Secrets of the Vampire

Julie Légère is a writer living and practising in Paris. Secrets of the Witch was her first book for children. Elsa Whyte is a writer, editor and witch living in Paris. She is the author of Le Génie Pissenlit (The Lucky Dandelion, Le Cosmographe, 2018) and Les Saisons Dans l’Art (Seasons in Art, De La Martinière Jeunesse, 2019), and has translated children’s books into French including Look Up at the Stars (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2019). Laura Pérez is an illustrator, animator and witch. She studied illustration in Spain, France and Canada and her artwork has been exhibited all over Europe and Asia. She has illustrated several graphic novels but Secrets of the Witch is her first book for children. Her exquisite illustrations have been featured in many publications including The Washington Post, National Geographic and the Wall Street Journal. Laura was awarded the Valendia National Comic Illustration Award in 2015.

“A sumptuously illustrated, elegantly chiaroscuro guide to vampire history around the world.”

• By Way of Introduction…Vampires around the worldAntiquity & the Origins of Thirst The reign of bloodthirsty goddessesLamiaRevenants of the ancient worldPhilinnion, living dead of antiquityBlood, elixir of the godsLilith the accursedStrigoi, the first Slavic vampiresThe Middle Ages, When Revenants Take Shape When the dead arise from the graveThe draugar of Norse sagasVampires and epidemicsFear of the living deadThe Renaissance, a Dance Led by the Devil Demonology and vampiric phenomenaDance of the living deadThe origins of the nightmareVampires and werewolvesThe Gandillon familyEastern Europe, Land of the Vampire The shroud-munching deadOutbreaks of hasty burialsVlad the ImpalerElizabeth BáthoryThe faces of the vampire multiplyA gallery of Eastern European vampiresThe Enlightenment Paradox: the Vampire is Born The vampire is baptizedThe case of Arnold PaoleDom Augustin Calmet and the quest for truthThe pope’s letter to the archbishopVoltaire and the vampireVampirism in the light of science and reasonVampirism put to the medical testThe Vampire Transforms A triumph of ink and bloodRomantic heroes and femmes fatalesVictorian England shivers with delightDracula, the modern mythBram Stoker and Marie NizetThe Mercy Brown caseNew Generation Vampires Dracula on screen, a tale of love and bloodCoppola’s Dracula, the vampire tormented by his sinsDown with Dracula: the birth of the modern vampireFrom darkness to lightBuffy the stereotype slayerEdward Cullen, the eternal Prince CharmingAdam and Eve, immortal lovers of a world in declineVampire Symbols and Emblems Garlic, Silver, Hawthorn, The Vampire Ball, Mist, Canines, Coffin, Bat, Cross, Daylight, Wolf, Shadow, Stake, Dust, Rats, Reflection, Blood, Birthplace, Poppy seeds, Salt, TalonsGlossary