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                            REALM OF THE VAMPIRE
                             




From #1:

                                                                                                       
                                                           
                                           
                                 
                                     THE REAL DRACULA


                                                                     by

                                                          THOMAS SCHELLENBERGER

    If Bram Stoker's Dracula did not already have a pale complexion, he certainly would have paled at hearing the atrocities of his alleged real-life counterpart, Prince Vlad Tepes, whose name is becoming as much of a household word.
   
    Scholars Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu have been credited with bringing the fifteenth-century monarch to the attention of a modern world that merely considered Dracula a product of some writer's imagination.  A number of biographers, however, from many different lands, have long chronicled the tales of Vlad III (or IV or V?  There has been controversy over the number of Vlads up to Dracula).  These historians presented varying accounts.
   
    "Did Dracula really live?  Was he actually a vampire?  Did he drink blood?"  These are the most frequent questions put to me, and I am so weary of them that one day I might say that Vlad the Impaler truly was one of the undead and still walks the Earth today (though the real Dracula was never associated with vampirism while he lived, some superstitious peasants in Transylvania fear that he does still stalk the populace or that his spirit haunts the island where he is said to be buried).
   
    Vlad Tepes, also known by his enemies as "Sir Stake," "The Berserker," and "The Bloodthirsty Monster" (while it has been stated that Dracula drank blood symbolically McNally and Florescu dispute it), Tepes is considered one of the most colorful and controversial figures in Romania's history.
   
    He is colorful in that he is a major drawing factor in American and Western European tourism and controversial in that his background and image have often been confused and misinterpreted (the Romanians allude this to the novel and motion pictures.  While they are clearly resentful of the "vampire" representation of whom they contend was a gallant hero, they still like to play on the myth for the sake of gaining the American dollar).
   
    Yes, the Romanians do consider Dracula a great protector; an equivalent of George Washington who, like Vlad the Impaler, repelled an awesome invader and established a capital city.
   
    There are some Romanian citizens, still, who regard the ruler as strictly a madman whose barbarianism could never excuse the so-called "defense" of the kingdom.  This was because many of Dracula's own subjects were victims of his cruelties.
   
    All concur that the Prince was a sadistic leader whose deeds or misdeeds were not easily surpassed by other monarchs, before during, or after.  He perhaps would have made even Hitler wince.
   
    Dracula was born in 1431 (500 years prior to the making of the first American Dracula film, which solidified our country's love affair with the Count) in a small town known as Sighisoara.  The house of his birth, described by McNally and Florescu as a "typical German burgher's house," still stands today (a few heads popped out of the windows when I was there.  No, they were not descendants of the Prince, but the men who maintain the place).  A plaque hangs on the wall outside proclaiming that Vlad Dracul, Dracula's father, lived there in 1431.
   
    During that same year, Dracula's family was invested with the Order of the Dragon by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Hungary.  Those bestowed by the Order, founded in 1418 by Sigismundo enlisted in the defense of the sovereign of the Order and his family, battled the infidels (particularly the Turks, who threatened to overrun Eastern Europe and make it a Moslem state), and perpetuated the memory of the condemnation of the "heretic" Jan Hus at Constance in 1416.
    
    Dracul (also a violent man, his name meaning "dragon" or "devil") was the illegitimate son of Mircea the Great, Prince of Wallachia.  It should be mentioned at this point that the nation or Romania was not yet to come into existence until after World War I.  Instead, the area consisted of three separate provinces Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia.
   
    In 1436, Dracul, who had become a military commander after receiving the insignia of the Dragon, ousted his half-brother, Aldea, from the Wallachian throne.  He occupied it until 1442, then from 1443 to 1447.
   
    Dracula (the "a" on the end of a name means "the son of") was the second born of the next generation. The eldest was Mircea, the favorite of Dracul who was to escape a fate that Dracula and younger brother, Radu, were soon to suffer.  Later, another Vlad was born, who would become a monk and Wallachia's ruler in 1481.
   
    The Turks, whom Vlad II and his heirs were bound by oath to oppose, had gained the upper hand against the Hungarians by conquering Serbia and Bulgaria.  Indeed, Eastern Europe was again in jeopardy of being dominated by the Muhammadans, and Dracul's stronghold would naturally be included.
   
    Following the death of Emperor Sigismund, Vlad II yielded to pressure and broke the trust placed in him. He signed an alliance with Murad II, the Turkish sultan, which allowed him to remain on the Wallachian throne if he agreed to assist the Turks in the looting and killing of his own people.
   
    Janos Hunyady, the newly appointed governor of Hungary, was understandably upset with Dracul over this development and led an army into the Prince's land to depose him.  Dracul and his family fled to Turkey when Hunyady's soldiers invaded, after which a new ruler, Basarab II, was placed on the throne.
   
    A year later, with Turkish aid, Dracul was returned to power, but under certain conditions.  One was that he pledge never again to participate in military action against Turkey, and that he offer yearly contingents of Wallachian children for the purpose of enlisting in the Turkish janissary corps.
   
    In accordance with the second term, Dracula (at the time, age twelve) and Radu (age nine) were made hostages by the Turks to ensure Vlad II's good behavior (Mircea was allowed to stay, since he was the first heir to the throne).  The Turks had planned to instruct the two Wallachian boys in the ways of their land, but would shape the elder one into a creature destined to cause much death and destruction (one might say that the Turks were creating a "Frankenstein monster").
   
    Dracula felt betrayed, of course, by his father, and would remember his Turkish captors who mistreated him and his younger, weak-natured brother.
   
