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Motif Index of Vampires in Folklore,
Literature, and Film

Motif I: Becoming a Vampire

Motif II: Physical Characteristics of Vampires

Motif III: Behavioral Characteristics

Motif IV: The Limitations of Vampires and Apotropaics

Motif V: The Powers of Vampires

Motif VI: Eliminating Vampires

Welcome to The Motif Index of Vampires in Folklore, Literature, and Film (The Index).

The brief introduction below defines the concept of the folkloric motif, the purpose of motif indexes, and how The Index differs from others such as Stith Thompson’s Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1966). The introduction also discusses the structure of The Index and its sources.

Motif Indexes

In folklore, motifs are recurring elements or themes found in the lore of any particular folk group. Folklorists compile and categorize motifs with the goal of discovering patterns within and across cultures. Folklorists have created motif indexes in such areas as folk music and art, but most focus on folk literature. The most extensive and prestigious motif index in folklore is Thompson’s Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1966), which extensively classifies the story elements of folk tales from different cultures, allowing cross-cultural comparisons.

A motif index is more than a list of recurring elements. It has the same hierarchical organization as a well-crafted topical outline, each more general heading logically subsuming all the headings under it. For example, the Roman numerals on a topical outline correspond to the most general motif categories, which subsume all motif categories under it. In turn, motif categories on the next level down—designated with a capital letter--subsume each level below it.

Because the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature is so influential and contains “Vampire” as one of its categories, a comparison of that work with The Index is warranted. Thompson’s index strictly covers folk literature, which includes the genres of folktale, myth, local legend, mediaeval romance, exempla, saints’ legends, jestbooks, novella, fabliaux, and fables. Of all those genres, references to vampires occur only in two: folktales and local legends. Unfortunately, very few folktales have vampires in them. Consequently, a valid motif index must include other sources that reveal beliefs in vampires such as travelogues, (Tournefort, 1717; Gerard 1885), governmental documents (Flückinger, 1732), court transcripts (Dubrovnik Criminal Court Transcript, 1737), and research reports by folklorists and other investigators (for example, Afanas’ev, 1869; Blum & Blum, 1970; Lawson, 1910; Murgoci, 1926; Perkowski, 1972; Trigg, 1973; Vukanović, 1957-1960).

Another crucial difference between the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature and The Index is the range of cultures represented in the works. Thompson’s work includes tales from many folk groups from many different geographical regions whereas the folklore in The Index is exclusively from Eastern Europe, which includes the countries in the Balkan Peninsula: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia. Eastern European countries not located in the Balkan Peninsula include Belarus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, western Russia, and the Ukraine. Most of the peoples who inhabit this region speak Slavic languages and are of Slavic descent, but not all, including the Albanians, Greeks, Hungarians, and Romanians. The Index focuses on Eastern Europe because even though other cultures have vampires or vampire-like creatures, the phenomenon is best documented among Eastern Europeans.

A third difference between the two works is that whereas the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature focuses strictly on folk literature, The Index examines vampire motifs across the genres of folklore, literature and film, and in the case of literature across two centuries. The structure of The Index enables readers to see the origin of popular vampire motifs and to examine motifs from folklore that never were adapted into literature or film.

The Structure of the Index

The Index has six general motif categories: becoming a vampire, physical characteristics, behavioral characteristics, limitations of vampires and apotropaics, powers of vampires, and eliminating vampires.

Subsumed under the six broad motif categories of the Index are 237 specific motifs organized in rows. The different genres—folklore , 19th century literature, modern literature, and film—appear in four columns, so that readers just scan across the page to see where the motifs originated. Each specific motif is supported by evidence from at least two different sources, but most are supported by many more. The more sources are cited for a motif the more prevalent it is.

The Index provides the exact page number of each folkloric and literary source where each motif is found. At times pages numbers appear more than once, which is not an error. It shows that the motif occurs more than once on the same page.

Some of the motifs will seem to contradict each other. For example, one motif prohibits people from touching vampire blood because whoever does will become a vampire (Krauss, 1892). In an apparent contraction, consuming vampire blood or its ashes is an apotropaic measure to ward off future vampire attacks (Murgoci, 1926; Perkowski, 1972).

