The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vampires

Totally enjoying this book. Lots of interesting facts and lots of humour about a scary subject. Didn't check reviews before purchasing. I never do because I don't want to prejudice myself against something. I enjoy the Idiot's quides as well as the Dummy books and they are always well written so I had no doubts I might get something out this book. I always learn a thing or two and that makes any book I read well worth the time.

my favorite movie covered is DEAFULA .... a hearing impaired vampire. ho ho ho. this is a fun book. too short to be tell all, but good enough for VAMPIRE LORE 101.

Lets get to the facts - this book is large and filled with details about vampires in history, legends, movies and books. It talks about vampire fashion and lifestyles, TV shows, research into vapirism, vampire relationships with witches, werewolves and ghouls, vampires from around the world and much, much more!It deals not just with Dracula (and his many spin offs) and Anne Rice, but the World Of Darkness, Dark Shadows and Forever Knight. It has a great index for a quick search and appendixs that list the "main" characters, help define terms and list nonfiction books.But while published in 2002 it is already outdated. It talks about Buffy's death and the switching of networks (old news). Also, while you can find vampire authors such as P.N. Elrod, Lois Tilton, Richard Matheson and John Steakley, how about Kim Newman, Tanya Huff, Susan Sizemore, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Christopher Golden?I don't think I'll worry about it as I'm sure new editions will be updated to cover them.Don't forget to add Kerri Hawkins!

Starting with vampire lore and moving through modern vampires, vampire novels and vampire cinema, this book was a fascinating smorgasboard of vampire information. For someone who just likes general trivia and an interesting read, this book was a find. The author's often light hearted style of writing made the read all the more enjoyable while not taking the vampire myths too seriously, yet still giving a dignified account of modern vampire lifestylers. There were ommissions of some vampire authors and little depth into some things, but this book is for beginners, not for those looking for in depth vampire-nalia. For someone who is just curious about vampires, old and new, and perhaps wants to get a quick overview of Anne Rice, this is the book for you. Interesting, a light read, and really quite fascinating.

I'm not a goth or a fan of a particular writer, I just wanted to learn something about vampires in history, culture, literature --beyond Dark Shadows and Anne Rice novels -- been there, done that. This is a great read -- fun, yet serious enough to give me the background I was searching for. I recommend it highly.