Goodreads Review - Vampires: The Myths, Legends & Lore

Vampires: The Myths, Legends, and Lore by Aubrey Sherman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Throughout every culture there is some modicum of a vampire legend. Created by superstition, fear, madness and no small amount of lustful romance, vampires have intrigued generations for centuries. Hailing from the legends of former human brought back from the dead, feared war heroes, maniacal nobility, serial killers and of course, the brilliant story Dracula that brought the whole world to vampire mania.

The vampire has become one of the most prominent staples in supernatural lore. Probably because of their versatility. As long as they have already died in some way and ingest blood (regardless of how it's done), then the sky is the limit when it comes to spinning a good vampire story. Vampires have found their place in pop culture for over 100 years. They were featured in literature as far back as 1816 (and earlier if you count small town folktales) and then made their way onto stage and screen where they have stayed comfortably for years.

As vampires are oftentimes seen as demonic spirits cursed to live on earth, then the idea of right and wrong and the struggle to adapt in a world where they aren't wanted adds a good moral element as well. This is quite often seen in shows such as The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff The Originals . Can vampires have a soul? Can they be redeemed? Or are they no better than the millions of other human murders out in the world? Unlike other supernatural creatures, vampires have always been a controversial source of moral debate and discussion.

I wasn't surprised to find a MLL book on vampires and I wasn't disappointed at the wealth of knowledge that was gathered and compiled. A great deal of the book had to do with the vampire's legendary role in film and television and its never ending inspiration for romance, mystery and sci-fi novels. However, some of it was nothing short of disturbing as well. Especially when regarding serial killers who had the same attributes to vampires. All that set aside, I enjoyed the history of the vampire and its cultural worldwide impact that has no plans of dying anytime soon.