    It was during this young, impressionable age that Dracula received a penchant for torture.  The future impaler practically made a hobby out of killing, bribing his guards to bring him birds and other smaller animals to "stake" on small sticks.  This could have suggested Renfield, the mental patient in Stoker's novel, who constantly pleaded with the attendants to bring him insects to consume.
   
    Dracula's captors were amused and impressed by the lad's growing ferocity and felt that he would be ideal to serve in his father's place as Prince of Wallachia.  They were also confident of Dracula's continued loyalty to them in spite of his belligerent attitude (were they in for a rude awakening).
   
    In the meantime, Dracula's father, in an attempt to renew his "Dragonist" oath, had put his own salvation and what he claimed his country's ahead of that of his two sons.  Dracul and Mircea had launched a new offensive against the Turkish army, and it was a miracle that Dracula and Radu were not put to death because of it.  When Dracul had later learned that the two boys were still alive, the Turks again sought a promise of obedience from him.
   
    It was not too much later when Janos Hunyady, whose hatred for Dracul had intensified over the years due to pro-Turkish policies and political disputes, led another invading force into Wallachia.  This time it was a success, as Vlad II and heir Mircea were now dead.
   
    In 1448, young Dracula (who was alone; Radu chose to remain with Sultan Hurad) was given an officer's rank in the Turkish army.  With help from his Moslem "friends," Dracula seized his late father's office.
   
    The new sovereign was fearful of being murdered by the same conspirators who had done away with his family (some of Vlad II's own men had assisted Hunyady in the coup), so after two months, he fled to Moldavia where his uncle, Prince Bogdan II, ruled.  Three years later, Dracula made an unlikely friend: Hunyady.  The "Son of the Devil" apparently felt that he had little choice in joining with his father's killer, since Bogdan had just been assassinated by a foreigner and the Turks were again on the move after defeating Constantinople.
  
    Neither Dracula nor Hunyady ever fully trusted each other.  Relations had deteriorated, though, between Hunyady and his former protégé, Vladislav II, so Dracula turned out to be the only one he could rely on to help battle his enemies, the Turks.
   
    With the fall of Constantinople, the new Turkish sultan had determined to destroy what was left of Eastern Europe, and Dracula was assigned by to defend the Transylvanian border.  The position of military commander, as his father before him, made Dracula a candidate for the Wallachian throne, which he finally resumed by force in 1456 after Hunyady's death by the plague.
   
    Dracula's reign of terror had actually commenced during this second "cycle."  The Voivode had a good memory and demonstrated that he was not a forgiving person as he executed the boyars who plotted against his father.  He also showed that he would never favor the Turks, as he always welcomed the opportunity to slay one or several.
   
    One of the most popular stories about Vlad Tepes involved two Turkish Tourists who refused to remove their turbans when the Prince passed by on the street.  They explained that it was against their custom. Dracula then informed them that he would like to strengthen their custom,so he ordered his men to nail the Turks' turbans to their heads.
   
    Historical texts have been inconsistent on some of the accounts discussed thus far, but all agree on the viciousness of Prince Vlad Tepes, unparalleled by many.
   
    As any student of Dracula should know, Vlad III's favorite form of execution was impalement on a wooden stake, a nostalgic remembrance of his childhood pastime.  Death by this method was not always instantaneous, as the edge of the shaft was blunted and smeared with oil.  With the intended victim's legs spread apart, the stake was usually driven up the anus until it emerged from the back of the neck.
   
    Over 30,000 foreigners and Wallachians alike were put to death in this manner, and "The Berserker" was said to haven been present at all of the executions.
   
    Dracula's feeling of being betrayed his mistreatment by the Turks, and his constant dread of assassination made him cynical, causing a low regard for human life.
   
    Besides impalement, the Prince compelled others to acts of cannibalism; he killed babies, roasted them, and forced their mothers to eat them (this was one trait that did not exist in the fictitious Dracula, for I have never seen a single movie or book where the familiar black-cloaked figure ever harmed or even threatened a child).
   
    He also had his enemies and subjects hacked to pieces, and would never tolerate illicit sexual behavior, laziness among his people in civilian or military duties, or any form of criminal activity (even petty thieves were being impaled).
   
    Vlad Tepes' defenders today insist that it was an era during which a monarch had to evoke fear and an evil reputation to ensure his continued authority and the salvation of his land.
   
    The "evil reputation" certainly did prove its worth when Dracula had learned of an invading Turkish force which greatly outnumbered his own.  He resorted to a form of "psychological warfare," whereby the Prince had thousands of his own countrymen impaled at that point on the border where the Turks were due to arrive.
   
    The invaders who beheld the gruesome sight were sickened and horrified.  They all retreated, afraid to face the man who had perpetrated such a foul  act.
   
    In the light of all this, it might be appalling to excuse Dracula's mass destruction of innocents for reasons of national survival.  But many contend that such grisly actions were still necessary.
   
    Dracula was also a religious man (the divine and the demonical in one) who believed that constructing churches and monasteries atoned for his sinfulness.  The Voivode has been credited, incidentally, with preserving Christianity throughout Eastern Europe (!) by his unrelenting crusade against the Turks.
   
    By the end of the "Bloodthirsty Monster's" second rule in 1462, the Turks had finally besieged his castle in the Carpathians and destroyed much of it (it was totally destroyed by an earthquake in the early part of the twentieth century).
   
