‘The life of mortals is so mean a thing as to be virtually un-life.’ Empedocles Christian Carfax wants to be immortal. Juliana Celeste, a powerful but embittered French vampire, has the gift he needs. The exchange should be easy enough: his blood relinquished for eternal life. There’s only one problem. For over seventy years, Juliana has endured the Sisyphean burden of The Thirst, while watching as everyone and everything she loves has been lost to her. Now, the time has come to make her parents, the vampires Callisto and Constantine, pay for their theft by ridding the world of them and the scourge of their kin, the Shroudeaters. But, no plan ever evolves as intended and, as the competing desires of Juliana and Christian collide, they will sacrifice lives, loves, and loyalties to gain the ultimate prize.

Rediscover the precursors to and the cultural and historical ancestors of the modern-day vampire—the most powerful of all the forms taken by the undead—in this hauntingly illustrated volume. The idea of a supernatural being with a neverending, insatiable appetite for blood or human viscera has plagued the human mind for centuries, appearing in mythology and folklore from all corners of the world. Why were people of the past so concerned with such a creature? What worries and anxieties about human nature and existence could conjure up such a monster? Those of us in the present day are no less fascinated, taking these tales and reinventing and revitalizing them to embody our fears and desires in equal turn, ensuring that these undead beings will truly live on forever. Vampires explores the imagination, stories, and culture of these bloodthirsty creatures of the night by reintroducing the very first beliefs of vampires across a wide variety of cultures and geographic regions. Learn the history of your favorite monsters and their characteristics such as: Shroud Eaters: German vampires who feed on their burial shrouds, other corpses, psychic energy, and human flesh Strigoi: Medieval vampires from Slavic folklore. One story associated with them may have been the origin of vampires drinking blood from their victims' throats. Jiangshi: An undead revenant from China. They are said to derive their supernatural powers from the moon, so are at their weakest during the day or on a new moon. Dhampirs: Monsters, or misunderstood? The children of vampires and humans, Balkan folklore suggests that dhampirs make the ideal vampire hunters, as they can eliminate vampires with any tools at their disposal. and more! Featuring intricate illustrations, this ghoulish handbook looks back to the folklore throughout the centuries of the undead. Find the vampires you never knew existed and reveal the history of the undead.

A look at the forgotten ancestors of the modern-day vampire, many of which have very different characteristics • Looks at the many ancestoral forms of the modern vampire, including shroud eaters, appesarts, and stafi • Presents evidence for the reality of this phenomenon from pre-19th-century newspaper articles and judicial records Of all forms taken by the undead, the vampire wields the most powerful pull on the modern imagination. But the countless movies and books inspired by this child of the night who has a predilection for human blood are based on incidents recorded as fact in newspapers and judicial archives in the centuries preceding the works of Bram Stoker and other writers. Digging through these forgotten records, Claude Lecouteux unearths a very different figure of the vampire in the many accounts of individuals who reportedly would return from their graves to attack the living. These ancestors of the modern vampire were not all blood suckers; they included shroud eaters, appesarts, nightmares, and the curious figure of the stafia, whose origin is a result of masons secretly interring the shadow of a living human being in the wall of a building under construction. As Lecouteux shows, the belief in vampires predates ancient Roman times, which abounded with lamia, stirges, and ghouls. Discarding the tacked together explanations of modern science for these inexplicable phenomena, the author looks back to another folk belief that has come down through the centuries like that of the undead: the existence of multiple souls in every individual, not all of which are able to move on to the next world after death.

