Dracula Unmasked


Book Description

What if someone wrote a tale about Dracula that was different from the rest? Wouldn’t it be refreshing to read a vampire story that cuts through Hollywood’s glitzy version of vampires, and invites the reader into the ethereal realm of otherworldly creatures? Our main character, Vlad Dracula is a handsome and virile vampire and although a savage killer, he is a hopeless romantic; our count also has the ability to time travel. In this gripping tale we explore the man living behind the vampire, as Dracula navigates his way through time, settling in London where he spawns a colony of vampires who live beneath Trafalgar Square. Assisting the seasoned vampire is the infamous Jack the Ripper; he has been made a creature of the night, but still has a penchant for killing prostitutes. When the Blitzkrieg destroys Makefield Manor in 1941, Dracula and his entourage are forced to leave London. They decide to settle in New York City during the tumultuous 1960s, where they discover a modern world and a new enemy called the Van Helsings. This narrative offers a different perspective on the ethereal realm of vampires and the earthbound spirits who keep them company, in a place called the Otherworld. Accompanying the two vampires on a journey through time are an artist, a poet and a group of misfit children; together they encounter an array of historical figures including, Elizabeth Bathory a.k.a. the Blood Countess, Adolph Hitler, Vincent Van Gogh, Charles Manson and even Bram Stoker, himself. Their misadventures create an action packed and compelling story that makes the reader want to keep turning the page. I hope you enjoy the ride!




Horror Unmasked


Book Description

From the silent-film era to the blockbusters of today, Horror Unmasked is a fun-filled, highly illustrated dive into the past influences and present popularity of the horror film genre. The horror film’s pop-culture importance is undeniable, from its early influences to today’s most significant and exciting developments in the genre. Since 1990, the production of horror films has risen exponentially worldwide, and in 2021, horror films earned an estimated $580 million in ticket sales, not to mention how the genre has expanded into books, fashion, music, and other media throughout the world. Horror has long been the most popular film genre, and more horror movies have been made than any other kind. We need them. We need to be scared, to test ourselves, laugh inappropriately, scream, and flinch. We need to get through them and come out, blinking, still in one piece. This comprehensive guide features: A thorough discussion on monster movies and B-movies (The Thing; It Came from Outer Space; The Blob) The destruction of the American censorship system (Blood Feast; The Night of the Living Dead; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) International horror, zombies, horror comedies, and horror in the new millennium (Matango; Suspiria; Ghostbusters) A dissection of the critical reception of modern horror (Neon Demon; Pan’s Labyrinth; Funny Games) Stunning movie posters and film stills, plus fan-made tributes to some of the most lauded horror franchises in the world (Aliens; the Evil Dead; The Hills Have Eyes; Scream) A perfect reference and informational book for horror fans and those interested in its cultural influence worldwide, Horror Unmasked provides a general introduction to the genre, serves as a guidebook to its film highlights, and celebrates its practitioners, trends, and stories.




Dracula Unmasked


Book Description

What if someone wrote a tale about Dracula that was different from the rest? Wouldn’t it be refreshing to read a vampire story that cuts through Hollywood’s glitzy version of vampires, and invites the reader into the ethereal realm of otherworldly creatures? Vlad Dracula is a handsome and virile vampire, although a savage killer, he is a hopeless romantic; our count also has the ability to time travel. In this gripping tale we explore the man living behind the vampire, as Dracula navigates his way through time, settling in London where he spawns a colony of vampires who live beneath Trafalgar Square. Assisting the seasoned vampire is the infamous Jack the Ripper; he has been made a creature of the night, but still has a penchant for killing prostitutes. When the Blitzkrieg destroys Makefield Manor in 1941, Dracula and his entourage are forced to leave London. They decide to settle in New York City during the tumultuous 1960s, where they discover a modern world and a new enemy called the Van Helsings. This narrative offers a different perspective on the ethereal realm of vampires and the earthbound spirits who keep them company, in a place called the Otherworld. Accompanying the two vampires on a journey through time are an artist, a poet and a group of misfit children; together they encounter an array of historical figures including, Elizabeth Bathory a.k.a. the Blood Countess, Adolph Hitler, Vincent Van Gogh, Charles Manson and even Bram Stoker, himself. Their misadventures create an action packed and compelling story that makes the reader want to keep turning the page. I hope you enjoy the ride!




Batman Unmasked


Book Description

Over the sixty years of his existence, Batman has encountered an impressive array of cultural icons and has gradually become one himself. This acclaimed book examines what Batman means and has meant to the various audiences, groups and communities who have tried to control and interpret him over the decades. Brooker reveals the struggles over Batman's meaning by shining a light on the cultural issues of the day that impacted on the development of the character. They include: patriotic propaganda of the Second World War; the accusation that Batman was corrupting the youth of America by appearing to promote a homosexual lifestyle to the fans of his comics; Batman becoming a camp, pop culture icon through the ABC TV series of the sixties; fans' interpretation of Batman in response to the comics and the Warner Bros. franchise of films.




Postmodern Vampires


Book Description

Postmodern Vampires: Film, Fiction, and Popular Culture is the first major study to focus on American cultural history from the vampire’s point of view. Beginning in 1968, Ní Fhlainn argues that vampires move from the margins to the centre of popular culture as representatives of the anxieties and aspirations of their age. Mapping their literary and screen evolution on to the American Presidency, from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump, this essential critical study chronicles the vampire’s blood-ties to distinct socio-political movements and cultural decades in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Through case studies of key texts, including Interview with the Vampire, The Lost Boys, Blade, Twilight, Let Me In, True Blood and numerous adaptations of Dracula, this book reveals how vampires continue to be exemplary barometers of political and historical change in the American imagination. It is essential reading for scholars and students in Gothic and Horror Studies, Film Studies, and American Studies, and for anyone interested in the articulate undead.




Monsters and Madonnas


Book Description

Judith Taylor Gold challenges traditional views that trace the source of Christian anti-Semitism to the presentation of Jews in the first four books of the New Testament. She contends that the unflattering depiction of Jews in the gospels and other Christian writings is the result—not the cause—of Christian anti-Semitism. Traversing widely ranging subjects such as pre-Christian religion, New and Old Testament scripture, horror literature, incest and pornography, she invokes an imperative "exchange of dialectics" between the unconscious mind and the hidden content of the Christ story as the birthplace of Christian anti-Semitism.




The Dracula Book


Book Description

Explores the history and lore of the vampire figure and examines Stoker's Dracula and his representation on the screen and in the comics.




Vincent Price Unmasked


Book Description




Dracula and the Eastern Question


Book Description

This book sets the writings of Merimee, Le Fanu, Stoker and Verne in the context in which they were written - namely the response to Balkan, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian politics. Gibson analyzes their works to reveal that the vampire acts as an allegory of the Near East through which constitutes a challenge to the 'orientalism' argument of today.




The Globalization of Rural Plays in the Twenty-First Century


Book Description

The Globalization of Rural Plays in the Twenty-First Century excavates the neglected ideological substratum of peasant folk plays. By focusing on northeastern Romania and southwest Ukraine—two of the most ruralized regions in Europe—this work reveals the complex landscape of peasant plays and the essential role they perform in shaping local culture, economy, and social life. The rapid demise of these practices and the creation of preservation programs is analyzed in the context of the corrosive effects of global capitalism and the processes of globalization, urbanization, mass-mediatization, and heritagization. Just like peasants in search of better resources, rural plays “migrate" from their villages of origin into the urban, modern, and more dynamic world, where they become more visible and are both appreciated and exploited as forms of transnational, intangible cultural heritage.