    Dracula's first wife had committed suicide in preference to being captured by the Turks, but the Prince and some of his followers had managed to escape to Hungary.  There, Vlad sought aid from King Matthais, who instead imprisoned the deposed leader.  It was due to the numerous complaints against Dracula by the German inhabitants of Sibiu, a town long scourged by the Voivode.
   
    So for the next fourteen years, Dracula remained a prisoner, eventually becoming a model one.  Convinced of his rehabilitation, Matthias decided to reward the former monarch by helping him regain his leadership of Wallachia.
   
    Dracula had also fallen in love with the King's daughter and married her, which required his conversion to Roman Catholic.  Vlad Tepes had previously hated the Catholic Church, as he had been Eastern Orthodox (though Vlad III had still not been considered a vampire, a superstition of the time held that anyone excommunicated from the Catholic or Orthodox faiths would rise as one of the living dead !).
 
    The "Berserker" made more enemies than ever before, including the Eastern Orthodox Church dignitaries for his entering into a "schismatic" church.  Matthias did indeed manage to secure his son-in-law's old office for him, but it was to be short-lived.  Dracula's third reign ended after only two months on December 26, 1476, during a Turkish invasion.
 
    There are two versions of Dracula's death. Either he was beheaded by the Turks, or he was masquerading as one of the Turks to avoid capture and died at the hands of his own men who mistook him for the enemy.
 

    Vlad Tepes is supposedly buried in a tomb on Snagov Island.  An excavation in 1931 (now what was significant about that year?) failed to turn up his body, so it is theorized that he was interred elsewhere to fool grave robbers or is buried much deeper.  The investigation is continuing.
 
    Another common question asked is "does Dracula have any living descendants?" The last known direct descendants died in the seventeenth century, but as Vlad had more illegitimate children than he could count, it is a likelihood that several blood relatives are living.
 
    Author Radu Florescu has been seen said to be indirectly descended from Dracula, and a Count Alexander Cepesi, who operate s a blood bank in Turkey, claims to be a descendant. According to The Dracula Book, by Don Glut, Cepesi says that he "grew up in the very castle where the original Count Dracula committed his heinous crimes."  If that is true, he must have had an unhappy childhood, judging by the present state of the castle.
   
    Clubs and travel agencies continue to offer "Dracula tours" of the area, and Romania enthusiastically welcomes them.  One of the first was General Tourist "Spotlight on Dracula -- An Adventure in Transylvania," which comprised three weeks of travel to "Dracula" landmarks in Romania, Turkey, and England.
 
    As stated earlier, the Romanians do protest Vlad Tepes' vampire image, believing it to be an American invention.  Two people I met in the country, in fact, thought that Bram Stoker was an American.
   
    But bear this in mind: in spite of their resentment of what they feel is a misrepresentation, the people of Romania are a friendly lot and love to see the Americans who come so far to see them.
   
    One of my most interesting contacts was Sebastian, the caretaker of Dracula's tomb, who has been mentioned in a couple of texts. According to A Night in Transylvania, by Kurt Brokaw, he has been repeatedly asked if Bela Lugosi is buried in the crypt.  Sebastian was apparently so weary of this that he told me that Dracula's spirit visits him every night (mind you, I did not ask him that silly question; it was merely a joke that he volunteers to all American and British tourists, seemingly).
 
    Not many movies have ever focused on the real Dracula, although Christopher Lee did play Vlad Tepes in a documentary produced in 1972 entitled "In Search of Dracula," (not to be confused with Leonard Nimoy's "In Search Of" television program).  Lee's resemblance to Vlad was considered uncanny; "the same face," was the remark given by one critic.
 
    Vlad Tepes also had a "cameo" in Dan Curtis' version of "Dracula," starring Jack Palance.  The role was certainly appropriate for Palance as he had, coincidentally, played Attila the Hun, another figure from Dracula's stomping grounds, in the 1954 film, "Sign of The Pagan."
 
    Recent novels have featured the "reality" of Count Dracula by centering on his life as Prince Vlad.  He has, however, been kept a "vampire" as most people still cannot disregard that identity.
 
    One of such works was, Dracula Began, by Gail Kimberly (Pyramid, 1976), which contained a truly entertaining (though slightly altered) account of Dracula's boyhood while held in captivity by the Turks.
   
    Others touch on the life of Vlad in, Crimson Kisses (by Asa Drake; Avon, 1981), The Dracula Archives (by Raymond Rudorff; Arbor House, 1971), Bloodright (by Peter Tremayne; Dell, 1977), and, Dracula, My Love (by Peter Tremayne; Dell, 1980).
 
    Though Dracula has remained a vampire in all of these subsequent novels, could his literary image be slowly metamorphosing to that of his real-life counterpart?  It might be considered unlikely, since America's attraction to the Count is based largely on his supernatural escapades.
 
    Still, the history of one Vlad Tepes is an intriguing one and should continue to be related so that new generations can be aware that what is a fine classic is not totally steeped in fantasy.
 
    And just how does one suppose the real Dracula would have reacted to being depicted as a vampire? Judging by his reputation for having been a lover of wit, he may have been greatly amused.



                             



From #1:



"A SHARD OF MIDNIGHT"

by Jeff Colburn


When our eyes locked,
    on that blackest of nights,
    I knew I was lost.
Your eyes, two glowing embers
    from the very fires of hell,
    caused my soul
    to burst into flame.
Seared with the intense pain
    found only in that must horrible of pits.
In that instant I knew
    I was to be your prey.
The hunger in your eyes
    tore at my soul,
    knowing your claws would soon
    tear at my flesh.
Your gaze ripper away all the falsehoods
    and self lies
    that had been my lifelong armour,
    leaving me stripped naked before you.
This is the way of a true hunter.
I feel honored to be slain and devoured by you,
    to become part of you,
    drawn into the blackness of your coat,
    to join with
    a shard of midnight.


