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The Vampire: A New History
An authoritative new history of the vampire, two hundred years after it first appeared on the literary scene
Published to mark the bicentenary of John Polidori’s publication of The Vampyre, Nick Groom’s detailed new account illuminates the complex history of the iconic creature. The vampire first came to public prominence in the early eighteenth century, when Enlightenment science collided with Eastern European folklore and apparently verified outbreaks of vampirism, capturing the attention of medical researchers, political commentators, social theorists, theologians, and philosophers. Groom accordingly traces the vampire from its role as a monster embodying humankind’s fears, to that of an unlikely hero for the marginalized and excluded in the twenty-first century.
Drawing on literary and artistic representations, as well as medical, forensic, empirical, and sociopolitical perspectives, this rich and eerie history presents the vampire as a strikingly complex being that has been used to express the traumas and contradictions of the human condition.
Published to mark the bicentenary of John Polidori’s publication of The Vampyre, Nick Groom’s detailed new account illuminates the complex history of the iconic creature. The vampire first came to public prominence in the early eighteenth century, when Enlightenment science collided with Eastern European folklore and apparently verified outbreaks of vampirism, capturing the attention of medical researchers, political commentators, social theorists, theologians, and philosophers. Groom accordingly traces the vampire from its role as a monster embodying humankind’s fears, to that of an unlikely hero for the marginalized and excluded in the twenty-first century.
Drawing on literary and artistic representations, as well as medical, forensic, empirical, and sociopolitical perspectives, this rich and eerie history presents the vampire as a strikingly complex being that has been used to express the traumas and contradictions of the human condition.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published October 30, 2018
About the author
Nick Groom
26 books21 followersNick Groom, known as the “Prof of Goth,” is professor of English at Exeter University, UK. His previous titles include The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction, and The Seasons: A Celebration of the English Year, which was shortlisted for the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award and came runner-up for BBC Countryfile Book of the Year.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
March 16, 2021
"The Vampire: A New History" is a historical look at the horror classic "vampire" figure. Thus it is indeed a historical book, that can also occupy the genre of "Horror" as that is the basis for the historical study.
Groom's book uses a great deal of historical lore and sources to show that this concept came out of the fringes of the Habsburg Empire. From the local folk tales of the Eastern Europeans, it then found its way to the West as a metaphor for various social and political ills.
It was fascinating how the author shows that Catholicism seemed to favor the idea of vampires, since it seemed to fit their ideas of the supernatural, while the Protestant religions seemed to ignore it. In time, in the 1700s, fears about medical malpractice and grave robbing added further fuel to the fire. As the century progressed, these modern fears juxtaposed with old beliefs and inspired a new generation of writers and poets.
The 1800's were a time of the rise of the Byron type poets. Their interest in vampires laid the groundwork for the current concept of the vampire. As this then began to mirror fears of capitalism and even modern science, the soil was ripe for Stoker's famous novel to hit the stage.
The author shows how influential Stoker's novel was and in terms of vampire "lore", it can be considered the "AD" (After Dracula) for any later interpretations. The book then follows up with a short chapter on how the prolific image of Stoker's Count then influenced the current generation of vampires.
A very interesting, if not somewhat enlightening, history of the vampire. As a fan of vampires, likely my favorite type of horror creature, I enjoyed this detailed look into the historical basis for vampires and appreciated the authors point of the modern concept of the vampire is a relatively recent trend that starts around the late 1600's and then manifests during Stoker's novel.
Recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of vampires and their outsized influence on the minds of humanity.
Groom's book uses a great deal of historical lore and sources to show that this concept came out of the fringes of the Habsburg Empire. From the local folk tales of the Eastern Europeans, it then found its way to the West as a metaphor for various social and political ills.
It was fascinating how the author shows that Catholicism seemed to favor the idea of vampires, since it seemed to fit their ideas of the supernatural, while the Protestant religions seemed to ignore it. In time, in the 1700s, fears about medical malpractice and grave robbing added further fuel to the fire. As the century progressed, these modern fears juxtaposed with old beliefs and inspired a new generation of writers and poets.
The 1800's were a time of the rise of the Byron type poets. Their interest in vampires laid the groundwork for the current concept of the vampire. As this then began to mirror fears of capitalism and even modern science, the soil was ripe for Stoker's famous novel to hit the stage.
The author shows how influential Stoker's novel was and in terms of vampire "lore", it can be considered the "AD" (After Dracula) for any later interpretations. The book then follows up with a short chapter on how the prolific image of Stoker's Count then influenced the current generation of vampires.
A very interesting, if not somewhat enlightening, history of the vampire. As a fan of vampires, likely my favorite type of horror creature, I enjoyed this detailed look into the historical basis for vampires and appreciated the authors point of the modern concept of the vampire is a relatively recent trend that starts around the late 1600's and then manifests during Stoker's novel.
Recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of vampires and their outsized influence on the minds of humanity.
January 10, 2021
I vampiri sono stati oggetto di ogni interpretazione possibile da parte dei critici, che hanno cercato disperatamente di dare valore alla memorabile affermazione di Nina Auerbach secondo cui «ogni epoca abbraccia il vampiro di cui ha bisogno», come giustificazione per una dilagante sovranalisi di questa figura. Tuttavia, è vero il contrario. Il nostro tempo ha rielaborato il vampiro in chiave onnicomprensiva, un serbatoio cosmico da riempire e riempire di infinite letture e riletture - un’autentica molteplicità. Eppure questa caratteristica ha profonde radici storiche, così la neofilia del vampiro per i media e le tecnologie più recenti. Anche l’attenzione al corpo, come fenomeno biologico o come mezzo per mode, è radicata nei dibattiti medici e fisiologici del passato. I vampiri di oggi mantengono un’affinità con i vampiri storici.
Come nasce un vampiro?
Cosa è diventato un vampiro?
