Guest Bloggers Wanted!

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Classism in Vampire and Zombie Literature by Guest Blogger Damon Sutton

One thing to note about horror is that horror is almost always about one thing, anxiety. The Big Bad Wolf in grandma’s clothes? That’s the anxiety that the family members closest to you actually want to do you harm. The Headless Horseman who chases Ichabod Crane over every hill and valley? That’s the anxiety of time coming for you to take everything away from you and your utter powerlessness to stop it. This is why different cultures have such different flavors in their horror, because different cultures have different fundamental anxieties. Different cultures think about different things and as such they fear different things.

So, what anxieties are reflected in the classic horror mainstays of vampires and zombies?

For the purposes of this discussion, I’ll limit myself to the classic stories involving these scary elements. Once a classic story has taken root, other writers rewrite, reboot, deconstruct, and reconstruct creating countless cases of examples that prove the rule, so to keep things focused I’ll focus on the classic stories.

Which goes back to the mainstays discussed in this blog post, Vampires and Zombies. Vampires are not Zombies, but the two are actually very fascinating reflections of class anxiety.

The first thing to note about vampires is their aristocratic default. As much as later writers have tried to diffuse this, they have only been partially successful. The famous Dracula was an aristocrat and almost every other vampire story embraces this either literally, financially, or metaphorically. Vampires are defined by being in an elite, usually a financial elite, hidden among humans and feeding among them. Vampires are the fear the lower class of the upper class. Aristocratic, seductive, yet ultimately parasitic.They're in charge, people tell us it's because they're better than us... but that's so obviously untrue it's more likely to be dark forces and dark hungers... That "I'm losing my loved one to The vampires" that is endemic in vampire fiction is the anxiety of the lower classes that if they have children who are intelligent, and productive, that the upper class will 'seduce' them and they'll lose their children to it. It's working 3 jobs to send your daughter to Harvard... where she marries a rich boy and raises your grandkids in The Hamptons, having taken all your help but leaving you totally behind. One of my favorite elements is the horror of realization. The sexual nature of vampires underlies this, the rich always did desire the young and attractive members of the poor.

There is another layer here. Did the peasants under Dracula’s rule know he was a vampire? Of course they did, but they willfully pretended otherwise. This is a layer of this terror, that even putting words to it puts you in danger, an anxiety I think known all too well given current events among powerless actors and actresses and predatory Hollywood producers. 

Zombies are more subtle in their class consciousness, but equally as based in such anxiety. For starters, Zombies are almost never hidden, in fact they are defined in contrast by being everywhere and unable to avoid. Instead of intelligent and calculating, Zombies are crude and bestial. Zombies are the converse anxiety, the fear the upper class has of the lower. "They're everywhere, and they hunger!" is how the rich see the poor. Stupid, hungry, yet inexplicably everywhere 'why haven't they all died yet!?'. Even the bizarre 'how can our heroes end up so under threat by such basic beasts!?' suspension of disbelief is part of the genre. Zombies are without even the facade of legitimacy, little more than hungering animals, and yet contagious, reflecting how more often than many are comfortable with, upper class people get 'close' to the lower class and gain sympathy with them... oftentimes internalizing sympathy and more 'rough' cultural ideas, it's your daughter having a liking of rough men and falling into a poor and rough crowd, and now you can't invite her rough family over. Of course the rich talk endlessly about what to do with the poor, but despite gate guarded communities, armed guards, and private schools for some reason they can’t be avoided. I would argue this is an innate problem, for even the wealthiest financier of a Golf Club will need poor people to park the cars and he’ll be aware somewhere in the back of his head that his wealth would be scant protection if his valet simply decided to bean him with a golf club.

In both Vampires and Zombies is the anxiety that you will lose your identity to the other, and become a threat to those you love, so keep away, don't try to talk to them (they'll either beguile you or they'll just be too hungry to make any discussion fruitful) the only hope to save yourself is staying separate, stay out of biting distance. The anxieties monsterize the ‘other’, or simply convey that the difference in perspective just may make the other dangerous to talk to. Contagion is always a key marker in such anxieties. Vampires are contagious, as are Zombies. Werewolves are a similar anxiety, but instead of upper and lower class, Werewolves are the anxiety of the urban for the rural.