Vampires, Witches, and Venice! Ivan Lockhart cheated death for the last time. Tormented by his past, Ivan flees to the Grand Tour. But amidst the seventeenth-century grandeur of the Venetian lifestyle, he stumbles upon the Old World’s darkest secrets. Vampires are real. Witches are real. Monsters lurk in the shadows. A blood drinker longs to claim him. A witch has stolen his heart. And the love of his life plunges his soul into fathomless despair. Entangled in this web of shadows, Ivan plummets into the unknown—and the only way out of darkness might be the one to seal his doom. Will Ivan escape the monsters that lurk in La Serenissima… or will he become a monster himself? Don't miss the beginning of this thrilling Paranormal Romance series by USA TODAY bestselling author Silvana G. Sánchez. One-click now and start reading today! Written in Love is the first installment in the Unnatural Brethren series, packed with immortals, feisty witches, and morally grey heroes. If you like Vampire Romance, Love Triangles, Enemies to Lovers, and Fated Mates, then you’ll LOVE Written in Blood! Trigger Warning: *** Contains some mature situations, (self-harm, incest, death, blood) and is recommended for 18+ *** ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ◆ What readers are saying about The Unnatural Brethren: ★★★★★ Where do I start? It's gonna be a challenge, I want to gush a fountain of spoilers! This book should be filed away under "Guilty Pleasures." Our hero, Ivan, is a field of wild oats, begging to be sown. While his sister Alisa is the calm and the storm. There were so many minor characters with unforgettable personalities, I found myself getting attached to every new person that popped up. (Except one, he knows who he is, and take it from me, he had it coming) The writing style is solid. The author's style was passionate and fast-paced, I sailed through this book... partly because of the pace, and partly because the drama and intrigue kept me hooked all the way through. I especially appreciated all of the traveling in this book. I enjoyed taking a tour of London, Paris, and Venice all from the comfort of my couch. ☆☆☆☆☆, I loved this book! Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sequel to buy. ★★★★★ Ivan Lockhart is the definition of a romantic anti-hero. His heart is the right place, his life is a constant strife to do the right thing, yet circumstances have shaped him into something he abhors. There's a sense of cruel fate that haunts him. Even as a child, surviving death becomes a curse of sorts, and, in his need to be loved and accepted, he forges unconventional relationships, dragging those who hold near and dear into his dark world. And this all happens before the supernatural even shows up in this story. ★★★★★ An amazing read from an amazing author. I love how she combines the paranormal with the historical. So perfect and I can't wait for her next read!! __________________________________________________________________________________________ ◆ Excerpt from Written in Blood: “It haunted me from a distance. Swathed in a thick veil of fog, with but a few old trees looming above, the island appeared desolated and dead. An overwhelming sense of despair crept behind my neck as we reached the shore. Thousands of men, women, and children had been condemned to live the last of their days here, infected by the plague. Dragged away from their homes, here, they suffered their agonizing illness, shunned by society, exiled from everything they knew and held dear.” Fans of the Vampire Chronicles and A Discovery of Witches will love The Unnatural Brethren series!

“Full of palace intrigue, dark magic, romance, and lush, evocative descriptions, this is historical fiction at its finest.” —Library Journal, starred review The amazing power and truth of the Rapunzel fairy tale comes alive for the first time in this breathtaking tale of desire, black magic and the redemptive power of love French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens . . . After Margherita’s father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, the famous muse of the artist Tiziano, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does. Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create a sumptuous historical novel and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman. “Captivating.” —Kirkus Reviews “An absorbing, richly detailed, and heart-wrenching reimagining of a timeless fairytale.” —Jennifer Chiaverini, New York Times–bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival “A complex, dazzling achievement.” —Susan Vreeland, New York Times–bestselling author of Clara and Mr. Tiffany and Girl in Hyacinth Blue

Where immortals walk, ancient magic reigns... Welcome to the Unnatural Brethren. Across the centuries, from the decadent Golden Age of Venice to the wild frontier of modern-day San Francisco, Ivan Lockhart endures. Haunted by his past, Ivan walks the line between humanity and monster, caught between mortal and immortal worlds. Allied with the powerful Deveraux witches, Ivan must navigate the shadows to evade those who would destroy him while resisting the darkness within. As new generations of Deveraux witches inherit ancient magic, Ivan clings to shreds of his humanity while adapting to evolving centuries. Vengeful vampires, ruthless shifters, and even shadow beings stand in the way of Ivan finding absolution, love, and a place to call home. But some pangs of hunger can never be satisfied, some sins can never be forgiven. And the monsters we run from are often the ones inside us. Books Included in this Boxset: Written in Blood Call of Blood Cast in Blood Don't miss the beginning of this thrilling Fantasy Romance series by USA TODAY bestselling author Silvana G. Sánchez. One-click now and start reading today! ***The Unnatural Brethren series is packed with immortals, shifters, a powerful lineage of feisty witches, and morally grey heroes. If you like Steamy Vampire Romance, Love Triangles, Enemies to Lovers, and Fated Mates, then you’ll LOVE this series!*** Trigger Warning: Contains some mature situations and is recommended for 18+. More details: silvanagsanchez.com/contentwarning

An exhaustive work covering the full range of topics relating to vampires, including literature, film and television, and folklore. Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular Culture is a comprehensive encyclopedia relating to all phases of vampirism—in literature, film, and television; in folklore; and in world culture. Although previous encyclopedias have attempted to chart this terrain, no prior work contains the depth of information, the breadth of scope, and the up-to-date coverage of this volume. With contributions from many leading critics of horror and supernatural literature and media, the encyclopedia offers entries on leading authors of vampire literature (Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, Stephenie Meyer), on important individual literary works (Dracula and Interview with the Vampire), on celebrated vampire films (the many different adaptations of Dracula, the Twilight series, Love at First Bite), and on television shows (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel). It also covers other significant topics pertaining to vampires, such as vampires in world folklore, humorous vampire films, and vampire lifestyle.