Category: vampires
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Ghosts of Christmas Past
When people think of Christmas, I suspect that ghost stories and paranormal literature are not the first thing that pop into their minds. Despite that, one of the most beloved works of paranormal literature is indelibly associated with Christmas and, in many ways, shaped the way we think about the holiday. I’m referring, of course,…
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Dracula the Un-Dead
In just about two weeks, on August 9, I will be at Boutique du Vampyre in New Orleans to sign copies of my Scarlet Order vampire novels. I’ve enjoyed visiting this French Quarter shop since I discovered it in 2014. In 2020, when much of the world went into lockdown, owner Marita Crandle had the…
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Revisiting Familiar Worlds with Horror Comics
Today, I return to the wonderful and weird world of horror comics. As I noted in my last post on this subject, I’ve long been a fan of the medium. So far, I’ve written two comic book scripts and published one of them. Even though I’m not a prolific comic book author, I’ve found that…
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Halloween Memories
As with most kids, I loved Halloween. It was a chance to dress up and pretend I was someone else. Below you see me in my first ever Halloween costume, dressed up as a black cat. The next year I dressed up as Batman and the year after, I really wanted to scare people, so…
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Horror vs Picture Books (or Good vs Evil)
When my old friend Jack Tyler invited me to join Threads That Bind, I hesitated. The truth is, it’s been a while since I’ve written horror. My writing career began with dark fantasy, dark steampunk, and gothic horror. I later edited the dreadpunk anthologies DeadSteam and DeadSteam II, contributing short stories to each. But since…
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Attractive and Monstrous Vampires
When people learn I write about vampires, they often ask what kind of vampires I write about. They want to know if I write about monstrous vampires or attractive vampires. Monstrous vampires are the ones closer to the folkloric roots of vampires. These are the frightening wraiths that stalk the night. Examples might include Count…
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The Hungur Chronicles
Last week, I received my contributor copy of the Samhain 2023 issue of The Hungur Chronicles, which proved to be a nice, early Holiday present. This semi-annual, digest-sized magazine edited by Terrie Leigh Relf and Robert Bellam features stories and poems about vampires, with a special emphasis on vampires who have a connection to space.…
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The Origins of Vampire Fiction
Happy October! I hope everyone has fun plans for Halloween. In keeping with the season, I thought I’d spend a little time exploring the origins of one of the season’s classic monsters, the vampire. Now, vampires have their origins in folklore and legends from around the world. Sometimes it’s hard to separate an oral legend…
Threads that Bind 