Vampire - Matthew Bunson

The vampire has haunted the mythology of peoples on virtually every continent. It has filled the pages of writers from Homer's age to the medieval chroniclers, from the Gothic works of Lord Byron to modern bestsellers. Today, the vampire is alive and flourishing, kept alive by vampire societies around the world, and forever assuming new incarnations on stage and screen, as well as in novels and even comics.;In more than 2,000 entries, from Carpathians to Cushing, garlic to gypsies, fangs to funerals, this encyclopaedia details every aspect of blood-drinking monsters in legend, literature and real life. The history of the vampire myth; methods of finding, identifying and destroying vampires; the origins and significance of the various means of warding off vampires; ways in which one can become a vampire; the importance of blood; the vampire bat; modern psychological-medical viewpoints - all these themes and more are explored in depth. Scholarly research, thorough coverage and intriguing illustrations make this the ideal companion for the horror enthusiast, the would-be vampire hunter and everyone who has been captivated by the macabre, alluring and imperishable vampire.;Matthew Bunson is a writer specializing in historical themes, mythology and the occult.