"KISS OF THE VAMPIRE"

by Johnny Hartner


The swarm of enemy cousin bats
         proved not their nemesis.
The fearless vampire-killers
         likewise failed. No
holly, stake or crucifix
ended their endlessness;
so nestled in native soil,
Sunday the vampires slept late.
Fangtime arrives; Lugosi's
"children of the night" glide
the mist.
         Buxom vampirellas
bend over my bed,
cleavage in full nightgowns,
monogram V.
         "Bathe your blood
with spirits of the nethergowns,
         kith of vampire."
Carpathian queens; Transylvania tootsies.
A ghoul bitten with bat-love, initiated,
dazed, I write their names in
red lipstick on walls by day:
         Leigia, Madeline, Codja.
The brides of Dracula and I
         rise in coffin-mist
         feed and are fed upon
         live the night-shift, dusk to dawn.
Stamped by their teeth, a visa
to bypass the next world,
they bade me to spurn mortality; to suck
         the life, blood and breath from all;
to fear holly, Van Helsings, cousins
Nosferatu and the Count
         who'd ruin our turf and their teeth.


"VENUS VAMPIRE"

by W. Adam Mandelbaum


By Luna kissed and darkness blessed
In silken winding sheet caressed,
Her cunning weaved through many lives,
Her fingertips like crimson knives.
The music from some demon's lyre,
The black flame of Hecate's fire
Are greeting to her resting place.
With chilled stone lips and iced embrace
The maiden of sarcophagus
Arises for her midnight kiss.



From #2:


"THE BEAST OF THE HUNT"

by Marilyn Shea


During the Month of Shivering,
the Festival comes in dark and cold.
Tapestries hang from dusty rails,
halls are swept of their leafy mold,
and servants etch their smoky trails
with torches borne from room to room,
lighting the lamps--and whispering.

Have they seen at last the ruddy glare,
the faceless burn of two red eyes?
Most veil their smiles, say I am ill
to imagine eyes that float waist-high
but fade when anyone nears; still,
a presence lingers in the dark,
a crusty thinkness clogs the air.

I saw them first when The Hunt was set
to celebrate, our sister said,
the frosty dawn of Festival.
just then I glimpsed at forest's edge
two eyes that glowed like breath-stirred coals.
Wolves, I thought, as our sister's voice
went on, sharp as any lancet...

"The old Queen demands everything
of us--fealty, submergence of
our lives in hers.  A merciful God
took the King!  She even wants love."
And we other two nodded
as she said:  "Let us consider The Hunt
and how spears fly."  Even frogs sing

at the bottom of wells.  I rode
homeward humming to myself, trying
not to hear the click of claws on scree.
Why had I always thought it right
that when Mother Queen was happy,
I was happy, when she was sad,
I was sad?  The king in his robes
was no less in thrall.  He died
waiting for her, late as always,
as hot sun baked the castle keep.
He fell from his horse with a noise
like trash dumped into the midden heap--
soft, weighty, a hint of wetness.
"Help me," he cried.  But no one did.

"My husband," she wept.  We three mourned
a father, but we crowned her grief,
allowed it to reign.  She dampened
every hall with tears.  Needy fiefs
burdened us with care of servants,
handling pocked and pithy guardsmen,
granting land, measuring out corn.

Not that she asked for help; merely
sighed loudly over documents
she could barely read.  A weakness
of the eyes, no doubt.  "My apartments
go unvisited," she whined, mindless
of time spent serving her, arriving
at our own hearths spent and weary.

My husband grew more silent,
his mouth in a straight line, thus.
I heard a silly kitchen maid
speak of my brother-in-law.  A kiss
in the pantry.  A hand that played
on her breast.  "Tomorrow's The Hunt,"
our sister said.  The Queen consented.

(No wolf owns eyes that float on air.
No wolf lives in a citadel.
There is no wolf that never blinks.
Could I be touched by witch's spell?
Look!  By the granary it slinks!
If eyes are windows to the soul,
what raw, red spirit turns and stares?)

An icy fog had glazed the trees,
which poked like bones from a shroud,
while an anxious pack howled and danced
patterns in the snow.  As we rode,
the Queen chattered about her chance
of making a kill.  The horses wore
their breath like plumes in a breeze.

Spear-end nested in my stirrup,
I rode behind my sister
who was hooded like a falcon
all dressed in sober leather.
Flushed from cover, the roe deer ran.
How easily a spear could miss
as into the fog we galloped.

I heard the panting of the deer,
the hangling of the royal bit,
then red eyes stared out from the mist.
No spur is sharper than guilt.
I caught up with the Queen; a fist
in the neck turned her silly horse,
and thus she was spared from the spear.

Staring at the point imbedded
deeply in a tree, the Queen shrieked
"I could have been killed!"  Such accidents
I said, are common when we seek
prey in fog.  "Mishaps are often sent
to warn," the husband of my sister
softly (and most unwisely) said.

We waited long for my sister.
Supper was laid and cleared; all slept.
Early, early we whipped the pack
to search the woods.  And how I wept
when at last we found it--the hacked
body scattered; the staring head
still wrapped in its hood of leather.

