Amazon.com description: Product Description: The definitive guide to vampires and werewolves in fiction, film, and folklore.

Praise for the previous hardcover edition:
"...a highly recommended purchase." - VOYA

"...fascinating..." - Booklist

Vampires and werewolves are often portrayed as existing alongside humans in modern fiction and film. While some use their beauty and allure to form dramatic relationships with human beings, others are untrustworthy monsters determined to prey on ordinary men and women. These shapeshifters and undead beings fascinate us because they embody the dark side of human nature and reflect some of humanity's most primal fears. All of these strange creatures of the night have their roots in stories that have existed for centuries in folklore and mythology.

The Encyclopedia of Vampires and Werewolves, Second Edition provides more than 500 entries exploring the supernatural aspects of these creatures and their pop culture counterparts. Entries describe supposed true historical accounts, how vampires and werewolves come into existence, beliefs about vampires and werewolves, and real-life creatures and cases that may have inspired their legends. The most popular fictional vampires from a range of media are discussed, along with the people who helped create them.

Topics include:

-Vampire and werewolf legends from many world cultures
-Discussions of vampires and werewolves in comic books, literature, movies, television, and other media
-Overviews of the most popular vampire and werewolf movies and television shows from Dracula and The Wolf Man to True Blood and Twilight
-Discussions of the most influential literature, such as Dracula, Dead Until Dark, Interview with a Vampire, and I Am Legend
-Biographies of key figures in vampire and werewolf literature and lore, including Lord Byron, Montague Summers, Bram Stoker, Richard Matheson, Anne Rice, Charlaine Harris, Elizabeth Miller, Stephenie Meyer, Vlad Tepes, and many others
-Actors who portrayed the most famous movie monsters, from Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. to Christopher Lee and Robert Pattinson
-Real-life vampire and werewolf lifestyle subcultures.

Also included in this invaluable resource are more than 150 full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations, suggestions for further reading, and a bibliography.