Did Edgar Allan Poe Write a Vampire Story?

Edgar Allan Poe was the undisputed king of the early horror story. He was ten when John Polidori published the first vampire story in the English language that was followed a few months later by "The Black Vampyre," which was published anonymously by Robert Sands in 1819. Both caused quite a stir in the literary community. Many people thought Lord Byron wrote Polidori's tale and "The Black Vampyre" was pinned on the valedictorian of Columbia. Both were published with background information in The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849 and are a must read for vampire aficionados. 

Surely Edgar Allan Poe heard of these stories and likely read one or both when he got older. Did he respond in kind with his own vampire tale? Sorry to disappoint, but from my research Poe did not pen a vampire story. If a reader has to stretch their imagination to determine if a character is a vampire, then it is likely not a vampire. After all, a vampire is what a vampire does.

Teeth play a telling role (as does the presence of blood) in many vampire tales. Because of this a number of anthologist have placed Poe’s “Ligeia” in their collections with hopes that if the tale is included in a substantial number of vampire anthologies it will be transmogrified into a vampire story. **Spoiler Alert** When Ligeia dies and is subsequently brought back to life through Rowena’s body, the unnamed protagonist touches her and she moves away, again displaying no lust for blood. Before her death, Rowena is given a cup of reddish liquid that could easily be wine or a potion concocted by the protagonist. There is no evidence that anyone’s blood was spilt. The only other hint of vampirism comes when Rowena’s lips part on her deathbed to display a line of “pearly teeth.” If she was a vampire we would learn of long teeth or sharp teeth, but that is not the case.

Poe’s only slight references to vampires were in his poems. “Tamerlane” references a vampire-bat and “To Helen” calls out vampire-winged panels. Articles about the vampire motif in “The Fall of the House of Usher” have been disorganized and unconvincing. There is no hint that Roderick Usher was a vampire. Essays about a volitional vampire in “Morella” have . . . well . . . sucked. The ponderous dissertations that seek to attribute the protagonist’s lust for teeth to a vampire fixation in “Berenice” have felt chompy. A tooth fixation is not a blood fixation.

Yes, it would be nice for this fifty year period, this cradle of all vampire short stories in the English language, to include a vampire tale by Edgar Allan Poe. But the sad answer is that Poe never penned a vampire story. A Poe story listed in the Table of Contents for an anthology boosts sales. Nevertheless, in the case of vampire anthologies, Poe’s inclusion is misdirected. 

Giveaway for The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Ghost Anthology

I wanted to let everyone know that I am giving away an autographed edition of The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Ghost Anthology on GoodReads this month. You can enter here. Good luck and get ready to be scared!

New Vampire Anthology Published - The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Vampire Anthology

Scary stories-vampire style. That is what's in store when you read my newly published book - The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Vampire Anthology. In the first half of the nineteenth century vampires were referred to as ghosts since they were once living. They were also called "vampyres," which I personally like better than "vampires." The old school version has a more goth look to it on the page. Anyway, here is some background into my new anthology. It's one that is uniquely presented in the vampire genre.

Unearthed from long forgotten journals and magazines, Andrew Barger has found the very best vampire short stories from the first half of the 19th century. They are collected for the first time in this groundbreaking book on the origins of vampire lore.

The cradle of all vampire short stories in the English language is the first half of the 19th century. Andrew Barger combed forgotten journals and mysterious texts to collect the very best vintage vampire stories from this crucial period in vampire literature. In doing so, Andrew unearthed the second and third vampire stories originally published in the English language, neither printed since their first publication nearly 200 years ago. Also included is the first vampire story originally written in English by John Polidori after a dare with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley. The book contains the first vampire story by an American who was a graduate of Columbia Law School. The book further includes the first vampire stories by an Englishman and German, including the only vampire stories by such renowned authors as Alexander Dumas, Théophile Gautier and Joseph le Fanu.

As readers have come to expect from Andrew, he has added his scholarly touch to this collection by including story backgrounds, annotations, author photos and a foreword titled "With Teeth." The ground-breaking stories are:

1819 The Vampyre - John Polidori (1795-1821)

1823 Wake Not the Dead - Ludwig Tieck (1773-1853)

1848 The Vampire of the Carpathian Mountains - Alexander Dumas (1802-1870)

1839 Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter - Joseph le Fanu (1814-1873)

1826 Pepopukin in Corsica - Arthur Young (1741-1820)

1819 The Black Vampyre: A Legend of Saint Domingo - Robert C. Sands (1799-1832)

1836 Clarimonde - Théophile Gautier (1811-1872)

Buy this best vampire book tonight!