Keep these things in mind, in particularly as one watches modern and attempted explorations/deconstructions of the mythos. I’ve had fun with iZombie but have been struck as the more sophisticated it makes the Zombie genre, the more vampiric it becomes with factions, hiding in plain sight, and the seeking of power among the prey as a tool of self preservation. Conversely, the bestial and ubiquitous vampires of I am Legend are nothing more than fast moving zombies.

Modern interpretations are settling on what I would call the liberal supernatural horror hypothesis. Whether it’s The Walking Dead or True Blood, modern incarnations of this concept have an underlying theme that the real problem is people rather than the supernatural. You can now have good vampires (Twilight), good zombies (Warm Bodies), and the real threats are the human beings around which these things coalesce. Modern horror has a theme of “Undeads aren’t so bad once you get to know them, at least no better or worse than normal people and all you need to do is properly understand them.”. It’s there, it’s omnipresent, it makes for interesting TV… I also think it’s sadly and drastically incorrect.

Can't get enough zombies and vampires! Hungry for more? Start with this meaty reading list of zombie literature. If those selections don't wet your appetite, stay tuned for my vampire reading list. I'm sure there will be something you can sink your teeth into!

Tell us what you think. Do you agree with Damon's classism theory or do you have a theory of your own you'd like to share?

Win A Copy of Caytlyn Brooke's YA Dark Fantasy: Dark Flowers

Hello! Thanks for having me! I’m Caytlyn Brooke, author of the award-winning YA dark fantasy/horror novel Dark Flowers.

Dark Flowers (published by BHC Press) is about two friends desperate to escape St. Agatha’s orphanage. When the timing is right, they flee and stumble into a beautiful fairy realm while running through the Louisiana swamps. The realm is magical and the silver fairies are bewitching, but

underneath the beauty lies sinister secrets that are impossible to outrun.

The first question everyone asks me is how did I come up with this idea? What inspired me? In truth, it was my younger sister. When we were little, we were obsessed with fairies and fantasized about finding them in our backyard. We built houses and made gifts, leaving them around the base of trees and amidst flower patches. We watched countless movies and read dozens of books revolving around the tiny enchanting creatures and that wonder and curiosity never left me. Fantasy is my favorite genre to both read and write because you can do whatever you like, let your imagination run wild with very little boundaries.

One day when my sister was visiting me a few years ago, we were outside and I noticed yellow pollen covering my arms and fingertips. I looked down and rubbed the soft powder between my fingers and said,” Wouldn’t it be cool if the pollen just sunk into my skin, like a drug?” Inspiration flashed and both of our jaws dropped. Immediately we ran inside and I grabbed my notebook (because I’m super old school and write down every single story idea I have in a notebook along with the date.) I have at least five floating around my house and every so often I stumble upon them and thumb through, flinching at some ideas and marveling at others.

We sat down at the dining room table and started mapping out a plot. The title instantly leapt to my mind but I needed strong names for my protagonists. I love Eliza because it’s not very common and my sister volunteered Millie. It sounded so sweet and innocent that the story just unraveled from the tip of my pencil in minutes. But unlike all the movies and media surrounding fairies, I wanted to do something different, something haunting and something totally unexpected that flipped the image of a beautiful, petal-wearing fairy on its head. 

I made my fairies bleached silver and naked, wearing nothing but billowing black shadows. Rather than tiny dew drops coating their delicate wings, I gave my fairies thick, knotted spider-webbed wings and needle sharp fangs that lust for blood. The fairies are beautiful, yet dangerous and the whole time Eliza is near them she can’t shake the eerie feeling that something isn’t right. I wanted to take something sweet and wondrous and splash a little poison onto the perfect image of a woodland fairy.

For this reason, I also chose Louisiana for the setting. I’ve never been to that part of the country, but no place seemed more fitting. The thick, humid air, the algae-covered swamps, and the chilling moss-covered bald cypress trees created the perfect image in my mind. I notice lots of writers set their novels close to where they themselves live or are familiar with in order to draw on famous landmarks. I’m the opposite. All of my novels are set in towns and cities that I have never been to. I Google lots of images to get an idea of the weather patterns, but then I let my mind do the rest and I feel like I have so much more freedom.

