Last year, I told you about a short story collection called L’Almanach des Vampires that I was surprised to find myself involved with, in that French publishing house Riviere Blanche—a subsidiary of indie publisher Black Coat Press—had reprinted “Night’s Children,” a story I’d written years ago for BCP’s anthology Tales of the Shadowmen 4. (Which I was okay with.) Well, now that collection has been broken in half and republished in English, and you’ll now find “Night’s Children” in The Vampire Almanac, Vol. 2, also from Black Coat Press. Here’s the back cover copy:
This dual nature of the vampire, stretching between love and death, creates a moral ambiguity which is omnipresent in its literary treatment, incorporating and contrasting seduction and horror, heroism and villainy. It only reflects the nature of life after death, and how it is perceived by its surrounding culture. Is it a desirable dream, or a hateful abomination? A reward or a punishment? And what price must one pay for such survival?
The stories contained in this collection, featuring some of the most famous vampires in literary history, incorporate all of these contradictions; in them, vampires can be both super-human and sub-human, sexual predators and impotent, romantic and passionate, and yet devoid of soul. Ultimately, the vampire is our own face, reflecting in the mirror of our beliefs, the incarnation of our spiritual choices.
And here’s the lineup for volume 2:
Introduction by Roger Vadim
[director of the vampire classic Blood and Roses, as well as the campy sci-fi movie Barbarella]
THE GYAOS: Matthew Dennion: “Hercules in the Shadow of Evil”
LORD RUTHVEN: Micah Harris: “May The Ground Not Consume Thee…”
THE VIRGIN VAMPIRE: John Peel: “Blood Calls For Blood
”
THE VAMPIRE COUNTESS: Jared Welch: “The Vampire of New Orleans”
CARMILLA: Brian Gallagher: “Carmilla and the Witch”; Henri Bé : “You Will Die Sweetly
”
THE VAMPIRE CITY: Matthew Baugh: “The Heart of the Moon”
CAPTAIN VAMPIRE: Brian Gallagher: “The Trial of Van Helsing”
COUNT DRACULA: Anthony R. Cardno: “So Much Loss”
THE VAMPIRE BROTHERS: Brian Stableford: “The Titan Unwrecked; or, Futility Revisited”
MRS. STONE: Guy Kermen : “A Room for Fingal”
COUNT ORLOK (NOSFERATU): Steven A. Roman: “Night’s Children”
PRINCESS ASA VAJDA: Matthew Dennion: “Soul Sisters”
COUNTESS CARODY: Win Scott Eckert: “Nadine’s Invitation,” “Marguerite’s Tears,” “Violet’s Lament”
THE ORPHAN VAMPIRE GIRLS: Henri Bé: “The Ladies of Midnight”
“Night’s Children” involves Irma Vep (the femme fatale of the 1915–16 French movie serial Les Vampires) crossing paths with Count Orlock (the Dracula surrogate of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 horror movie, Nosferatu). It’s no romantic tale, however—Orlock is a rat-faced, bloodsucking monster, and Irma, an art thief, is his next intended victim. Who comes out the winner? You’ll only find out by reading the story!
The Vampire Almanac, Volume 2 can be ordered from most online bookstores, as well as directly from Black Coat Press. If you’re a fan of vampire fiction, you should definitely check it out.
