Tropes That Need to Go Away

One problem any popular genre develops tends to be tropes that pervade too much of it all. In and of themselves, maybe they work. Often they work quite well. They can, anyway. But when we see the same thing over and over and over again, we enter into the realm of the cliche. So here’s…

Wamphyrie

Brian Lumley’s “Necroscope” series pretty much serve as an antidote to anyone disgusted by syrupy sweetness in tales of the undead. Imagine vampires not as fallen angels. Not as darkly mysterious creatures of the night. Imagine vampires as mutated (and mutating) demons. The undead as imagined by H.P. Lovecraft crossed with the more disturbing sexuality…

Angel- Season One

Determined to prove to himself that there is life after Buffy, Angel leaves Sunnydale after helping the Scoobies defeat Mayor Richard Wilkins and heads off to Los Angeles. Hoping to make a difference in the world Angel embarks on a quest to help the helpless in hopes of making amends for the horrible things he…

Does Blood Make A Vampire?

What does a vampire feed on? Blood. Simple answer right? Well, not so much. Does a being really need to drink blood before they are considered a vampire? Or is it the act of taking anything part of a victim’s body that makes one a vampire? Take psychic vampires for example, they do not feed…

Vampire Novels Reviewed… and Sucked Dry

There’s more out there than Twilight, people; for example, there’s a new trend in historical fiction: re-writing classics to include monsters, or re-writing a particular president’s life story, to include vampires. Sure, you know what I mean; Seth Grahame-Smith’s ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.’ Most seemed to agree that the book was highly entertaining, though one…

Gello: Child Eating Demoness

Gello exists in several cultures, under several names, such as Gyllou, Gylou, Gillo; many folklore experts and historians believe the Gello is the source of many vampire beliefs. Gello is a female demon that causes infertility, spontaneous miscarriage, and an eater of children. Walter Burkert, an expert on ancient mythology, established a link between the…

Pey and Peymakilir

What better place for a bloodthirsty vampire to feed than a battleground? One of the vampires of India and Hindu mythology chooses to haunt the wars and battles, waiting to feed on fallen soldiers. These creatures. called the Pey, or Peymakilir, are vampires of southern India, in Tamil. India has many different vampires, and this…

Charby the Vampirate

Meet Charby the Vampirate; part vampire, part pirate. This is a web comic written by Amy Stoffolino, who writes under the handle “Amelius.” Charby was born on a ship where he was a slave to pirates who verbally abused him and beat him daily. He runs away from the pirates, only to have his throat…

Brahmaparusha; Brain-eating Vampire of India

The brahmaparusha is a particularly horrifying vampire of India. This vampire is a malevolent spirit who takes delight in eating humans. They are extremely vicious and consumed with bloodlust, and a hunger for brains. Their appearance alone is grotesque and terrifying; these vampires would wear intestines around their necks from victims they had destroyed. They…