Book Blogger Fair Guest: Noree Cosper

Posted: 7.22.2013 by Cole Knightly Labels: ,
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History of Vampire Hunters

We all know of Van Helsing and his cadre of vampire hunters. I loved them so much that I’ve created Van Helsing’s descendants in A Prescription for Delirium. Buffy was “the chosen girl in all the world to fight the vampires.” The Winchester brothers didn’t do a bad job when they faced off with the leeches as well. But these came from the myths and beliefs of the existence of vampires. Where people believed, there were hunters.

So several cultures, especially those in the Balkans had specialized vampire hunters for destroying the hellish creatures.  The most famous were dhampirs, the sons of vampires and usually gypsies. If you like anime, think Vampire Hunter D, or if you like video games, think the Castlevania series. The dhampir was believed to have special powers in detecting and destroying vampires.

Usually a dhampir would start out in a village claiming he could smell something foul. He would attempt to locate the invisible vampire, perhaps by using the sleeve of his shirt as a telescope. Once he found the vampire her would engage and dramtic hand-to-hand fight or shoot it. When it was killed it usually smelled worse and sometimes there was a bloodstain. Yes, this sounds a bit spoony. (Oh, spoony means suspicious.)

The vampirdzhija or djadadjii  of Bulgaria operated on a more traditional fashion. They would locate the grave that held the vampire’s body by using an icon or holy picture. Then they would impale the body or burn the body.

Now, Eastern Europe wasn’t the only region to be overtaken by the vampire craze. In the late 1800’s vampire kits were sold to superstitious travelers for their safety as they traveled through Europe. They contained bibles, crosses, stakes, silver bullets, and glass vials that contained concoctions that supposedly warded off vampires. One such was used in 1890, by a man named Andrew A. Kaufman. He used his kit to kill a vampire that had slain the woman he was betrothed to. He then wrote her mother, telling her he had vanquished the creature.

This wasn’t just at the beginning of the century. The Highgate vampire incident happened in London between 1967 and 1983. Sightings of a phantomlike entity were reported in the Cemetery of St. James in the Highgate area of London. This culminated with a girl claiming to be attacked in her room. These sightings caught the attention of Sean Manchester of the Vampire Research Society. Manchester claimed to come across a vampire who he sealed away. He continued his investigation for years until encountered the same vampire again. This time he performed an exorcism and staked the body. He then burned the remains, a slimy, foul substance, along with the coffin.

Know that even if the vampires have hidden in fiction, a few still know they are real. They are out there protecting you so you sleep at night.


A Prescription for Delirium 

Ninety years ago, Gabriella di Luca promised to protect the family of her dying lover. She failed to keep that promise.  She was too far away to stop the devil that murdered the eldest Van Helsing son. Years later, Gabby learns the devil has resurfaced. She arrives in Hampton, TX, determined to stop the devil before it can lay a bloody hand on the remaining three brothers.

However, madness is spreading through Hampton. She suspects the devil is using this madness to test a drug which has a side effect of demonic possession.  Gabby rushes to end the source of the madness only to fall victim to it. For a woman cursed with eternal life, dying is no threat. However, Gabby must stop the devil's plot or risk losing her most precious possession: her mind.


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About Noree Cosper

Noree Cosper loves writing about magic in the modern world. While growing up in Texas she constantly searched for mystical elements in the mundane. She buried her nose in both fiction and books about Wicca, Religion, and Mythology. Everyday became an adventure as she joined a group of role-players, acting out her fantasies of vampires, demons, and monsters living in the world.

She embraced her nerdom wholeheartedly.

Noree grew, but never left her love for fantasy and horror. Her dreams pushed her and her hand itched to write the visions she saw. So, with her fingers on the keys, she did what her heart had been telling her to do since childhood. She wrote.


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1 comments:

  1. Thanks for hosting me Cole!