Book description
They're lurking under the cover of darkness and between the covers of this book. Here, in all their horror and all their glory, are the great vampires of literature: male and female, invisible and metamorphic, doomed and daring.
Their skin deathly pale, their nails curved like claws, their fangs sharpened…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This is a comprehensive anthology of non-Dracula short stories (although it does include Bram Stoker’s Dracula’s Guest!) covering the whole of the nineteenth century and beyond, including John Polidori’s The Vampyre and Sheridan le Fanu’s influential Carmilla.
It even has an extract from the hugely popular Victorian ‘penny dreadful’ Varney The Vampire, which is so awful that it’s hilarious.
From Richard's list on Dracula and other vampires.
This anthology holds a special place in my heart! Like most anthologies, my enjoyment varies with each story, but I love the variety of works published from the 1800s to the 1980s. In addition, it introduced me to John Polidori, a.k.a the father of vampire fiction, who I incorporated into my series as a family member to one of my characters.
Of particular interest is the story "Bite-Me-Not" or "Fleur de Feu" by Tanith Lee, which is one of those stories that linger like a wistful, haunting dream that begs your return to its waiting arms. I am in awe…
From Rae's list on contemporary paranormal fantasy that span time.
If you love The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories...
The Rosewood Penny
2023 Queer Indie Award Nominee!
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…
Want books like The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 45 books like The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,343
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories, you might also like...
Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman
Kate from Jules et Jim meets I Love Dick.
A young woman filmmaker’s journey of self-discovery, set against a backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman, we follow Ana Fried as she faces the ultimate…
Malcolm Before X
Malcolm Before X is about finding a way to continue moving forward after everything has been taken from you. While in prison, Malcolm Little discovered the power of reading and found a way to transform his character and become a better man. This half-biography focuses on that transformation, especially his…