And it worked! I’ve had so many readers come up to me, angry almost and say, “I used to love fairies! Now they’ll never be the same!” I can’t smile any wider when I hear comments like this because that was my goal! I wanted to take a century-old idea and craft it into a novel with such a startling twist, that readers would be left gasping. In this day and age it’s really hard to create a new, original idea, just look at how many times they’ve remade the Batman movies. Yet my idea, actually angers and shocks people, because for most of them, after they read about my fairies ripping and tearing flesh to reach the warm blood inside…that image will never fully dissipate when Tinkerbell flits across their screen.

When my friends and co-workers read Dark Flowers it was so amusing to watch them come in and make eye contact with me. My good friend Kathy even said, “Who are you!” If you look at me, talk to me, there’s no way I could have written a horror novel. I’ve never been considered emo or goth, I have to hide behind a pillow during scary movies, and I sound like Minnie Mouse over the phone. But I have a wild imagination and love exploring the darker side. In fact, many of my ideas have come from my dreams. I’m working on one about witches and I came up with the idea because I dreamed about a girl in a flooded bathroom, drowning. In my dream, I watched her die and as soon as I woke up, I wrote it down in my notebook and cranked out four chapters.

All of my novels have a gritty, uncomfortable edge to them and I remember telling my sister that I wanted Dark Flowers to be creepy, terrifying. I want my story to give readers nightmares. Hopefully

that doesn’t make me sound too weird, but that’s when you know it’s a great book, because even after you put it down, the words and the characters stay with you. My friend Sean was one of my first readers and he told me he couldn’t sleep. All he could picture was Eliza at the end, staring, watching.

I love surprising people and Dark Flowers is a perfect way to give them a glimpse to the darkness lurking beneath my smile and polka dots. Thank you so much! Sweet dreams!

Win a copy of Dark Flowers. Visit the BHC Press website and fill out the contest form. The contest is running through next Thursday, October 26, 2017. Good luck!

PRAISE FOR DARK FLOWERS:

Read what reviewers are saying about Caytlyn Brooke’s multi-award- winning debut YA horror novel Dark Flowers.

…a work of paranormal fiction so utterly haunting and undeniably eerie it’s sure to tingle your spine.

~ Literary Classics

…a haunting story that the reader will not soon forget.

~ InD’Tale Magazine

a highly immersive read.

~Readers’ Favorite

ABOUT DARK FLOWERS:

Life at St. Agatha's School for Girls is anything but a fairytale. With ratty blankets and a torturous device called the box, it's not hard to understand Eliza's desperation to escape. When the timing is right, Eliza manages to run away with her best friend Millie, heading through the Louisiana swamps to the town on the other side. But the swamps may be even more dangerous than the orphanage.

Silver and black fairies invite the girls to experience a world where they can have it all, but Eliza doesn't trust the sparkling beauty. When Millie suddenly becomes violent and attacks another girl, Eliza knows something awful is about to happen. She will do anything to protect Millie but once Eliza remembers her own terrible secret, it is impossible to forget. The fairies' songs call to Eliza and it's getting harder and harder to pretend it's all in her head.

AVAILABLE FORMATS:

Available in hardcover, trade softcover, and ebook. Coming soon to audio! Visit the publisher’s website for more information and purchasing options.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Caytlyn lives in Elmira, NY with her husband Daniel, her son, Jack, and her orange tabby cat, Ana who is only slightly overweight. She can quote any Disney movie and believes that everyone should wear polka dots.

52 Weeks of Zombies: A Book List

A year of zombies just fell into your lap! It's zombie-a-go-go! Fifty-two weeks and fifty-two books to satisfy your craving for the infected, rotters, meat bags, the walking dead - any term you use, I've got 'em!

Books are listed in no particular order. Young adult fiction is included in the list. There are overwhelming amounts of great zombie reads. Obviously, I can't include everything. If you don't see a must-read book on my list, please share it with me and the community below in a comment. Thank you and happy reading!

1. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks: The recorded history of the survivors of the zombie epidemic.
2. Feed: Newsflesh #1 by Mira Grant: In 2014, cancer is cured, but a new disease emerges and the infected are walking the earth.
3. Rot and Ruin #1 by Jonathan Maberry: Follow Benny, a teenager learning to survive in a zombie apocalypse.
   
4. Warm Bodies #1 by Isaac Marion: R is a zombie with a problem. Zombies aren't supposed to fall in love, but he can't help being attracted to Julie.
5. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead by Max Brooks
6. Cell by Stephen King: There's a reason to hate technology and your cell phone.
   