Ed è più vampiro un avversario politico dell’Impero Asburgico, un nemico della Chiesa Ortodossa, o quelle persone che rifiutando di invecchiare si fanno imbottire di Botox per abbindolare le usure del tempo?
Questo saggio è un saggio sui vampiri dove Dracula arriva solo nella penultima parte, ben oltre la metà. Prima spiega tutto quello che c’è stato per arrivare a far sì che Bram Stoker partorisse IL vampiro, quello dopo il quale tutti i vampiri sono diventati il nostro immaginario di vampiro e allo stesso tempo sono diventati qualcosa che con i vampiri originali non hanno più nulla a che fare.
Il saggio racconta come si è arrivati ai vampiri che noi lettori mordermi definiremmo ‘canonici’: tra superstizioni e dicerie, tanta ma proprio tanta politica, pettegolezzi mal riportati e metafore non colte. Una cavalcata che a certi punti non può che diventare divertente e che non fa che confermare che il vampiro in realtà è lo specchio della sua epoca: basti pensare che nell’800 a un certo punto c’era chi si sprecava in saggi per dire che prendere il treno poteva portare al vampirismo, oppure essere una suffragetta (ovviamente a noi donne andava sempre abbastanza di liquame, nel senso che se avevi i capelli troppo lunghi: vampira; li tingevi: vampira; soffrivi di depressione post parto: vampira; avevi 2 amanti: ninfomane vampira; la solita solfa, insomma).
Tutta una situazione che mi ha fatto pensare: ma non è che al giorno d’oggi avrebbero detto che il vaccino e il 5G ti fanno diventare vampiro? - non sono ironica: Groom spiega dettagliatamente come la figura del vampiro sia fortemente legato a ciò che viene percepito come ‘dannoso’ ambito scientifico-tecnologico, ma anche politico.
Lo confesso: certi passaggi mi hanno davvero divertito e in generale la lettura ha soddisfatto la mia curiosità.
Io non sono una fan di vampiri e simili. Mai letto o visto Twilight, o intervista col vampiro e pure Dracula, mai al cinema e letto male - infatti dopo questa lettura dovrò rileggerlo.
Però credo di aver capito perché la figura del vampiro mi ha sempre affascinato leggendo questo saggio.
Frase cult del libro: IL VAMPIRO è COME LA PATATA .
(E non pensate male…)
Come ci si arrivi… non ve lo dico, vi dico solo che dovete arrivare fino alla parte ’Conclusione’ per saperlo.
Curiosi?
Come nasce un vampiro?
Cosa è diventato un vampiro?
Ed è più vampiro un avversario politico dell’Impero Asburgico, un nemico della Chiesa Ortodossa, o quelle persone che rifiutando di invecchiare si fanno imbottire di Botox per abbindolare le usure del tempo?
Questo saggio è un saggio sui vampiri dove Dracula arriva solo nella penultima parte, ben oltre la metà. Prima spiega tutto quello che c’è stato per arrivare a far sì che Bram Stoker partorisse IL vampiro, quello dopo il quale tutti i vampiri sono diventati il nostro immaginario di vampiro e allo stesso tempo sono diventati qualcosa che con i vampiri originali non hanno più nulla a che fare.
Il saggio racconta come si è arrivati ai vampiri che noi lettori mordermi definiremmo ‘canonici’: tra superstizioni e dicerie, tanta ma proprio tanta politica, pettegolezzi mal riportati e metafore non colte. Una cavalcata che a certi punti non può che diventare divertente e che non fa che confermare che il vampiro in realtà è lo specchio della sua epoca: basti pensare che nell’800 a un certo punto c’era chi si sprecava in saggi per dire che prendere il treno poteva portare al vampirismo, oppure essere una suffragetta (ovviamente a noi donne andava sempre abbastanza di liquame, nel senso che se avevi i capelli troppo lunghi: vampira; li tingevi: vampira; soffrivi di depressione post parto: vampira; avevi 2 amanti: ninfomane vampira; la solita solfa, insomma).
Tutta una situazione che mi ha fatto pensare: ma non è che al giorno d’oggi avrebbero detto che il vaccino e il 5G ti fanno diventare vampiro? - non sono ironica: Groom spiega dettagliatamente come la figura del vampiro sia fortemente legato a ciò che viene percepito come ‘dannoso’ ambito scientifico-tecnologico, ma anche politico.
Lo confesso: certi passaggi mi hanno davvero divertito e in generale la lettura ha soddisfatto la mia curiosità.
Io non sono una fan di vampiri e simili. Mai letto o visto Twilight, o intervista col vampiro e pure Dracula, mai al cinema e letto male - infatti dopo questa lettura dovrò rileggerlo.
Però credo di aver capito perché la figura del vampiro mi ha sempre affascinato leggendo questo saggio.
Frase cult del libro: IL VAMPIRO è COME LA PATATA .
(E non pensate male…)
Come ci si arrivi… non ve lo dico, vi dico solo che dovete arrivare fino alla parte ’Conclusione’ per saperlo.
Curiosi?
September 30, 2019
If you are looking for a fun, super-interesting take on vampire history then this is not the book for you. If however, you are eager to be bored out of your mind - you have hit the jackpot. If you enjoy German vampire poetry or just ramblings of the etymology of the word vampire - again you have found the right book! I imagine the author wears a cape and possibly a top-hat before waxing poetic for pages upon pages.
To be fair, I should have read the reviews. This is vampire academia at its painful best. Instead I thought “Oh Vampires that should be fun!” It’s not. If you are interested in Vampires, their history and their impact on pop-culture- uhhh, not this book.
To be fair, I should have read the reviews. This is vampire academia at its painful best. Instead I thought “Oh Vampires that should be fun!” It’s not. If you are interested in Vampires, their history and their impact on pop-culture- uhhh, not this book.
