Vampire Basics
Are you a Vampire? First, take a fun quiz to determine if you are a vampire. If you are a vampire, you can find out what kind you are! If you are now curious about vampires in general, check out the Vampire Basics section of How Stuff Works to get a vamp preview: http://science.howstuffworks.com/vampire.htm Learn about historic vampires, modern vampires, and more.
Vampire Fiction Books
Maybe you are only interested in vampires because your favorite character in a book you just read happened to be a vampire. Did you know there are a lot of popular fiction books featuring vampires? A few books worth checking out include:
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Bella becomes attracted to someone who is a bit different from herself. Set in Forks, Washington. Check out the trailer for the soon to be released Twilight movie.
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Cirque du Freak Series by Darren Shan
Young Darren is bitten, and he has to learn what it means to be a vampire, and must work to figure out his destiny.
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Thirsty by M.T. Anderson
Christopher is a teenage having to deal with becoming a vampire.
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High School Bites by Liza Conrad
Lucy Hellenberg just wants to be a normal teenager, but has to deal with the fact that she is a decendent of the Lucy from Bram Stoker's Dracula. She has to figure out how to get rid of all these vampires from her life so she can get back to dealing with normal high school problems.
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Blue Bloods Series by Melissa de la Cruz
Schuyler does not want to join the prestigious New York Blood Bank Committee, but when she finally agrees, is soon overwhelmed by the fact that all the members including herself, are actually vampires.
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The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause
Zoe is grieving the fact of her dying mother. When she meets a vampire who seems to understand her feelings, she is drawn into a plot to bring justice to the killer of the vampire's mother.
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Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead
Lissa and Rose are returned to St. Vladimir's Academy where they are forced to practice magic and deal with gossip and pranks.
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Annotated Lists: Kerr-West Regional Library
Kerr-West Regional Library created a list of Vampire Fiction for Young Adults complete with even more descriptions. Check it out at:
http://www.wakegov.com/NR/rdonlyres/48627454-CAA2-43DA-B790-EDC50AB84AEB/0/vampirelist.pdf
Online Reviews:
Not sure which book to start with? Reading reviews can help you narrow down your selections:
The Monster Librarian Presents: Reviews of Vampire Fiction for Young Adults: http://monsterlibrarian.com/vampiresya.htm
Read all about books featuring vampires.
Vampire Wire: http://vampirewire.blogspot.com/2008/04/international-appeal-of-vampire-teens.html
Blog that posts reviews of vampire books, tv shows and movies.
Teen Ink Website: http://www.teenink.com/Poetry/article.php?link=Past/2005/April/18964.xml
A teen review on Dangerous Girls by R.L. Stine. Typing "vampires" in search box on this site will bring up multiple entries and bulletin board entries on the topic written by teens.
Author Websites:
Have a favorite author of vampire fiction? Find out when their next book is coming out and more about the author's life:
Stephenie Meyer: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/
Author of the popular Twilight Series.
Darren Shan: http://www.darrenshan.com/vampires/index.html
Author of Cirque de Freak series.
Bram Stoker: http://www.online-literature.com/stoker/
The author of Dracula.
P.C. Cast: http://www.pccast.net/pages/main.html
Author of the House of Night Series.
Online Databases
Feel like you have read all the vampire fiction books talked about so far? Do you want to find an author just like the one you love? Try searching these databases:
NoveList: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=cpid&custid=s8331846.
You will need your GPL Library Card Number to login or come to the library - all of our computers have instant access! This website provides author read-alikes, book reviews, and lists of award winners.
KDL What's Next: http://ww2.kdl.org/libcat/WhatsNextNEW.asp
Have you read a vampire book and you felt like you were missing something? Many of these are series - they are like tv shows. The same characters are repeated and plot lines continue throughout several books. Find out the order of your favorite series. You can search by the author's last name, series name, book title, or genre.
Historical Vampires
Wonder where all these authors ever came up with the idea of a vampire? There are historical rulers, myths and stories that have been a source of inspiration for all these morbid fantasies we now read about and watch on tv. Learn more:
Websites:
Vlad the Impaler: http://www.vladtheimpaler.com/default.htm
Learn about the first real-life person to be coined a vampire.
