The Vampire in Europe (1929) by Montague Summers is a definitive historical survey of vampiric folklore, blending meticulous scholarship with Gothic fervor. Summers—an eccentric clergyman and occultist—traces the undead’s shadow across Eastern European villages, Greek isles, and Germanic forests, compiling accounts of corpse-eating revenants, blood-drinking strigoi, and demonic seducers from medieval chronicles, church decrees, and peasant testimonies.
His prose drips with macabre erudition, dissecting burial rituals, anti-vampire stakes, and cases like Arnold Paole and Peter Plogojowitz with theatrical relish. While modern anthropology critiques his credulity toward supernatural claims, the book remains a cornerstone of vampire studies—a must-read for fans of Bram Stoker or folk horror.
