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Post by humgoo on Apr 16, 2020 17:41:25 GMT
Thanks for the story notes. This thread has always been a mystery to me, as I don't have a clue about these vampire 'zines. Now I've got a slightly better idea what they're about. So they contain fact, "fact" and fiction, right? And thanks for the extra glamour!
In 1998 a law was passed prohibiting unglamorous people from appearing on the covers of vampire publications. Here's one from 1999! Like, obviously!  |
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Apr 16, 2020 17:45:39 GMT
Are those people who I think they are?
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Post by johnnymains on Apr 16, 2020 18:23:40 GMT
Well, I have a photo of Dem, circa 2008 that I could always post...
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Post by helrunar on Apr 16, 2020 18:25:43 GMT
What a sweet photo! Thanks for finding that, humgoo!
cheers, Helrunar
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Post by andydecker on Apr 16, 2020 19:11:52 GMT
Thanks for the story notes. This thread has always been a mystery to me, as I don't have a clue about these vampire 'zines. Now I've got a slightly better idea what they're about. So they contain fact, "fact" and fiction, right? Me too. Always am baffled about these. Did those fans meet somewhere? Thanks for the photo, humgoo. Great one. |
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Post by dem on Apr 16, 2020 19:36:33 GMT
So they contain fact, "fact" and fiction, right? Me too. Always am baffled about these. Did those fans meet somewhere? Spot on, Humgoo. And yes. Andy, there were meetings. Lots and lots and lots of meetings. One more for time being, and then I'll lay off subject (didn't find any more Haining content). Martin V. Riccardo - Journal of Vampirism #3, (Chicago, Spring 1978).  Shawn Lape
Mark A. Podrazic & Mark A. Solinski - Nightmare Intrusion (Short story)
Dr. Stephen Kaplan, B.A., M. A. L.S., M.S.E.D., D.D., Ph.D - On the Vampire Scene
1. Contemporary Vampire Interviews and Cases
2. Dracula Rising with a Passion off Broadway
3. Fiction of Vampires may be Future non-fiction
4. More on Amityville: the Ghost Hoax that will not Die
5. On Trail of "Warlock" or should Police have their Skulls examined?
6. What is Parapsychology?
Book reviews
Stephen King, Salem's Lot, by Marie Steppenwolfe
Colin Wilson, The Space Vampires by Shawn Lape
Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire, by Marie Steppenwolfe
Robert W. Pelton, The Devil and Karen Kingston by Martin V. Riccardo
C. W. Leadbetter, The Vampire (exhumed from The Astral Plane, 1895)
Poetry, examples of 'biting vampire humour,' news items sprinkled throughout.No frills pioneering vampire research zine, twenty A5 sheets, printed one side only, a decent read. Dr. Kaplan, as was his habit, steals issue, with his continued campaign versus Ed Warren, the Lutz family, various radio presenters and anyone else who dared persist that the alleged horrific supernatural occurrences at 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, were anything other than a total fabrication. The "Warlock" episode bemoans busybody police officers preventing the black market trade in human relics allowing the few official outlets to charge a king's ransom for skulls & Co. The late Dr. Kaplan was something of a bête noire of the vampire research scene, possibly because he loudly proclaimed himself the world's greatest authority on the subject which certainly did not sit well with rival self-proclaimed world's greatest authorities. A graduate student writing in a 1990 issue of the Count Dracula Fan Club's Dracula News Journal refers to him as "a slug in the bucket" and castigates his penchant for self-aggrandizement, which is a bit rich when you consider their own president's gargantuan capacity for rabid self-hagiography. I'm not sure the 'real' vampires liked him much either. Here's a snippet from Eric Held's Vampire Information Exchange Newsletter #6, Sept 1980. As a result or the many crank and/ or threatening phone calls he has gotten, Dr. Stephen Kaplan of the Vampire Research Center has disconnected his old phone number. He has now gotten a post office box, and can be reached (hopefully, anyway) at Box 252, Elmhurst, NY 11373. Be sure to include a stamped, self-addressed envelope (or an International Reply Coupon if outside the United States.
For those who have acquired old issues of the now-defunct Journal of Vampirism (formerly published by Martin V. Riccardo) , Kaplan's book In Pursuit of Premature Gods and Contemporary Vampires is no longer available. It is poorly written, he himself admits, and he is now in the process of having a much better book ghost-written by one Carole Kane.
He is also in process of writing a book debunking The Amityville Horror. |
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Post by helrunar on Apr 16, 2020 19:55:15 GMT
That's hilarious about Dr Stephen Kaplan. For this reader at least, it's always a whacko flag signal when I see some (presumably) humanities/social science PhD type bylining self as Dr Joseph Blow or Maximilian Factor, PhD. Always seems to signify a huge load of glittery kitsch mingled with, er, freshly minted compost is about to be dumped on the docket.
