From Bram Stoker's mysterious Transylvanian count, to Larry Talbot howling at the moon in The Wolf Man, Anne Rice's Lestat wandering the gloomy cemeteries of New Orleans, and Edward Cullen's courtship of Bella in modern-day Forks, Washington, vampires and werewolves have long been portrayed in books and film to the great delight and shivering terror of millions. With a strong presence in the Gothic novels of the 1800s, the undead and the man-beast were the "stars" of some of the first silent films. The "Golden Age of Hollywood" produced the classic images of Bela Lugosi's Dracula and Lon Chaney, Jr.'s Wolf Man. Revived again with tremendous force in the 1970s and '80s, the vampire genre of books and film—and a growing interest in werewolves—continue to thrive in the twenty-first century. You can't keep a good monster down!

Beyond Dracula represents an important critical departure from the customary psychoanalytical approach to the writings of Bram Stoker. Reading Stoker as a participant in Victorian and Edwardian cultural life, the volume examines the breadth of Stoker's novel-length fiction, as well as his journalism, biographical writings and short fiction. In its considerations of questions of religion, censorship, gender and medicine, the volume will interest not merely readers of the Gothic but those involved in the study of Victorian and Edwardian culture.

This classic of film criticism, long considered invaluable for its eloquent study of a problematic period in film history, is now substantially updated and revised by the author to include chapters beyond the Reagan era and into the twenty-first century. For the new edition, Robin Wood has written a substantial new preface that explores the interesting double context within which the book can be read-that in which it was written and that in which we find ourselves today. Among the other additions to this new edition are a celebration of modern "screwball" comedies like My Best Friend's Wedding, and an analysis of '90s American and Canadian teen movies in the vein of American Pie, Can't Hardly Wait, and Rollercoaster. Also included are a chapter on Hollywood today that looks at David Fincher and Jim Jarmusch (among others) and an illuminating essay on Day of the Dead.

There's a strong interest in reading for pleasure or self-improvement in America, as shown by the popularity of Harry Potter, and book clubs, including Oprah Winfrey's. Although recent government reports show a decline in recreational reading, the same reports show a strong correlation between interest in reading and academic acheivement. This set provides a snapshot of the current state of popular American literature, including various types and genres. The volume presents alphabetically arranged entries on more than 70 diverse literary categories, such as cyberpunk, fantasy literature, flash fiction, GLBTQ literature, graphic novels, manga and anime, and zines. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a definition of the genre, an overview of its history, a look at trends and themes, a discussion of how the literary form engages contemporary issues, a review of the genre's reception, a discussion of authors and works, and suggestions for further reading. Sidebars provide fascinating details, and the set closes with a selected, general bibliography. Reading in America for pleasure and knowledge continues to be popular, even while other media compete for attention. While students continue to read many of the standard classics, new genres have emerged. These have captured the attention of general readers and are also playing a critical role in the language arts classroom. This book maps the state of popular literature and reading in America today, including the growth of new genres, such as cyberpunk, zines, flash fiction, GLBTQ literature, and other topics. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a definition of the genre, an overview of its history, a look at trends and themes, a discussion of how the literary form engages contemporary issues, a review of the genre's critical reception, a discussion of authors and works, and suggestions for further reading. Sidebars provide fascinating details, and the set closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students will find this book a valuable guide to what they're reading today and will appreciate its illumination of popular culture and contemporary social issues.

This celebrated Gothic novel is explored through essays providing critical, historical, anthropological, philosophical and intellectual contexts that serve to further the understanding and appreciation of Dracula in all its many guises. Together the essays offer exciting new critical approaches to the most famous vampire in literature and film.