March 17, 2019
I really liked it, however I must say that your enjoyment of this book very much depends on how much you bring to it. I am by no means knowledgeable about the (literary) history of vampires, especially from the 16th to 18th century, but I still find myself drawn to novels, films, and TV shows featuring them. I consider Dracula among my favorite novels, Buffy the Vampire slayer among the greatest shows ever created, and I think, for example, that Twilight is often unfairly dismissed.
The first chapters focus on the origins of vampire myths in Europe and their first mentions in (popular) culture. I really did not know anything about that and can therefore attest that Nick Groom successfully avoids alienating readers unfamiliar with the subject matter by mentioning anecdotes and – on the surface – unusual occurrences from back in the day. Still, when he dove into specific artistic works from that time period, the content can become quite dry and I reckon that this was written for people more well-versed in vampire fiction. The author includes extensive endnotes which I found myself skimming in order to find articles and books for further reading.
I wish the last chapters would have been longer or that there would have been more of them, as Groom goes into younger history of vampires here, but I do concede that this is a personal preference based on the works that I am familiar with; to those familiar with vampires in literature, these chapters might not offer too many new perspectives, since they have already been discussed extensively elsewhere.
The first chapters focus on the origins of vampire myths in Europe and their first mentions in (popular) culture. I really did not know anything about that and can therefore attest that Nick Groom successfully avoids alienating readers unfamiliar with the subject matter by mentioning anecdotes and – on the surface – unusual occurrences from back in the day. Still, when he dove into specific artistic works from that time period, the content can become quite dry and I reckon that this was written for people more well-versed in vampire fiction. The author includes extensive endnotes which I found myself skimming in order to find articles and books for further reading.
I wish the last chapters would have been longer or that there would have been more of them, as Groom goes into younger history of vampires here, but I do concede that this is a personal preference based on the works that I am familiar with; to those familiar with vampires in literature, these chapters might not offer too many new perspectives, since they have already been discussed extensively elsewhere.
March 23, 2022
Un ensayo muy concienzudo sobre la progresión del mito del vampiro desde los albores del siglo XVII hasta la actualidad. Lejos de ser un compendio de referencias se convierte en un recorrido lleno de filosofía, historia e historia de la ciencia para explicar cómo se llega a Drácula desde los cadáveres incorruptos a los que temían los campesinos de la Europa más oriental. Se hace muy interesante cómo relaciona los avances médicos (y filosóficos) con las sucesivas transformaciones del vampiro como figura, de la que defiende que es un monstruo de la Ilustración que poco tiene que ver con mitos anteriores. Una delicia.
October 11, 2019
This is a wickedly fun and macabre historical survey, chiefly through literary and political lenses. Groom expertly excavates the early history of vampires, starting with the rich soil of Slavic myth and moving on to later conceptions of the vampire as plague, metaphor for capital, and metonym for rapacious consumerism. He makes a strong case that the vampire is not properly in the class of other ghouls and ghosts, but is instead an arch-Enlightenment figure that develops its particular fascination through the complex interplay of scientific, rational inquiry and the supernatural.
From early on, the vampire was analyzed through categories of medicine and empirical evidence-gathering, where credulous secondhand eyewitness accounts were cloaked in the rhetoric of scientific empiricism. Groom's careful dissections of early vampiric reports and their 19th century repackaging as science fiction are the strongest parts of the book, and I found it utterly delightful. Groom gives close readings of primary texts and related secondary sources (which are well-documented in copious footnotes), but he's also not afraid to open veins of speculative symbology. This section culminates in deep readings of Stoker's Dracula, its genealogy in earlier supernatural fiction (incredible that one trip to Lake Geneva produced both Frankenstein and the germs of the modern vampire in Polidori's story "The Vampyre"!), and its runaway success and seepage into the wider cultural landscape. It all flows very well.
Groom does trace the concept of the vampire up through the present age, including accounts of Goth subculture and the rise of the sparkly vampires. However, this section is more of a survey of references rather than the analytic focus of the earlier chapters. I wish he would have beefed up this part, because I found his speculations on the symbolism, psychology, and political subtext of vampires to be fascinating and I would have welcomed more. Despite that shortcoming, this book is an excellent treatment of the subject, one which wears the trappings of academia but isn't afraid to have some fun too (just look at the chapter subtitles!). Recommended for anyone drawn to the monstrous and what it says about the shadowy creatures haunting the subterranean depths of our political and psychological landscape.
From early on, the vampire was analyzed through categories of medicine and empirical evidence-gathering, where credulous secondhand eyewitness accounts were cloaked in the rhetoric of scientific empiricism. Groom's careful dissections of early vampiric reports and their 19th century repackaging as science fiction are the strongest parts of the book, and I found it utterly delightful. Groom gives close readings of primary texts and related secondary sources (which are well-documented in copious footnotes), but he's also not afraid to open veins of speculative symbology. This section culminates in deep readings of Stoker's Dracula, its genealogy in earlier supernatural fiction (incredible that one trip to Lake Geneva produced both Frankenstein and the germs of the modern vampire in Polidori's story "The Vampyre"!), and its runaway success and seepage into the wider cultural landscape. It all flows very well.
Groom does trace the concept of the vampire up through the present age, including accounts of Goth subculture and the rise of the sparkly vampires. However, this section is more of a survey of references rather than the analytic focus of the earlier chapters. I wish he would have beefed up this part, because I found his speculations on the symbolism, psychology, and political subtext of vampires to be fascinating and I would have welcomed more. Despite that shortcoming, this book is an excellent treatment of the subject, one which wears the trappings of academia but isn't afraid to have some fun too (just look at the chapter subtitles!). Recommended for anyone drawn to the monstrous and what it says about the shadowy creatures haunting the subterranean depths of our political and psychological landscape.
