Hollywood Gothique

The first ever Vampire-Con ran extremely well yesterday. The old Henry Fonda Theatre – now called “The Music Box” – is a fantastic venue; there were some great guests, enthusiastic fans, and lots of undead merchandise (including Vampire wine and some spooky Schecter guitars). I moderated the first panel, “Why We Love Vampires: A Brief History of the Undead,” which features film historian Angela Aleiss, Dark Delicacies book store owner Del Howison, editor Leslie S. Klinger (The New Annotated Dracula), author J. Gordon Melton (The Vampire Book), author David S. Skal (V is for Vampire), and co-authors Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt (Dracula: The Undead, an authorized sequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula).

We videotaped the panel discussion. Unfortunately, the camera is rather far back from the speakers, making it difficult to see their faces, but you can hear their answers as they try to explain the eternal appeal of the undead…