For days I remembered little:
the Queen sniffling about wild boars;
a kitchen maid smiling; red eyes
watching from behind every door.
Then my younger sister defied
sense and talked wildly of revenge,
She and her betrothed left the castle.

Merciful God, why was it I
who found them in her manor house,
dead at table, yellow vomit
leaking from their mouths?  Arousing
the dogs, I fed them leftover bits
of that last supper.  They followed
their mistress to the grave.  Shall I?

Now I saw red eyes everywhere,
even in our rooms.  My husband
blamed choler and sleeplessness.
The mourning Queen commended,
and I received a grand, black horse
for a funeral rite in the woods.
Alone we'd ride, the surviving pair.

Trust is something you have to earn;
you earn it in blood and grief.  Hate,
by contrast, comes as a gift, wrapped
in weakness and silence.  I felt safe,
riding out in a stained leather cap,
a trusted daughter and her beast.

Something happened on the long ride back.
Something sprang for the old Queen's throat.
Something tore through lace to flesh.
Something made the air turn red,
but though the snow had fallen fresh
there were no tracks where the Queen lay dead.
"Murder." I cried; an echo returned.

The corpse had begun to bloat
when they found me, red-eyed, they said,
from weeping and the cold.



From  #3:


"THE BLOOMING"

by Collins Mitchell Kelley


No soul trading allowed.
Behind the high walls
Crosses bloom.
High tombs, souls just
out of reach.
Crumbling doorways.
someone has raped these
sanctuaries.
Darkness and dust.
In fever days they laid
the bodies along the
levee, while others
dug wet graves.
Now the bodies rest
upstairs, safe from
drowning.
Heat never dries the
ground here, only the
Bones.
Rain makes no difference.
Would you like to trade
places?
Let the tall grass grow
where your heart used
to beat?
These souls could tell
tales of old storms
that blew through the
View Carre.
But they took no real
notice of the wind or
the water.
Only that they
found their final
resting place.
And the earth had to
reach up
to claim its prize.



From  #9:


"THE VAMPIRE DOLL"

by Joann Serger


One Halloween day Tamara
stepped into a small antique shop.
She found herself drawn
to a small male doll
wearing a Victorian costume.
The face of the doll
wearing a Victorian costume
The face of the doll was quite handsome,
and looked much like a real person.
Tamara had to buy it
for her doll collection.

That night she had a dream
about the doll.
Like magic he grew in size
and changed into a real man.
He reached out his hand to Tamara
and drew her close to him.
Soft music played,
and the couple began to dance
around her bedroom.
When they came close to the bed,
He began to kiss her gently on her neck.
They sank on to the bed kissing each other.
Tamara ran her hands down his broad shoulders,
pressing him close to her body.
She felt a soft prick in her neck,
and felt the warm blood coming forth
from the wound.

In the morning
she was found dead in her bed,
The doll lying next to her,
covered in blood.
No one was sure how she died.
Someone said she had killed herself.
Others said it was murder.
But I say she died from love.

                       
From the upcoming issue:

                
                     
                        


                                           GILLES de RAIS--HUMAN VAMPIRE


                                                                                     by
                                                        Sharida Rizzuto

   

    Historically, some individuals fit the definition of a human vampire:  Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary; Fritz Haarman of Hanover, Germany; Sergeant Bertrand of Paris; and more recently Jeffrey Dalmer, and others too numerous to mention here.  One of the most infamous human vampire is Gilles de Rais, a fifteenth century nobleman and Grand Marshall of France, who fought along side Joan of Arc.  The "Blue Beard" legend is based on de Rais.
    
    Despite some distortions of the facts regarding de Rais' exploits, the consensus of scholarly opinion proves that he was indeed a depraved madman with an obsessive bloodlust.  Sadist, sodo_ist, cannibal, murderer, necrop_ile, blood-drinker, and a serious practitioner of the Black Arts--he did it all.  It is said De Rais enjoyed dismembering children, particularly young boys, eating them and drinking their blood.  He would have s_x with them before or after death.   (NOTE:  Letters were omitted from some words so any children coming across this site won't understand it and hopefully the search engines won't pick up on the words.  We don't want  the wrong kind of listing.) 
   
    Olga Hoyt, author of  Lust for Blood, claimed de Rais felt truly sorry for his crimes and repented when facing death and the fear of the Hereafter.  Talk is cheap, as the old saying goes.  Who knows if any murderer feels any true remorse.  They certainly do not feel much if any while they are committing their crimes.  If they truly did, they would stop.  Of course, according to sociologists it is compulsive behavior on their part, so they cannot control themselves.  Considering the life histories of these human monsters, while some come from seriously abusive backgrounds, it is most likely many of them look for any reason to justify their sick behavior.  Some individuals seem inherently evil.  They wallow in sickness and depravity.  Certainly de Rais is a good example of this kind of inherent evil.  There is no evidence that he came from an abusive background.  And, while he did live during harsher times, most people did not live as he did.  There are those among sociologists who like to revise history and claim that the reports of de Rais' behavior are greatly exaggerated as well as that of others like him.  Shame on them for using any feeble reason to excuse such behavior.  It does not matter if he killed one, a few, or many, he was still a sick man.
   
