The History and Folklore of Vampires

The Stories and Legends Behind the Mythical Beings

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Jack Chekijian

Length: 1 hr and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

People have always been afraid of the dead. Since the dawn of humanity, people have both cared for those who are deceased yet also tried to keep them away. There are a myriad of legends and beliefs about the dead coming back, and one of the more persistent ones is of the vampire.

Everyone has heard of vampires, but few people are truly familiar with the history and folklore that have made the mythical beings so popular. Indeed, there are so many legends from so many cultures that it is difficult to come up with a hard definition. And folklore is by its very nature unscientific, but most people in the Western world think of vampires as those who come back from the grave to suck the blood or life essence from the living.

This common understanding of vampires actually obscures many European and most non-European traditions of bloodsucking monsters. For example, in China, Japan, and the Middle East, there are spirits that will drain the life force of an unwary person, but these magical beings were never mortal humans. In African and Native American traditions, there are monsters that do the same, but while they are supposed to be of this Earth, they, too, are not human beings.

Furthermore, folklore changes over time, so the vampires people are familiar with today (and the ones some people claim to actually meet) bear little resemblance to the vampires of early modern Europe. Stories change, fiction turns to fact and vice versa, and beliefs are constantly reinvented. Ideas are adopted, adapted, and presented as true. All the while the legend of the vampire remains.

The History and Folklore of Vampires chronicles how vampires became so popular.

©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors

Interesting Idea, Uninteresting Book

I really wanted to love this book, because I've been fascinated with vampires for decades. I'm particularly interested in the folklore and cultural aspects of the vampire legends, and while this book gave a taste it just wasn't as much as I wanted. the whole book felt like an introduction, or one chapter. The narration was ok, but the persons voice and manner of speech didn't really suit it.

Wow, so informative!

I received this audio book as a gift in exchange for a honest and unbiased review.

Wow, this book is so informative! I recently started reading paranormal romances about vampires in the last year. Before that, I wouldn't read or watch anything about vampires because they scared me. I still won't watch any vampire movies. I never knew there was so much background info about vampires. I especially never knew it went back centuries. I always thought it was something made up in the last 100 years er so.

While this is a short read, it is packed with information on beliefs by different countries and throughout many, many centuries, how alleged vampires were handled. I was floored to hear how many times they dug up bodies and mutilated them because of illnesses.

The author, Charles River Editors did a great job in his research on this book. While it is non fiction, I really feel I learned a lot from it. The narrator, Jack Chekijian once again does a great job delivering this book flawlessly as always!

Vampire Folklore for Dummies

Would you listen to The History and Folklore of Vampires again? Why?

I would. I learned a few things I didnt know, but like any good book reading/listening to it again you always pick things up that you missed the first time.

Have you listened to any of Jack Chekijian’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Ive listened to a few of Jack's books. He does well in all of the books.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Moved? No, but there were a few things items that I didn't know and a few things that set the record straight.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

A lot of good stories and history. I loved it

the book talks about the different folklore of vampire in different cultures. I love history and folklore and I love learning about vampires LOVED IT

Vampires from Medieval times to the present

In less than an hour and a half we reap the benefits of someone else's hard work of digging through historical accounts and assembling into a comprehensible text. Information presented not only of the standard European fare, but of similar undead from around the globe. European depictions evolve from the oral folklore to 20th century movies, to a 2012 publicity venture.
JC has the voice quality, intonation, and fluidity to keep it entertaining as well as instructional. Much better in his narration than the scholarly thesis that it is.

Enjoyed listening to this

When you think of all the different legends. I think I like this one the best. Specially with Carmella.
1800’s trial must of been very interesting. Accused of killing 600 girls. Just to bathe in blood.

Wish the stories had more regarding Native Americans people and vampires. There are legends that no native will write. Because it’s taboo.

Informative and fun!

In this informational book, Charles River Editors looks at the history of vampiric folklore world wide, with a strong focus on Europe. The vampires of modern literature and cinema are not the vampires of the ancient past. Indeed, those beings that have been called ‘vampire’ often bear little resemblance to Bran Stoker’s version. This book explores the folklore, the history to the modern version of vampires, historic figures, and a biological explanation of why some corpses may be accused of being vampires.

Charles River Editors has given us another informative book. I have listened to several of these short histories and each one has been quite impressive in the depth of information that can be imparted in just over an hour. I have read a little on vampiric folklore and history and yet, there was more for me to learn from this book. I especially like that there is an emphasis on the original meaning of the vampire and the powers of vampires in ancient folklore. In many tales the vampire would be the spirit of a dead person who was determined to feed on the life force of a living being. There are a variety of world folklore shared in this book, including those about the chupacabra. Many of these tales have evolved over time, especially since the popularity of Bram Stoker’s Dracula hit Europe.

A chapter is devoted to historic figures that became wrapped up in the vampire folklore. Of course, this included Vlad ‘The Impaler’ Dracula. Vampire hunters are also discussed. Indeed, plenty of detail is provided about historic events where people dug up bodies, believing them to be vampires slumbering away the day, and the various ways the vampires were dispatched. This was a fascinating topic and I can only imagine that contagion was sometimes spread by those hell-bent on destroying vampires. Everyone today knows it is unsanitary to play with corpses.

I think this would be useful to those wanting a primer on vampire folklore as it definitely gives you a list of places, events, and people to research further, should you be inclined. I found it fascinating because it demonstrates how human behavior and beliefs have kept this myth alive for centuries.

I received a copy of this audiobook at no charge via the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

The Narration: Jack Chekijian has given another worthy performance. There were several hard to pronounce proper nouns in this book, mostly places, and Chekijian did a great job not stumbling over them. I am sure there are a few myths (goat sucker?!?) that must have made the narrator giggle a little the first time he read them. However, none of that came through in the final product. He treated each myth with seriousness.

Interesting and informative!

Would you listen to The History and Folklore of Vampires again? Why?

Yes, I gained a lot of knowledge about the origin of the vampire myth. This is a valuable resource!

What did you like best about this story?

I liked that everything is backed up with documentation, and the facts are given concisely.

What does Jack Chekijian bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He makes it easy to listen to. I am pretty picky about narrators, and even more so with non fiction. He is the Morgan Freeman of audiobooks.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, and I did.

Any additional comments?

Anyone who likes popular vampire fiction should read or listen to this book. It gives you an idea where it all originated.

Solid

well laid out book. the only reason i gave 4 stars is because the narrator sounded sometimes like a text to speech machine.

The History and folklore of Vampires

Any additional comments?

Jack Chekijan does a wonderful job of narrating this history of the vampire.I found this a most interesting book.I thought I knew nearly all the lore of the vampire but I did learn quite a bit.The fact that every culture seems to have a vampire type figure to frighten them is interesting. The difference in beliefs around the world are myriad.Non seem to be based on a real person until we get to Vlad the Impaler.His cruelty was like no other.
"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com."