February 4, 2021
Cuando parece que no ya no hay mucho más que decir sobre los vampiros, aparece una obra interesante como ésta, que entrega más información y análisis, como por ejemplo el parecido de los santos mártires a los vampiros (sobre todo por las formas de morir, sacarles el corazón, decapitarlos o quemarlos). Muchísima bibliografía, muy bien presentada, un nuevo análisis de Drácula y revisión de las primeras narraciones vampíricas más allá de "La novia de Corinto". Pura felicidad.
July 31, 2024
If I could summarize this book in one sentence, it would be, “You think vampires just fell out of a coconut tree?”
The continuation of the official quote is, “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” This will be important because this book. Is full. Of CONTEXT.
I initially picked The Vampire: A New History up because I intended to write a vampire screenplay and instead of just Wikipedia-ing the fuck out of it, I decided I wanted to learn about the vampire from an academic, authoritative source. Where did the vampire come from? How did the legend spread? What literature shaped this bastion of the Gothic genre?
Well, dear reader. I got the answers to all those questions. I got the answers to all those questions and about a million more I never even considered asking. Did you know people did animal-to-human blood transfusions to see if that would change someone’s personality? Did you know the morbid interest in vampirism comes from the same mindset that drives our morbid interest in true crime? Did you know capitalism is a bloodsucking beast and that we are technically more undead than the vampires because we live in a society so driven by profit that it’s sucking out our very LIFE FORCE?!?! WAKE UP, SHEEPLE.
There is no corner in modern history that vampires cannot be found in. There is no context that hasn’t shaped the vampire in some way. And there is no context that a vampire can’t be applied to!
I should probably warn you what you’re getting into if you read this book. If you’re looking for a simple history of vampire lore, you’re not going to get it. You will delve into the philosophical and follow trains of thought you never considered. This reads like a textbook—nay, this IS a textbook. It’s dry as a bone and full of terms you WILL HAVE TO GOOGLE. THIS TOOK ME A YEAR TO READ BECAUSE I KEPT DROPPING IT.
That’s not to say this book isn’t worth reading. I never took vampires seriously before this, but I now see them for what they are: representations of our fears, our desires, our brutal histories, and our many questions about death, life, and humanity.
So no, vampires did not just fall out of a coconut tree. And no, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch a vampire movie again without thinking about the context from which it came. I will never be unburdened by what has been. But I never want to be, because vampires fucking rock.
The continuation of the official quote is, “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” This will be important because this book. Is full. Of CONTEXT.
I initially picked The Vampire: A New History up because I intended to write a vampire screenplay and instead of just Wikipedia-ing the fuck out of it, I decided I wanted to learn about the vampire from an academic, authoritative source. Where did the vampire come from? How did the legend spread? What literature shaped this bastion of the Gothic genre?
Well, dear reader. I got the answers to all those questions. I got the answers to all those questions and about a million more I never even considered asking. Did you know people did animal-to-human blood transfusions to see if that would change someone’s personality? Did you know the morbid interest in vampirism comes from the same mindset that drives our morbid interest in true crime? Did you know capitalism is a bloodsucking beast and that we are technically more undead than the vampires because we live in a society so driven by profit that it’s sucking out our very LIFE FORCE?!?! WAKE UP, SHEEPLE.
There is no corner in modern history that vampires cannot be found in. There is no context that hasn’t shaped the vampire in some way. And there is no context that a vampire can’t be applied to!
I should probably warn you what you’re getting into if you read this book. If you’re looking for a simple history of vampire lore, you’re not going to get it. You will delve into the philosophical and follow trains of thought you never considered. This reads like a textbook—nay, this IS a textbook. It’s dry as a bone and full of terms you WILL HAVE TO GOOGLE. THIS TOOK ME A YEAR TO READ BECAUSE I KEPT DROPPING IT.
That’s not to say this book isn’t worth reading. I never took vampires seriously before this, but I now see them for what they are: representations of our fears, our desires, our brutal histories, and our many questions about death, life, and humanity.
So no, vampires did not just fall out of a coconut tree. And no, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch a vampire movie again without thinking about the context from which it came. I will never be unburdened by what has been. But I never want to be, because vampires fucking rock.
August 17, 2023
Un ensayo muy bien documentado sobre los usos y costumbres de la población respecto al vampirismo desde sus orígenes hasta la actualidad.
La investigación se realiza también desde un punto filosófico, médico y literario.
Para finalizar se incluye una bibliografía, referencias y notas al respecto.
Aunque algunos datos son ampliamente conocidos, el libro tiene información muy interesante que difiere con la idea que tenemos sobre los vampiros en la actualidad. Por ejemplo, nuestra idea sobre la transformación nada tiene que ver con la que se tenía en el origen del vampirismo donde incluso plantas podían padecer este mal.
La investigación se realiza también desde un punto filosófico, médico y literario.
Para finalizar se incluye una bibliografía, referencias y notas al respecto.
Aunque algunos datos son ampliamente conocidos, el libro tiene información muy interesante que difiere con la idea que tenemos sobre los vampiros en la actualidad. Por ejemplo, nuestra idea sobre la transformación nada tiene que ver con la que se tenía en el origen del vampirismo donde incluso plantas podían padecer este mal.
April 29, 2019
The first half of Groom’s vampire history contains several (somewhat repetitive) accounts of 17th century communities doing their utmost to keep suspected vampires six feet under. Supposed vampires are hamstrung, riddled with pins and decoronated (their hearts removed).
Later in the book, Groom illustrates how the vampire has served as a conduit for the fears and anxieties of societies and communities from the 17th century onwards. He observes that the vampire as it came to exist in popular imagination largely arose in the Enlightenment period, and coalesces with the scientific, technological and economic advances of the 18th and 19th centuries. Fears of invaded borders, criminal degeneracy, recidivism, infection, bloodsucking capitalism and consumerism are all reflected in the legendary horror figure.