The good Doctor sounds reminiscent of the Professor character on the charming 1990 series She-Wolf of London (well, I liked it).
Love these zine covers and all the goodies you post about the contents. But entirely understand if you've had enough of the topic for now, Kev.
cheers, Steve
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Post by dem on Apr 23, 2020 18:15:35 GMT
Eric Held - The 1990 Vampire Information Exchange Biography of Fact & Fiction (VIEN, Brooklyn, Nov. 1989). Such was the glut of vampire lit published post-Anne Rice, anyone attempting a "definitive" bibliography was onto a loser before they'd even started. Despite the compiler's most diligent efforts, it was odds on your listing would be hopelessly out of date as it went to press, hundreds more titles choosing that particular bastard moment to make themselves known. Thankfully, this didn't stop the inspirational likes of Margaret L. Carter, Rob Brautigam, Martin V. Riccardo and VIEN's Eric Held from trying to keep score. This lo-fi biblio-in-a-fanzine is a team effort, with participating VIE members suggesting titles for consideration. I am not suggesting the resulting 32 sides of A5 are anything like "comprehensive" - how could they be? We're talking pre-internet; industrial scale letter writing and multiple library trips required, no search engines to do all the work for you. It was publications like this hooked me on fanzines. A chaotic running order - the wildly inconsistent page numbering makes it nigh on impossible to navigate - adds to the period charm.
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Post by dem on Apr 25, 2020 17:32:40 GMT
Deanna Riddle (ed.) - Onyx #3 & #4 (Uniontown, Feb.& August 1992) Bucking a prevailing trend, this Ohio-based 'zine sacrificed quantity for quality, a typical issue running to a mere 14 sides of A4. On occasion, a short story would be serialised for anything up to four issues - a whole year's worth of Onyx! So, not a lot of it, but what there is benefits from an excellent print job, which doubtless helped lure many name contributors including Elaine Bergstom, P. N. Elrod, and Poppy Z. Brite (even if, in the latter case, it was only to rebuke Mr. Williams over a review of Lost Souls). Issue #4 while maybe too "isn't Anne Rice great?" for the faint hearted, also finds room for Jacqueline House of Zeor Lichtenberg to explain the thinking behind her supernatural - as opposed to SF - vampire outing, Those of My Blood, while the magazine's genial publisher, Mark Williams offers some thoughts on Sime/ Gen: A Different Type of Vampire Novel. Onyx #5 is more diverse, offering Margaret L. Carter on - I had hardly bring myself to type this - The Vampire as a Nice Guy, a celebration of the despicable likes of Count Saint-Germaine and Dr. Edward Weyland, i.e., whiny, sensitive, "sympathetic" namby pamby vampires who adopt little orphans and help old ladies across the road when they should be spreading plague, misery, and despair. Martin V. Riccardo enthuses over Rosemary Ellen Guiley's Vampires Among Us ("the best non-fiction book on contemporary vampirism I have ever read"). Also includes an Edward Schoun vignette, Blood Relatives - "You were exquisite and I loved every moment of it," she said. A vampire catches up with his first and last and always as she lies in the mortuary. Another for the sex with dead people files.
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Post by humgoo on Apr 26, 2020 15:28:32 GMT
One more for time being, and then I'll lay off subject (didn't find any more Haining content). You must have met many interesting people those days. Did you investigate claimed haunted scenes? And interview people who identified themselves as vampires? I hope someday you would find the need to unburden yourself! Vault readers are all ears. |
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Post by dem on Apr 27, 2020 5:06:36 GMT
Moving discreetly on. Two from the tail end of the decade as home computers increasingly came into play. These really are the last for time being, unless operation tidy room turns up another batch of mouldering paper. Jo & Angel [eds.] - The Demeter XII/ XIII (Whitby Dracula Experience Society, May, 1997). Founder and editor Vanda L. bows out, hands over the reigns to Jo & Angel, as smooth a transition as any fans of 'The Demeter' could hope for as, in terms of both lay-out and content, it is exactly in keeping with all that had gone before. Multiple contributions from Valentina Nightingale include an interview with 13 Candles, a Blood Lines column (book reviews), and the first instalment of her vampire story, Evangeline. Vanda L's last words. Cleo Cordell on The Flesh Constrained, or, Laced to Thrill: The Appeal of Corsets. Anthony D. W. Moody chronicles the exploits of a pipe-smoking poltergeist at his Whitby home. Dr. Blood's The Bloody Guide to the Best Vampire Movies Ever Made. Appraisals of Nigel Bond's 'The Blood of Dracula' at the Oldham Coliseum, and the 'What Sweet Music They Make' compilations. Going Batty! (jokes!), poetry, news snippets, crossword, the usual. Lauryn Malott [ed.] - Dark Nights #1 (SE London, Sept. 1998) First offering from THE VAMPYRE CONNECTION, formed, with Ms. Bohanon's blessing, from the ashes of the Vampyre Society. Reports on regional group meetings in Glasgow, Nottingham, Manchester, Hampshire and Salisbury, article on live role playing, Circus of Horrors, music reviews, poetry, listings of forthcoming events, pep talk from 'Your Mistress of the Dark Court," etc. Something called Crystal Balls reads our horroscopes, short fiction courtesy of Colin McDonald and Michelle Bullock (whose Passing Darkness demonstrates why vampires make for phenomenally successful rock groupies). Free Christmas supplement is more of same with additional poetry by the now omnipresent Rosie Lugosi. |
