its multitude of fans. For better or worse, few vamps since Lord Ruthven have done that.
The vampire archetype is immortal because it is so variable. Despite the sparklers, nasty vampires still survive here and there in all media. The occasional highly metaphorical vampire (like The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, 2005) rooted in Count Dracula is still part of our literary psyche, as are viral/apocalyptic vamps, the comedic vampire, the “science-based,” and the science fictional/sociological vampire (The Fledgling, Octavia Butler, 2007).
And there are still adult vampire novels: Robin McKinley, long known for her children and teen fantasies, moved into the adult market with the witty Sunshine, in which the heroine must overcome the terrifying memories of being captured by vampires, and help defeat her fanged foes. The winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature when first published in 2003, it was reissued in 2008. Gail Carringer’s Parasol Protectorate series—Soulless (2009), Changeless (2010), Blameless (2010), Heartless (2011), and Timeless (2012)—mixed a “novel of manners,” steampunk, vampire hunting, and madcap adventuring, while poking a bit of fun at paranormal romance.
There is also a large amount of really adult vampire erotica around these days. Explicit and not always romantic, this vamp fiction has a wide audience.
But, yes, the latest wave of vampire fiction has been fuelled by the “young adult/teen” market, which—although written for teens—is also read by preteens and adults. [The Twilight books/movies are not the sole impetus; fertile ground was laid by TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) and its spin-off Angel (1999–2004); both mixed vampire fantasy with romance and horrific elements and were aimed at younger audiences. Other fantasy films and television series have added fecundity.] Although the majority of these works are either blandly romantic or center on a school milieu, some provide broader metaphors and much deeper meaning. Many writers of adult fiction have transferred their skills, at least for now, to this market. Older YA “classics” like The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Krause (originally published: 1990) have found new blood. Less classic, but entertaining, L.J. Smith’s The Vampire Diaries series (first four novels published 1991–1992) has not only returned from the grave, but become a television series (renewed, in 2014, for its sixth season.)
As for short vampire fiction—which is, after all, why this anthology exists—2000–2010 brought opportunities for original urban and paranormal romance stories and both types of fiction written for the young adult market. Vamps also crept into many urban fantasy, paranormal romance, supernatural mystery, and cross-genre original anthologies without a specifically fanged theme. Even funny vampires found their way into anthologies in the oughts. There were fewer occasions, however, for writers with other vampiric ideas to show their talents.
For Vampires: The Recent Undead, I compiled a list of two dozen selected anthologies from the first ten years of the twenty-first century. Four years later I can’t really think of any more to add other than Blood and Other Cravings, edited by Ellen Datlow; Evolve 2: Vampire Stories of the Future Undead, edited by Nancy Kilpatrick; and Teeth: Vampire Tales, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling—all published in 2011. There are, of course, still venues for a great vampire story—often, these days, in online magazines.
Vampire fiction may return to its coffin at times, but it always seems to rise from the grave with renewed strength. After all, Anne Rice—who once stated she’d never return to writing her Vampire Chronicles—published the novel Prince Lestat in 2014 and Blood Paradise is expected in 2015. That Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment acquired the motion picture rights to the entire Vampire Chronicles series in August 2014 is another indication there is future life for Rice’s version of the icon.
Where are we now circa 2015? Who knows? One way or another, you can bet fresh blood will be found.
If you are an avid vampirist, you are sure to have come across some of these previously published stories before, but I think you’ll also make some new discoveries. You will find a wide variety of vampire stories, each written by a woman. In fact, the stories are so diverse, it was difficult to decide what order in which to present them. I opted to place them in, as closely as I could, in chronological order by the period in which each story is set, from the sixteenth century to the near future. It is an unusual editorial choice that, of course, can be completely disregarded by the reader. Feel free to bite into any story you please; you