    While there is no evidence that many individuals throughout history lived as practicing human vampires, it is true that there is evidence that a minority of individuals definitely did live that way.  However, if the human sacrifice and blood-drinking practices of the Aztecs and the Mayans were included, the numbers would increase tremendously.  Of course, anthropologists would claim that their practices do not count and cannot be attributed to the same form of bloodlust.  To them, the practices of the Aztecs and Mayans are simply a cultural thing with no connection to vampire-like practices.  No one can say for sure what truly motivates such cultural practices.  However, it can be said that the habits of such individuals as Elizabeth Bathory, Jeffrey Dalmer, and Gilles de Rais are vampiric indeed. There is something extremely sinister about such motivations.  Their lives center on their depravities.  They obviously lived only to repeat their evil deeds again and again. They could not satisfy their bloodlust.  Like any addiction, there is no easy cure.  However, in the case of human vampires it is not an ordinary addiction.  It is an obsession and dedication to the darkside.  There is no other way to explain it.
   
    Gilles de Rais was one of that breed of European noblemen who indulged in incredible excesses of debauchery and murder.  He created many enemies along the way.  Eventually he was brought to justice.  He was burnt at the stake.  Though many innocent individuals were burnt, de Rais was not one of them.

To read more about this fascinating villain the following books are available:
    Flesh & Blood a History of Cannibalism by Reay Tannahill
    La Bas by Joris Karl Huysmans (fictional account of de Rais)
    Lust for Blood by Olga Hoyt
    Monsters by Vincent Price & V. B. Price
   The Natural History of the Vampire by Anthony Masters
   The Vampire Encyclopedia by Matthew Bunson
   The Vampire in Legend and Fact by Basil Copper
   Vampires by Vincent Hillyer
   Witchcraft and Black Magic by Montague Summers




From the upcoming issue:

BLOOD NOTES

by Sharida Rizzuto & Lucinda MacGregor


Bloodlust--Conversations With Real Vampires
by Carol Page
Harper Collins Publishers: New York, 1991
Hardback

Carol Page approaches vampirism from a general sociological viewpoint: how and why people become fascinated with vampires.  While she does include some historical background, her emphasis is on contemporary practitioners.  Ms. Page interviewed several interesting individuals regarding their involvement in blood-drinking and other vampirish activities.  She exposes them at their best and at their worst.
In a lighter vein, Page devotes a chapter to the Hunt-a-Vampire Weekend she attended that is held annually in Whitby, England by the Dracula Society of London. The guests are there purely for entertainment. They view vampire films and discuss vampire literature.  They also play games, hold a costume contest, and take a walking tour of the historic sites which relate to Bram Stoker's Dracula. The idea is to eat, drink, and be merry. No kinky stuff there.
Reviewed in Realm of  The Vampire#1

Dracula the Novel & The Legend
A Study of Bram Stoker's Gothic Masterpiece
by Clive Leatherdale
The Aquarian Press: London, 1985
Trade Paperback

The author presents a thorough background of the vampire in history and legend including Vlad Dracula.  He includes the many symbolic interpretations attached to Dracula, Stoker, and vampires in general.  He covers the sexual, political, religious, sociological, and psychological aspects of Dracula and vampirism.  Leatherdale does not miss much.
Reviewed in Realm of  The Vampire#1

Vampire Legends of Rhode Island
by Christopher Rondina
Covered Bridge Press, 1997
Trade Paperback

Here is a fascinating read for any vampire enthusiast interested in vampire legends.  Rondina covers the background of  the alleged vampires of late 18th through late 19th century Rhode Island with tidbits on various vampire topics.  It is interesting, entertaining, and well-written.  The production values are nicely done.  A good collector's item for vampire buffs.
Reviewed in the upcoming issue of Realm of  The Vampire

Vampire the Complete Guide to The World of The Undead
by Manuela Dunn Mascetti
Viking Studio Books: New York, 1992
Hardback
Reviewed in Realm of  The Vampire#1

Ms. Mascetti covers a diverse variety of vampire legends from around the world. Literary and historical vampires are included.
There is an astounding collection of eerie and haunting photos and drawings which accompany the text. Overall the book has a haunting quality that stays with the reader long after finishing it.  A must for all vampire lovers and other creatures who dwell in the darkness.

Liquid Dreams of Vampires
by Martin V. Riccardo, publisher of the late Journal of  Vampire Studies  
Llewellyn Books:  St. Paul, MN
1996
 
His book is devoted to the erotic and haunting dreams of vampires that many people experience.  He includes a solid background of vampire lore and history.  It is entertaining and a worthwhile addition to any vampire collection.  We look forward to any future literary endeavors by Martin Riccardo, a true vampirologist.

The Vampire Book--Encyclopedia of the Undead
Video Hound's Vampires on Video
J. Gordon Melton
Visible Ink Press:  Detroit, MI
1994 & '99 for the Encyclopedia and 1998 for the Video book

The Encyclopedia is an outstanding piece of research.  He covers practically everything in the vampire genre.  Recently he published an updated version.  However,  that doesn't mean that one should overlook the older version in favor of the newer one.  The older version contains a lot of interesting material not included in the second version, and the newer version, of course, contains things not included in the older version.  Either way one can't go wrong in buying  both editions.  The Video book should interest any vampire film buff.  

Vampires
Restless Creatures of the Night
by Jean Marigny
Discoveries series
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.:  New York, 1994 (English translation)

This is a wonderful addition to the Discoveries series which is an outstanding endeavor.  It's a delightful little classy book that covers the background of the earliest known origins of vampires up to the present day plus covering the vampire in literature, film & television.  It's the kind of book one can carry around in a purse or a pocket and read from it time and again.  In addition, it contains some wonderful drawings, paintings, and photographs.


MORE REVIEWS TO COME!



