More than 600 pages of bloodcurdling vampire tales, ranging from literary classics to pulp magazine serials to actual historical accounts, pack this luscious volume featuring commentary by noted vampire authority David J. Skal.Everyone knows that vampires live forever-and our fascination with vampires seems equally durable. This big, beautiful compilation of vampire tales features two centuries of spine-tingling writing, ranging from John Polidori to Robert Bloch. Put on your cape, light your candelabra and experience works by Alexis Tolstoy, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rosemary Ann Guiley, Henry Kuttner, Cornell Woolrich and dozens more. There's even an interview with a contemporary, self-confessed blood-drinker.Every page of VAMPIRES features a column of running commentary by the editor, expanding upon the stories and exploring the evolution of the vampire mystique in folklore, literature and popular culture. Some 200 beautifully rendered black-and-white images, ranging from vintage engravings to film posters and popular artifacts, make this book a true Vampire's Feast!

David J. Skal is a respected scholar of all things macabre, and the author of Hollywood Gothic. The Monster Show, Screams of Reason, and, with Elias Savada. Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning. With Nina Auerbach, he is coeditor of the Norton Critical Edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula. A frequent talk show guest, he has appeared on "Charlie Rose." A&E's "Biography." National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and "Fresh Air," and has lectured at dozens of colleges and universities across the United States. His nonfiction has been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards. He has written, produced, and appeared in a variety of television and DVD documentaries on occult and pop culture subjects. He lives in Los Angeles.