TY - BOOK ID - 77910148 TI - Vampire god : the allure of the undead in Western culture PY - 2009 SN - 1438428588 1441627200 9781441627209 1438428596 143842860X 9781438428581 9781438428598 9781438428604 9781438428581 PB - Albany : SUNY Press, DB - UniCat KW - Vampires in literature. KW - Vampire films. KW - Vampires on television. KW - Folk literature KW - Fantasy fiction KW - Folklore KW - Television KW - Lesbian vampires in motion pictures KW - Vampires in motion pictures KW - Monster films KW - History and criticism. KW - History and criticism KW - Esoteric sciences KW - Comparative literature KW - History of civilization KW - vampires KW - science KW - psychology KW - religion KW - God KW - the undead KW - Western culture KW - mythology KW - Greek folklore KW - Slavic folklore KW - Romanticism KW - Byron KW - Le Fanu KW - Stoker KW - popular culture KW - mortality KW - immortality KW - society UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:77910148 AB - It seems we're awash in vampires these days, in everything from movies, television shows, and novels to role-playing games, rock bands, and breakfast cereals. But what accounts for their enduring popular appeal? In Vampire God, Mary Y. Hallab examines the mythic figure of the vampire from its origins in early Greek and Slavic folklore, its transformation by Romantics like Byron, Le Fanu, and Stoker, and its diverse representations in present-day popular culture. The allure of the vampire, Hallab argues, lies in its persistent undeadness, its refusal to accept its mortal destiny of death and decay. Vampires appeal to our fear of dying and our hope for immortality, and as a focus for our doubts and speculations, vampire literature offers answers to many of our most urgent questions about the meaning of death, the nature of the human soul, and its possible survival after bodily dissolution. Clearly written, with wry humor, Vampire God is a thoroughly researched, ambitious study that draws on cultural, anthropological, and religious perspectives to explore the significance and function of the vampire in relation to the scientific, social, psychological, and religious beliefs of its time and place. ER -