The Sources

Folklore

The motif index currently contains 46 sources from folklore. The folkloric sources for The Index contain both emic and etic data.

Emic Data

Emic data consists of narratives and statements by those who are indigenous to that culture. Emic data consists not only of narratives that reveal beliefs and behaviors, but also interpretive statements by members of a culture about why they hold those beliefs and behaviors. For emic data to be valid, researchers must record exactly what informants utter. Many social scientists regard emic data as more valuable than etic data, and fortunately, quite a bit of emic data exists about the vampire, including folktales, local legends, memorates and belief statements.

Etic Data

In contrast to emic data, etic data is from the viewpoint of someone who is not an indigenous member of the culture being observed; consequently, etic data is almost always interpretive. Etic data complements emic data because members of a culture probably cannot interpret their behavior objectively. Etic data on the vampire is found in field reports by anthropologists, folklorists psychologists and others It is also found in governmental reports journals, travelogues, and even in newspaper articles.

Field reports are a rich source of data on the vampire in Eastern Europe even though they contain few quotes from the indigenous population. Frequently, the researchers live among the indigenous population, becoming intimately familiar with the culture (Blum & Blum, 1970; Trigg, 1973; Vukanović, 1957-1960).

Governmental reports are also a rich source of data, especially those written in the 18th century when some countries gained control of Slavic territory due to war and conquest as when the Austro-Hungarian Empire gained control of portions of Serbia after the ratification of the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718. The strength of these reports is that they can contain first-hand accounts of crisis rites, which are sanctioned attempts to remove crisis phenomena such as disease or unexplained deaths. Communities perform the rites in cases of extreme fear and anxiety in an effort to restore the normal order. In Visum et Repetum (1732), Flückinger reports witnessing the disinterment of suspected vampires and their decapitation and cremation.

Journals and travelogues have also documented the occurrence of crisis rites. M. Pitton de Tournefort (1717) witnessed one on Mykonos and documented what he saw. Some residents disinterred a suspected vampire, cut out its heart, filled the mouth with holy water, and finally cremated it. Newspaper articles have also reported similar crisis rites (The Serbian Literary Herald, Belgrade, 1923; see Cajkanović, 1923).

19th Century Literature

The Index currently contains 20 works of 19th century literature, all of which are prose works even though quite a few poems have been written about vampires (see a list in Bunson, 1993: 209). Also, excluded are prose works dealing with clinical and psychic vampires. An example of a story with a clinical vampire is, “Good Lady Ducayne” (1896) in which an elderly woman instructs her doctor to transfuse blood from young women to herself in a futile attempt to restore her youth. Another story frequently mentioned as having a vampire is “The Parasite” (1894), but this is clearly a case of psychic vampirism, in which the main female character can mesmerize the male narrator. Another story frequently mentioned as having a vampire is “What Was It” (1859), which contains an invisible creature that the narrator easily binds and eventually starves to death; given that the story has a questionable vampire, it is also excluded.

Modern Literature and Film

Even though thousands of modern literary works and films feature vampires, The Index currently contains 55 sources in modern literature and 66 in film. For modern literature, I tried to choose a work from every decade from the 1910s through the 2010s; I also tried to select works that had received some literary acclaim.

I essentially followed the same procedure for films, including works from every decade from the 1920s through the 2010s, and again, I tried to select films that had received acclaim or were highly representative of the genre. As was true for 19th century literature, I excluded works involving psychic vampires and clinical vampires from both modern literature and film.

Any errors in The Index are my responsibility, and I welcome comments, corrections, or suggestions for revision. I can be reached at the following email address: rcarlisle@csub.edu

References:

Afanas’ev, A.N. (2006). Poetic views of the Slavs regarding nature. In J.L. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 195-211). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1869].

Blum, R., & Blum, E. (1970). The dangerous hour: The lore of crisis and mystery in rural Greece. New York, NY: Scribner’s.

Bunson, Matthew. (1993). The vampire encyclopedia. New York: Gramercy Books.

Cajkanović, V. (1998). The killing of a vampire. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp.72-84). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1923].

