__The Vampire Myth from Dracula to the Twilight Saga__   
Vampires first entered the pop culture arena with Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. Today, vampires are everywhere. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the Twilight Saga to HBO's True Blood series, pop culture can't get enough of the vampire phenomenon.  
  
Bringing her literary expertise to this timely subject, Susannah Clements reveals the roots of the vampire myth and shows how it was originally immersed in Christian values and symbolism. Over time, however, vampires have been "defanged" as their spiritual significance has waned, and what was once the embodiment of evil has turned into a teen idol and the ultimate romantic hero. Clements offers a close reading of selected vampire texts, explaining how this transformation occurred and discerning between the variety of vampire stories presented in movies, TV shows, and novels. Her probing engagement of the vampire metaphor helps readers make Christian sense of this popular obsession.  
  
"This book is so entertaining that you might almost miss how good the theology is. Give this book to anyone you know who loves vampire stories. They will not only thank you but they will also find spiritual depths they never knew existed."--__Stephen H. Webb__, professor of religion and philosophy, Wabash College

__Susannah Clements__ (PhD, University of South Carolina) is associate professor and chair of the Department of Language and Literature at Regent University, Virginia. She contributed to the Dictionary of Literary Biography and has presented papers and taught courses on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jane Eyre, and J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. She is a British literature specialist whose research interests include nineteenth-century literature, popular culture, and the genre of fantasy.

Vampires first entered the pop culture arena with Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. Today, vampires are everywhere. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the Twilight Saga to HBO's True Blood series, pop culture can't get enough of the vampire phenomenon.  
  
Bringing her literary expertise to this timely subject, Susannah Clements reveals the roots of the vampire myth and shows how it was originally immersed in Christian values and symbolism. Over time, however, vampires have been "defanged" as their spiritual significance has waned, and what was once the embodiment of evil has turned into a teen idol and the ultimate romantic hero. Clements offers a close reading of selected vampire texts, explaining how this transformation occurred and helping readers discern between the variety of vampire stories presented in movies, TV shows, and novels. Her probing engagement of the vampire metaphor enables readers to make Christian sense of this popular obsession.

A literary expert reveals the Christian roots of the vampire myth and helps make Christian sense of today's popular obsession with vampires.

1\. Why Vampires Matter  
2\. Bram Stoker's Dracula: Sin and the Power of the Cross  
3\. Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles: Eternal Guilt and Transcendent Love  
4\. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Sin and Sacrifice, Postmodern Style  
5\. Sookie Stackhouse: Sex and the Socialized Vampire  
6\. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga: The Vampire as Teenage Heartthrob  
7\. Vampire Sinners  
8\. Vampire Saviors  
Conclusion  
Timeline of Referenced Vampire Texts

The Vampire Defanged is an eBook by Susannah Clements exploring the evolution of vampire myths from Christian symbolism to modern pop culture. It offers literary analysis for readers interested in the genre.

\["For fans of vampires and Christian symbolism", "Unravels how vampires lost their spiritual meaning", "You will gain insights into modern vampire stories"\]

This eBook explores the Christian roots of the vampire myth.

Clements, Susannah

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

1. Why Vampires Matter

2. Bram Stoker’s Dracula

3. Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles

4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

5. Sookie Stackhouse

6. Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga

7. Vampire Sinners

8. Vampire Saviors

Conclusion

Timeline of Referenced Vampire Texts

Bibliography

Index

Acknowledgments

Vampires first entered the pop culture arena with Bram Stoker's 1897 novel,Dracula. Today, vampires are everywhere. FromBuffy the Vampire Slayerto the Twilight Saga to HBO'sTrue Bloodseries, pop culture can't get enough of the vampire phenomenon.  
  
Bringing her literary expertise to this timely subject, Susannah Clements reveals the roots of the vampire myth and shows how it was originally immersed in Christian values and symbolism. Over time, however, vampires have been"defanged" as their spiritual significance has waned, and what was once the embodiment of evil has turned into a teen idol and the ultimate romantic hero. Clements offers a close reading of selected vampire texts, explaining how this transformation occurred and helping readers discern between the variety of vampire stories presented in movies, TV shows, and novels. Her probing engagement of the vampire metaphor enables readers to make Christian sense of this popular obsession.

Vampires first entered the pop culture arena with Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. Today, vampires are everywhere. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the Twilight Saga to HBO's True Blood series, pop culture can't get enough of the vampire phenomenon. Bringing her literary expertise to this timely subject, Susannah Clements reveals the roots of the vampire myth, showing how it was originally immersed in Christian values and symbolism. Over time, however, vampires have been "defanged" as their spiritual significance has waned, turning what was once the embodiment of evil into a teen idol and the ultimate romantic hero. Clements offers a close reading of selected vampire texts, explaining how this transformation occurred and helping readers discern between the variety of vampire stories presented in movies, TV shows, and novels. Her probing engagement of the vampire metaphor enables readers to make Christian sense of this popular obsession.

Susannah Clements (PhD, University of South Carolina) is associate professor and chair of the department of language and literature at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She is a contributor to the Dictionary of Literary Biography and has presented papers and taught courses on subjects including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jane Eyre, and J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Good Book Stall

The whole fiction genre and media industry has gone fang crazy so do we need to bring yet more books out into the Christian arena discussing this craze? Clements answered that question in the first chapter, and then demonstrated it comprehensively. We have to address the issue because it is so consuming and more importantly we need to grasp how this changing perception of vampires demonstrates the changes of our society and the Christian identification within that.  
This is a considered, intelligent and insightful treatise on the vampire mythos and how it reflects the Christian position and its understanding within society, starting as it did from an entirely christocentric consideration of the fallen nature, evil and salvation within Stokers Dracula through to the nature of guilt and remorse as seen in Rice’s and Wheedon’s confused tortured vampires that begin to show the zeitgeist feeling and blending of worldviews and then onto the current milieu of secularism as articulated by Harris’ and Meyer’s series’ that demonstrate in their narrative that vampires are merely misunderstood protagonists of change and evolution.  
It’s an insightful book and one I’d very much recommend people give some consideration to – especially those who are interested in film, TV and fiction, and certainly to those involved in any type of outreach work because understanding the real symbolism of things can alter many perceptions and understandings.

The Vampire Defanged

The Vampire Defanged [eBook]

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