This book, about real vampires and the communities they have formed, explores the modern world of vampirism in all its amazing variety. Long before Dracula, people were fascinated by vampires. The interest has continued in more recent times with Anne Rice's Lestat novels, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the HBO series True Blood, and the immensely popular Twilight. But vampires are not just the stuff of folklore and fiction. Based upon extensive interviews with members of the Atlanta Vampire Alliance and others within vampire communities throughout the United States, this fascinating book looks at the details of real vampire life and the many expressions of vampirism as it now exists. In Vampires Today: The Truth about Modern Vampirism, Joseph Laycock argues that today's vampires are best understood as an identity group, and that vampirism has caused a profound change in how individuals choose to define themselves. As vampires come "out of the coffin," as followers of a "religion" or "lifestyle" or as people biologically distinct from other humans, their confrontation with mainstream society will raise questions, as it does here, about how we define "normal" and what it means to be human.

In the modern world vampires come in all forms: they can be perpetrators or victims, metaphors or monsters, scapegoats for sinfulness or mirrors of our own evil. What becomes obvious from the scope of the fifteen essays in this collection is that vampires have infiltrated just about every area of popular culture and consciousness. In fact, the way that vampires are depicted in all types of media is often a telling signifier of the fears and expectations of a culture or community and the way that it perceives itself; and others. The volume’s essays offer a fascinating insight into both vampires themselves and the cultures that envisage them.

Authentic vampire tales exist in Transylvanian folklore--yet the Transylvanian vampire is nothing like the bloodthirsty count of Bram Stoker's imagination or the romantic hero of popular fiction. The Romanian tradition reflects the norms of peasant life and wisdom embedded in age-old communities. This book consists of 21 narratives developed from brief accounts recorded by local anthropologists and historians from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The goal is to capture the major themes found in the existing sources. The book also includes translations of 17 brief folk stories about Vlad Ţepeş, known as Dracula. Contrary to the prevailing fictive image, these stories portray Vlad as a wise although strict ruler and a proud defender of his country's autonomy. An introduction discusses the Transylvanian village and its rich folk traditions, making explicit the comparison to the historic and to the fictional Dracula.

Vampire Navy SEALs, shifters, hot heroes, suspense, and romance – Welcome to the supernatural world where vampires are born, not made. Join Jo Mason as she fights to save humanity alongside the smoking hot Vampire Navy SEAL Webb London and his team of vampires. The series is full of action-packed scenes, intrigue, and a slow-burn romance with a guaranteed happily ever after. This is an upper young adult/new adult vampire romance box set. The boxset contains over 1500 pages of non-stop action in this paranormal romance collection. Books in this bundle: Book One: On the Edge of Humanity Dragged into the principal’s office at my latest loathsome school, I meet the darkly appealing Webb London. My world as I know it implodes. Part of a secret Navy SEAL team of natural-born vampires, Webb reveals an evil cartel has abducted my twin brother Sam to claim an agent in his blood. But what flows through his veins runs through mine as well. A dormant gene, if activated, is all it will take to transform me into a vampire. Now, that could be my only hope to save Sam. Time is running out, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. His life, or my humanity? One way or another, nothing will ever be the same. Book Two: On the Edge of Eternity A human boy wants to date me. Another wants to kill me. And a Navy SEAL vampire keeps sending me mixed messages. Yet as I adjust to my novel powers and battle to restrain my vampiric urges, an enemy is closing in. Book Three: On the Edge of Destiny I’m days away from standing trial for the death of my nemesis. My next home could be a cold dark cell in a vampire prison, and my DNA is the secret ingredient my enemy needs to build an army of vampires. But nothing can faze me. I have an expert lawyer on my case. The facts are indisputable. My powers are lethal and stronger to combat my enemy, and my relationship with the smoking hot Vampire Navy SEAL, Webb London, is thriving. Until the nightmares begin. Book Four: On the Edge of Misery My dreams warned me of the danger coming for Webb. There’s a chance they could lead me to him. If I only could fall into a restful sleep that now eludes me. The stress is taking its toll on my body and powers until the phone rings. They say they’ll trade my life for his. Warn me that I must come alone. With the watchful eyes of my father and brother, it will be next to impossible to escape. Still, I will stop at nothing to save the man I love. Book Five: On the Edge of Infinity War is coming. I’ve dreamed of it. I feel it deep down in my bones. It’s pulsing with a sinister strength deadlier than anything I’ve faced before. It’s time to take a stand. To rise up against my adversaries who want me dead or enslaved. I want a family, an ordinary life, and that fable happy ending with my one true love, Webb. Now, I can only pray we both make it out alive. Praise for the series: "A FANTASTIC series that I was sucked into and binge read the five-book collection!!! The characters are really well written, with a lot of growth as the series progresses. Characters are fleshed out and you begin to understand their motivations and thinking. Friends, Family and Romance among these Vampire Navy Seals!" BookDragonGirl “Although character driven, the action and suspense keep you turning the pages wanting to see what will happen. I was so pulled in that I was completely oblivious to what was going on around me. There are shocks and surprises that really shake things up and my jaw would practically hit the floor!” Goodreads Reviewer “If you enjoy paranormal romance, military romance, suspense, action, surprises, plot twists and lots of amazing characters…then this is a FANTASTIC series that I’d highly recommend you check out!!” Goodreads Reviewer “These books are for anyone who likes Vampire paranormal stories. They are well written you can lose yourself in these books. You can imagine what each character looks like. They are well worth a read. I am disappointed I have finished them. Ten out of Ten.” Goodreads Reviewer "I am a huge fan of both YA and Supernatural reads, especially ones that are able to set themselves apart from the rest, and this one takes the cake." Goodreads Reviewer Topics: vampire love story, vampire romance, paranormal romance novels, paranormal romance vampires, supernatural, supernatural romance books, supernatural romance, urban fantasy, alpha vampire hero, military romance, navy seal romance, vampire romance series, coming of age, teen vampire romance, young adult vampire romance, romance bundle, boxset box set,