Dubrovnik Court Transcript (1737). In J.L. Perkowski (ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 400-417). Bloomington: Slavica Publishers.

Flückinger, J. (1732). Visum et repertum. Nuremberg, Germany: J.A. Schmidt.

Gerard, E. (1885). Transylvanian superstitions. The Nineteenth Century, 18, 128-144.

Krauss, F.R. (1998). South Slavic countermeasures against vampires. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 67-71). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1892].

Lawson, J. C. (1910). Modern Greek folklore and ancient Greek religion. Forgotten Books.

Murgoci, A. (1926). The vampire in Roumania. Folklore, 37(4), 320-349.

Perkowski, J. (1972). Vampires, dwarves, and witches among the Ontario Kashubs. Ottawa: National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada. Thompson, S. Motif-index of folk-literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1966.

Tournefort, M. Pitton de. (1717). Relation d’un voyage du Levant. Vol. 1. Paris.

Trigg, E. B. (1973). Gypsy demons and divinities. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press.

Vukanović, T. (1957-1960). The vampire. Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, 36 (1957), 125-133; 37 (1958), 21-31; 38 (1959), 111-118; 39 (1960), 44-55.

Folklore References

Abbot, G. (1903). Macedonian folklore. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Afanas’ev, A. (2006). Poetic views of the Slavs regarding nature. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 195-211). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1869].

Barber, P. Forensic pathology and the European vampire. (1998). In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 109-142). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1987].

Barber, P. (1988). Vampires, burial, and death: Folklore and reality. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Bargheer E. (1931). Eingeweide: Lebens- und seelenkrafte des leibesinneren im Deutschen glabuen und brauch. Leipzig, Germany: de Gruyter.

Blum, R., & Blum, E. (1970). The dangerous hour: The lore of crisis and mystery in rural Greece. New York, NY: Scribner’s.

Burkhart, D. (1966). Vampirglaube und vampirsage auf dem Balkan. In Beitrage zur Sudosteuropa-forschung (pp. 211-252). Munich, Germany.

Cajkanovic, V. (1998). The killing of a vampire. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp.72-84). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1923].

Calmet, D. (2006). Vampires of Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 119-172). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1759].

Cremene, A. (1981). La mythologie du vampire en Roumanie. Monaco: Editions du Rocher.

du Boulay, J. (1998). The Greek vampire: A study of cyclic symbolism in marriage and death. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 85-108). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1982].

Dundes, A. (1998). The vampire as bloodthirsty revenant: A psychoanalytic postmortem. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 159-175). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.

Eaves, O. (2006). Modern vampires. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 177-190). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1904].

Fine, J., Jr. (1998). In defense of vampires. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 57-66). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1987].

Fluckinger, J. (1832). Visum et repertum. Nuremberg, Germany: J.A. Schmidt.

Hertz, W. (1862). Der werwolf. Stuttgart, Germany: A. Kroner.

Horst, G. (1821-1825). Zauber-bibliothek (Vols. 1, 4, and 5). Mainz, Germany: F. Kupferberg.

Jaffe, P., & Dicataldo, F. (1998). Clinical vampirism. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 143-158). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1994].

Kardazic, V. (1969). Zivot i obicaj naroda srpskog. In V. Karadzic (Ed.), Prvi i drugi srpski ustanaka (pp. 330-332). Belgrade, Serbia: Prosveta. [Originally published in 1867].

Krauss, F. (1998). South Slavic countermeasures against vampires. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 67-71). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1892].

Lawson, J. (1910). Modern Greek folklore and ancient Greek religion: A study in survivals. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Lorentz, F., Fischer, A., & Lehr-Splawinski, T. (1935). The Cassubian civilization. London, England: Faber & Faber.

Lowenstimm, A. (1897). Aberglaube und strafrecht. Berlin, Germany: J. Rade.

Machal, J. (2006). Slavic mythology. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 70-118). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1918].

Marinov, D. (1914). Narodna vera i religiozni narodni obichai. In Sbornik za narodni umotvorenija i narodopis (Vol. 28) (pp. 216-218). Sofia, Bulgaria: The Bulgarian Academy of Science.

McClelland, B. (2006). Preface. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. iv-viii). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers.

