FANGS FOR THE MEMORIES
Vampire novels, like the movie genre they spawned, are a bit like Marmite: you either like them or loath them. Personally, I have nothing against Marmite although I do have an issue with fangs. If I had to blame my vampire phobia on someone it would have to be the late Sir Christopher Lee. His brilliant depiction of the elegant but lethal Count Dracula was more than just a bit terrifying to a young, impressionable mind. How on earth I survived those memories of fangs embedded in jugulars and wooden stakes through hearts, will always remain a mystery. So, given those negatives what do I think of Simon Clarke’s Whitby Vampyrric? In a word: Good! Although Clarke doesn’t have the authorial pulling power of Stephen King he is definitely a talent worth keeping an eye on.
Set in the winter of 1942, Whitby Vampyrric takes as its backdrop the same Yorkshire seaport where Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula made land and later menaced the locals. Although the Count is absent from Clarke’s narrative, his spirit lives on through ancient myths and a cave with something nasty lurking amongst the stalactites. Evil flourishes under the cover of the wartime blackouts where a vampire posse scours the hood searching for food. There’s plenty of nourishment around, some of which literally falls from the sky: without giving too much away imagine a parachute offloading its payload! Into this dark, mysterious cauldron walk Beth, Sally, and Alec who are in Whitby to make a government propaganda film. It should be a straightforward assignment although it isn’t long before the trio realises that all is not right. What is the secret that local hotelier Eleanor Charnwood is hiding in her basement? Why is her reclusive brother Theo covered in mysterious bite marks? Who are the vampires roaming Whitby’s streets?
Whitby Vampyrrhic is a novel that draws in the reader from the start thanks to some good, fluid writing and an atmosphere oozing with menace. Clarke fuses the narrative with history and ancient folklore, beautifully elevating the sense of danger surrounding his characters. The seventh century abbess Saint Hilda supposedly saved the town from a plague of snakes by cracking off their heads with her whip. It’s not hard to imagine the noise of the whip against the cobbles masking the steps of the vampires as they hunt for their next meal.
Another intriguing aspect of this story is its feminist undercurrent. It is women who lead the initiative against evil while the men – though not completely redundant – are indecisive in comparison. Similarly, it is an ex housewife, bitten by one of the undead and now liberated from kitchen sink drudgery and her darts playing husband, who plots to snatch the leadership of the vampire gang. It would be churlish to reveal whether she succeeds in her mission although I’ll admit to having cheered her on.
Whitby Vampyrrhic is a rollicking good read that intelligently subverts the notion of what being a vampire is all about. Don’t expect the clichés of crucifixes, garlic pods, wooden stakes and deranged priests frothing at the mouth. Clarke’s living dead are conflicted souls with human personalities locked in a one-sided war against an over powering, blood thirsty streak. We know they must die but that doesn’t make their demise any less tragic because in their former lives they were ordinary people with whom most of us would have shared common ground. This is good quality horror writing that benefits from humour and the right amount of compassion. Clarke is a first-rate storyteller who isn’t afraid to place an alternative spin on the traditional vampire story.
Reviewed by Juliette Foster
Why not buy a copy of The Gravediggers Tale: Fables of Fear by author Simon Clark?
Click the link to find out more about Simon Clark
