Vampires in Literature (They’re Everywhere!)

The companies formerly known as “The Big Six” – AKA the major publishing houses – and a significant number of literary agents have been saying for quite some time they’re not looking for books on vampires. They’re out of style. They won’t stay popular. The market is saturated. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera . . . Yet we persist in seeing vampires in literature. I’d like to go on record as saying I think that narrow-minded attitude is wrong. And here’s why:

First, I’ve been reading vampire books for thirty years, there’s an increasing amount of variety out there now as compared to what used to be available. They’re not always evil. They’re not always going to kill you, change you, or even hurt you. The sun has lost much of its power, as has religious symbolism. Vampires can be neighbors, family, lovers, or they can still be the violent psychopath lurking in the shadow. An author can say something about humanity by making a main character a vampire. They’re accepted, but with each book a reader picks up, they do need to understand the rules about those particular vampires. They’re like us, just with a condition.

Second, if major publishers or agents refuse to deal with vampires any longer, there are a multitude of small publishing houses now who will happily take them on, some even specialize in horror or paranormal. And paranormal is a genre that can be very successful when self-published. (Which may link back to why there are soooo many small publishers and the major publishers are financially hurting. Hmm.)

Third, vampires are sexy. Come on, who doesn’t go for a bit of necking? They’re seductive, frequently beautiful, powerful, and shunned by society (a classic trait of a romantic hero). A vampire is usually a ‘bad boy’ or ‘bad girl’ type that draws us in. When they’re not, they’re often the underdog, which draws us in.

Fourth, immortality is something that is very attractive (in an abstract sense) to humans. From The Fountain of Youth to plastic surgery, we dream about eternal youth and life. Is it any wonder vampires fascinate us?

Fifth, as I touched on in my first point: variety. Humans come in a range of colors, heights, weights, shapes, with a nearly infinite number of optional features. We speak different languages, have different interests, and range from incredibly intelligent to unable to understand the first thing about any of this post. Vampires encompass all of this, plus whatever bonus abilities their condition allows.

Sixth, right now you see a lot of superheroes in movies. Hollywood is hot for making and remaking movies about superheroes because we love them. Hollywood made it obvious, but it barely scratches the surface of what’s really out there when you look at comics and graphic novels.  Superheroes (usually) have extraordinary abilities, and that is what partially defines a vampire. Without that power, vampires would just be some photo-sensitive geriatric who gets his protein in a really sick way. What sets vampires apart from many superheroes is immortality. (Not all, I know. Wolverine’s a hottie, I can stand to keep him around.) When someone has been around for hundreds of years, I’m confident they’ve picked up a few things along the way.  You get better with time and practice, so what if there’s no end?

Seventh, just as a vampire can be a superhero, they can also be the ultimate villain. All the power of a superhero, plus the immortality I mentioned to learn and perfect your techniques, then add bitterness. I’m just guessing, but eternity could be lonely. Once you’ve seen it all, what have you got left to look forward to? All that power, with only a cold, dark, emptiness inside.

Eighth, vampires may be the ultimate horror monster. It depends on what scares you, obviously, but they can really be up there if done correctly. Blood. Wow. Blood alone freaks some people out and is practically a horror genre staple. They used to be us, it could be you, your friend/family/lover could be hunting you down soon with the quest to drink your blood. Now, this is very similar to zombies as a monster and they’re certainly popular. The difference, as I see it, is their ability. Zombies are actually fairly easy to defeat unless you’re in a really bad position or badly outnumbered. (And I’m thinking I need to do a post on zombies because there’s a lot going on there.) Vampires have few weaknesses and it only takes one to kill you. If you’ve got more than one to deal with, you’re so screwed. With that in mind, I’m a little disappointed we’re not seeing them as much in the horror movies. Hey, Hollywood! Are you listening? (Crickets chirp . . .)

Now with all the vampire novels out there for sale – and people buying them, I know the agents and publishers see even more. I’m confident they see a lot that I’m glad aren’t cluttering the self-published lists. But it’s the same with every genre. There are always good and bad books. You can’t just say “no more of this” without taking into account why there’s so much of it to begin with.

Good guys or bad, I don’t see vampires going to the grave anytime soon.