Not all vampires are adult men with a white face and a widow’s peak. While Count Alacard made famous Dracula, legend has it that there are many forms of vampires. As the story goes, anyone that is bitten by a vampire becomes a vampire and lives in immortality feasting on the blood of others. And so the cycle goes. But did anyone stop to think that there must be children vampires. In fact, wasn’t there one in the infamous book and film, “Interview With A Vampire” by Anne Rice?

Wouldn’t it be interesting to follow the eternal life of a child vampire? Does he hide it from his parents? Does he hide it from his friends? How does he attend school? And more importantly – does he drink blood from people’s necks to survive? A child vampire is destined to be a child forever and ever. But what if he wanted to live out at least one lifetime as a normal boy before disappearing into obscurity? And what if he didn’t want to hurt people and subject them to the same fate as he himself is suffering? Luckily, there are children’s books that deal with this very subject. A favorite among children, vampires always rank high. But a child vampire ranks off the charts. Children imagine what it would be like to stay up all night long and get to be a kid forever. While it all sounds great, delving into the story children see the downside and learn what it is like for one particular child who is living that life.

Is it really so great to live forever if you must take the life of other’s to do so? And what about all your friends who eventually grow up and leave you behind? These type of stories allow children to delve deep into their minds and explore the good and bad to any situation and to realize that not everyone is the same. They learn that some people may have secrets or crosses to bear in life and that being considerate of other people’s trials and tribulations is important. Books that explore the life of children vampires and other mythical creatures, are more sophisticated than the typical children’s book, yet still suitable and relatable to the child. Parents love the life lessons taught by a child vampire who at first seems like he is living the ultimate fantasy.

The oldest mention of lady vampires can be traced back to the stories that originated in the Far East. In countries such as China, India, and Tibet, people talked about female vampires, but each of the three versions were different from each other. No one actually knows how the concept of a vampiress came into being, or how the image of blood-sucking women was conjured up by the masses. Over the years, these stories travelled along the famous Silk Route and reached Eastern Europe, where they gained firm ground. The people of Eastern Europe not only completely believed these stories about girl vampires and their powers and their ability to suck a human being’s blood, but they soon started their own stories. Most of these stories were rooted in local myths and mysteries, but no one can vouch for their veracity. These are the stories that we hear even today.

In what the West refers to as The Far East, countries such as China, India, and Tibet had their own version of a female vampire. While not much is known about the Chinese and the Tibetan version, in India, the concept of female vampires mainly revolved around Indian mythology and around Goddess Kali in particular. Goddess Kali is a much revered deity in Hinduism. She is the slayer of demons. In Indian mythology, Goddess Kali is portrayed as having fangs, four arms, and a garland of skulls around her neck. According to Hindu scriptures, Goddess Kali along with Goddess Durga killed a demon called Raktabija. Raktabija possessed magical powers that allowed him to resurrect himself from the dead from his own split blood. In order to end the terror reign of Raktabija, it is said that Goddess Kali drank all of his blood so that he could not resurrect himself.

The portrayal of women vampires in Eastern Europe is not intermeshed with religion, as in India. Most of the stories about female vampires have originated from local myths and beliefs. A majority of these stories about girl vampires were circulated by the gypsies who travelled from one place to another. According to one of these stories, vampires originated from Mullo. It is said that when Mullo died, he returned back from his grave to suck the blood of all his relatives who had either caused his death or disrespected his funeral rites. The stories told by the gypsies also often mentioned female vampires. These female vampires had the power to rise from the dead and go back to leading their normal lives as if nothing had happened. The vampire, and especially the female vampire has a held the imagination of readers and movie goers for quite some time.