Every Tuesday over at the  The Broke and Bookish we all get to look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) examples to demonstrate that particular topic.  The topic this week is :

Halloween related freebie

I did a bit of humming and ahhing with this one because I do love this time of the year and so for me there are lots of topics that could be discussed.  As it happens I’ve settled on books about Vampires!

1. Dracula by Bram Stokes.  Told in an epistolary style format with diary entries and letters.  Wonderful gothic horror – maybe not the earliest vampire story but probably the most well remembered.
2. The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer – see what I did there – I went from one extreme to the other.  Like or loathe it this has to be one of the most popular vampire series ever – it certainly brings a new slant to the whole mythology with sparkly vampires.
3. The Danilov Quintet by Jasper Kent – I have to have this on the list – this series is amazing.  These are some downright nasty vampires and they certainly don’t sparkle – they’re true dirty and smelly – the sun would never touch their skin !  Truly excellent historical horror.  Twelve, Thirteen Years Later, The Third Section, The People’s Will and The Last Rite bring to us a fascinating story of vampires.  Based heavily on historical fact and spanning the period from the Napoleonic wars to the Russian Revolution Kent brings to us the fascinating and fictional account of the voordalak.  A creature of Russian folklore – known to us as a vampire!
4. Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice.  Such a good story – I’ve only read the one in the series but I loved it.  Very evocative writing and Southern Gothic horror.
5. Fevre Dream by George RR Martin.  More Southern horror set on the antebellum Mississippi River.  This is a great read and I really enjoyed reading something by GRRM before he became so well known for Game of Thrones.
6. Salem’s Lot by Stephen King.  You certainly can’t leave this one off the list.  Chilling in the extreme brrrr.
7. I am Legend by Richard Matheson – this book is absolutely iconic.  It’s very dark and moody, definitely not a book filled with joy and hope but absolutely a must read.  The end is amazing (and completely different from the ending in the film I hasten to add).
8. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.  I think this is probably one of those books that could be hit and miss for some.  It’s a very descriptive novel but I just really enjoyed the writing style, the imagery and the places that were visited along the way.
9. The True Blood series by Charlaine Harris – I did enjoy this series.  Lots of supernatural creatures and a main character who can read minds!
10. The Fifth House of the Night by Ben Tripp – this was a fairly recent read that I absolutely loved.  See if this Goodreads snippet tempts you ‘Filled with characters as menacing as they are memorable, this chilling twist on vampire fiction packs a punch in the bestselling tradition of ’Salem’s Lot by Stephen King’
11. I’m cheating and having one extra – simply because I’ve just finished reading this one – review to follow shortly.  Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.  This book was excellent.  Aztec mythology, Mexican setting and vampire realism!

I could quite easily have taken this to 20.  I’ve selected a few of the covers for your delight:

That is all folks – sleep tight and don’t let the vampires bite!