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Part 2 of 3 Octoberween Guilty Pleasures

In Part 1 I spoke of a particular guilty viewing pleasure so I thought for part 2 I’d dive into the realm of what I usually read during this time of year. Given my interests in the supernatural and the paranormal it is only fitting that I would read about those elements of the unknown. I’ve been an avid reader since the 5th grade so my drifting toward those themes was not a hard choice to make. I’ve read all the classics when it comes to gothic horror, fairy tales, myths and legends. But what’s captivated me the most about this theme is the origins and tomes that speak of the supernatural creatures that were once thought to prowl within the shadows of the night. Those are the tales I personally like to read: stories that consist of the poor creatures cursed to be werewolves, restless spirits and subject of this blog entry, vampires.

Originally my interest in vampires was born when I watched the original black and white movie Dracula but later was fueled when I stumbled upon that “little known” vampire hunter game series on the NES. Though I can’t say I’m really into vampires themselves, I mostly found interest in the extraordinary people who hunted them. But just the same the origins of vampires still fascinated me when I learned more about them at my young age. Dracula and Castlevania were the starting flame that fed my passion in learning more about these unholy creatures of the night.  How they lived their lives in darkness, away from mirrors and the ways they contracted vampirism. Their strange abilities to levitate, transform and must feed on the blood of the living in order to continue their unnatural life cycle. Thought to be immortal where no mortal could kill them yet their weaknesses consisting of the wooden stake, running water and the use of holy items.

 

Though my love for the vampire genre has waned in the recent years thanks to the “bastardization” of vampire lore in my humble opinion (thank you for that Stephanie Meyers) there are at least a few novels  out there that try to stick to the traditionalist sense of vampirism despite the Stephanie Meyer wannabe knock offs that overflow the bookstores and ebook sites. Now don’t think me too rigid for I do enjoy an occasional modern vampire theme in either book or visual form, but my personal favorite is when novels stick to the tried and true formula of the classic vampire theme. And you can’t get any more traditional than with Jeanne Kalogridis vampire trilogy: The Diaries of the Family Dracul.

 

Consisting of three books entitled Covenant with the Vampire (1995), Children of the Vampire (1996) and Lord of the Vampires (1997), The Diaries of the Family Dracul does something daring that few vampire novels try to do: be the prequels and sister novel to the original Dracula written by Bram Stoker! The books even mirror Stoker’s narrative by having the chapters written in the same diary format that’s found in the original Dracula. But if you’re thinking that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in regards to this also consider that Kalogridis herself also went the extra mile and considered the historical aspects in creating her trilogy. She researched the entire family line of Vlad the Impaler in trying to make her novels as historically accurate as possible. Bram Stoker might’ve chosen a real historical figure to play as his vampire but Kalogridis goes further by trying to make it appear that the story is more centered in possible historical fact with bloodline ties to her characters and that of the Tsepesh family line.

The first story, Covenant with the Vampire, tells the tale of Arkady Tsepesh as he returns to his ancestral home of Romania with this pregnant wife, Mary Windham, upon hearing of his father Petru imminent passing. Upon learning of his father’s death Arkady must then come to terms in saying goodbye to the life he had in London and take his father’s place in taking care of his uncle’s estate, his spinster of a sister Zsuzsanna, and help his wife prepare to bear the continuing generation of the Tsepesh line. Upon his return to his old life he begins to suffering visions and flashbacks of family tragedies of long ago as well as continuing to come to terms of his new role as overseer of the family estate’s business. At first life seems to get back to normal (despite the mutilation of his father’s corpse during his wake, caused by “superstitious peasants”) but as Mary’s pregnancy comes closer to its due time, Arkady beings to be visited by the ghost of his long dead brother Stefan as if to warn him of the horrors to come. He also begins to notice the odd happenings around the estate with visitors vanishing only after a few days upon arriving, the sudden decline of his sister’s health and the fear/distain he receives from the townsfolk though he originally brushed those events off as an attack on the nerves or being that he’s of the aristocracy. But when he begins to notice the oddities of his Uncle’s actions, from how he deals with the locals as if he were still a Lord and they mere “serfs” to his odd hours of only being available during the night hours, Arkady begins to wonder if there was more going on in the castle than he realizes. As Arkady begins to unearth the truth about his family and his Uncle’s intentions does he then only come to grips with the true horror of his and his future son’s destiny as being a part of an unholy covenant with a vampire.