Armed with a substantial financial portfolio, the vampire is free to indulge in not only blood, but also material treats such as fine art. This is the vampire not as suave and urbane connoisseur so much as rabid, accumulative consumer.
Vampires in literature are considered, but other than a lengthy discourse on Stoker’s seminal novel towards the end (which chimes very closely with the scientific and technological preoccupations), the focus is largely on medical, social and economic matters with some mention of philosophy and religion. It is not until the final 15-20 pages that the sexualised vampire of film and TV makes an appearance.
The book contains some interesting historical context and very useful references for students, but its overall appeal will depend on the expectations of the individual reader.
Later in the book, Groom illustrates how the vampire has served as a conduit for the fears and anxieties of societies and communities from the 17th century onwards. He observes that the vampire as it came to exist in popular imagination largely arose in the Enlightenment period, and coalesces with the scientific, technological and economic advances of the 18th and 19th centuries. Fears of invaded borders, criminal degeneracy, recidivism, infection, bloodsucking capitalism and consumerism are all reflected in the legendary horror figure.
Armed with a substantial financial portfolio, the vampire is free to indulge in not only blood, but also material treats such as fine art. This is the vampire not as suave and urbane connoisseur so much as rabid, accumulative consumer.
Vampires in literature are considered, but other than a lengthy discourse on Stoker’s seminal novel towards the end (which chimes very closely with the scientific and technological preoccupations), the focus is largely on medical, social and economic matters with some mention of philosophy and religion. It is not until the final 15-20 pages that the sexualised vampire of film and TV makes an appearance.
The book contains some interesting historical context and very useful references for students, but its overall appeal will depend on the expectations of the individual reader.
July 2, 2019
This could be a very good, instructive, informative and interesting study. Unfortunately, it's spoiled by footnotes. I don't mind footnotes, per se. They can be useful for further reading etc. However, I do hate footnotes that carry on the topic, or expand on a point. You can't ignore that kind of footnote. Consequently, you are constantly - and I do mean constantly - flicking backwards and forwards. Every paragraph has a least one footnote; every page has at least a dozen or more.
The result is that the flow is stilted and spoiled. Reading becomes a chore instead of a pleasure.
I do intend to finish this book. But as it stands, it's proving to be a slow slog.
The result is that the flow is stilted and spoiled. Reading becomes a chore instead of a pleasure.
I do intend to finish this book. But as it stands, it's proving to be a slow slog.
April 8, 2022
A little more dense reading than entertaining reading and very much for the nerds rather than those whose vampire knowledge comes from (and wants to stay at) the level of just being amused by the current trends and what's in modern fads.
It's interesting but at times hard to read for the more casual vampire-interested as it goes so deep and niche. Some more of the casually interested may find some parts "draining" :)
It's interesting but at times hard to read for the more casual vampire-interested as it goes so deep and niche. Some more of the casually interested may find some parts "draining" :)
August 5, 2021
Un saggio carino e ben fatto.
March 12, 2021
El vampiro, como mito moderno, como leyenda que se distingue de otros monstruos que resumen los miedos de los humanos. El autor aborda en este ensayo la génesis del mito, sus cambios, su adaptación a los tiempos. Analizado, perseguido, incluso idolatrado por las iglesias cristianas, por el islam, por la razón del Siglo de las Luces, el vampiro surge como una explicación "científica" de extraños acontecimientos y horrores que los humanos necesitan explicar. La teología, la ciencia decimonónica, la medicina, la política, la psicología y, por último, la literatura moldean al chupasangre y todo ello converge en Drácula, el modelo final, que es fin y principio de la enorme mercadotecnia que existe ahora en torno al vampiro en cine, series, libros, cómics, música, incluso en estilo de vida. Groom hace un excelente ensayo que ayuda a comprender esa evolución, obra que se lee con agilidad y rapidez.
June 1, 2023
A thorough and fascinating read for anyone who enjoys vampires and vampirism in fiction.
September 15, 2024
exactly what i was looking for.
well researched, lovely prose interspersed with great quotes
perfect fall mood setter
well researched, lovely prose interspersed with great quotes
perfect fall mood setter
October 7, 2019
"[V]ampires are not returning primordial demons from ancient days, but creatures of the Enlightenment: their history is rooted in the empirical approaches of the developing investigative sciences of the eighteenth century, in European politics and in the latest thinking. They are, in other words, very much of the modern world – or rather, the ways in which they were scrutinized were strikingly modern."
A brilliant rummage through the history of the vampire from, mostly, the point of view of the British Isles. I've previously read one of the authors' other key books, The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction, which was, also, a very helpful book for my research into 19th century history. I'd like to read more books on the vampire from different points of view in the future, considering that it is a worldwide phenomena, so the subject is much larger than many realizes; thankfully this author does, and he doesn't claim his book to be definitive. I don't think one book could even be considered complete in any sense of the word. The French side of the story is what is of most relevance to me right now, however, so that is in my reading queue for the near future. I actually recently read, alongside this one, a French catalogue on the subject: Vampires: cinéma, littérature, beaux-arts, séries. But that catalogue focuses on the vampire in the cinema from a more global perspective. I'm looking forward to reading more books about vampires in French history, essentially.
"The renowned actress Sarah Bernhardt posing in her coffin, where she preferred to learn her lines and where she regularly slept. This photograph from 1873 appeared in her autobiography, Memories of My Life (1907)."
A brilliant rummage through the history of the vampire from, mostly, the point of view of the British Isles. I've previously read one of the authors' other key books, The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction, which was, also, a very helpful book for my research into 19th century history. I'd like to read more books on the vampire from different points of view in the future, considering that it is a worldwide phenomena, so the subject is much larger than many realizes; thankfully this author does, and he doesn't claim his book to be definitive. I don't think one book could even be considered complete in any sense of the word. The French side of the story is what is of most relevance to me right now, however, so that is in my reading queue for the near future. I actually recently read, alongside this one, a French catalogue on the subject: Vampires: cinéma, littérature, beaux-arts, séries. But that catalogue focuses on the vampire in the cinema from a more global perspective. I'm looking forward to reading more books about vampires in French history, essentially.
