My Ancien stories are about a species of humans that aren’t vampires, but whose occasional throwbacks gave rise to the vampire legend. Ancien: Ages of Blood is a short story showing a bit of the background through the ages. It’s now available on Smashwords. On Pubit soon, I hope. Ancien: Gift of Blood is an unfinished novel that brings the Ancien and their secret into the 21st century. The plan is to publish it by the end of the year. Ancien: Bound by Blood is about half-written, a novel that takes place later in this century, and involves the throwbacks and the society they’ve developed.

Wherever and however the legends of vampires first arose, their fascination seems to hit something primal in the human psyche. Vampire fads come and go, but vampires seem to be forever. And once in a while, an artifact turns up that tells us a bit about what believers in the truth of vampires did to protect themselves. An excavation in Venice turned up the skull of a woman with a brick in her mouth. The belief was that the brick, or a rock, would prevent the vampire from chewing through its shroud and rising to feast on the living.

A more modern protection against the rising of the undead was this Victorian grave cover.

Whether we believe or we don’t, vampires legends continue to fascinate and evolve. But they probably still don’t sparkle.