Out of the three this book is my favorite. It tells the tale of what life was like before the events that transpired before the novel Dracula. Of an estate and castle that still looked livable, with actual servants present to tend to the house. But what I liked the most out of this book was the character development of all the characters involved. They all felt and reacted as real and as normal as you’d expect from the time era that the story takes place. It even feels that you’re transported back in time to the dark ages as you learn the truth of what really goes on in Uncle’s closes off living chambers…

The second book, Children of the Vampire, continues the story several years where the first left off after Arkady fails to stop the covenant and now shares the fate of his family line. As much as I’d like to go into much broader detail like the first book I dare not for fear of spoiling all that transpires. All I can mention is that this book begins to tell the tale of how the family estate begins to fall apart as well as the consequences of Dracula breaking the covenant, what becomes of Arkady’s child as he grows up with his own personal tragedies, introduces the Van Helsings and why the hunt Dracula, and tells the tragic fate of Arkady as well as a new hero rising forth to hopefully end Dracula’s existence. I didn’t like this book that much though it was mostly because it covered more of the story of Arkady’s son, Stefan and all that happens to him and his brother Abraham Van Helsing as they themselves get caught up in the covenant and do their best to save themselves from meeting the fate of so many other Tsepesh before them. The plot twist between Stephan and Abraham is particularly enjoyable. It does it’s best to continue where the last book left off but it lacked that certain urgency that was in the last book. Though it did continue to focus on the family drama I was mostly hoping we’d have more direct action taken toward Dracula though the introduction of Arminius and the training Van Helsing in becoming the famed vampire hunter helps take the edge off, as well as getting an explanation on where exactly this covenant comes from.  Also there is a scene in the book where Dracula tortures a French dandy who goes by the name “Jean Belmonde”. I’m not sure if that name was coincidence or intentional by the author…

The third book, Lord of the Vampires, tries it’s best to take place during the exact same time as the original Dracula novel. It tells of the events that actually transpire during the same time in the book but from a different perspective. It adds a layer of knowledge that helps to explain better where Dracula got his vampire maidens, his real reason why he left for London, and what actually happened in pivotal moments in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. From the seduction of Jonathan Harker, to Lucy’s blood transfusion, to the final battle on the Borgo Pass, this book tells of what exactly happened despite some characters doing their best to “sugarcoat” the events in the novel Dracula. The book also introduces the famed Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Csejthe into the plot along with speaking of her own covenant and what she has to do to maintain it. Though the book does its best to tell the “real” story behind the novel Dracula, it falls flat when it reaches the end. Plus the story also loves to throw out unexpected plot twists that don’t explain themselves fully, thus adding more confusion to the story when I’m sure it was intended to be shocking revelation that’s supposed to explain everything. I thought the ending was really lame when it came to the fate of the Tsepesh bloodline, the big reveal of who Arminius truly was and the true fate that befell both Elizabeth and Dracula.

 

Despite all of this I would still rather read The Diaries of the Family Dracul Series than any of the current dreck out there that passes for a vampire novel. Despite knowing all that will happen I still find enjoyment in reading these novels over and over again during a dark night as a warm fire burns in my fireplace, me wrapped in my red robe with a warm drink by my side. The books have a way of teleporting you back to that time era and feels refreshing yet having an air of agelessness about it that speaks of the setting that no current vampire novel’s flashback scene could ever touch.

So I bet your wondering why if this series is so good why I would consider it a guilty reading pleasure. Mostly it’s because of the very thing that plagues me whenever I try to read/watch/listen to any form of media: the inclusion of sex. Though I wouldn’t consider myself a prude when it comes to such things, I just don’t like having that personal aspect in my consumable media. I’m more of a violence and killing man myself so I’m not really into reading about one’s sexual exploits in graphic detail. Also made worse is the fact that most of the sex scenes are either done out of incest or have a lesbian angle toward them.  Though there is a reason why the sexual acts of incest and lesbianism occur (the events in question are mostly between Zsuzsanna and Dracula along with other family members as well as Zsuzsanna and Elizabeth) I could live without reading exactly what they did in exact detail and how they felt as they did such. The books even go as far as having an affair sex scene between a brother and his brother’s wife, a threesome that involved three women and a different scene with two women and a man, a scene of necrophilia and a prostitute sex scene that ruins the visual image I have of Santa Clause.

If I had the nerve I’d rip out those pages but my love for books prevents me from mutilating them. Now if it was a novel written by Shakespeare….

Despite the inclusion of graphic sex scenes, they don’t quite border into the realm of romance novels or other modern vampire hunter novels out there.  The bulk of the series is able to overshadow the negative aspects I found in them to make the books almost tolerable for me to read without throwing the books away in disgust. I enjoy reading them yet at the same time I get a twinge of guilt as I read into them even when I skip the sex scenes. I’ve been told I shouldn’t feel guilty when I read but if there wasn’t a better candidate to be considered as guilty reading pleasure, I’m not sure what series that would be fit that description better than this one.

The Diaries of the Family Dracul Series: Covenant with the Vampire, Children of the Vampire and Lord of the Vampires can be found anywhere books are sold/found.

Ta-ta

“N”