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Post by dem on May 6, 2020 16:59:10 GMT
Hemlock - Bats & Red Velvet #2 (House of Dracula Society, Manchester 1992)  Hemlock Possibly owes debt to Steve Crisp ... From the first year, when this Vampire-Goth rock crossover was still very much founder Jeff Hemlock's mouthpiece. It was Hemlock provided the bulk of the material including articles on Militae Templi, Mental Vampires, Cannibalism: the Case of Sawney Beane, and The Hanover Vampire. Misteria reviews The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories, Josie Highmore tackles Mick Mercer's Gothic Rock. Interview with Nosferatu, live reviews of Rosetta Stone & Restoration at the Marquee, Nosferatu and Children on Stun at Leeds Warehouse. Also a guide to Newcastle, Manchester and Plymouth Goth venues should you find yourself at a loss for miserable places to go. Poetry by Misteria, Heather Lennox and Hemlock. Additional artwork by Cheryl Booth.
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Post by helrunar on May 6, 2020 23:54:40 GMT
Bats and Red Velvet! I love it! LOL.
In the morning when I'm going through my routine I often run a playlist I made up years ago of songs written for the vampire cop historical drama romance show (basically a knockoff from the novels of Miss Rice), Forever Knight. And this morning while listening to "The Night Calls My Name" with Lori Yates (otherwise unknown) wailing over clashing guitars and moodily warbling synths, I thought "I wonder if Kev likes this song." And then I thought "Are you f***ing kidding... Kev and Chrissie are WAY TOO COOL for this kind of thing."
It puts me in a nostalgic mood and I'm afraid in the present straitened circumstances, nostalgia and communing with my daily rambles outdoors are about all I've got. Well, that and rearranging my small but distinctive assemblage of horror-fantasy-et al paperbacks on my shelves.
cheers, Steve
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Post by helrunar on May 6, 2020 23:56:38 GMT
Heard btw that Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk passed on to that great Green Room in the Summerlands... Ave atque vale!
S.
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Post by dem on Aug 25, 2020 17:26:51 GMT
Two reviews from regular Read These: Start Your Own round-up in Suspended in Dusk #6, Feb. 2000. Lauryn Malott [ed.] - Dark Nights # 4 (Greenwich, SE London, 1999) ... compiles Lauryn & Alice's interview with Magician-Illusionist Simon Drake, fiction from (among others) Jackie Askew and Brian Lumley, plenty photo's from Vampyre Connexion get-togethers and Elvira in a Santa suit. Book, mag., record and film reviews, all present and correct. Should you be sick of filling your face with Carole Bohanon's 'vampire biscuits', Robert Cutter provides a welcome recipe for 'coffin cake.' Also Bat Facts; did you know that "In Britain it is illegal, without a licence, to intentionally catch, handle or disturb wild bats". All very affable and painless, probably best enjoyed by socially inclined sorts who haunt as many vamp-goth-fetish events as is inhumanely possible. Dave Close [ed.] - Chronicles # 12 (W. Norwood, SE London, Winter 1999-2000) see alt review Chronicles #12 for cover. New editorial staff, new A4 format and a name change in the offing for the London Vampyre Group's quarterly. There's little point comparing this to that which went before - it's a debut of sorts and will maybe need an issue or two to bed down - but if I mention that when it slipped out of the envelope I thought it was the new Dark Nights, you'll perhaps comprehend something of the sheer scale of the revamp. The content, however, remain eclectic as ever. A thoughtful and well researched item on Vampires, Werewolves and Porphyria. Reports on the Kensal Green Cemetery Open Day, the Solar eclipse and various LVG outings. Weird News, Michel Parry's Internet News (more amusing Vampyre-Goth, Vampyre-Vampyre bust ups and catfights - nothing changes) and reviews of just about everything, ever. An interview with a non-scene, non-vampire fan on what she thinks of the LVG doesn't quite come off somehow. The True Story of Sweeney Todd - nice article, fabulous still of the adorable Mr. Slaughter in the hangman's clutches. Credited source for the 'factual material' is *ahem* Peter Haining's Sweeney Todd The Real Story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Robson, 1998) .... ![]()  WWN, Dec. 30 1989, via Jule Ghoul's Vampire Archives, to whom many thanks. . An indispensable resource for the serious vampire researcher. |
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