Leslie Ormandy teaches two Vampires in Literature courses at an Oregon community college, has re-edited and published Varney the Vampire, and is the originator of the site www.simplysupernatural-vampire.com, a delightful stopping point of all things vampire.
7) What else does the class contain?
"We talk about vintage vampire poetry; we look at some modern stuff; and they all try writing a vampire sonnet and a vampire haiku. We’ve talked about vampires as pedophiles, and, at some point, we talk about religion, because you can’t really talk about vampires without talking about religion. I wrote a short story, The Blood is the Life, about a vampire who could walk into a church because she had once accepted God.”
"It’s a lost story. Very few people read it, although it was once massively popular, like Twilight. Everyone was reading it, and it spawned many look-alike stories, but now, no one reads it. Also, I’m good at Victorian syntax and explaining things. It was a big undertaking, but no one else was doing it. The story is fascinating. It’s love, romance, and vampires feeding.”
9) Where do you draw inspiration for your short stories?
10) What are the criteria for student submissions?
11) Who’s your site’s primary audience?
13) What made the most impact from your trip to London for a vampire conference?
There, Ormandy has links to a wide variety of Victorian literature; a collection of her vampire short stories, as well as the stories and essays her students have written; and links to whimsical items for vampire fans, such as festivals, crossword puzzles, clothing, and movies.
Ormandy has also included essays and links on many vampire characteristics and topics including sex, the victimization of children, children as vampires, porphyria, evil, Dracula, religion, euthanasia, vampire as metaphor, and more.
7) What else does the class contain?
"We talk about vintage vampire poetry; we look at some modern stuff; and they all try writing a vampire sonnet and a vampire haiku. We’ve talked about vampires as pedophiles, and, at some point, we talk about religion, because you can’t really talk about vampires without talking about religion. I wrote a short story, The Blood is the Life, about a vampire who could walk into a church because she had once accepted God.”
8) I understand you provide modern translations for several vintage stories. What led you to re-edit Varney the Vampire?
"It’s a lost story. Very few people read it, although it was once massively popular, like Twilight. Everyone was reading it, and it spawned many look-alike stories, but now, no one reads it. Also, I’m good at Victorian syntax and explaining things. It was a big undertaking, but no one else was doing it. The story is fascinating. It’s love, romance, and vampires feeding.”
"A theme will suggest itself, and the little muse will sit on my shoulder and demand I write the story. I just cannot rest until I do. It’s kind of scary what comes out of my psyche.”
10) What are the criteria for student submissions?
"I am an academic and picky. Submissions have to be well-written and connect with both humans and vampires. It’s hard to define what’s well written. You just know it when you read it.”
"I have a different audience than many other vampire sites. My audience tends to be more academic, but the site is not just for my students. I’m quite well-read in the UK and Europe, and I have a large following in Russia.”
12) I understand you’re currently enjoying steampunk literature. What was your introduction to it?
"My daughter brought a steampunk book home from the library. It had vampires in it and it was set in the Victorian period, thus combining two of my favorites.”
"A lot of manuscripts are buried in libraries, so the stories literally have not been read since that time period. It was incredible to touch books that old. I’d like to explore more pre-Victorian vampire stories and Greek vampire stories.”
