The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula

"'Denn die Todten reiten Schnell.' ("For the dead travel fast.") The strange driver evidently heard the words, for he looked up with a gleaming smile."-- Dracula, by Bram StokerEric Nuzum set a pretty steep goal for himself when he set out to write a book about vampires -- vampire legends, Draculean history, vampire fiction, vampire movies, and people who think they ARE vampires. "The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula" starts promisingly, but Nuzum's lack of interest starts showing after Romania.And when a book opens with the author vomiting his own blood, you know it's going to be an interesting ride. Nuzum describes his own increasingly bizarre journey into vampire subculture -- online oddballs, soap opera conventions, Black Masses, vampire tours by "Mina Harker," blood-drinking fetishists, and even a trip to Transylvania itself.And he also researches quite a bit about vampire legends and how they evolved, as well as their connections to Prince Vlad Drakula, a happily savage ruler who got off on seeing people impaled. Not to mention, of course, the seminal vampire novel, the layered, atmospheric "Dracula," and the stories that spun off from it.You gotta admit, Nuzum immersed himself in his work -- he writes in a Dave Barryian style, with lots of wacky people (including a gambling vegephobic vegetarian) and trivia that sticks in the mind (John Kerry and George Dubya are both related to Vlad the Impaler). There are plenty of hilarious moments, such as when he's sealed inside a coffin as part of a haunted-house hazing ritual.The problem is, Nuzum is only really interested in "Dracula," and then only in the history and original novel. When it comes to anyone else, he seems rather disgusted.For example, his visits to various "vampiric" places don't actually offer much insight into vampire-centric popular culture, or what craving might spur people to pretend that they are vampires, or even to be fans of horror movies and books. Nah. All his investigations can basically be summated as, "Wow! Wah! Look at all the loser freaks I had to talk to!" One can almost see him dodging the "weird" cooties, lest he also become a longtime fan of a cult TV show.His attitude towards literature and movies isn't much more pleasant. He describes all vampire fiction as a "joke," but only reads a few of the best-known/oldest books, and deems them too hard and wordy. And he insists early on that every single vampire movie -- including "Nosferatu" and Lugosi's "Dracula" -- is unwatchable. Why? Not because of quality, but because they fail to live up to the creepy-crawlies he gets when he reads "Dracula." Score one against objectivity.Even his research seems halfhearted. There's a lot about the origins of vampire legend in Greece, Romania and other such places. But aside from a passing mention at the beginning of the book, Nuzum doesn't bother to explore vampires from any other region, nor does he explore vampire movies/books from those areas either -- anime, for example. Nope, he's busy talking about those freaky African-American "vampires" he met in D.C."The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula" is a great title and a promising book, but it slopes off quickly into a series of rather disdainful analyses. Interesting, but offputting.

This book will give you a trivia-winning knowledge of vampires in pop-culture. I have read it several times and still laugh at Mr. Nuzum's jokes and humorous literary technique. It is well-written and easy to read and gives you all the details you need to know if you are a vampire-fan.This is one of my FAVORITE books.

Dieses Buch ist das witzigste, das ich zu dem Thema jemals gelesen habe.Es enthielt zwar für mich keine neuen Informationen, dennoch habe ich mich bestens unterhalten gefühlt.

Well, it is!It's light, its witty, its snarky, its entertaining and yet strangely informative. Granted, I've been reading computer manuals for the past year or so, so anything would seem more entertaining, but I honesty found myself wondering what he would talk about next.IF you have an interest in vampire history or lore, this book is a good place to start. I wish it had better referances to the source doumentations, but that certainly doesn't distract from the enjoyment.One thing missing is a list of the movies he watched. I do enjoy vampire movies, my two favorites are 'Innocent blood' (french vampire takes on Mob) and 'The hunger' (Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve and lesbian blood suckers)...I was warned about 'Rape of the Vampire'...all those breasts were not enough to save this film...I fell asleep twice and still haven't seen it all the way thru!

Das Buch scheint nie richtig zu wissen, was es nun eigentlich sein möchte: ein Sachbuch über das Thema Vampire, ein Reisebericht, eine gesellschaftliche Aussage. Für jedes dieser Themen alleine wäre das Buch sicherlich zu dünn geworden. Der Author springt zwischen den Themen hin und her, ein wenig wie in einem Blog - aber dann doch nicht konsequent. Wer das Buch wegen dem Fachbereich "Das Vampier als gesellschaftliches Phänomen" kauft, wird mit dem sachlichen Inhalt sicherlich zu kurz kommen.Dennoch war es interessant und vor allem schnell zu lesen - der Schriftstil ist sehr kurzweilig.Gut als Urlaubslektüre.

Reading this book was very intriguing. It really analyzes vampires getting into the history of them and everything. Nuzum was kind of crazily obsessed with understanding it all and although you were like "Oh no! xD" you kept reading to find out more. Lots of interesting theories in regard to the vampire. Highly recommended!