Vampire Musings
Articles and Short Stories
Compiled by Bertena Varney
ASIN : B0B2QJ5FQC
Publication Date: May 29, 2022
Print Length: 259 pages
Book Description:
Join 16 vampire fans and writers from
around the world for their musings on
vampire music, movies, fun facts, and even
mesmerizing short stories. This book will
make you feel like you are in a room with
friends discussing the various vampires that
each of you love spanning from aristocratic
vampires, to primal monsters, to the
Twilight vamps. So, sit down in your
comfy chair, turn on the vampire music provided in this book, pick up that Bloody
Mary, and escape to a world full of vampires.
There is a recount of the life of Anne Rice, reviews of books, movies, and
television shows, a look at vampires as religious figures, romantic stories, and
traditional stories of the vampire.
Each of these stories holds intrigue for fans of creatures of the night.
Contributors include: Audrey A’Cladh, Azurdee Garland, Bitten Twice, Bertena
Varney, Carrie Rogers, Isabella Gibbons, Jacqueline Gibbons, Kathryne LeFevre,
Kyle Germann, Mary Jackson, Matthew Banks, Phaedra Walker, Roxanne Rhoads,
Selah Janel, Simon Bacon, and Stavros Cockrell.
These contributors range from a 12-year-old actress, to college professors,
librarians, paranormal romance authors, and even those that live the life of a
vampire.
The cover art was created by Stavros while showcasing the model Xamie wearing
fangs from Kaos Kustom Fangs, LLC. The model is both alluring but dangerous.
She is a great representation of the book and the various stories that are told within.
Consumed by Carrie Rogers
1909
In late March London, I decided to begin a new life. All of the people who I
cared for were gone. Headed off to find something new, I made my way through
the busy streets. Beggars lined the route to the Atlantic transport.
Stepping to the ticket window, I asked, "where is the boat headed?"
"America," He answered.
"One, please!" I said, handing the man my money. He gave me a ticket and
asked my name.
"Randis Blackburn." He wrote my name along with the other ship
passengers.
"Age?"
"22." seems like a good number. After all, my age was unbelievable.
I was waiting for my turn to board the ship. Watching the ship's two giant
smokestacks as they puffed angrily. Parents said goodbye to their children,
knowing they might never see them again. A child smiled, waving frantically. I
waved back. Her smile was sweet, intentions pure. The feeling of life surged
through me. Would I have the strength to leave if I had a child?
"Excuse me," a quiet voice said, breaking me from my thoughts. I stepped
to the side, apologizing for being in her way. “Is that yours?" she asked, looking
down at an old worn brown trunk that sat at my feet.
"No," I answered, gazing into her deep green eyes. I was frozen in place by
the depth of her stare. There was something familiar about her; I couldn't say what.
She bent down, picking up the lock in her hand. She turned the key, opening the
lock. She let out a sigh of relief as she pulled open the trunk.
The smell of wild roses filled the air around me. She turned and smiled at
me quickly before shutting the lid. The scent of roses hit me once again. Locking
the trunk and standing to her feet, she held her lacey gloves that she had taken from
the chest in her pale hands. With a smile, she said,
"Good day, sir."
"Please, Call me Randis," I stuttered out.
"You are?" I asked as I took her hand, slowly lifting it to my lips and kissing
her warm hand gently. I looked up to see her rosy cheeks. I had made her blush.
"Sarah." She said in a nervous voice.
"Nice to make your acquaintance, Sarah." Holding her hand in mine, I said,
"Safe journey."
"Same to you, Randis," she said, pulling her hand from mine.
As she walked away, I felt that a part of me was now missing. I felt so alone,
more alone than I ever had, as she disappeared into the crowd.
The Alp by Kyle Germann
Nightmares have haunted the sleep of men and women since the beginning.
These kinds of dreams can cause people to awaken very suddenly in the night,
sometimes accompanied by screams of terror. In cultures all over the world, people
have long believed that there are supernatural entities that are responsible for these
horrifying dreams. In Germany and Austria, these beliefs have coalesced into a
very frightening (and very confusing) entity that feeds upon the blood of
unsuspecting women while they sleep. The German people know this vampiric
spirit as the Alp, and it is one of the most dangerous of all supernatural predators.