"The renowned actress Sarah Bernhardt posing in her coffin, where she preferred to learn her lines and where she regularly slept. This photograph from 1873 appeared in her autobiography, Memories of My Life (1907)."
January 5, 2020
Nick Groom's book is an excellent study of the vampire but not just it's pop-culture or AD ("After Dracula") impact on the world. Instead it roots out the true origins of the mythos in the Enlightenment era and considers how that mythos was shaped by - and indeed shaped itself the changing world.
From xenophobic fears about border incursions in Eastern Europe and beyond; through to the literary Romanticism of Byron and Shelley; through further to the medical and scientific considerations of the later 19th century this is a detailed and somewhat academic study of the vampire. The modern vampire aesthetic is considered but only fleetingly given it's impact on our current culture through film, television, literarture and music and that focus on a more academic consideration may be off putting to those looking for a lighter take.
But for anyone genuinely interested in the roots and lore behind the myth this is as good a read as any.
From xenophobic fears about border incursions in Eastern Europe and beyond; through to the literary Romanticism of Byron and Shelley; through further to the medical and scientific considerations of the later 19th century this is a detailed and somewhat academic study of the vampire. The modern vampire aesthetic is considered but only fleetingly given it's impact on our current culture through film, television, literarture and music and that focus on a more academic consideration may be off putting to those looking for a lighter take.
But for anyone genuinely interested in the roots and lore behind the myth this is as good a read as any.
May 13, 2019
The Vampire: A "Brief" History, would be a more apt title. Not quite enough to sink your teeth into, but definitely a good introduction to the history of the 'vampire.' Also, this would have benefitted from a glossary as Nick drops many names, terms and coinages ("suckosity," "vampirearchy" etc) into this without fully explaining what they mean or where they derived, expecting his reader to know. The ending, or 'Conclusion,' also felt quite rushed, and I wasn't sure if Nick was trying to argue or conclude a point or hint at something new, i.e. the future of the 'vampire,' because it failed to do both. Still, a good book to start any serious study of this fascinating and enduring figure.
November 13, 2021
Turns out pretty much everything we now think about vampires: they don't show up in mirrors, they're afraid of garlic and crosses, fangs, is out of Dracula. Before that, they were much weirder and non-sexy beings, which I guess is why you hardly see them depicted that way in the media: much more fun to have an attractive, dangerous character corrupting the innocents.
November 5, 2021
Confusione.
December 19, 2021
In the introduction the the 2021 edition of her vampire novel
Certain Dark Things
, Silvia Moreno-Garcia suggests that when the novel was originally released in 2016 the post-Twilight vampire boom had come to an end. The publisher that did pick it up went out of business almost immediately, leaving the book orphaned; but within five years, horror had recovered and vampires were marketable again. It struck me as strange, reading this introduction, that a trope could fall out then climb back into fashion again so quickly. Prof of Goth Nick Groom, however, would tell you that it didn't. Vampires, he argues in this history, never really fall out of popularity, even as non-fiction authors constantly sound their death-knell; Twilight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, even Anne Rice and Dracula didn't really revive them - they have always been around since their discovery, in popular culture and niche subcultures alike. There's probably a joke to be made there.
Nevertheless, Groom's main thesis is that the vampire is a modern phenomenon, emerging from the folklore of Eastern Europe in the seventeenth century but fundamentally dependent on the ideas of the Enlightenment. Vampires were investigated using the newly emerging scientific method, and they influenced and were influenced by emerging understanding of bodily functions. By the time John Polidori transformed the vampire into an aristocrat with a voracious appetite for evil, they had suffused contemporary thinking in philosophy, theology, politics, and more. Groom brings together a truly staggering amount of evidence to show the context and development of ideas about and around vampires.
That being said, I found that the number of different topics and their organization led me fairly regularly to be pretty confused about the point Groom was making at any given moment. As an example, Chapter 7 discusses ideas in the nineteenth century that directly lead into the discussion of Dracula in the next chapter, ranging from the medicalization of female sexuality to Marxist philosophy to the cholera epidemics. Thematically, these do not seem strongly linked except chronologically; but then at the end of the Marxism section we leap forward to Slavoj Žižek and the twenty-to-twenty-first century Marxist vampire. I found this slightly undermined his argument that the vampire is not timeless.
Nevertheless, my overall impression of this book is that it is a fascinating assemblage of a truly impressive amount of information that emphasizes how complex seemingly simple phenomena like vampires actually are. The book culminates with a discussion of Dracula, Bram Stoker's admin-heavy novel of voracious capitalism that people have somehow managed to interpret as being about sex (do you know how vindicated I felt reading Groom talk about the accounting, train tables, and other admin in this novel as much as he talks about Lucy's sexuality? Extremely vindicated). So much of what Groom has set up makes sense in the context of his discussion of this novel. I would, however, be extremely interested in a sequel that elaborates on the discussions of the twentieth-to-twenty-first century vampires in the conclusion. If you're interested in the history of the vampire, then I warn that this is often a complex read, but one that is extremely interesting.
Nevertheless, Groom's main thesis is that the vampire is a modern phenomenon, emerging from the folklore of Eastern Europe in the seventeenth century but fundamentally dependent on the ideas of the Enlightenment. Vampires were investigated using the newly emerging scientific method, and they influenced and were influenced by emerging understanding of bodily functions. By the time John Polidori transformed the vampire into an aristocrat with a voracious appetite for evil, they had suffused contemporary thinking in philosophy, theology, politics, and more. Groom brings together a truly staggering amount of evidence to show the context and development of ideas about and around vampires.
