Friday, July 31, 2009

The appeal of the vampire narrative

The New York Times has this fun Op-Ed piece explaining why we're suckers for blood-suckers:
TONIGHT, you or someone you love will likely be visited by a vampire — on cable television or the big screen, or in the bookstore. Our own novel describes a modern-day epidemic that spreads across New York City.

It all started nearly 200 years ago. It was the “Year Without a Summer” of 1816, when ash from volcanic eruptions lowered temperatures around the globe, giving rise to widespread famine. A few friends gathered at the Villa Diodati on Lake Geneva and decided to engage in a small competition to see who could come up with the most terrifying tale — and the two great monsters of the modern age were born.

Read the rest.

UPDATE: Neil Gaiman hates vampires! He wants to drive a stake through their undead hearts! OK, that's an exaggeration. But he does want them to go away for 25 years or so.

2 comments:

Little Willow said...

I want everyone to read Christopher Golden's Saints and Shadows Saga. Now those are books you can sink your teeth into and realize the depth of story and consideration vampires can provide, rather than stories which are cliche and/or comedy - not to say there aren't places for those, because there certainly are, but if you're after a vampire story with more bite, try Golden's books.

Martha Brockenbrough said...

Good recommendation. Golden is really sharp!