Nobody seems to be quite sure what the Alp actually is since the spirit is
perceived differently in different areas. Generally speaking, the spirit is almost
always male, although, in some accounts, it is portrayed as female (Bane 10), and
it is believed to have only one eye. In some areas of Germany, it is believed to be
an elemental, much like a gnome or a tomten. In parts of Austria, it is described as
a malicious spirit of the dead. Other people believed that the Alp could appear as a
small elderly man, while others thought the spirit was a shapeshifting wizard of
great power that would roam the countryside in the form of a bird or a cat (Curran
18). And that’s not all: some legends say that the Alp is the returned spirit of a man
who died a horrible death, while others say that the entity is the vengeful ghost of a
child that died before it could be baptized (Maberry 14). And still, others say that it
is a male child who died as a result of a particularly long and agonizing childbirth
(Bane 10). Then again, the Alp could be a voracious bloodsucking demon from the
deepest pits of Hell. To reiterate, nobody is really sure. And in that same vein,
nobody seems to know what the Alp looks like either. This may be because the Alp
is usually invisible and is capable of assuming a number of different forms and
may, thus, have no true form (Bane 10). However, what is known about the Alp is
that it is a predatory entity that feeds on the blood and the breast milk of sleeping
women, glutting itself on those fluids while weakening the victim and depriving
her baby of the food it needs to survive and grow at the same time (Maberry 14).
The Alp has a variety of supernatural powers at its disposal. When it takes
on a physical form, the Alp possesses unnatural strength and speed and is able to
fly in any of its myriad forms (Bane 10). The Alp is a notorious shapeshifter, able
to assume a wide variety of different forms. It can become any sort of animal that it
wants, although the entity seems to prefer the form of a dog, a cat, a bird, a pig, a
snake, a vole, a wolf, a moth, a white butterfly, a monstrous black dog with
lecherous tendencies, and even an icy mist (Bane 10; Curran 18-19; Maberry 15).
For this reason, the Alp is often linked to stories of werewolves in folklore,
especially in Cologne, Germany (Bane 10). Interestingly, the Alp is always said to
wear a hat called a tarnkappe, which literally means “cap of concealment.” This
hat gives the spirit the power of invisibility and some other unspecified magical
powers (Bane 10). This tarnkappe is usually a soft, old wide-brimmed hat, but it
could also be a simple cap made of cloth or a veil designed to hide the entity’s face
from its victims (Curran 18). But the spirit becomes even more formidable when
wielding the power of its Evil Eye, a sinister spiritual ability that is feared all over
the world. The Evil Eye allows a person to curse or inflict misfortune and even
death upon others with a glance or an intense stare. In the Alp’s case, the Evil Eye
allows the spirit to manipulate the wills and, especially, the dreams of sleeping
victims. With this power, the entity is capable of creating horrible nightmares that
frighten its victims nearly to death and can also cause bouts of sleepwalking,
seizures, and fits while they’re sleeping (Maberry 14; Curran 19). These
nightmares, in turn, can lead to severe insomnia, and if this goes untreated for long
enough, it will cause insanity and eventual death. The Alp must take great care to
protect its eye from any kind of damage. Without it, the spirit cannot torment its
victims with nightmares (Bunson 5).
About Bertena Varney:
Vampire Musings is the 11 th vampire book written, compiled, and/or published by
Bertena Varney, M.A., M.Ed. This book is an anthology of articles and short
stories from academics and fans from around the world. The topics range from
Anne Rice’s Life Chronology, vampire detectives, vampire art, vampire films,
modern short stories of vampire romance and traditional gothic reads of tortured
souls.
Bertena is a former Assistant Professor of Sociology and is still working in higher
education.
She has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Morehead State University in
sociology, criminology, history, and education. She spent these educational years
studying pop culture.
She has been a guest speaker for multiple conventions including:
- Pop Culture Association National Conference in Washington DC
- Pop Culture Association Regional Conference in New Orleans
- Conjuration- A Harry Potter Convention in Atlanta, GA