Vlad the Impaler: http://www.royalty.nu/Europe/Balkan/Dracula.html
Learn more about Walachia and the story of Vlad the Impaler's reign.
Vlad the Impaler: http://www.castleofspirits.com/vlad.html
Also about Vlad, but this site has several stories or tales featuring Vlad that are fun to read.
Present Day Transylvania, Romania: http://www.mysteriousjourneys.com/en/dracula_initiation_tours/photo_album/
Check out pictures of this spooky place that still celebrates its connection to vampires.
The Blood Countess: http://www.draculascastle.com/html/bathory.html
The Blood Countess is a lesser known historical terrorist, in history, who liked to torture and use victim’s blood in strange ways.
Vampires: Origins of the Myth: http://www.parascope.com/en/articles/vampires01.htm
Vampires in history, international vampires, Dracula and vampire myth defined.
A Ten Step Guide to Vampire Knowledge: http://www.angelfire.com/tn/vampires/
Skip to the bottom of this page for a list of links exploring dictionary of terms, how vampires are made, vampires in modern culture, vampire names, and more.
The Vampire Hunter's Guide: http://silverhand.20m.com/detect.htm
How do you detect a vampire? Find out with this spooky list.
Search Tips
You have looked at everything offered so far, but want to find even more? Let's talk about where to find books and movies at the library.
Go to the Greenwood Public Library Online Catalog
If you know a particular author that you like, but want to know what other books GPL has - type the author's last name in the author box, then hit the red arrow.
If you just want to see everything the library has to offer on vampires, type vampires in the subject browse search box then hit the red arrow.
This brings up the search results screen categorizing the vampire books we have by subjects such as Vampires, Vampires - Fiction, Vampires - Encyclopedias, and many more. Just click on the category that interests you most and the titles will then display and you can select each title to find out the call number and the status of the book (whether it is checked in or if you need to put your name on the request list).
If Greenwood Public Library does not have a book that you want to read, ask a librarian to request it for you. We will either order it or borrow it from another library for you!
When searching online:
First go to a search engine, such as Google
Be specific with your search. Example search terms include:
vampires AND fiction
vampires AND teens
vampires AND historical
vampires AND books
There will be many, many results. Only some will be helpful. If you are looking for book information, it is suggested that you try searching one of the databases above to help narrow your search.
Get Involved
So now that you love vampire fiction, what's next? Share your enthusiasm with others by working through the following fun ideas:
Join a Book Club!
Greenwood Public Library has a teen book club that meets the first Tuesday of every month at 4pm during the school year. Check out http://www.myspace.com/teenscenegpl for more information. This is the perfect opportunity to talk to others about your favorite books and stories.
Manga Club
Meets at Greenwood Public Library every other Tuesday. Have you gotten into Vampire Manga such as Vampire Night or Trinity Blood? Discuss your love with other Manga fans. Also learn Japanese culture by eating fun snacks and taking part in Manga themed crafts. Drawing your own Manga characters and stories is a favorite activity at these meetings as well. For more information, check out: http://www.myspace.com/teenscenegpl
Interact, Create & Publish
Create Your Own Vampire Story or Poem
Do you like the stories, but think you could do better? Take your new found knowledge and run with it. Create your own characters, write a plot and publish your work online. More into poetry? Check out Vampire Poetry: http://www.penddraig.co.uk/vampire/vamppoem.html for historical vampire poems to use as inspiration.
Create a webpage to publish your content.
First, go to gmail.com and create a free acount.
Second go to www.googlepages.com and login.
Fill out the required information.
Select a name for your site that represents your work. Possibly the title of your story or a line from your poem.
Googlepages does not require you to have any html or website creation experience. You will be using a text editor (below) to create titles, subtitles, format font size and color. 
The image button found in the above toolbar is how to add pictures. You may upload pictures or scanned in drawings from your computer.
VERY IMPORTANT: Be sure to cite any sources (websites or books) that you used when getting ideas for your creation.
When you are ready for the world to see your work - click on the Publish button.
As always- if you need assistance, visit Greenwood Public Library and a librarian will be happy to help you.