The Buckinghamshire Vampire

In 1196 a vampire meandered through the Buckinghamshire district of England. The story is recorded in Historia Rerum Anglicarum. The scribe of the story is a monk named William of Newburgh. A vampire, which was the specter of a recently deceased man, attacked his prey at night. He was a classic vampire; one who slept each day in a grave at the town burial ground. When the sun set the vampire would come alive and assault his widow while she was asleep. It is customary in vampire folklore for vampires to assault their previous family members.

Even though the vampire did not physically hurt his widow, each evening after sunset he came back to her bed chamber and assailed and annoyed her. The widow sought out family members to stay with her and keep her from falling asleep at night. The vampire then began attacking other family members in the house. Before long, the complete hamlet was terrified of going to sleep.

The vampire’s burial grave was exhumed by the local villagers. The corpse hadn’t decayed and was in a fresh condition. The villagers buried the corpse again. On the chest of the body they set a holy scapula. The vampire never rose from the grave thenceforth.

The Folktale of the Vampire of Berwick

In another account of William of Newburgh’s Historia Rerum Anglicarum, an affluent man who lived in the town of Berwick died of plague near the boundary of England and Scotland. After his death he was reported to be wandering the streets at night. The dogs of the village would bay deep into the night while this vampire was roaming. The villagers, who were spooked that plague might infect the village because of the vampire’s proximity, exhumed the body, tore it apart limb from limb, and set it aflame. The vampire was never seen wandering the hamlet after sunset thenceforth. Despite the actions of the townspeople, plague still infected the village and it was attributed to the loitering spiritual essence of the vampire.

The Vampire Folktale of Arnold Paole

In this famous Austrian story, a Serbian outlaw named Arnold was subject to a vampire attack during the course of a moonlit walk in a cemetery. Arnold discovered the vampire’s grave and beheaded the monster with a shovel. The vampire curse was a legend that made the slayer of a vampire turn into a vampire themselves. In an attempt to hinder the curse, Arnold ate a small portion of the dirt around the grave. Arnold would live a traditional life for several more years.

Sometime later Arnold died from a fall where he broke his neck. After his funeral his ghost was discovered lurking in the town late in the evening. Many villagers were discovered dead in the morning, all drained of blood. The austere speculation was that Arnold had fallen prey to the vampire curse. The Austrian army was commissioned to look into the matter. They exhumed the corpse and were astonished by what they discovered. The corpse had not decomposed and there was new blood seeping from the mouth, nose, and eyes. The fingernails had elongated and new skin had grown also.

The villagers drove a stake through the heart of the body. The corpse began to bleed from the wound and the body began murmuring in agony. The vampire appeared no more.

The Vampire Folktale of Peter Plogojowitz

This instance was one of the most hair-raising and well documented cases of vampire panic. The tale is found in Imperial Provisor Frombald, written by an Austrian administrator who witnessed the vampire meanderings of Peter Plogojowitz.

In 1725 Peter Plogojowitz, a Serbian countryman, lived in a town named Kisilova. Immediately after Plogojowitz’s demise, no less than nine other villagers perished. They died gradually and on their death beds they alleged that Plogojowitz was strangling and attacking them while everyone else was sleeping.

The townspeople exhumed the remains and inspected it for signs of vampirism. They discovered that the body had not decomposed, that the hair and nails had grown, and that a beard had grown. Blood was discovered in the mouth of the body. The townspeople staked the body through the heart. Blood began squirting from the ears and nose. Afraid that the vampire would rise again, the villagers destroyed the body by fire.

Conclusion

Vampire folktales share very similar elements. When a person dies and is reanimated as a vampire, the vampire most of the time attacks past family members first. Near dawn the vampire returns to its tomb to seek protection until the next evening. When the corpse is exhumed it lacks signs of decay. After the body is destroyed by fire or staked through the heart, the vampire is never seen again.

Gen Wright is a contributor to the online community Vampire Rave, a social network with a vampire theme. He also contributes to SciFi Section, a science fiction community.
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The 20th of November marks the beginning of another chapter in Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling novel. Twilight saga: New Moon finally is rolling as it premiers today on cinemas

Prior to the movie roll, three trailers were presented at different intervals on awards show. The first glimpse was previewed during the MTV Movie Awards for 2009 showing the dramatic transformation of Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner, into a warewolf. In the said awards night, the first installment of the series won five awards and considered the star of the night.

The second Installment of the Twilight Saga wished to gain or at most exceed the expectations of viewers which have grown very much excited over the past few months awaiting New Moon.