Dracula FAQ unearths little-known facts about both the historical and literary Dracula. The 15th-century warlord Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler and Dracula (son of the Dragon), became a legendary figure in his native Wallachia. Four hundred years later, Irish author Bram Stoker appropriated Dracula's name for a vampire novel he spent seven years researching and writing. Considered one of the great classics of Gothic literature, Dracula went on to inspire numerous stage plays, musicals, movies, and TV adaptations – with actors as diverse as Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Jack Palance, Frank Langella, Louis Jourdan, Gary Oldman, and Gerard Butler taking on the role of the vampire king. And with Dracula proving the popularity of vampires, other bloodsuckers rose from their graves to terrify book, movie, and TV audiences – from Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows to The Night Stalker to the vampires of True Blood on the small screen, and Interview with the Vampire and Twilight on the big screen. More recently, Dracula has been resurrected for a TV series starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and a feature film starring Luke Evans. Dracula FAQ covers all of these and more, including the amazing stories of real-life vampires!

A vampire escapes the thrall of Dracula and embarks on her own search for self-discovery and true love in this epic and seductive gothic fantasy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide. “Fiercely empowering and gloriously vengeful.”—Heather Walter, award-winning author of Malice Her name was written in the pages of someone else’s story: Lucy Westenra was one of Dracula’s first victims. But her death was only the beginning. Lucy rose from the grave a vampire and has spent her immortal life trying to escape from Dracula’s clutches—and trying to discover who she really is and what she truly wants. Her undead life takes an unexpected turn in twenty-first-century London, when she meets another woman, Iris, who is also yearning to break free from her past. Iris’s family has built a health empire based on a sinister secret, and they’ll do anything to stay in power. Lucy has long believed she would never love again. Yet she finds herself compelled by the charming Iris while Iris is equally mesmerized by the confident and glamorous Lucy. But their intense connection and blossoming love is threatened by outside forces. Iris’s mother won’t let go of her without a fight, and Lucy’s past still has fangs: Dracula is on the prowl once more. Lucy Westenra has been a tragically murdered teen, a lonesome adventurer, and a fearsome hunter, but happiness has always eluded her. Can she find the strength to destroy Dracula once and for all, or will her heart once again be her undoing?

"Ever read a book and wished you could have just a little more of the story? Well, you can with Bram Stoker's Dracula. This nearly lost chapter does exactly that. You'll read it with a shiver—" - Hollis George Literary critics rate Dracula above Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus; the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe; and Emily Brontës Wuthering Heights. Here's the missing chapter from Dracula, plus eight other little-known short stories from the master of horror. Also included is a rare interview with Bram Stoker. And you get a Bonus Story not found in other such collections. This new pictorial edition is illustrated by a dozen-and-a-half frightening fanged photographs.

While vampire stories have been part of popular culture since the beginning of the nineteenth century, it has been in recent decades that they have become a central part of American culture. Vampire Legends in Contemporary American Culture looks at how vampire stories—from Bram Stoker's Dracula to Blacula, from Bela Lugosi's films to Love at First Bite—have become part of our ongoing debate about what it means to be human. William Patrick Day looks at how writers and filmmakers as diverse as Anne Rice and Andy Warhol present the vampire as an archetype of human identity, as well as how many post-modern vampire stories reflect our fear and attraction to stories of addiction and violence. He argues that contemporary stories use the character of Dracula to explore modern values, and that stories of vampire slayers, such as the popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, integrate current feminist ideas and the image of the Vietnam veteran into a new heroic version of the vampire story.

Jeiklee always knew he didn't fit in with 'normal' people. They always found him odd. When he met Spirit McKenzie, a witch from another world, his worst fears and dreams came true. Jeiklee discovered he had magical powers and was from the magical world of Severna, a place full of love, light, darkness, and magic. After he meeting his real parents, Jeiklee soon develops feeling for Spirit that he cant deny, and they both end up going on a five day adventure! What Jeiklee finds out while away changes his perspective on the man everybody seems to fear and hate... Count Dracula. Jeiklee realises Dracula is far from the evil being he was made out to be, and sees for himself that he isn't evil at all, being Count Dracula the Fifteenth. Jeiklee also discovers that his mother Leticia and Dracula were best friends, childhood sweethearts, even secret lovers... and his mother isn't happy with the life she has grown accustomed to. Can he bring the star crossed lovers back together?