Well Sunday night, and at least it’s a quiet one!
So, not much news again, expect Arcadia have now published my “17 Questions” interview and I’ve finished a short book review for that new vampire book I mentioned. To that in a minute; but I hope to put up a photograph relating to the Arcadia in a day or so, but first got tp get permission. I am sure Andrew Gough won’t mind although the photograph does betray the fact we had a bottle of wine on the table. But I’m sure most people here are used to that!
On that subject, I wandered out today around 4 to get some wine and can’t believe how dark its getting so quickly. It was dark coming back and I was cutting down the footpath along sode the woods. Good job vampires don’t really exist!
Now, as promised, that latest Highgate ‘vampire’ Book Review – all good fun if you happen to believe in vampires!
“The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires” is yet another book on ‘vampire legends’ – including the (now) infamous Highgate ‘vampire’ case. This semi-hardback ‘encyclopedia’ purports to give a complete history of these ‘fanged creatures’ throughout history culminating in more recent accounts such as the Highgate ‘vampire’ one. It was released this year by Harper Collins and written by Theresa Cheung described in its chronology as ‘a dedicated occult researcher of many years standing’ and also the author of “The Element Encyclopedia of 20, 000 Demons. Maybe. But the ‘vampire histories’ contained with its 685 pages would seem to eclipse (in interest) any credentials given about its author..
Anyway, to the book itself: Basically, this is just a re-hash of old material which has either been claimed by would be ‘vampire hunters’ or misinterpreted from ancient newspapers. The usual story from the man who claimed to have ‘tracked down’ the Highgate ‘vampire’ and ‘staked’ and then burned it on a pyre; and then seven years afterwards staking one of its disciples in a graveyard one night after it had changed into a ‘giant spider’ – or so the book says.
The book is a little kinder to myself and summarized my part in the matter by concluding . . . “Meanwhile his vampire-hunting rival, David Farrant, founded The Highgate Vampire Society and recorded his perspective on the story in the society’s literature. According to Farrant in his bestselling book on the subject, “Beyond the Highgate Vampire” (1997), ley lines may be an important factor that may have been left completely out of the Highgate equation. Ley lines are hypothetical alignments of places of geographical interest, such as ancient monuments and megaliths, and Farrant claims that these lines can transmit psychic energy along their course and
enable a vampire to materialize when the right conditions prevail”.
As I said, all good fun. Problem is, it just so happens that I don’t believe in vampires!
Well, that’s about it everyone. I’ll finish here with the book review. But at least doing that will have saved another phone call from K. (Sorry K, I beat you to it!).
For now everyone,
David
