Vampires, burial, and death
by Paul Barber · first published 1988
4mentions
3recommended by
4HN commenters
2016–2024first – last mentioned
75% recommend25% neutral
Surveys centuries of folklore about vampires and offers a scientific explanation for the origins of the legends.
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Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality by Paul Barber. It's pretty much my Bible, and is all that needs to be said about the nature of my secularism. I tell people it's a cool book about vampire myths, though.
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗If anyone is interested in the subject I can suggest "Vampires, burial and death" by Paul Barber. It's repetitive but good. In fact I have discovered this book on HN.
on “The Truth Behind Poland’s ‘Anti-Vampire’ Graves” ↗If you'd prefer a more materialistic, more forensic (the author consulted LAPD during his research), approach to vampire mythology, I recommend Barber, Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality (1988). Lagniappe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a6YFwC2zKA
on “Our Mindless and Our Damned (2020)” ↗This topic was covered extensively in Vampires, Burial, and Death, which is now on at least its second edition. Rather similarly, Isle of the Dead (1945) concerned the plague and local superstition about the "vorvolaka," another vaguely vampish permutation.
on “Real-Life Vampire Autopsies of the Victorian Era” ↗