Parents always dread when their child will ask them the inevitable question: where do vampires come from? A number of people have undertaken to answer that question, and Mark Collins Jenkins attempts it with aplomb. Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend is quite a romp through the fields of the undead. Ranging from the chewing dead through epidemics, Montague Summers, movies, Varney the vampire, the origin of the word “vampire,” where zombies come from, and practices of dealing with corpses, this study may not convince the reader that the mystery has been solved, but it will provide lots of information. I’ve been pondering vampires lately, and this book ties many of these loose threads together well. Jenkins has a talent for beginning a chapter on an apparently unrelated topic and then weaving it into the growing, ever expanding vampire tapestry.
I’ve read, many times, that vampires have ancient origins. That really depends on how you define “vampire.” This book explores those ancient roots, but unflinchingly points out that our modern idea of the walking dead drinking the blood of the living springs from the Balkan peninsula, largely in the eighteenth century. This isn’t a strictly chronological study, and it isn’t limited to Europe and the lore that grew from that region between Asia Minor and Western Europe. That doesn’t stop Jenkins from going back further in history. It was a journey on which I learned much. I also confess that I was nearly grossed out a time or two. The vampire requires a stout constitution to study. Interestingly, it seems that the word “vampire” might’ve derived from a word denoting “heretic.” Religion and horror belong together, as I’ve said many times.
There’s always a danger with wide-ranging studies, since it’s not possible to turn a specialist’s eye toward all the cultures and historical periods under scrutiny. Those who’ve tried it, such as James Frazer (of Golden Bough fame), come to be viewed with suspicion by later specialists. (I discuss this in my little book on The Wicker Man, by the way.) Jenkins does rely on Frazer a time or two. Writing a general history on this subject almost necessitates that, however. Even with the internet and “experts” being those who can gather the largest followings, academia has rightfully demonstrated that to get the real story you need to bury yourself with resources around a very small subject and be willing to live and breathe it for years. Even then you might get it wrong. But I digress. This is a fine study of vampires and their possible origins. It was a learning experience for me and I now have a better idea how to answer that dreaded question.