7. The Walking Dead: Book One by Robert Kirkman: Unless, you've been living under a rock, you know about the cult classic show. ;)
   
8. The Rising #1 by Brian Keene: The dead are coming back from the grave and they're intelligent. Jim is on a cross-country mission to rescue his son. Will he make it?
9. Patient Zero: Joe Ledger #1 by Jonathan Maberry: A Baltimore detective leads a secret government task force to stop a terrorist group from using a biological weapon that turns the living into zombies.
10. My Life as a White Trash Zombie: White Trash Zombie #1 by Diana Rowland
11. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies #1 by Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen: A classic with an undead twist!
12. Dead of Night #1 by Jonathan Maberry: What happens when you inject a serial killer with an experimental drug? Find out now!
13. Monster Island #1 by David Wellington: Gary, one of the undead, wakes up intelligent in a world of hungry zombies. Follow his story and a group of school girls turned soldiers.
14. Breathers: A Zombie's Lament by S.G. Browne: Great Rom-Com featuring a zombie support group. (I laughed out when I read this one.)
15. Alice in Zombieland: The White Rabbit Chronicles #1 by Gena Showalter
16. The Girl with All the Gifts #1 by M.R. Carey: Melanie is a very special girl.
17. Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson
    
18. Z-Boat by Suzanne Robb: There's nobody to rescue aboard The Peacemaker, but there is something waiting for the crew of The Betty Loo submarine.
19. Bunnypocalypse #1: Dead Reckoning by Cain S. Latrani: Bunny Beckman, a stripper, is now living during the apocalypse of the undead.
20. The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology by Christopher Golden
21. Dying Days by Armand Rosamilia: Darlene Bobich is fighting zombies in sunny Florida.
22. Dead Shambles by Chris Raven: A play in which seven survivors seek protection in their local police station.
23. Love & the Zombie Apocalypse: Zombie Apocalypse #1 by Chelsea Luna: Can Rachel and Cage, two teenagers, survive the trip to Ann Arbor Michigan?
24. Days with the Undead: Book One by Julianne Snow: Five people try to survive the undead.
25. Wither: The Chemical Garden #1 by Lauren DeStefano: Sixteen year old Rhine has only four years to live. Her father is looking for an antidote. What happens to the corpses in the basement?
26. Dying to Live #1 by Kim Paffenroth: Jonah Caine is the lone survivor of the apocalypse.
27. History is Dead by Kim Paffenroth: An anthology. The living dead have always walked among us. Follow them throughout different periods of history.
28. Ravage by Iain Rob Wright: Follow poor Nick as he tries to survive the zombie apocalypse at an amusement park. He's just a regular dude having a really bad day.
29. Hollowland: The Hollows #1 by Amanda Hocking: Nineteen year old Remy is crossing the country and no zombie will stand in her way.
30. Enclave: Razorland #1 by Ann Aguirre: Deuce and Fade are exiled from the protection of the underground in New York City during the zombie apocalypse. Will the two teens survive?
31. A Quick Bite of Flesh by Robert Helmbrecht: A zombie flash fiction collection. Perfect for those times when you want a bite to eat, but are in a rush. Hehehehe.
32. Ashes Trilogy Book #1 by Ilsa J. Bick: Who is left standing after an electromagnetic pulse takes out all of our technology and how will they survive during a zombie apocalypse?
33. Married with Zombies: Living With the Dead #1 by Jesse Petersen: A couple in counseling and on the verge of divorce must survive the zombie apocalypse.
34. Red Hill #1 by Jamie McGuire: Will they survive the zombie apocalypse at Red Hill Ranch?
35. Love and Decay #1 by Rachel Higginson: Zombies can ruin a teenage girl's happily ever after!
36. The Forest of Hands and Teeth #1 by Carrie Ryan: Mary must face the truth about The Forest of the Hands and Teeth and choose between her village or her own future.
37. Strange Angels #1 by Lili St. Crow: Dru must learn to live in the zombie apocalypse without her dad. Will she learn how to use her special gifts?
38. Soulless by Christopher Golden: A mass seance is being broadcast in Times Square. What happens next?
39. Zombie Blondes by Brian James: High school was never scarier.
40. Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez: Zombies might be dining there. You never know. Undead cattle? Are those a real worry? Read to find out.
41. Day By Day: Armageddon #1 by J.L. Bourne: One man's personal journal of the zombie apocalypse.
42. The Enemy #1 by Charlie Higson: Teens in London fight their way through the zombie apocalypse from a supermarket to Buckingham Palace. Will they make it? Will they be safe?
43. Dead Sea by Brian Keene: Will the survivors be able to escape from the old ship they've taken refuge in or will the zombies win?
44. Living Dead #1 by John Joseph Adams: A zombie shorts anthology.
45. Zombies Vs. Unicorns by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier: Which do you think is better? Zombies or unicorns? An anthology.
46. Generation Dead #1 by Daniel Waters: The teenagers aren't staying dead!
47. This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers: Six students must survive the zombie apocalypse.
48. The Remaining #1 by D.J. Molles: The Captain waits in his bunker. He'll open the steel door soon. What will he find?
49. Sabriel: Abhorsen #1 by Garth Nix: Sabriel must enter the Old Kingdom to search for her father, Abhorsen. Sometimes the line between the living and the dead isn't always clear. Will she survive and find her father?
50. Working Stiff: Revivalist #1 by Rachel Caine: Bryn Davis discovers a drug that resurrects the dead while working at the mortuary. Now she's in a race to take down the pharmaceutical company that owns the drug patent before she becomes a zombie herself!
    
