The Vampire, His Kith and Kin
Review by The Dragon, submitted on 20-May-1991

I have finally finished reading Montague Summers' _The Vampire, His Kith and Kin_. The following is a brief review. The author apparently began his career as an ordained minister in the Church of England. He then spent a number of years on the Continent where he seems to have become heavily involved in the occult. At some point during his sojourn on the Continent he apparently made a sincere conversion to Roman Catholicism. This book makes claims to be the Catholic official/unofficial view of vampires. Each chapter is extensively footnoted and there is a long bibliography at the end of the book.

The edition I read was copyrighted in 1960 by University Books, Inc. (Library of Congress Catalog No. 60-14527). This edition begins with an introduction by Felix Morrow discussing the career and life of Montague Summers. There follows the original introduction by Summers and the five chapters that form the body of the work.

These chapters are:
I. The Origins of the Vampire
II. The Generation of the Vampire
III. The Traits and Practice of Vampirism
IV. The Vampire is Assyria, the East and Some Ancient Countries
V. The Vampire in Literature

Except for the fourth chapter the book deals exclusively with the the vampire legend in Europe. The first three chapters deal with the generally accepted causes of vampirism in the European tradition, the nature of the vampire and approved methods of destruction in various European cultures. The fourth chapter deals briefly with the vampire in non-European and ancient cultures. The fifth chapter covers the use of the vampire in 19th and early 20th century literature and drama.

Some parts of the book may prove offensive to some members of this list since the outlook is distinctly Christian. For example, some of the acknowledged causes of vampirism covered include: suicide, the practice of black magic or witchcraft, living a particularly cruel or sinful life, lycanthropy and of course infection by another vampire. The book does do a fairly good job of covering the traditional European view of the vampire if one can overlook or ignore the prejudices of the author. The vampire is viewed as a manifestation of Satan's power on earth. The cross's power to repel the vampire comes from the power of God, not from the faith or belief of the individual using the cross. Summers leaves little doubt that he believes every word he's writing.

The work contains extensive quotations in Latin, French, German and Greek and is written in a very Victorian style that may be a little foreign for some modern readers. However, Summers' arguments can be comprehended without a knowledge of these languages.

The fifth chapter might prove particularly useful to those interested in the literature of the vampire. Summers reviews a great many vampire works with special attention given to theatrical uses of the vampire theme. He may, however, go into too much detail concerning the plays as he gives list of the actors and detailed descriptions of the sets and costumes.

All things considered, despite the obvious prejudices of the author the book is well worth reading for those interested in the serious study of the vampire myth as it existed in Europe.