Moszyinski, K. (2006). Slavic folk culture. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 212-217). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1967].

Murgoci, A. (1998). The vampire in Roumania. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 12-34). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1926].

Oinas, F. (1998). East European vampires. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 47-56). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1982].

Perkowski, J. (2006). The Bulgarian folkloric vampire. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 527-537). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1992].

Perkowski, J. (2006). The darkling: A treatise on Slavic vampirism. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski, (pp. 317-488). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1989].

Perkowski, J. (2006). More on the Bulgarian folkloric vampire. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 538-541). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1988].

Perkowski, J. (2006). A recent vampire death. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 191-194). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally Published in 1976].

Perkowski, J. (1998). The Romanian folkloric vampire. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 35-46). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1982].

Perkowski, J. (2006). The Romanian folkloric vampire. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 509-521). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1982].

Perkowski, J. (2006). The vampire: A study in Slavic bi-culturalism. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 173-176). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1974].

Perkowski, J. (2006). Vampires, dwarves, and witches among the Ontario Kashubs. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 1-54). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1972].

Perkowski, J. (2006). The vampires of Bulgaria and Macedonia: An update. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 567-577). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1999].

Ralston, W. (1872). The songs of the Russian people.  London, England:  Ellis & Green.

Ralston, W. (1873). Russian folk-tales.  London, England:  Smith, Elder & Co.

Senn, H. (1982). Were-wolf and vampire in Romania. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

The three brothers (C. Mijatovies trans.). (2006). In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 268-272). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Folktale; translation originally published in 1968].

The vampire and St. Michael (R.N. Bain trans.). (2006). In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp.261-267). Bloomington, IN: Slavica publishers. [Folktale].

Tournefort, M. (1717). Relation d’un voyage du Levant (Vol. 1). Paris, France.

Trigg, E. (1973). Gypsy Demons and Divinities: The Magic and Religion of the Gypsies. Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press.

Vukanovic, T. (2006). The vampire. In J. Perkwoski (Ed.), Vampire lore: From the writings of Jan Louis Perkowski (pp. 230-259). Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. [Originally published in 1959-59].

Wilson, K. (1998). The history of the word vampire. In A. Dundes (Ed.), The vampire: A casebook (pp. 3-11). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Originally published in 1985].

Zakhariev, J. (1918). Kjustendilsko krajshte. In Sbnornik za narodni umotvorenija (Vol. 37) (p. 146). Sofia, Bulgaria: D’’rzhavna pechatnica.

19th Century Literature References

  • Anonymous. (2011). The mysterious stranger. In Dracula’s Precursors: The mysterious stranger & other stories (pp. 13-55). Hastings, England: ReScript Books. [Originally published in 1823].

    • Cholmondeley, M. (2011). Let loose. In Dracula’s precursors: The mysterious stranger & other stories (pp. 99-118). Hastings, England: ReScript Books. [Originally published in 1890].

  • Crawford, A. (1983). A mystery of the campagna. Chicago, ILL: Adams Press. [Originally published in 1891].

  • de Lamothe-Langon, E. (2011). The virgin vampire. Encino, CA: Black Coat Press. [Originally published in 1825].

  • de Maupassant, G. (1977). The Horla. In L. Shepard (Ed.), The Dracula book of great vampire stories (pp. 89-111).
    Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press. [Originally published in 1887].

  • Dumas, A. (2013). The pale lady. Read Books, Ltd. [Originally published in 1849].

  • Feval, P. (2003). Vampire city. Encino, CA: Black Coat Press. [Originally published in 1875].

  • Gautier, T. (2012). Clarimonde. In Three tales of the undead (pp. 5-32).
    Berkeley, CA: Another Leaf Press. [Originally published in 1836].

  • Gilbert, W. (2011). The last lords of Gardonal. In Dracula’s precursors: The mysterious stranger & other stories (pp. 57-98). Hastings, England: ReScript Books. [Originally published in 1867].

  • Le Fanu, S. (1977). Carmilla. In L. Shepard (Ed.), The Dracula book of great vampire stories (pp. 17-85).
    Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press. [Originally published in 1871].

