The Vampire in Lore and Legend

by Montague Summers

Based on the description, this is a retitled (for some reason) reprint of Summer's 1929 volume, The Vampire in Europe. Montague Summers was one of the earliest scholars to make an in-depth study of vampire folklore, researching hundreds of primary source documents in their original languages. Unlike his predecessors (primarily Dudley Wright--see below--and H.R. Stetson, whose 1899 Folklore article may be read on the Rare Article Archive page), Summer documents his material thoroughly and often quotes large chunks verbatim rather than merely summarizing. His two books (including The Vampire: His Kith and Kin, 1928) are still heavily relied upon by authors of popular compendia of "vampire facts" such as Basil Copper, Anthony Masters, or Gordon Melton. Read the originals!

Softbound Dover Publications (reprint 2001)