Secrets of the Vampire

A Supernatural Sourcebook of Our Legend and Lore

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Pub Date Aug 08 2023 | Archive Date Jul 20 2023

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Description

Step into the shadows and uncover the centuries-old myths and legends that lie beneath the figure of the vampire, with this magical compendium of facts and fiction.

Whether rising from a coffin in the dead of night or stalking its prey, hidden in plain sight, the vampire is one of the most alluring beings in world folklore. These undead bloodsuckers are as alive as ever in modern pop culture, from movies and books to video games and TV shows.

But despite their cultural immortality, mystery still surrounds their shadowy origins. Secrets of the Vampire compiles every scrap of vampire lore into one essential volume, covering everything from famous vampires such as Count Dracula and his historical counterpart, to the vampiric aversion to sunlight and garlic and their supernatural abilities.

With this lavishly illustrated field guide, decode the deathly world of the vampire. Discover the meanings behind occult symbols, the ancient origins of vampire tropes, the most powerful and frightening vampires from stories around the world, and the real people said to have inspired the grisly tales of these creatures of the night. Learn how to tell a vampire from a living person and get wise to their tricks and powers.

Secrets of the Vampire is the perfect deep-dive into a fascinating figure of folklore, for any and all vampire-obsessed 9-14 year-olds.
Step into the shadows and uncover the centuries-old myths and legends that lie beneath the figure of the vampire, with this magical compendium of facts and fiction.

Whether rising from a coffin in...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780711285071
PRICE $22.99 (USD)
PAGES 80

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Average rating from 79 members


Featured Reviews

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an Arc!

Secrets of the Vampire is a supernatural sourcebook of vampire lore and legend and it was an incredibly encapsulating read! The POV/voice of this book was also interesting as it was told as if there was a vampire narrating — I thought this was very clever and added to the feel of the book. This book was informative, entertaining, and had the most beautiful illustrations. I enjoyed every aspect that this book had to offer, from the different histories of the vampire, to the definitions of the names, weapons, and symbols and emblems, to my favourite part the pop culture references. As a big popular culture fan myself, I devoured the sections detailing Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight, and Dracula!

Overall, it was a great and educational read and one which I would recommend to anyone who is fascinated by vampires and would love to learn more!

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Secrets of the Vampire is a book about the history of vampires throughout the world. It was beautifully illustrated throughout, and the illustrations really added to the overall feel of the book. I really enjoyed the different aspects of the book, from the history of vampires to different names for vampires, and the weapons used against vampires, to various interesting examples of pop culture vampires. I especially enjoyed the references to Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire. I found this book to be very interesting, and although it was a short read, I found it to be incredibly informative and wanted to read more! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in vampires, spooky/gothic novels, or illustrated novels.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a fantastic little book about the history of vampires! I was shocked to see just how far back in history the book went; back to before vampires were even called vampires. It also even briefly covered what, in pop culture at least, has long been the "natural enemy" of vampires, werewolves! I never knew that at one point in history, werewolves were viewed as basically the same as vampires, just with the ability to change into an animal form. There was a lot of historical information about vampires and the creatures that are akin to them, that I didn't know. I also loved that it didn't have strictly a European focus on the details about vampires, but also vampires from every culture that they existed within worldwide. The book also talks about the intersection of vampirism and how they were viewed within Catholicism, as well as other religions. I also found it very cute that this book is formulated as if a vampire themself compiled the information and they were narrating it. The illustrations were gorgeous and honestly elevated this book to the five-star level. I look forward to when I get a print version to have on my coffee table!

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Vampires have always been fascinating/terrifying for me so when I saw this book available for download on Netgalley I just had to read it. This is a dive into the history of the vampire from all the way back from ancient blood drinking gods, through strigoi of Romania, past Vlad the Inpaler and Countess Bathory, all the way to modern vampires like in True Blood and Twilight.

I absolutely loved the is book. It covered a lot of ground for such a short book but it had so much information in it while presenting it in a super readable/interesting fashion. There was a lot of info I already knew because of my interest in the subject but there was also a lot of information that was new to me. The illustrations were absolutely stunning and I think they really added a lot to the work.

Overall I would have to say that I highly recommend this for horror fans and fans of vampires of appropriate age (I would say a good point is the middle of the young adult age demographic.) I loved reading this and I would love to see more from the author in the future.

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Arc Netgalley Review in the app.

Easily enjoyable by anyone that like Vampires and anything related. From the unique style of art work that really brought the book together in a way I haven’t seen in a book of this style, making it I feel appealing to all ages. The author did not miss a beat when putting together this book.
Definitely wanting to add to my bookcase ass well as gift to a few of my friends as a gift.