That being said, I found that the number of different topics and their organization led me fairly regularly to be pretty confused about the point Groom was making at any given moment. As an example, Chapter 7 discusses ideas in the nineteenth century that directly lead into the discussion of Dracula in the next chapter, ranging from the medicalization of female sexuality to Marxist philosophy to the cholera epidemics. Thematically, these do not seem strongly linked except chronologically; but then at the end of the Marxism section we leap forward to Slavoj Žižek and the twenty-to-twenty-first century Marxist vampire. I found this slightly undermined his argument that the vampire is not timeless.
Nevertheless, my overall impression of this book is that it is a fascinating assemblage of a truly impressive amount of information that emphasizes how complex seemingly simple phenomena like vampires actually are. The book culminates with a discussion of Dracula, Bram Stoker's admin-heavy novel of voracious capitalism that people have somehow managed to interpret as being about sex (do you know how vindicated I felt reading Groom talk about the accounting, train tables, and other admin in this novel as much as he talks about Lucy's sexuality? Extremely vindicated). So much of what Groom has set up makes sense in the context of his discussion of this novel. I would, however, be extremely interested in a sequel that elaborates on the discussions of the twentieth-to-twenty-first century vampires in the conclusion. If you're interested in the history of the vampire, then I warn that this is often a complex read, but one that is extremely interesting.
January 11, 2021
Oh dear, oh dear oh dear. I am lucky enough to have been to a couple of Mr Grooms lectures in real life and he is amazing to listen to. Engaging, entertaining and an unrivaled wealth of knowledge when it comes to Vampires and the Gothic. However, the work in between these pages does not show this captivating personality at all, it just shows a self-indulgent, overly complicated dull treatise on the ‘Vampire’.
And I’ve put Vampire in bunny ears as I discovered towards the end of this book that my main gripe with it wasn’t that it was dull or far, far to unnecessarily complicated, it was that it��s not actually about the Vampire. Poor old Fangs McGee seems to have been tacked on as a vague common denominator in a book about the political/historical/philosophical/medical history of the world.
I have learnt more about 18th century politics and 19th century views on the sexuality of women than I ever cared to know, and all this, all this dear reader, is apparently where the Vampire stems from. Not the myths and legends of pretty much every civilisation on the planet, from time immemorial, no no, the Vampire is apparently a figure of the enlightenment.
Sigh.
Now I know my shit about Vampires, I know my shit about pretty much every aspect of their myth, so when I saw this book I thought ohhhh goody, a new version/take on the Vampire legend and by the wonderful Mr Groom… let me get involved. But my god I struggled, I struggled so bad. This book is so wordy and so complicated to read (I’m sure this is just my lack of intelligence, but I’m not that stupid I promise) that at points I gave up trying to understand what the writer was getting at.
Everything was tied up with politics of the social economic what not of anti-colonialism and the Marxist theory of socialism. And apparently the Vampire has something to do with all of this. Now I know that Capitalists sucking the blood of the poor 9-5 worker has always been termed ‘Vampiric’ but this was too much, and some of the points did have logic behind them, but the sheer magnitude and complexity of the contents was, to me, mind boggling.
The only redeeming feature was that this book finally explained how the similarities between saints and vampires and blood drinking, and the sacrament were to be interpreted and for that I thank it. Quite frankly I didn’t understand much else.
If you are a frigging doctor of Vampirism, or just really really clever then this book is for you. But if you are looking for something lighter about the myths and legends behind the blood suckers, I would avoid this like the plague.
Please enjoy my vampire/plague reference there. Thank you.
And I’ve put Vampire in bunny ears as I discovered towards the end of this book that my main gripe with it wasn’t that it was dull or far, far to unnecessarily complicated, it was that it��s not actually about the Vampire. Poor old Fangs McGee seems to have been tacked on as a vague common denominator in a book about the political/historical/philosophical/medical history of the world.
I have learnt more about 18th century politics and 19th century views on the sexuality of women than I ever cared to know, and all this, all this dear reader, is apparently where the Vampire stems from. Not the myths and legends of pretty much every civilisation on the planet, from time immemorial, no no, the Vampire is apparently a figure of the enlightenment.
Sigh.
Now I know my shit about Vampires, I know my shit about pretty much every aspect of their myth, so when I saw this book I thought ohhhh goody, a new version/take on the Vampire legend and by the wonderful Mr Groom… let me get involved. But my god I struggled, I struggled so bad. This book is so wordy and so complicated to read (I’m sure this is just my lack of intelligence, but I’m not that stupid I promise) that at points I gave up trying to understand what the writer was getting at.
Everything was tied up with politics of the social economic what not of anti-colonialism and the Marxist theory of socialism. And apparently the Vampire has something to do with all of this. Now I know that Capitalists sucking the blood of the poor 9-5 worker has always been termed ‘Vampiric’ but this was too much, and some of the points did have logic behind them, but the sheer magnitude and complexity of the contents was, to me, mind boggling.
The only redeeming feature was that this book finally explained how the similarities between saints and vampires and blood drinking, and the sacrament were to be interpreted and for that I thank it. Quite frankly I didn’t understand much else.
If you are a frigging doctor of Vampirism, or just really really clever then this book is for you. But if you are looking for something lighter about the myths and legends behind the blood suckers, I would avoid this like the plague.
Please enjoy my vampire/plague reference there. Thank you.