From the upcoming issue:


                                    CHELSEA QUINN YARBRO:        
                           VAMPIRE AUTHOR EXTRODINARE

 
                                                       by Sharida Rizzuto

    Chelsea Quinn Yarbro began her career in the early 1970's writing mystery, scifi and fantasy stories.  It didn't take long for Yarbro to begin winning awards for her works.  By the late ‘70's she tried her hand at writing a vampire novel.  It, however, took several years before a publisher would decide to publish it.  Thus, Yarbro's Count St. Germain series was born.
   
    Yarbro based St. Germain on his real life counterpart, an eighteenth-century French alchemist.  Many legends surrounded his life.  There were numerous reported sightings throughout the years of St. Germain.  It seems he never aged and lived well over a hundred years.  The reliability of those accounts are questionable. However, the legends of the ageless, long-lived Germain served as a great inspiration for Yarbro.
   
    Yarbro's Count is a vampire with character, class, wit, intelligence, and compassion.  He is no ordinary monster like many literary vampires.  Her Count has heart and soul.  He is sensual and capable of love.  St. Germain lacks the usual demonic powers of Dracula and other vampires; and, the usual weapons don't effect him.
   
    Yarbro has written many volumes on the illustrious Count.  In chronological order: Hotel Transylvania, The Palace, Blood Games, Path of the Eclipse, Tempting Fate, The St. Germain Chronicles, Darker Jewels, Better in the Dark, Mansions of Darkness, Writ in Blood, Communion Blood, and Blood Roses.
   
    She has also created a series based on one of the characters from the St. Germain series, Olivia.  Those novels include:  A Flame in Byzantium Crusader's Torch, Out of the House of Life, Crown of the Empire, and A Candle for d'Artagnan.
   
    Yarbro incorporates much historical background as an integral part of each St. Germain novel.  It's her trademark and what makes them worthwhile reading.
   
    There is a trend, nowadays, in vampire novels for writers to create an historical setting for their characters.  Aside from Yarbro some of the other popular writers whom use this device are Jonathan Aycliffe, Elaine Engstrom, Barbara Hambley, Tom Holland, Kim Newman, Anne Rice, Brian Stableford, Dan Simmons, among others.  It harks back to the late Romantic and Victorian periods.  Though, for a while, during the ‘80s' and ‘90's contemporary vampires became the norm, the more traditional vampire novel still reigns supreme.



From #3:




WEBSITE INTERVIEWS

Conducted by Sharida Rizzuto

Vampire Athenaeum--Book Reviews For Creatures Of The Night
Webmistress Strigoaica
http://www.vampireathenaeum.org/                   

The website is devoted to reviewing vampire books both fiction and non-fiction.  It is a great place for vampire enthusiasts to read up on the latest books or to find information regarding practically any previously published vampire book they want to know about.  The site is always under construction.  Webmistress Strigoaica regularly adds new reviews.  If you know of any book you would like to have her add to her review list, be sure to e-mail her at: strigoaica@juno.com (Jennifer L. Mann)

At Realm Of The Vampire we put together a set of questions to ask Webmistress Strigoaica about her site and her vampire interests:

Q)  How did your interest in vampires develop?

My interest in vampires began at an early age.  I remember being four years old and seeing Bela Lugosi in the 1931,"Dracula," on t.v., and thinking, "Wow!"  It wasn't scary, just fascinating to my young mind.  My father says one of my favorite books, even before I learned to read, was Bram Stoker's Dracula, which had rather grim illustrations.  Dad says he'd no sooner put it away where he thought I wouldn't get to it when he'd find that I'd gotten it out again.  I had a few vampire toys, although my parents didn't encourage my vampire fascination.  They're very supportive now, though.

Q)  Why did you decide to create your website?

I have nearly 200 vampire books, and I am always looking for more good ones.  I spent quite a lot of time surfing the internet looking for a site that would help me find new titles and possibly provide reviews as well. When I couldn't find one that suited my needs, I decided to make one myself.  The idea was to have others contribute to the site, so that visitors to the site would have a large number of sites to browse.  Demian from subnation.com offered me the space, and the project took off.  I didn't know anything about doing a website before I began, but learning to do the HTML code has been surprisingly entertaining.  It is an added benefit that allows me to communicate with others who share my love of these books.

Q)  What are some of your favorite vampire books?

All of the vampire books by Barbara Hambly, Elaine Bergstrom, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.  I also love Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite and Burying The Shadow by Storm Constantine.
As for non-fiction books, I think The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead by J. Gordon Melton is a must have, and Paul Barber's Vampires, Burial, and Death is a splendid source of information about the origin of the vampire myth.
I have many favorites, but those are the first ones that come to mind.

Q)  Do you also enjoy vampire films?  Is, what ones do you recommend?

There have been a great number of pretty good vampire films, and many more that are just plain bad. Any fan of vampire films really has to have a high threshold for cheese.  It pervades nearly all of them to varying degrees.  My favorites are "Dracula" (1931) starring Bela Lugosi and "Nosferatu" (1922) which are classics.  Also, "Bram Stoker's Dracula" with Gary Oldman in the title role despite the performance by Keanu Reeves, which I didn't care for at all; "Interview with the Vampire"; the "Subspecies" films, if you ignore Radu's unmoving rubber fingers; "Dracula" (1979) with Frank Langella as Dracula, in spite of the vamping scene with a sort of lava lamp background (I t would have improved the film if it was cut out entirely); "Dance of the Damned"; "Nightlife" which was just plain silly but in a fun way; "Vampire's Kiss" with Nicholas Cage is really original and very weird; and any of the Christopher Lee vampire films, despite the extraordinarily high cheese-factor in some of the later ones.  Anything with Lee and Peter Cushing together is especially good.  The two of them were both splendid.  Cushing may never be outdone in the role of Van Helsing.  Although, Anthony Hopkins gave him a run for his money in "Bram Stoker's Dracula."