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This was absolutely incredible from the art, the writing style and the incredible depth of history and work that has gone into this. Although this is only a short book, Secrets of the Vampire is jammed full of history, vampire tropes, lore and the exploration of media. I thought this was a genius idea and read it in one sitting, I would love to have this as a physical book if only to look at all the illustrations again. However the writing is also incredibly entertaining told from a vampires point of view trying to learn about her history and starting from incredibly early on in time. Overall this is amazing and definitely a must have for any vampire or folklore lovers.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Wide Eyed Editions for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a fun and quick little encyclopedia of the vampire. It defines different cultures' vampire stories alongside gorgeous illustrations. The history of the vampire is condensed into about 74 pages and I thought it did a good job of explaining the international and multimedia history of the vampire. I took a horror film and lit course in my undergrad and we spent quite a lot of time on vampires and I thought, again, that this did a fun and quick job. I think one of the best points of this is the illustrations though; each page had some kind of beautifully drawn illustration to accompany the text. It made the reading experience extra delightful.

I'd love to have a hardcover copy of this just for the illustrations but i do think if you're a vampire lover, this is a book that would fit in comfortably with your vampire-themed collection.

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Really cool book that sits somewhere between informative and just a picture book. I loved all the myth and vampire lore I learned!

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A beautifully illustrated book on the history of vampires with a twist of the voice telling hinting at being a vampire in their own right.
Whilst it seems the target audience for this book is teens, as someone whose long been hooked on vampire lore (one can blame Anne Rice and L.J Smith in the late 90s) I really enjoyed reading through this, and even learnt some new things about international lore, and will definitely be re-reading in the near future as the illustrations are truly beautifully done, that even re-learning is a beautiful experience.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto for the ARC, I will be sure to grab a physical copy for my ever bursting book shelf as well!

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A short and beautiful atmospheric read!

Tackling different aspects vampirism, from different types of vampires to myths and legends about them - their diet, habitats, physical appearance, powers, personalities backstories ect. To even the influence of vampires to pop culture - Dracula, Camilla, Modern Vampire books shows and movies, this was such an informative read.

The illustrations were absolutely gorgeous which made the book even better

Absolutely recommend

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved everything about this book, and will absolutely be adding it to my library's collection. This is such a fun way to present the history of vampires! It is largely told in first person, and includes a lot of great quotes from relevant films and source material. The illustrations are plentiful, and a little bit spooky without being terrifying, which is perfect for youth patrons. I think this will be a really valuable text for anyone interested in vampires.

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When in doubt, I always grab a nonfiction book to help me during a reading slump. Maybe, I'm weird? This cute book details the evolving myth and origins of one of our favorite mythical creatures - The Vampire - and does so brilliantly.

This book offers a thorough history of vampiric lore, accompanied with moody, gorgeous art.

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I found Secrets of the Vampire to be a really interesting and fun informative book about vampires. It goes over the history of vampires in different cultures and countries, as well as the history of vampires in media, ending the book in a small glossary of vampire related terms. I thought the illustrations in the book were marvelous too! Definitely will be recommending to my vampire lovers!!! Very thankful to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this e-book!!!

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This was a neat one! An illustrated history of the legends of vampires throughout the ages, mostly in Western/European mythologies but mentioning some Asian iterations too (something some vampire tales leave out completely). The illustrations were lovely, and the history was quite informative, short, and easy to comprehend. A nice primer- I'm sure this book will look gorgeous once published!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wide Eyed Editions for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

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I loved this! People who know everything about vampires or people who know nothing will enjoy this read! It showcases information on vampires from various locations and the history behind the mythology and legends. The book ends with modern popular culture references like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Edward Cullen. The illustration was fabulous and enhanced the sourcebook!

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Everyone who knows me, know that I’m obsessed with vampires, this started since my days as a twilight fan and it continues until now, so the Secrets of the Vampires was a must read for me.

It has all the important facts about vampire mythology all around the world, a few facts I already knew but the vast majority was new to me and it was fun discovery all this new stories and mythology, is always fun learning how different cultures explore the same myths and I could really see how the author went deep on her research, it was all very well done.

I loved every second of reading it, the illustrations really invoked the macabre, with dark tones and creepy drawings, it fitted perfectly with the dark undertone of the text.
Is certainly a must read for all the vampire fans, it will keep you locked into the very end!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this early copy

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*Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, all views and opinions are my own.*

As a big fan, this was a very insightful look at the history and folklore of the vampire. Accompanied by beautiful illustrations and narrated by one of the subjects of this book, this was a very quick and fun read, especially for someone who lives in one of the "birthplaces" of the vampire.

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