By The Washtenaw Voice
Vampire stories are almost a genre of their own, and we’ve rounded up some of our favorites for chills-down-your-spine autumn reading.
Feature: NOS4A2
Author: Joe Hill
Genre: Adult Horror
Content Warning: Sexual assault, child abduction, domestic abuse, drug use
Recommended by Jessica Pace, Graphic Designer
Full of fast rides, pointy teeth, and all your favorite Christmas carols. (Say it like this: nose-fur-ahh-too—German for “vampire.”)
Charlie Manx maintains his eternal youth by chauffeuring abducted children in his 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith to a magical place called Christmasland, but when the children arrive they are no longer human. 18 year old Vic McQueen finds lost things with the help of her bike and a disappearing covered bridge. In this heartbreaking, horrifying twist on the classic vampire story, Vic must decide what’s more important: her grip on reality, or recovering what is lost—and at what cost. For a horror novel, it does a remarkable and poignant job of exploring the lies we tell ourselves, our definitions of reality, imagination, love, and what it means to be human.
Pair it with the soundtrack from Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Ingrid Michaelson’s “Stranger Songs,” “Release the Bats” by The Birthday Party, or Toto Ceolo’s singles “I Eat Cannibals” and “Dracula’s Tango” (music videos highly recommended for Toto Coelo).
Zachary Quinto delivers multitudes of chills as Charlie Manx in AMC’s TV adaptation, and Ashleigh Cummings’ Vic is the badass, heart-of-gold heroine of our dreams. You’ll want to read the book for missing details, though, since AMC cancelled “NOS4A2” before they finished telling their version of the story.
Recommended Snacks: Anything but candy
Hungry for more? “WRAITH” is the prequel to “NOS4A2.” Charles Paul WIlson III’s ghastly illustrations bring Charlie Manx’s origin story to life in this creepy graphic novel.
Less Creepy: The Historian
Author: Elizabeth Kostova
Genre: Historical Thriller
Recommended by Jessica Pace, Graphic Designer
An epic journey with a vampiric twist: two young people search across Europe for their lost loved ones after mysterious disappearances related to the search for the tomb of Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad the Impaler—the Wallachian prince who inspired Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula. Their search takes them to Istanbul, Prague, the Romanian countryside, and the halls of Oxford. For lovers of old documents, libraries, world travel, and that pit in your stomach when you sense a lurking vampire.
This book took Kostova 10 years to write, then sold to Little, Brown and Co. for $2 million. It was a NYT Bestseller in its first week, the first debut novel ever to have that honor. As Kostova explains, “Dracula is a metaphor for the evil that is so hard to undo in history.”
The Classic: Dracula
Author: Bram Stoker
Genre: Classics, Horror
Recommended by Jessica Pace, Graphic Designer
THE classic vampire story, this one is worth resurrecting every Halloween (see what I did there?) When Count Dracula moves to England for fresh blood, a small group of friends attempts to find and destroy him while he picks off their female companions one by one. Will they be able to defeat him before he turns them all to vampires?
“Dracula” was published May 26, 1897, during the height of “invasion literature” popularity. Stoker did seven years of vampire research prior to writing, centering on Vlad Tepes and Transylvanian superstitions. Stoker claimed he was also inspired by a spoiled crab-induced nightmare of a vampire king rising from his grave.
Ahead of its time: Carmilla
Author: Sheridan Le Fanu
Genre: Novella, Horror
Recommended by Xailia Claunch, Editor
As a queer woman, it’s always been hard to find representation in older stories, but Sheridan LeFanu’s “Carmilla” is an exception. Well, sort of.
The 1872 Gothic novella follows Laura, a young woman who lives with her father in an isolated countryside castle. Laura falls prey to the beautiful vampire Carmilla, a visitor in her home, as an undeniable attraction develops between them. The story is dialogue-heavy, depicting the relationship between the two girls as Laura slowly falls deeper into the grasp of her mysterious guest. LeFanu’s novella predates Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” by 26 years, and although it received much less recognition, The influence “Carmilla” had on Stoker’s quintessential vampire story is undeniable.
My issue with the novella lies in the fact that the lesbian vampire trope (which it created) implies that homosexuality is something to fear; something that corrupts. That being said, in a historical context, “Carmilla” was ahead of its time, depicting a same-sex relationship during an era of strict sexual taboos, even if that relationship was intended to be part of what makes the story scary. Despite its problems, “Carmilla” is an influential spooky and unsettling tale that is definitely worth a read this October.
Quick Reads: Cirque Du Freak
Author: Darren Shan
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Multi-book Series
Recommended by Debra Destefani, Deputy Editor
If you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced spooky series to read throughout the fall, I recommend the “Cirque Du Freak” novels by author Darren Shan. Although the first book was released in 2000, this series is just as good as ever if you enjoy a little dark humor. This is a coming-of-age vampire series with a macabre twist. I loved the series as a young adult and they even made a fantasy film adaptation called “Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant.”
Fun Read: The Last Vampire series (Thirst)
Author: Christopher Pike
Genre: Young Adult, Vampire, Horror
Recommended by Weevern Gong, Digital Editor
Christopher Pike, not to be confused with the starship captain, introduces the immersive and otherworldly world of Alisa, the oldest living vampire who has survived for 5,000 years. The sudden rise of a familiar threat sets into motion a chain of events that has profound consequences for her and Ray, the human she meets and befriends.
“The Last Vampire” is the first of what eventually became a nine-book series, with the first six novels condensed into two omnibus editions and the newer novels becoming another three. The saga left enough of an impression on me as a kid to make it my favorite vampire story of all time, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in strong female leads or just in search of a fun read in general.
Alisa’s story was thought to have ended at the sixth book before the author made a return to the scene, perhaps having been inspired by the increased popularization of the vampire fiction genre. The depth of writing noticeably improves in the newer novels and adds a maturity that was previously lacking.
But wait, there’s more! (seriously, there are so many vampire stories)
Servant of the Bones
Author: Anne Rice
Genre: Adult Horror
Recommended by Weevern Gong, Digital Editor
In the Heat of the Bite
Author: Lydia Dare
Genre: Mass Market Romance
Recommended by Kaitlyn Carr, Contributor
Salem’s Lot
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Horror
Recommended by Xailia Claunch, Editor
