Sir Francis Varney, the Vampire

What happened when a vampire attempted to "pass" as a human back in Victorian times? Well, about the same things that would occur if anybody discovered that their nearest neighbor was an undead blood-sucking fiend who had broken into their home for an uninvited dinner off their sister.

Would they need proof? Well, when the Bannerworth's made their discovery, they needed none. They began proclaiming loudly to anyone nearby that Varney was a vampire. They knew he wasn't attractive, and he fit their idea of what a vampire would look like: pale, odd eyes, outdated clothing, and big white protruding teeth. He looked like a vampire, they named him a vampire, thus; he was a vampire. That was all the proof needed before polishing the stakes and checking the local crypts for possible post-human inhabitants.

For Varney, unfortunately, he really was a vampire. So when the rumors began to fly, he had to take to his heels as well, fleeing hordes of lower-class villagers who knew just how to take care of local vampires: cut their heads off and fill the mouths with garlic, impale them to the ground so they can't flee, burn them and scatter the ashes in running water. Effective treatment for slaying just about anything.

The Varney the Vampire Saga The Feast of Blood has been abridged and modernized from its original 20th century version, and is available on Kindle. for only $5.99 (Free for Prime Members).

Eternal Life = Eternal Life

Eternal life is both a blessing and a curse for a vampire, especially if they must spend part of it coffin bound, but it does offer them the opportunity to do lots of studying or reading. They could study Computer Engineering or sociology, or perhaps learn a new language, but really, human or previously-human, the attraction of a Gothic novel remains.

In this case we see the vampire reading Risen From the Grave: Varney the Vampyre part 1: The Feast of Blood, a penny dreadful from the Victorian period. Of course, while the story is the original the edition is not. This is the nicely modernized version offering a younger vampire -- one not a century and a half old -- a look at the un-life and adventures of Varney.

I guess this is an old-fashioned vampire or the book would be an e-version and not nearly as much fun in the picture. (Taken at Washington County Fair by Grave Images llc)