Monsters and shape-shifters have always held a special fascination in mythologies, legends, and folklore the world over. From ancient customs to famous cases of beasts and vampires and their reflections in popular culture, 600 entries provide definitions, explanations, and lists of suggested further reading.

"It was very different from most books that I have read. I was captivated from the beginning and had to keep turning the pages to find out what happened next.": Judge/Reviewer of Eternal City at the 12th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards competition, Eternal City also receiving perfect scores for its storyline~~~What would any human being not give to be 20 or 25 for always? A Russian prince of the nobility enters the world behind the looking-glass of our reality, a reality most of us are glad not to know. He enters the ongoing war between Good and Evil, as a conscript. He meets angels and demons, vampire-hunters, and vampires from super-ancient civilizations, long dead and forgotten. He encounters a world of secret societies and of the hidden government of vampires, which put him on trial. He made a bargain for immortality and got what he wanted most; he can live forever--more or less--but he also learns the hardest lesson there is to be learned: you don't dance with the Devil for free.

Immortality sucks! Koide Manzaku, who became a vampire at age 16, has had to repeat his first year of high school 133 times. To make matters worse, being a vampire means he's weak during the day, and he's too grumpy to be popular with girls, so in every one of these freshman years, Koide inevitably winds up at the bottom of the social ladder. But somehow this year–his 134th–he winds up friends with a bunch of popular bros. Could this be the year that Koide actually, finally gets to enjoy high school? Sink your teeth into the daily misadventures of a reluctant vampire.

A common assumption about cities throughout the world is tht they are essentially an elaboration of the Euro-American model. Postcolonial Urbanism demonstrates the narrowness of this vision. Cities in the postcolonial world, the book shows, are producing novel forms of urbanism not reducible to Western urbanism. Despite being heavily colonized in the past, Southeast Asia has been largely ignored in discussions about postcolonial theory and in general considerations of global urbanism. An international cast of contributors focuses on the heavily urbanized world region of Southeast Asia to investigate the novel forms of urbanism germinating in postcolonial settings such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Hanoi, and the Philippines. Offering a mix of theoretical perspectives and empirical accounts, Postcolonial Urbanism presents a panoramic view of the cultures, societies, and politics of the postcolonial city.

An exhaustive work covering the full range of topics relating to vampires, including literature, film and television, and folklore. Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular Culture is a comprehensive encyclopedia relating to all phases of vampirism—in literature, film, and television; in folklore; and in world culture. Although previous encyclopedias have attempted to chart this terrain, no prior work contains the depth of information, the breadth of scope, and the up-to-date coverage of this volume. With contributions from many leading critics of horror and supernatural literature and media, the encyclopedia offers entries on leading authors of vampire literature (Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, Stephenie Meyer), on important individual literary works (Dracula and Interview with the Vampire), on celebrated vampire films (the many different adaptations of Dracula, the Twilight series, Love at First Bite), and on television shows (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel). It also covers other significant topics pertaining to vampires, such as vampires in world folklore, humorous vampire films, and vampire lifestyle.

Teen readers have always been fascinated by monsters, but lately it seems like every other young adult (YA) book is about vampires, zombies, or werewolves. These works are controversial, since they look at aspects of life and human nature that adults prefer to keep hidden from teenagers. But this is also why they are so important: They provide a literal example of how ignoring life's hazards won't make them go away and demonstrate that ignorance of danger puts one at greater risk. In They Suck, They Bite, They Eat, They Kill: The Psychological Meaning of Supernatural Monsters in Young Adult Fiction Joni Bodart examines six different monsters--vampires, shapeshifters, zombies, unicorns, angels, and demons--in YA literature. Bodart first discusses the meaning of these monsters in cultures all over the world. Subsequent chapters explore their history and most important incarnations, comparing the same kind of creatures featured in different titles. This volume also contains interviews with authors who provide additional insight and information, and the bibliography includes a comprehensive list of titles featuring the various monsters. Analyzing the most important and well-written series and titles for teens, They Suck, They Bite, They Eat, They Kill will be useful for parents, teachers, and anyone else hoping to understand why teens want to read books in this genre and what some of the benefits of reading them might be.