  • Loring, F.G. (1977). The tomb of Sarah. In L. Shepard (Ed.), The Dracula book of great vampire stories (pp. 153-165).
    Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press. [Originally published in 1900].

  • Nisbet, H. (1900). The vampire maid. Project Gutenberg Australia. Retrieved on 15 September 2016 from http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0602481.txt

  • Polidori, J. The vampyre. (2013). In Three tales of the undead (pp. 33-55).
    Berkeley, CA: Another Leaf Press. [Originally published in 1819].

  • Rymer, J. M. (2008). Varney the vampire. In C. Herr (Ed.). Crestline, CA: Zittaw Press. [Originally published in 1847].

  • Stenbock, C. (1977). The sad story of a vampire. In L. Shepard (Ed.), The Dracula Book of Vampire Stories (pp. 115-122).
    Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press. [Originally published in 1894].

  • Stoker, B. (2002). Dracula. In J. Riquelme (Ed.), Dracula (pp. 23-369).
    Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. [Originally published in 1897].

  • Stoker, B. (1977). Dracula’s guest. In L. Shepard (Ed.), The Dracula book of great vampire stories (pp. 215-232).
    Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press. [Originally published in 1914, but written in the 1890s].

  • Tieck, J. L. (2016). Wake not the dead. San Bernardino, CA: Dodo Press. [Originally published in 1819].

  • Tolstoy, A. (1969). Amena. In L. Kuehl (Ed.), Vampires: Stories of the supernatural (pp. 155-183).
    New York, NY: Hawthorne Books. [Originally published in 1846].

  • Tolstoy, A. (1969). The family of a vourdalak. In L. Kuehl (Ed.), Vampires: Stories of the supernatural (pp. 92-125).
    New York, NY: Hawthorne Books. [Originally published in 1884, but written in 1839].

  • Tolstoy, A. (1969). The vampire. In L. Kuehl (Ed.), Vampires: Stories of the supernatural (pp. 9-91).
    New York, NY: Hawthorne Books. [Originally published in 1841].

Back to Folklore

20th & 21st Century Literature References

  • Benson, E. (1977). The room in the tower. In L. Shepard. (Ed.), The Dracula book of great vampire stories (pp. 187-198).
    Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press. [Originally published in 1912].

  • Benson, E. (1977). Mrs. Amworth. In L. Shepard. (Ed.), The Dracula book of great vampire stories (pp. 235-248).
    Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press. [Originally published in 1920].

  • Bronte, C., & Erwin, S. (2010). Jane Slayer. New York, NY: Gallery Books.

  • Carter, A. (2015). The lady of the house of love. In The bloody chamber and other stories (pp. 117-135).
    New York, NY: Penguin Books. [Originally published in 1979].

  • Chappell, F. (1997). The flame. In L. Schimel and M. Greenberg (Eds.), Vampire stories from the American south (pp. 97-103).
    New York, NY: Metro Books. [Originally published in 1995].

  • Chetwynd-Hayes, R. (2014). Amelia. In S. Jones (Ed.), Looking for something to suck: The vampire stories of R. Chetwynd-Hayes (pp. 91-108).
    Richmond, VA: Valancourt Books. [Originally published in 1980].

  • Chetwynd-Hayes, R. (2014). The werewolf and the vampire. In S. Jones (Ed.), Looking for something to suck: The vampire stories of R. Chetwynd-Hayes
    (pp. 250-278). Richmond, VA: Valancourt Books. [Originally published in 1975].

  • Crawford, F. (1977). For the blood is the life. In L. Shepard. (Ed.), The Dracula book of great vampire stories (pp. 169-184).
    Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press. [Originally published in 1911].

  • David, P. (2014). Artful: A novel. Seattle, WA: 47North.

  • Del Toro, G., & Hogan, C. (2009-2011). The strain trilogy. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

  • Friesner, E. (1997). Claim-jumpin’ woman, you got a stake in my heart. In L. Schimel and M. Greenberg (Eds.), Vampire stories from the American south
    (pp. 21-42). New York, NY: Metro Books. [Originally published in 1991].

  • Grahame-Smith, S. (2010). Abraham Lincoln: Vampire hunter. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing.

  • Hambly, B. (1988). Those who hunt the night. Ballantine Books.

