Fear of the dead rising isn’t a new phenomenon. It wasn’t born out of George Romero movies or even Bram Stoker’s novel; it’s been around much, much longer than that. Vampires have traditionally commanded much of that attention and, for quite some time, were the subject of academic study and discussion.
That’s no joke, either. In a recent National Geographic special, Vampire Forensics (more on the book of the same name in a moment), a 330-year old text titled De Masticatione Mortuorum (or “On the Chewing Dead”) is a serious discussion on corpses rising from the dead to eat the living. Sounds like zombies, right? Well, according to National Geographic, this text played a big part in the development of the vampire mythology.
It’s easy to focus exclusively on one particular vampire tale, but they have a history as much as any other monster and, like so many other monsters, it’s a history based, at least in part, in fact and superstition. Want to know more? Step right this way.
In Vampire Forensics, author Mark Collins Jenkins investigates the origins of the vampire and finds–surprise!–that it predates Vlad the Impaler. It’s a gripping book and one that’s eminently readable (I passed away a full lunch hour last week reading through it and managed to forget lunch entirely). What Mark finds is that the allure of the vampire has been around almost as long as the fear of them has been. It’s fascinating, but what you’ll really find most interesting (or at least, what I found most interesting) was the bits where recorded history meets modern-day research.
As the book’s description states, there has been a:
[...] recent discovery by National Geographic archaeologist Matteo Borrini of a 16th-century Venetian grave of a plague victim and suspected vampire [...]
Exploring these types of occurrences hammers home the point that vampire scares are very real. And discovering the real-life methods that were employed to attempt to ensure that a recently dead person wouldn’t rise again as a vampire is also captivating. It’s a little surprising that one of the best Vampire books of 2010 is a nonfiction title, but that’s what we have here. The book also inspired a recent National Geographic special of the same name. You can check out a clip from that special below:
Now, if you’d prefer a book with a little more fiction, but presented as fact, then you might be more interested in Vampireology. Vampireology is a book that sets out to chronicle vampires and trace the interactions between them and humans. Author Archer Brookes investigates “the true history of the Fallen Ones — and follow the fate of a 1920s investigator lured by a beauty with violet eyes.” What sets this book apart is the pull-out notes, booklets, and other items throughout the work that brings the stories to life.
Vampireology also represents the perfect opportunity for you to introduce middle-age readers to a fun vampire “history.”
To understand vampire history, is not only to understand them, but to understand us and our place in their development and survival. Whether you’re looking for a true nonfiction title or an expertly designed fictional history account of vampires, you have options. Ignore them at your own risk.
[...] Forensics (plus our posts about the book: Monster Week: Vampire History and Vampire Forensics: How Much Do You Really Know About [...]