January 5, 2007

'Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead'

By RICHARD BYRNE

When Bram Stoker published Dracula, in 1897, he did more than revive the creatures of Balkan folklore for a Western audience. He created a vampire who was both noble and seductive. Subsequent storytellers — from Hollywood to Anne Rice — have amplified the potent allure of the blood-sucking undead.

But Bruce A. McClelland, a writer and translator, thirsts to re-examine the other key player in such fables: the slayer who hunts and destroys the evil vampire. In his