Stewart King

Dr Gregory L Reece’s fascinating book, Creatures of the Night, is an enjoyably macabre stroll through the misty swamps of folklore where myth and religion are intertwined. Why do we create monsters and why is there such a desire and appetite for the darker side of the human soul? Whereas one reader may dismiss the concept of lycanthropes or vampires the point of Reece’s exhaustively researched study is to highlight how that same reader may partly or wholly accept the concept of ghosts or demons.  Why would one fantastical concept seem more acceptable than another? Can we scoff at Arthur Conan Doyle for believing in the existence of fairies when the notion of demonic possession may still frighten a large percentage of the global population?

It is, of course, entirely appropriate that the estate of Bram Stoker should choose to mark the 100th anniversary of the author’s death this year with a series of events, such as the publication of Bram Stoker’s Lost Journal, and a special edition of Dracula.    With other writers you might decide to commemorate their birth, or the date of their greatest work. But death — and in particular the way it needn’t stand in the way of a man’s career — was the underpinning theme of Bram Stoker’s most famous novel. And with the popularity of vampires at an all time high in the early years of 21st century, Stoker’s immortality seems just as assured as that of his most famous creation.