Read
April 29, 2022this book was really neat! and i feel like i learned a lot and made some new connections irt vampiric themes and the evolution of science philosophy and medicine !! a valuable research tool, to be sure. mr. groom (what a killer name for a vampire historian. god) has some really eloquent phrasing and has clearly done really meticulous research. he paints a really vibrant portrait.
one major critique (perhaps shaded by some serious personal bias): where are the gay people nicholas
i just don't understand how a book about vampire fiction can just ... lump "sexual anxiety" (a CORE theme to every vampire text i've ever read) into one big overarching idea, and then not ever really dig into it. i would have loved for fifty less pages on slavic epidemiology and catholic corpse theory if the clear and pressing theme of sexual panic could have been addressed in a more ..... direct ... manner
ahem dracula gay ahem
one major critique (perhaps shaded by some serious personal bias): where are the gay people nicholas
i just don't understand how a book about vampire fiction can just ... lump "sexual anxiety" (a CORE theme to every vampire text i've ever read) into one big overarching idea, and then not ever really dig into it. i would have loved for fifty less pages on slavic epidemiology and catholic corpse theory if the clear and pressing theme of sexual panic could have been addressed in a more ..... direct ... manner
ahem dracula gay ahem
May 20, 2023
Dall'introduzione il libro sembrerebbe presentarsi come uno studio sistematico della figura "specifica" del vampiro. Invece Groom organizza perlopiù un'archeologia di fonti che fanno riferimento a figure assimilabili a quello che dovrebbe essere il vampiro, che di per sé non è un male, ma non era quello che mi aspettavo da come è venduto il romanzo.
Ad una disposizione cronologica dei materiali (che sono ricchi, va detto) fanno da contrappunto interpretazioni di carattere tematico che però risultano poco illuminanti, e a volte anche un po' forzate. Forse la più grave mancanza del libro è l'intuizione. Poca è anche l'attenzione per le rappresentazioni contemporanee - che magari non sono qualitativamente eccelse, ma pur qualcosa dovranno significare.
Ah, e chiaramente per l'edizione italiana Il Saggiatore crede (come suo solito) che 25€ per una brossura di 400 pagine di cui solo metà è il libro effettivo, mentre il resto è bibliografia, sia una cosa normale.
Ad una disposizione cronologica dei materiali (che sono ricchi, va detto) fanno da contrappunto interpretazioni di carattere tematico che però risultano poco illuminanti, e a volte anche un po' forzate. Forse la più grave mancanza del libro è l'intuizione. Poca è anche l'attenzione per le rappresentazioni contemporanee - che magari non sono qualitativamente eccelse, ma pur qualcosa dovranno significare.
Ah, e chiaramente per l'edizione italiana Il Saggiatore crede (come suo solito) che 25€ per una brossura di 400 pagine di cui solo metà è il libro effettivo, mentre il resto è bibliografia, sia una cosa normale.
December 1, 2022
2.5/5
I had to read this for my history course because it was most voted for in class. So I didn’t choose to read this haha.
Anyway, I simply am not extremely fascinated with vampires to the point where I needed to read hundreds of pages of its history and for that I gave it a low rating. However, because the author related vampirism to other historical things that I love such as Romanticism and the Enlightenment, I was very interested in those chapters and got a lot out of them so I gave the book stars for that. Overall, I would have to say average though. The argument was lost in all the quotes, paraphrasing, and outside sources. Organization could’ve been better and narrative-like writing would’ve been much appreciative.
I had to read this for my history course because it was most voted for in class. So I didn’t choose to read this haha.
Anyway, I simply am not extremely fascinated with vampires to the point where I needed to read hundreds of pages of its history and for that I gave it a low rating. However, because the author related vampirism to other historical things that I love such as Romanticism and the Enlightenment, I was very interested in those chapters and got a lot out of them so I gave the book stars for that. Overall, I would have to say average though. The argument was lost in all the quotes, paraphrasing, and outside sources. Organization could’ve been better and narrative-like writing would’ve been much appreciative.
October 19, 2021
El vampiro es probablemente el ser fantástico que más páginas ha recibido los últimos 100 años. Debe de haber un centenar de libros repitiendo conceptos, e ideas vagas que resuenan con la cultura pop actual.
El libro de Groom escapa de esto, toda vez que hace conversar la mitología del vampiro con sus orígenes, la política, y la tradición. El autor ahonda en vampiro como un constructo religioso, político y reflejo de un choque de paradigmas que aún hoy se escucha.
Para cualquiera que quiera ir más allá en esto de la upirología.
El libro de Groom escapa de esto, toda vez que hace conversar la mitología del vampiro con sus orígenes, la política, y la tradición. El autor ahonda en vampiro como un constructo religioso, político y reflejo de un choque de paradigmas que aún hoy se escucha.
Para cualquiera que quiera ir más allá en esto de la upirología.
May 25, 2020
Effective and fairly wide-ranging as literary history, this book emphasizes the wide range of interpretations of the vampire pre-Dracula, and hooks into the myth's resonance with various strains of European thought. It can seem to get a bit off the beaten track sometimes (with a chapter, for instance that focuses on British religious thought about ghosts in the seventeenth century), but always manages to tie itself back to the main concern.
June 1, 2023
Before Dracula, there were Vampires. Where did they originate? Excellent and very through coverage of the discovery of Vampires in the 1700s and it's fascination with developing medical science and popular imagination. Of academic level standard but very readable and interesting. Post Bram Stoker is less comprehensive but already well know and Nick reflects how the concept evolves I film and television. Fascinating.
December 5, 2023
Vampire: A New History, Nick Groom
Fascinating survey of this quirky mythological figure.
Protestant theologians pondered the significance of spirits and ghosts. Ghost stories were popular I the pulpit and press, and inspired the ‘Graveyard School’ of poetry in the mid-eighteenth century paving the way for Gothic novels, also known as ‘apparition narratives.’
Lots of interesting, surprising, and comical information here. Fun to read. *****
Fascinating survey of this quirky mythological figure.
Protestant theologians pondered the significance of spirits and ghosts. Ghost stories were popular I the pulpit and press, and inspired the ‘Graveyard School’ of poetry in the mid-eighteenth century paving the way for Gothic novels, also known as ‘apparition narratives.’
Lots of interesting, surprising, and comical information here. Fun to read. *****
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