  Horror/Scary
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When Is A Vampire NOT A Vampire?
I took a much needed vacation.
I packed up the family and went to the beach in Seaside, Oregon. Very pretty and all that, but what was on my mind was catching-up on my reading. I normally read several books at once because I’m kind of bi-polar when it comes to reading books. 
Anyway, I broke out with 'Twilight', by Stephanie Myer because my daughters forced it upon me. I don’t want to offend anyone but…*snap-snap*…HATED IT. I also hated the movie I was forced to watch. (You have to understand; I have four teenage daughters and quite often am forced to do a lot of things I don’t wanna do.) My opinion is that Stephanie Myer is not that great of a writer. I have even strayed into her sci-fi story, ‘The Host’, and found it unappealing. Of course, I hated reading J.K. Rowling too, and still the success of these authors actually astounds me. Again, I am sorry if I have offended anyone.
Nevertheless, while reading, I’m thinking, “Since when can Vampires go out in the sun? And, not only doesn’t it dissolve them horribly, but it makes their skin sparkle and shimmer in a rainbow of colors. It was like, “Catch me Lucky Charms! They're Magically Delicious!"
Knowing what I know about Vampires, and having read (several times by the way), the great, Bram Stoker’s, ‘Dracula’, it was ‘I’ who felt literally offended.
So, throwing that book into the trash, I grabbed the next one: ‘Strain’, written by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, (not to be confused with William of the Bull, or the famous Hulk Hogan, the wrestler). Now there was a lot of hype about this book, and usually that sets off my ‘bogus’ alarm, but again, I am willing to give any book a first glance--first chance, and this one was billed as the newest Vampire Extravaganza.
Again, I don’t want to offend anyone, but…*snap-snap*…HATED IT.
Honestly, I did enjoy it a bit, but not as much as I thought I would. It does have some good horror elements in it, but I kept asking myself, “When is a Vampire NOT a Vampire?”
In this book, Vampires are a biological epidemic, a plague, if you will, an infection—an outbreak of disease, and none of the ordinary ‘evils’ of Vampirism apply. Sure, sunlight does them in, but the Almighty Cross, the Bible, or the splashing of Holy Water upon them has no affect at all and is quickly written off as superstitious prattle. Prattle?
But what really upset me about the whole thing was the fact that the Vampires have no teeth. Yep, that's right. Instead of fangs, an alien-type ‘stinger’ shoots out of their mouth like some Budweiser frog catching a ride on a beer truck, and latches onto the victims throat and sucks their blood while infecting them with the ‘so-called’, Vampire Virus. Just think of it…Vampires with no FANGS! It's unheard of! 
Don’t get me wrong, ‘Strain’ is a good read, although it seems character development is left out for quick little peeks at the bits of horror to come. I also understand that it is hard to write-in every character of New York City, but there’s a lesson that could have been learned from Stephan King’s, ‘The Stand’, where he fully fleshes-out numerous characters the reader either learns to hate or to love. When the horrors of ‘Strain’ begin to go down, I have no feelings at all for the characters...hell, I hardly even know them. It was like reading a newspaper story about people on the other side of the world I don’t know and could care less about.
The idea here is good, but really, when is a Vampire not a Vampire?
It’s when they appear in one of these stories.
I’m positive Bram Stoker is turning over in his grave.
Until next time,
billwilcox
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Vampire? I'll Show You A Vampire!
Excerpt: "Walk with me. We need to have a little talk about your habits. You see, I've been hearing rumors about this vampire that is well, for lack of a better word, disinfecting his victims." He adjusted his shirtsleeves as he spoke. He wore cuff links, gold ones, highly polished. His shoes clicked as they walked past the storefronts. "You see, I cannot have this sort of behavior among my people. It's just ridiculous."
"Ridiculous! Do you know what kind of germs live on the human skin? It's unbelievable," said Mathis who began to rub his hands in a washing motion. "You cannot even begin to imagine the bacteria that thrive..."
Killian interrupted him, "You're dead. It doesn't matter."
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Excerpt: When nothing happened, the fade gave an irritated sigh and crouched beside the grave. He thrust his hand deep into the soil, and then retrieved it with a girl's transparent, struggling wrist in tow. "Stand up," the ancient ordered, setting her down roughly on the soggy earth. Her feet, not maintaining the solidity of the ancient fade, melted into the ground. Holding her there, the ancient motioned at Joseph and said with a bitter smile, "This nice vampire has some questions he'd like to ask you."
