Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies: Compendium Monstrum is a steal at $9.95

Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies: Compendium Monstrum is one of those books that once you get it, you don’t know how you lived without it. I was fortunate enough to receive a review copy this weekend from Peter Pauper Press.

The book is a digest of centuries of wisdom passed down about vampires, werewolves and zombies. I’m astonished with how much information is packed into such a small volume. About six inches long and four inches wide it’s the perfect size to tuck into your vampire killing kit or carry-on.

While it’s by no means an exhaustive manual, it offers the type of information you might need to access quickly and it presents it in an organized and aesthetically pleasing fashion.  Along with map inserts depicting where varieties of each monster are typically located, the book explains how to identify and destroy these dangerous adversaries. Whether you need to look up how to say, “Do not go in the castle” in Romanian or “Can you help us kill them please?” in Creole, you’ll find it easily.  I’m not sure anyone can afford to leave home without it.

Here are some of the things I learned reading this book:

• Legends about vampires, werewolves and zombies can be found for thousands of years in every corner of the globe.  So basically, nowhere is safe.
• There are more than 1,100 types of bats, but only three are known to feed on blood.
• I need to plan a trip to Transylvania, Romania to see ruins and sites associated with Vlad the Impaler and retrace the journey made by Dracula and his hunters in Bram Stoker’s novel.  Don’t worry; I’ll pack lots of garlic.
• Clinical Lycanthropy is a mental disorder that causes sufferers to believe that they are wolves.  They walk on all fours, roam in wilderness and howl at the moon.  Some posit these symptoms were actually caused by consumption of the toxic fungus, ergot, which causes delusions.
• I’d heard of witch trials, but it turns out thousands were also tried as werewolves in France during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
• When the zombie apocalypse arrives, it would be wise to find a big mart store full of supplies such as food, water and weapons, (Costco for example) and barricade oneself in.

The other thing that makes this book so special is the artwork.  Many pictures from obscure texts accompany historical background.  Original illustrations by Bruce Waldman are beautifully rendered and compliment the text.  They helped me visualize some of the more obscure varieties of vampires and zombies from around the globe.

Overall this is a great resource for anyone interested in the supernatural and it may even save your life.

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