Vampire Stories » (Original)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was both a doctor and a believer in spirits, which may partly explain why his Sherlock Holmes is one of literature's most beloved detectives: Holmes always approaches his cases with the gentility and logic of a scientist, but the stories are suffused with an aura of the supernatural. Narrated by devoted assistant Dr. John H. Watson, Holmes's adventures were so addictive that fans protested the master deducer's "death" in 1893 and Doyle had to resurrect him.

The first collection of vampire stories from the creator of Sherlock Holmes!

Publishers Weekly

Editor Robert Eighteen-Bisang compiles a slim collection of Conan Doyle's supernatural tales, but fails to make the case that they are all really vampire stories. “The Ring of Thoth,” which features a mummy, is a particularly poor fit. While the Sherlock Holmes classic “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire” is an obvious candidate for inclusion, the two other Holmes stories, “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client” and “The Adventure of the Three Gables,” are a stretch. Suspicions that the editor's reach exceeded his grasp are bolstered by the inclusion of an original pastiche by Bill Crider, introducing both Bram Stoker and Abraham Van Helsing to Baker Street, in a volume ostensibly featuring only Doyle's own, superior short fiction. Only completists are likely to add this to their collections. (Oct.)