The Vampire Book - (Real Unexplained! Collection) 3rd Edition by J Gordon Melton (Paperback)

About the Book

From Vlad the Impaler and Barnabas Collins to Dracula and Lestat, this exhaustive guide furnishes more than 500 essays, a vampire chronology, and 60 pages of vampire resources. This third edition includes a wealth of current events, including the Twilight phenomenon.

Book Synopsis

The Ultimate Collection of Vampire Facts and Fiction

From Vlad the Impaler to Barnabas Collins to Edward Cullen to Dracula and Bill Compton, renowned religion expert and fearless vampire authority J. Gordon Melton, PhD takes the reader on a vast, alphabetic tour of the psychosexual, macabre world of the blood-sucking undead. Digging deep into the lore, myths, pop culture, and reported realities of vampires and vampire legends from across the globe, The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead exposes everything about the blood thirsty predator.

Death and immortality, sexual prowess and surrender, intimacy and alienation, rebellion and temptation. The allure of the vampire is eternal, and The Vampire Book explores it all. The historical, literary, mythological, biographical, and popular aspects of one of the world's most mesmerizing paranormal subject. This vast reference is an alphabetical tour of the psychosexual, macabre world of the soul-sucking undead.

In the first fully revised and updated edition in a decade, Dr. J. Gordon Melton (president of the American chapter of the Transylvania Society of Dracula) bites even deeper into vampire lore, myths, reported realities, and legends that come from all around the world. From Transylvania to plague-infested Europe to Nostradamus and from modern literature to movies and TV series, this exhaustive guide furnishes more than 500 essays to quench your thirst for facts, biographies, definitions, and more.

Review Quotes

"If it's vampire-related, it's in here. Top Paranormal Books of 2010"-- About.com

"Another creepy classic of encyclopedic proportions, recounting more documented tales of frightening eyewitness being encounters that covers the gamut of such dark mysteries, from your more mundane cryptozoological Bigfoot fanfare to supernatural beasties like the Little People or the Shadow People, with every shade and variety of non-people in between. Brad's book will have you riveted to each page from beginning to end."-- Alternate Perceptions magazine

"Written by religious scholar and fearless vampire authority Melton, this updated edition is a thorough guide for all things relating to vampires. Sure to be popular with readers whose interest in vampires has been sparked by the current trend."-- Booklist

"Without doubt, the vampire myth inspires continued fascination and is currently all the rage with television programs and films devoted to the topic. The new edition is completely update and no doubt is the most comprehensive collection of vampire lore available."-- Bookviews

"The most comprehensive collection of vampire lore, with entries on everything from African Vampires to Yama, the God of Death."-- Chicago Tribune

"An excellent reference. This remarkable amalgam of the popular and the scholarly is highly recommended."-- Choice

"...a significant expansion of the second edition published in 1999, with updated information on vampires in books, movies, television, and popular culture."-- College & Research Libraries News

"The best assembled and most complete compendium of all things vampire. Author J. Gordon Melton's impressive resume lends credence to a tome of vampires that is both scholarly and exciting."-- Fate magazine

"Anything and everything you ever wanted or needed to know about vampires is found within this massive 900-page reference. The mere writing of such a massive undertaking as this book would be a seemingly impossible task, but the author pulls it off nicely ... I highly recommend this book."-- Horror Classics Book Review

"The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead is one of the most valuable books I use in the prep work I do. I use this encyclopedia as a survey book to guide me to other sources because it's the most definitive and broad reference-- and certainly the most up to date-- that I know of."-- Jason Henderson, author of Alex Van Helsing series

"This impressive compendium is a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in researching vampires or vampirism."-- Journal of American Folklore

"...the most inclusive, up to date, and thorough resource book for both academians and fans."-- Lexington Vampire Examiner

"This wide-ranging resource includes entries relating to [vampire] lore from around the globe. The book features more than 500 clear and succinct articles. Melton's handy volume provides the most comprehensive coverage currently available."-- Library Journal

"The third edition of this comprehensive encyclopedia of vampires and vampire lore is exhaustive. Readers who really want something to sink their teeth into will find this indispensable."-- Publishers Weekly