51. Dead in the West by Joe R. Lansdale: An Indian medicine man has put a curse on a Mud Creek, Texas and the preacher is the only one that can save them from turning into the undead!
52. Book of the Dead by John Skipp and Craig Spector: An anthology of shorts. What really happened on that first Night of the Living Dead in George Romero's cult classic?

Ultimate Halloween Giveaways List 2017

I've done all the hunting for you! This is the ultimate list of Halloween book and swag giveaways by bloggers, writer associations, publishers, and individual authors. If your contest is not listed and you'd like to have me add it to this post, please leave me a comment with the relevant information. I'll gladly add you to the bunch. Thank you and good luck!

This list is arranged by date of contest. If no date is specified, participants may enter daily.

• Book Giveaway for Bea's Halloween on Goodreads: Enter to win a signed copy October 9 - October 20, 2017.
• Slingwords Rafflecopter Halloween Giveaway: October 9, 2017 - October 30, 2017. Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift cards, swag, Ebooks, and print books by multiple authors.
• Bandar Blog Halloween Bonanza: Enter to win a 3 month subscription to The Nocturnal Reader's Box. Contest is open to international participants.
• BHC Press: Enter to win a signed copy or an Ebook of No Room In Hell by William Schlichter
• Penguin Books: Enter to win classic horror books for Halloween.
• Bewitching Book Tours Haunted Halloween Spooktacular: October 9 - October 31, 2017. Enter to win swag, prize packs, Amazon gift cards, and books from multiple authors, plus a $50 Powell's City of Books gift card.
• Horror Writers Association Halloween Haunts 2017: October 9, 2017 - October 31, 2017. Multiple authors are participating.
• Mom's Choice Awards: Enter to win a copy of the Halloween Holly Book and a candy bowl October 9 - October 20, 2017.
• Halloweenpalooza: October 12-26 with special guest author, Joe Hart - Each morning we'll post an author giveaway and either a blog post, an original short story or an interview. Each night we'll draw the name(s) of the lucky winner(s).
• Freebie Mom Halloween Books Sweepstakes: Must be 18 or older to win. Three winners will receive copies of  10 children's books. Contest deadline is October 15, 2017 at 12am.
• Brandy Nicole's Books Reader Appreciation Giveaway
• Kathi Daley Books Halloween Spectacular: Daily contests on Facebook.
• Spooktacular Authors Halloween Giveaways: 100 prizes and books given by 52 authors. Grand prize $150 Paypal cash. 
• Halloween Month of Treats Giveaway: Daily contests to win Ebooks and chocolate.
• BookSweeps Dark and Supernatural Thrillers List Building Giveaway: Monday, October 23 - Monday, October 30, 2017. Grand prize winner will win an e-reader and books. Runner up will win books.
• October New Release Giveaway Hop by It Starts At Midnight: Enter to win copies of new releases.
• BookSweeps Paranormal and Sci-Fi Romance List Building Giveaway: Monday, October 23 - Monday, October 30, 2017. Grand prize winner receives an e-reader and books. Runner up will win books.
• Books and Treats: Parker Sinclair's Halloween Party: Thursday, October 26, 2017 9am-9pm. Win swag, books, and gift cards.