  • Hamilton, L. (1993). Guilty pleasures. Penguin Group.

  • Harkness, D. (2011). A discovery of witches. New York City, NY: Viking.

  • Harkness, D. (2012). Shadow of night. New York City, NY: Viking.

  • Harkness, D. (2014). The book of life. New York City, NY: Viking.

  • Harris, C. (2001). Dead until dark. Gollancz.

  • Harris, C. (2002). Living dead in Dallas. Ace.>

  • Harris, C. (2003). Club dead. Ace.

  • Hodge, B. (1997). Like a pilgrim to the shrine. In L. Schimel and M. Greenberg (Eds.), Vampire stories from the American south
    (pp. 53-71). New York, NY: Metro Books. [Originally published in 1992].

  • Johnson, R. (1997). The silver coffin. In L. Schimel and M. Greenberg (Eds.), Vampire stories from the American south
    (pp. 43-51). New York, NY: Metro Books. [Originally published in 1939].

  • King, S. (1975). Salem’s lot. New York, NY: Doubleday.

  • Kisner, J. (1997). God-less men. In L. Schimel and M. Greenberg (Eds.), Vampire stories from the American south
    (pp. 105-120). New York, NY: Metro Books. [Originally published in 1995].

  • Knight, T. (1997). Blessed by his dying tongue. In L. Schimel and M. Greenberg (Eds.), Vampire stories from the American south
    (pp. 185-196). New York, NY: Metro Books. [Originally published in 1995].

  • Kostova, E. (2005). The historian. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

  • Lindquist, J. (2004). Let the right one in. New York: Thomas Dunne Books.

  • Matheson, R. (1995). I am legend. New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates. [Originally published in 1954].

  • Meyer, S. (2005). Twilight. London: Atom.

  • Meyer, S. (2006). New moon. London: Atom.

  • Meyer, S. (2007). Eclipse. London: Atom.

  • Meyer, S. (2008). Breaking dawn. London: Atom.

  • Newman, K. (1992). Anno-Dracula. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.

  • Owen, L. (2014). The quick. New York, NY: Random House.

  • Rain, J. (2012). Moon dance. In Samantha Moon: The first four vampire for hire novels (pp. 3-149). Dallas, Texas: Barbella Books. [Originally publishes in 2009].

  • Rain, J. (2012). Vampire moon. In Samantha Moon: The first four vampire for hire novels (pp. 155-324). Dallas, Texas: Barbella Books. [Originally publishes in 2010].

  • Rain, J. (2012). Moon child. In Samantha Moon: The first four vampire for hire novels (pp. 485-598). Dallas, Texas: Barbella Books. [Originally publishes in 2010].

  • Rice, A. (1976). Interview with the vampire. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

  • Rice, A. (1985). The vampire Lestat. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

  • Roman, V. (1977). Four wooden stakes. In L. Shepard. (Ed.), The Dracula book of great vampire stories (pp. 251-261).
    Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press. [Originally published in 1925].

  • Schimel, L., & Mosiman, B. (1997). The scent of magnolias. In L. Schimel and M. Greenberg (Eds.), Vampire stories from the American south
    (pp. 81-96). New York, NY: Metro Books.

  • Shepard, L. (1992). The golden. Shingletown, CA: Mark V. Ziesing.

  • Sherman, D. (1997). Blood kin. In L. Schimel and M. Greenberg (Eds.), Vampire stories from the American south
    (pp. 121-139). New York, NY: Metro Books. [Originally published in 1991].

  • Shwartz, S. (1997). The carpetbagger. In L. Schimel and M. Greenberg (Eds.), Vampire stories from the American south (pp. 1-19).
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  • Yarbo, C. (1978b). The palace. Lancaster, PA: Stealth Press.

Back to 19th Century Literature

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Back to 20th & 21st Century Literature

Student Contributors


Kevin Goodwin, CSU Bakersfield

Shelby Hagelstein, CSU Bakersfield

Robyn Thompson, CSU Bakersfield

Jessica Wojtysiak, CSU Bakersfield


Staff Contributors


Anthony Bolaños, Instructional Designer, eCampus - San Jose State University


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