on. The place of trolls, magnificent kingdoms, dwarves, elves, swords and magic. I couldn’t help but wonder if there were any vampires in the thousands of books before me. Surely at least one author has thrown a vampire into a medieval-like fantasy setting! But I couldn’t think of one. While perusing I found fantasy novels about grim-reaper-like creatures, necromancers bringing the dead back to life, wizards battling the undead, but not the vampire undead. So many tales, but I didn’t stumble across any vampires.

Does this mean there are no fantasy vampires? Of course not, silly! There are thousands of books in the fantasy section and try as I might, I can’t possibly look at them all. So it’s possible that there are such vampires, I simply haven’t found them yet.

But can you imagine what a magnificent story that would be? Picture something like The Hobbit, but with vampires as the villains. An entire underground vampire kingdom! It would be wonderful! Our heroes would be forced to travel through the underground tunnels to continue their quest, losing blood in the process. Ba ba buuuum!

You know you want to read a book like that. I do too! Which is why I am turning to you my lovely readers! Have any of you ever come across a fantasy vampire? A vampire in that classic fantasy realm? If not, do you wish such a book exists? Do you like the idea? It would be something new, something other than the same old urban fantasy.

– Moonlight

By Moonlight

Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to vampires. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of vampire folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and she may bite you (and not in the fun way).

15 comments

  1. Hi Moonlight, they are out there just not so common. The noble dead series by Barb and JC Hendee is a fully vampire/dhampier orientated series. I’ve read the first series not read the one that goes to a different continent. The series starts with Dhampier… There are also vampires aplenty in the Ravenloft books based on Dungeons and Dragons. Not to be left out warhammer did four book in the vampire Genevieve series by Jack Yeovil (a pen name of Kim Newman) and a series (collected now in one volume) called Vampire Wars.

    Admittedly it is a sub-genre that could do with more material, however.

      1. Another couple have sprung to mind. Andrzej Sapkowski’s series of books that the Witcher games were based on are very much fantasy and have vampires within them (of various types) the first book is called the Last Wish.

        Storm Constatine’s Burying the Shadow is an excellent fantasy book.

        Tanith Lee’s the Blood of Roses is fantasy and from memory so is Livia by her.

        Terry Pratchett’s Carpe Jugulum is all about vampires and they appear in other discworld books.

        Although steampunk Vampire Empire may well tickle your fancy as it has magic and vampires and, also, The Golden by Lucius Shepard seems very fantasy to me with a Gormenghast feel.

        The Illmoor Chronicles book 2: The Yowler Foul-up is a kids level comedy set in Pratchet like setting with a half vampire in it.

        I’ll post again if I think of any more.

  2. THE SILMARILLION by J.R..R.Tolkien deals with the creation of Middle Earth and the great war against Morgoth–to whom Sauron was but a lieutenant. That tale deals with a vampire or two–vast batlike demons.

      1. It must be noted that when Tolkien uses the word the vampire he doesn’t mean an undead blood drinker. Apparently he meant (a Maiar in the form of) a giant monstrous bat.

    1. They do, but they aren’t exactly fantasy. Certainly not more than most other vampire novels.

  3. In the later novels of the Necroscope series by Brian Lumley, wherein there’s an alternate universe–a very dark, medieval, vampire feudal society–a lot of time is spent living life over on that other side, in the other universe.

    Its a very horrific and dark fantasy realm, with all kinds of wicked vampire politics and power struggles.

    That is dark vampire fantasy if ever there was. If you mention fantasy vampires and fail to think of Briam Lumley’s series of horror novels, you’re missing out big-time.

  4. Meredith Ann Pierce’s “The Darkangel” trilogy is a very good fantasy trilogy centred on winged vampires (or vampyres as its spelled in the books.)

    I can’t even remember how many times I’ve read those books (it’s been a few years since my last re-reading), but I remember how much I loved them and recommend them warmly to others!

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