Q)  What vampire books will always maintain popularity and why?

The original Dracula is such a classic, it will always be in demand.
I think Anne Rice's books will, too, because her vampires reflect her audience.  They are just like us, with the same human desires and failings, except those attributes are magnified into preternatural intensity; and the vampires possess the power to roam the night and drink in its pleasures without fear.  In particular, The Vampire Lestat, because it is the most accessible to the greatest number of people.  It is fast paced, well-written, flows smoothly, and has lots of action--escapist entertainment with tasty vampires added.
Poppy Z. Brite's Lost Souls is a work of art, brutal and unmerciful as it is.  It is twisted and beautifully written, and speaks directly to the hearts of those who are in touch with their dark sides as well as being gruesome enough to appeal to the masses to a wide audience.

Q)  What are some of the worst plotlines in vampire books and films?

I get really tired of the "vampire laments his/her cursed existence but doesn't have the nerve to end it--means alluring mortal battles with evil within him/herself--finds some way to become mortal again and they live happily ever after" plot.  It isn't the worst, but it is the most over-used.  I don't object to some of the ones that might be considered "bad" as long as they are original, although it helps if the story is well-written.

Q)  What kind of response does your website receive?

It has had almost 4,000 hits since it went on-line in February 1997.  The Vampire Athenaeum is up to over 300 titles now, which is really exciting.  I am particularly pleased when I get e-mail with comments about books and reviews to add to the site.  I want as many opinions expressed about as many books as possible.

Q)  What are your future plans for your website?

The dust is still settling from the construction of the main structure of the site.  I just completed an index by title, so now visitors can look up books alphabetically by author or title as they choose.  I would like to see many more reviews added, and for my part I add a new review of my own as often as I can.

Santiago, the Mad Vampire
Webmaster Santiago
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/4268/

What a weird, bizarre, and wonderful website for vampire lovers!  Visitors to the site will find a broad assortment of interesting vampire tidbits and links to other fascinating vampire sites.  Definitely for those who seek something entirely different in the realm of vampires.  Here are the questions we put to the Mad Vampyre and his reply:

Q)  What motivated you to put a vampire site on the web?

Well, it was during the summer and I really had nothing else to do with my hordes of free time...so, I figured it was a good way to spread my insanity over a wider medium than the e-mail list I was on (where "Santiago, the Mad Vampyre" was really born...he was such a cute baby, I wonder where I went wrong??)

Q)  What type of response have you received?

Most of the people that go to my page and tell me they were there, tell me I'm a freak.  I had one person ask me if I had ever taken Lithium, and others that feel themselves kindred spirits, looking for another freak ta chat with (which I'm always available for as long as you don't mind my long-winded pointless ramblings that go on and on for no perceivable reason other than so I can hear myself think and that is a rare pleasure for me).

Q)  From your website it's obvious that you have a variety of interests.  How did you develop those diverse interests?

Ooooh...good question...I really have no idea??  I try to keep an open mind, and when something interests me, it stays.  I think most of the stuff on my page is either comical, or dark...or both.  I like stuff that can show that it is evil and nasty, but you can still laugh at or with it.  Santiago is like that, I can drink your blood or tell you a joke, and you could laugh or scream either way!

Q)  Though you are majoring in Environmental Biology you definitely show talent in your writings.  Might you change your major to Creative Writing in the future?

If you think I've got talent, you obviously haven't read any of the stuff I've done.  But, you're right...why am I in Env.  Bio?  The reason is that I wanted to be an Eco-terrorist (or at least say that's what I wanted), but that grew old, so if all goes well, next year I'll be in Theatre Arts.  Over the summer I plan on writing a screenplay.  The problem with my writing is that I'm never happy with my stuff if I think about it, so almost all of the stuff I do is on the fly.  I usually regret it later, but people...for some reason seem to like it. *Shrug* People are strange.

Q)  What are some of your favorite vampire sites on the net?

Another toughie, since I obviously can't say my own site.  Uh...The Malkavian Homepage by Erehwon is a very cool place.  It shows that vampires can be humorous or terrifying or both.  There is also The Death Watch which isn't vampiric but it does tell you how many seconds you have left to live.  And, The Tick Page--ticks such blood, right?

Q)  What are some of your favorite vampire novels?

Dracula by Bram Stoker is a good book.  Despite all of its flaws, and I know it can be a dry read, it's probably the Grand daddy of all things vampiric today!  (Can you hear those historians screaming already?!) Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice is an excellent piece (gotta luv those Theatre Vamps, right?).  It did weird things to my mind as I read it (as if cereal box ingredient labels don't do the same thing), but I wasn't too impressed by the rest of the Chronicles...they just didn't pull my strings.  I don't do as much vampiric reading as I'd like, and tend to have a weirder range--I read comics from The Crow and Lobo all the way to Ambush Bug and The Heckler...but those aren't particularly vampiric.

Q)  I hope that wasn't too painful?

Nope, my anesthetic must be workin'...oooh...look at the pretty colors...

E-mail the Mad Vampyre, Santiago, at dmupham@saturn.nsac.ns.ca


Go to our second page for more vampiric goodies.



MORE TO COME!