TheoFantastique

I’m privileged to promote a forthcoming book, Such a Dark Thing: Theology of the Vampire Narrative in Popular Culture (Resource Publications, 2015) by M. Jess Peacock. Look for an interview with Peacock here in the near future. Here is the back cover description and endorsements:

Evil, death, demons, reanimation, and resurrection. While such topics are often reserved for the darker mindscapes of the vampire subgenre within popular culture, they are equally integral elements of religious history and belief. Despite the cultural shift of presenting vampires in a secular light, the traditional figure of the vampire within cinema and literature has a rich legacy of serving as a theological marker. Whether as a symbol of the allure of sin, as an apologetic for assorted religious icons, or as a gateway into a discussion of liberationist theology, the vampire has served as a spiritual touchstone from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, to Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, to the HBO television series True Blood.

In Such a Dark Thing, Jess Peacock examines how the figure of the vampire is able to traverse and interconnect theology and academia within the larger popular culture in a compelling and engaging manner. The vampire straddles the ineffable chasm between life and death and speaks to the transcendent in all of us, tapping into our fundamental curiosity of what, if anything, exists beyond the mortal coil, giving us a glimpse into the interminable while maintaining a cultural currency that is never dead and buried.

“Eminently readable, exhaustively researched, and always thoughtful. Well worth reading for any scholar, student, or fan of the genre.”
– David Wellington, author of Positive and 13 Bullets

“Jess Peacock knows his theology and his vampires, making him a perfect guide to the dark places he wants to take us. Such A Dark Thing successfully explores how our fascination with the hungry undead not only connects with religious themes, but also sex, politics, and even social justice.”
– Scott Poole, author of Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting

“Equal parts fan-boy adulation and academic analysis, this delightful book expresses such joy and enthusiasm in either mode: in both, the author shows what it is to be passionately engaged and intellectually stimulated by the subject. The section on liberation theology and social change also takes the vampire narrative into new areas of interpretation and application that I found especially exciting and invigorating. Those who identify as either fan or critic (or both) will find here fresh insight into and inspiration from their favorite monster—a sort of bracing antidote to Twilight!”
– Kim Paffenroth, author of Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero’s Visions of Hell on Earth