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.

Folklore includes a traditional trickster figure, the subject of many stories in a cycle. Trickster tales are in the animal tales genre, with the trickster himself — he seems always to be male — identified with a particular animal. These include the fox in Japan, mouse deer in Southeast Asia, the coyote and the spider among the Native Americans, the tortoise and spider in West Africa, and the mantis in Southern Africa.

Tricksters are usually small in size next to the large, strong animals that appear in the same folktales. Tricksters survive by their wits, but they do more than just survive. They constantly play tricks on the animals around them, outwitting and mistreating their powerful neighbours even when these larger animals haven’t done anything to deserve it. Occasionally he overreaches himself and finds that he’s been too clever for his own good. It’s the Trickster who points out the flaws in our carefully managed societies. He rebels against authority, pokes fun at the overly serious, creates complex schemes and generally plays with the Laws of the Universe. He constantly questions the rules, and causes us to question these same rules. The Trickster appears when a way of thinking becomes outmoded, when old ways need to be changed.

The Trickster is a creator, a joker, a truth teller, a story teller, a transformer. We are most accessible to the gifts of the Trickster when we ourselves are at, or near, boundaries – when we are experiencing transition states. As an archetype, the Trickster, the boundary dweller, finds expression through human imagination and experience. Trickster tales are great favourites in many cultures. They represent the underdog who uses skill and cunning to outwit a superior. West African trickster animals have a significant presence in the New World, when they travelled as part of the folklore of enslaved Africans. The rabbit is best known as Br’er Rabbit in the folktales documented by Joel Chandler Harris in the USA. We also find him in his modern avatar, Bugs Bunny !

The spider is best known as Anansi, and you find him throughout the former English and French colonies of the West Indies. The role of the slave trickster tales was an important one giving a sense of pride and hope for the future. They showed that the weak could conquer the strong. The tales were devices that taught helplessness can triumph over virtue and mischievousness is better than malice. For the slaves, trickster folklore was also a weapon by which they were able to take subtle revenge on their masters.