Michael Sheen
From the warewolf Lucien who led the rebellion against the vampire Lords in Underworld he now takes the role of Aro, the leader of the Voluturi, a group considered as the government for vampires all over the world. Since the beginning of announcing him as Aro in the movie there have been speculations that this may ruin his career as he takes on the role from a lycan to a vamp. However it can’t be denied that most of the actors that became part of this franchise have surely gone way higher than they were before. Surely there’s forgiveness from lycan fans for Michael; but it will definitely earn him a new breed of fans at the vamps side.

More of Jacob Black
A background check on the movie Twilight will say that Robert Pattinson is a definite star however the sequel has shown more of Taylor Lautner. Let’s just say that the part which made the book boring actually made the movie exciting as the warewolf in Jacob gave a more exciting twist. Cheers to Taylor for a job well done.

Four stars
On its premier, the movie New Moon received a four star review however as things may go well for the fans the opposite may not be so from the outsiders. Firstly the film is lengthy and Robert may need more extra juice in his acting; then again on the positive side he’s a walking manikin and that’s what the Edward in the book asked for.

There’s still more search for people on their opinions on the movie. Still this is one to be watched especially after its improvement from the first part. ‘Till next time…ciao!

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Make sure you do some quality research on tattoo galleries before you jump right in.

Vampires are creatures of myth and legend, and have always been a staple of literature and movies, and any other medium that relies on creatures of the nights for their mood and setting.

Nosferatu, Bela Lugosi, heck, even Elvira – Mistress of the Dark all come immediately too mind when thinking about vampires. And with the new gothic sub-culture becoming more and more mainstream everyday, you can see where the popularity of tattoos related to vampiric images comes from.

But, if you do what every other person on earth does when checking out artwork for their new ink, which is to go to Google and just type something in, you are going to be presented with artwork that has more than likely been used before. And who wants to get a tattoo that someone else already has? Why not just get on that says “Mom”? I didn’t think so.

You are about to spend money (and maybe lots of it) and time (and maybe lots of that as well), so I would highly recommend investing a little beforehand and joining a pay tattoo gallery and community so that you can find fantastic, original artwork for you new conversation piece. If you are going to invest in yourself, why not do it properly to begin with? Make sure you end up with ink that you are proud of.

The top ten most popular (based on online chatter) vampire book series are:

10. Riley Jensen Guardian by Keri Arthur

9. Anita Blake Vampire Hunter by Laurell K. Hamilton

8. The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

7. The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine

6. Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

5. The Darren Shan Saga by Darren Shan

4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

3. The House of Night by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2. The Southern Vampire Mysteries / Sookie Stackhouse Novels / True Blood Series by Charlaine Harris

…and the most popular Vampire Lit Series is no surprise…

1. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

Not quite making the top ten were Night Huntress by Jeaniene Frost, Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith, Undead and … by MaryJanice Davidson, Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz, Vampire Beach by Alex Duval, Night World by L.J. Smith, Nikki and Michael by Keri Arthur, Mackenzie Vampires by Nina Bangs, and Almost Human by Melanie Nowak. The top two series on this list have also been adapted for the screen, with the wildly popular Twilight Saga movies and True Blood television series on HBO.  This can have only helped their dominance in this poll.  While great literature does not need to be adapted for the screen, it will clearly raise awareness of a series and bring in a whole new group of fans.  A Darren Shan motion picture (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant) will be released in late 2009.  Both House of Night and Vampire Academy films or TV adaptations are almost inevitable, although neither seem to be even close to production.  If the new CW Network TV series based on L. J. Smith’s Vampire Diaries is a hit, then those novels are bound to be in the top ten for my next vamp lit poll.  And, finally, it is lovely to see that modern vampire literature icon and pioneer Anne Rice made the list, even if she was not in the top five.  Oddly, only two of Anne Rice’s novels (Interview with the Vampire and The Queen of the Damned) were ever turned into feature films.

I compiled this list by searching for each of the vampire book series on a number of search engines and ranking them by the number of web pages, discussion forums, photos, videos, etc that are available online. Read more about vampires at SpookyFiles.com.

So, which ones are worth your time?

Here’s the Top Ten:

10 – Let the Right One In

Independent foreign film that really does turn the genre on its head.  This little vampire is an innocent girl.  Great storytelling!

9 – 30 Days of Night

Even though vampires hunt at night, we always have the sun to protect.  Except in Alaska.  When it’s night for a month.  The vampires consider this a buffet…

8 – Bram Stoker’s Dracula

In terms of the classic Transylvanian type, this one takes the cake.

7 – Twilight

Even if it isn’t a cinematic masterpiece, Twilight captures a lot of the romantic allure that vampires have always had and helped to make

6 – Blade II

Not as good as the original, of course.  But the franchise maintained its coolness with the Daywalker’s sequel.

5 – Underworld

Vampire action movies are gaining popularity but Underworld did a great job of unraveling a world that seems epic in its battles of mythical armies!

