Hanging with Vampires

As part of my raid on anything spooky and creepy to read in September and October from NetGalley I was given this to read.

A non-fiction book exploring all aspects of the vampire, from its folklore history to its representation in modern media, and looking at different kinds of vampires from around the world.

A fun read written in an accessible and relaxed tone full of fangtastic illustrations from Lilla Bölecz to complement to words.

Aimed firmly at a younger audience, 9-12, this has great snippets about how to make garlic bread, a brilliant interview with Vlad the Impaler, and a really interesting look at how disease and death were thought of in the Middle Ages.

All without getting too gross or gory, but having just the right amount to keep a person interested, impaling heads, nice aside about vampire bats.

The section about vampires in modern media is also quite good and does look at diversity and representation and doesn’t hold back from criticising Twilight for its lack of either and problematic representation of Bella.

Overall a fun read and as the first in a new series of books called the Totally Factual Field Guide to the Supernatural it comes out running and sets a nice high bar for the rest of them.