"Melton's handy volume provides the most comprehensive coverage currently available for general collections. But note: readers should be on spoiler alert when perusing book and film entries."-- School Library Journal

"The Vampire Book by J. Gordon Melton, Ph.D. This uber-comprehensive Encyclopedia of the Undead will surely make your vampire fan show her fangs with happiness."-- The Bookworm Sez

"... a massive reference work, and it is good to see that there is a comprehensive index as well as the individual alphabe

"If it's vampire-related, it's in here. Top Paranormal Books of 2010"-- About.com

"Another creepy classic of encyclopedic proportions, recounting more documented tales of frightening eyewitness being encounters that covers the gamut of such dark mysteries, from your more mundane cryptozoological Bigfoot fanfare to supernatural beasties like the Little People or the Shadow People, with every shade and variety of non-people in between. Brad's book will have you riveted to each page from beginning to end."-- Alternate Perceptions magazine

"Written by religious scholar and fearless vampire authority Melton, this updated edition is a thorough guide for all things relating to vampires. Sure to be popular with readers whose interest in vampires has been sparked by the current trend."-- Booklist

"Without doubt, the vampire myth inspires continued fascination and is currently all the rage with television programs and films devoted to the topic. The new edition is completely update and no doubt is the most comprehensive collection of vampire lore available."-- Bookviews

"The most comprehensive collection of vampire lore, with entries on everything from African Vampires to Yama, the God of Death."-- Chicago Tribune

"An excellent reference. This remarkable amalgam of the popular and the scholarly is highly recommended."-- Choice

"...a significant expansion of the second edition published in 1999, with updated information on vampires in books, movies, television, and popular culture."-- College & Research Libraries News

"The best assembled and most complete compendium of all things vampire. Author J. Gordon Melton's impressive resume lends credence to a tome of vampires that is both scholarly and exciting."-- Fate magazine

"Anything and everything you ever wanted or needed to know about vampires is found within this massive 900-page reference. The mere writing of such a massive undertaking as this book would be a seemingly impossible task, but the author pulls it off nicely ... I highly recommend this book."-- Horror Classics Book Review

"The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead is one of the most valuable books I use in the prep work I do. I use this encyclopedia as a survey book to guide me to other sources because it's the most definitive and broad reference-- and certainly the most up to date-- that I know of."-- Jason Henderson, author of Alex Van Helsing series

"This impressive compendium is a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in researching vampires or vampirism."-- Journal of American Folklore

"...the most inclusive, up to date, and thorough resource book for both academians and fans."-- Lexington Vampire Examiner

"This wide-ranging resource includes entries relating to [vampire] lore from around the globe. The book features more than 500 clear and succinct articles. Melton's handy volume provides the most comprehensive coverage currently available."-- Library Journal

"The third edition of this comprehensive encyclopedia of vampires and vampire lore is exhaustive. Readers who really want something to sink their teeth into will find this indispensable."-- Publishers Weekly

"Melton's handy volume provides the most comprehensive coverage currently available for general collections. But note: readers should be on spoiler alert when perusing book and film entries."-- School Library Journal

"The Vampire Book by J. Gordon Melton, Ph.D. This uber-comprehensive Encyclopedia of the Undead will surely make your vampire fan show her fangs with happiness."-- The Bookworm Sez

"... a massive reference work, and it is good to see that there is a comprehensive index as well as the individual alphabetical entries - an absolute essential ..." - Magonia Review of Books

"A comprehensive survey of all things vampiric, this massive volume belongs on the shelf of every Goth you know, including fans of Bitten, Buffy, True Blood, Twilight, Ann Rice's Lestat books and Dracula himself."-- The Toronto Globe and Mail

About the Author

J. Gordon Melton, a nationally known author, lecturer, and scholar, is the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History at Baylor University and serves as the director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion. Dr. Melton is best known for his work on religious cults, and he is considered America's senior scholar in the field of new and unconventional religions, having studied them for more than 40 years. Simultaneously, he has emerged as a leading scholar of vampire and Dracula studies and previously served a tenure as the American president of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula, an international association of vampire and Dracula scholars. He has authored multiple books in the field, two of which received the Lord Ruthven Award as the best nonfiction book in vampire studies. He currently resides in Waco, Texas, with his wife, Suzie.