4 – John Carpenter’s Vampires

In the realm of horror, few can rival John Carpenter and his treatment of the vampire horror genre is no exception!

3 – Blade

How cool was it to see the concept of the unflawed, most perfect vampire?  The Daywalker.  All their strengths, none of their weaknesses.

2 – Nosferatu

Classic cinema!  This is the original vampire movie and will always have a special place in our hearts!

1 – Interview with a Vampire

Holding pace at number 1 is a classic.  Big name actors playing the most refined, yet reprehensible immortals.  Always a great one for your vampire fix.

Of course, there is a whole list of great vampire movies so just grab em and enjoy satiating your thirst!

9. Felipe De Castro from the Sookie Stackhouse / True Blood book and TV series.

8. Lara from the Dresden Files book and TV series.

7. Dracula from the 1897 novel and countless movie and tv renditions.

6. Spike from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series.

5. Lilith from ancient vampire lore.

4. Nosferatu, first appearing in the 1922 movie of the same name, an adaptation of Dracula.

3. Bill from the Sookie Stackhouse / True Blood book and TV series.

2. Alice from the Twilight series of books and movies.

…and the most popular vampire online is no surprise…

1. Edward from the Twilight series of books and movies.

I compiled this list be searching for the word Vampire + the series name + the vampire name on a number of search engines.  This ensured that I was indeed getting results for a particular vampire from a particular series.  The vampire’s popularity was judged by the total number of pages found for them.  So, for example to rank Edward from Twilight I searched for “Vampire Twilight Edward”, which had millions and millions of pages.

Partly to prevent The Twilight Series from completely overwhelming this list I only allowed any one series a maximum of two spots on this list.  The most popular vampires from Twilight were (in order) Edward, Alice, Jane, Victoria, Jasper, Laurent, Marcus, Carlisle, Rosalie, Esme, James, Aro, and Demetri.  True Blood also had too many vamps on the list.  The complete True Blood list (in order) is Bill, Felipe de Castro, Eric, Jessica, and Godric.

The vampires who did not make the cut were Selene from Underworld, Darren Shan, Vlad the Impaler from the 14th century, Thomas from the Dresden Files, Lestat from Anne Rice, Jean-Claude from Anita Blake, Lewis from Anne Rice, Count von Count from Sesame Street, Elizabeth Bathory from the 15th century, and Count Chocula.

I was surprised that Vlad and Lestat didn’t rank in the top 10, as both of them seem to be pretty prevelant in any serious discussion of vampire lore and media.  No idea how Nosferatu made it to number 4, but perhaps that proves the staying power of a cool name.

In case you didn’t get it, here’s the short version. Synthetic blood is now available for vampires to buy, therefore they no longer need to kill to survive. So, as a society, they decide to live out in the open and are met with the kind of fear and skepticism that you’d expect.

The great part of the show is that unlike ethnic groups that are defined by their race, vampires exist in every society all around the globe. In a way, the whole thing can be viewed as a comment on the difficulty of being a homosexual in today’s world.

On first look, I can’t help but think that this may be the perfect TV show. It combines the brilliance of Alan Ball, the hotness of Anna Paquin, the mystique of vampires and the innate humor of the deep south to make a very intriguing program.

Like Ball’s other show, Six Feet Under, one of the best parts of the show is the supporting characters. The people who wander in and out of the lives of Sookie Stackhouse and her friends are always interesting to watch.

One twist of the show is that vampire blood is a much sought after commodity. So not only are vamps persecuted and discriminated against, they are often hunted and drained by addicts and dealers.

What I particularly liked about the show is the setting. By placing the action in Louisiana, Ball is able to parallel the plight of the vampire with a host of other minorities all at the same time. The little town of Bon Temps is a melting pot of black, white, gay, fat and every other kind of group that has ever felt persecuted.

As one would expect, the show is much more than just a vampire circus. In this first episode, Sookie’s brother Jason gets carried away and strangles a girl during sex. He, of course, blames it on vampires since he has seen video of her copulating with the undead. Unfortunately, he’s not smart enough to realize that there is also videotape of him losing control and taking the woman’s life. When the law comes after him, it’s not only a great twist, but it’s also great to see William Sanderson and Chris Bauer back on series TV.

One more twist is that Sookie happens to be able to read minds. Not only does this make her special compared to the rest of her friends but it gives her a real reason to be attracted to Bill, her first vampire, since he’s the one person who’s mind she can’t read.

Giving the lead character special powers causes True Blood to resemble Buffy a little too much, but considering how fans of that show are still moaning it’s demise, they will probably welcome Ball’s vampire tale with open arms. The writing makes it clear that the world is not inhabited by a host of other monsters like Sunnydale. It’s only vampires. The other striking difference is, of course, the location.

Overall, the show has plenty of what it takes to build an audience and I know that I am definitely a fan.