Tired Vampires vs. Wired Vampires

Old-school vampires, those of the Victorian era of literature, are back in fashion after a couple years of the sparkly vampire phenomena. Wire Magazine, in its April 2012 issue, printed a chart on how tired the editors were of certain types of vampires. To no one's surprise they were most tired of hunky vampires and Gothy Eurotrash vampires. Next on the chart were friendly vampires. Those they were lest tired of: "old-school evil" vampires like you'll find in The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Vampire Anthology.

Cover for The Best Vampire Stories 1880-1849

I am excited to show everyone the Gothic cover for the new anthology I edited: The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Vampire Anthology. I'll publish a description and an interview soon. Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, you can enter to win an autographed edition at GoodReads. Good luck!

Charlotte Sometimes by The Cure vs Charlotte Sometimes the Book by Penelope Farmer

"Charlotte Sometimes", the YA book by Penelope Farmer, is well known in England more than the US. It has time travel and ghosts and scary seances. What's not to like?  I’ve recently read “Charlotte Sometimes” if for no other reason than to compare The Cure lyrics of their classic song Charlotte Sometimes to parts of the children’s fantasy. This is what I learned and it’s very interesting. ***Spoiler Alter***

All the faces, All the voices blur
Change to one face, Change to one voice
First sentence: By bedtime all the faces, the voices, had blurred for Charlotte to one face, one voice.
 
Prepare yourself for bed
Second sentence: She prepared herself for bed . . . .

The light seems bright, And glares on white walls
Book 2nd paragraph, 6th sentence: The light seemed to bright for them, glaring on white walls . . . .

All the sounds of
Book 4th paragraph, 4th sentence: All the sounds about her . . . .

Charlotte sometimes
Into the night with
Charlotte sometimes
Book 5th paragraph, 1st sentence: She must have slept at last . . . .

Night after night she lay alone in bed
Her eyes so open to the dark
Part II, chapter 4, 1st sentence: Night after night, Charlotte lay in bed with her eyes open to the dark . . . .

The streets all looked so strange
They seemed so far away
But Charlotte did not cry
Part II, chapter 4, paragraph 15, 1st sentence: The streets looked strange . . . .

The people seemed so close
Playing expressionless games
Part II, chapter 2, paragraph 24, 3rd sentence: Charlotte, on the other hand, became absorbed, concentrating wholly on her fingers’ easing . . . .

The people seemed so close
So many other names
Part II, chapter 2, paragraph 37: “Good night, Mr. Chisel Brown,” she said with almost a curtsy. “Good night, Mrs. Chisel Brown. Good night, Miss Agnes Chisel Brown. Good night, cat. Good night, dog . . ..”

When all the other people dance - Reference to school dance
Expressionless the trance - Reference to séance
So many different names - Reference to names of Brown family
The sounds all stay the same - Reference to airplane sounds overhead
On a different world - Past where Charlotte travels

On that bleak track
(See the sun is gone again)
The tears were pouring down her face
She was crying and crying for a girl
Who died so many years before
Part III, chapter 2, paragraph 53, 1st sentence: On that bleak track, the sun almost gone again, tears were pouring down her face. She was crying and crying for a girl for a girl who had died more than 40 years before.

Charlotte sometimes crying for herself
Part III, chapter 7, paragraph 13, last sentence: She began crying bitterly, could not stop . . . .

Charlotte sometimes dreams a wall around herself
Part III, chapter 7, paragraph 10, 1st sentence: She dreamed she stood below the picture, The Mark of the Beast, and there were soldiers all around her in red uniforms, stiff as toys but tall as men. There were dolls, too, like Miss Agnes’s doll, as tall as the soldiers . . .

Glass sealed and pretty
Part III, chapter 7, paragraph 15, 4th sentence: And when she looked at the wall at the picture glass, it looked quite empty, as if a mirror hung there, not a picture at all.
 

I'll compare two other songs by The Cure at my cure blog if anyone wants to go a little deeper!

Midwest Book Review of The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849

The Midwest Book Review had this to say about my classic ghost anthology:

[A] unique perspective on this dawn of horror's early roots and their connections to our modern day. "The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849" is a choice pick with  stories from many legendary authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving, very much recommended reading. You can check out the ghost book trailer on my site. Have a haunting weekend!