It took the dead girl several moments to tear her horror-stricken eyes from the ancient. Then, upon seeing Joseph--unnaturally tall, milk-white skin, shrouded in heavy black silk, yellow-green eyes that glowed in the moonlight--the girl's eyes went wide and she gagged and garbled, obviously trying to scream. The ancient held her steady, completely unfazed by her renewed struggles, which were now to get away from Joseph, rather than to get back into the ground.
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Excerpt: The wan glow of twilight came and went, tumbling the old arches into varying degrees of shadow, and the sky into inky velvets. No one came. He closed the heavy door, but remained in his vestments, not ready to cast them off, in the hope someone would come. The votive lights in the Lady Chapel shone out and he knelt and prayed. He prayed for the congregation to believe in him, for the souls of those tortured by fear to be eased, for the parish, for himself and all for God. He thought he might cry.
The row of blue votive flames gutted in unison, and sprang back up like yellow sentinels. Father John stirred from his melancholy reveries, in the happy realization someone came to pray with him. He turned and smiled; the door was opening, but his faith and hope were soon lost, as instead of a clutch of villagers, the open door revealed the thick emptiness of the void beyond.
"Is anybody there?" he called.
Excerpt: He did not remember much of that time; he floated high on the killing and higher on stolen life. They hid in the darkest depths of the cellar, digging themselves into the earth to keep out of the killing sun. One major advantage of the new gift was the loss of breath. It allowed them to hide right under the hunters noses. On his first true night as a walking nightmare, he received a shocking insight of things to come. In the depths of the forest, the murderous group walked through, Marcus saw Lucia skipping through the tree-line; three to four trees in, just out of the shadows. Her white nightgown was covered in brown patches, where her blood had dried. Her dark blue eyes seemed to melt into her pale blue face, every time she glanced over. Marcus halted and a few short seconds later so did the group.
Excerpt: “Relax, Daniel,” he said, smiling. “I am not going to bring you death, but life. It is time for the initiation. The final step on your path to the New Way.”
“Initiation?” he asked. “What do you mean?”
“I am but the Cup of New Life,” he solemnly spoke. “The oasis in the desert, springing forth in a barren region. Come to me, and drink from the Cup.”
Daniel approached, mesmerized by the words of The Shepherd.
“Drink of my blood,” he said, as he bit into his own wrist, “and be reborn.”
The blood oozed out of the wound, black and putrid smelling.
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Excerpt: A contest for people who like to write about vampires.
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The Blood of a Newsletter...Feedback!
weekendnovel
Submitted Comment:
W.D. Wilcox© ¿ Φ,
I enjoyed your column on recycling old, forgotten relics that we call writing. As a columnist myself the prospect of going back into my database and using an idea for a column I had perhaps five years ago and recycling it, updating it and making it new is an old standby I often fall back on especially when writer's block sets in.
I am an avid reader as well as a writer and I did have one question I have never had fully answered. What is the difference between Horror, Mystery and a supernatural suspense thriller? Great job. Keep up the good work.
-A Weekend Novelist
They're just names--labels. To me, Dean Koontz is the master of all genres, combining Horror, Suspense, and Mystery into thrilling stories that glue you to the page.
si-cotik 
Submitted Comment:
I believe that your "Frankenstein Society" story has great potential. Reminds me of times when I looked at some of the stories I abandoned and wondered why they sounded so nice. Basically, you have an updated version of a classic story and new ideas are always a good thing. Nice beginnings.
Thank you, Nasira. I will attempt to finish it.
drifter46
Submitted Comment:
And I thought I was the only one keeping bits and pieces of story lines started then set aside. I do that all the time or I'll see something that flashes in my mind for a story idea, jot it down in a note pad or on the computer then revisit it as the muse lurks over my shoulder. I'm amazed how often she does that. Another funny thing about those bits and pieces is I well very often recall exactly what I was thinking when I wrote them.
It's true. Sometimes we are our own best muse.
StaiNed-House Targaryen 
Submitted Comment:
OH, I'm  ing! Thanks Bill for including my story, my first ever I ever wrote. How'd ya even find it?
Great newsletter~
Muhahahahahaha...we ever have our ever-ways, forever.
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Horror/Scary: July 01, 2009 Issue [#3134]
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