Tuesday 6 October 2015

A Rendezvous in Averoigne

For tonight's countdown to Halloween's blog, I thought I would make you discover (or rediscover) a vampire story from Clark Ashton Smith, titled A Rendezvous in Averoigne. I found it back in 2007 in The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories (which I still have to finish reading). Back then, I had found it in a small library, with the cover you can see on the picture. I far prefer this cover to the one on my own copy. Rendezvous is not one of those revamped (excuse the bad pun) vampire stories, but a very classic take on the myth, set in medieval France. The vampires are no romantic antiheroes or love struck teenagers, but cruel and malevolent creatures. They are also a bit warlocks. There are elements of fairy tale in the story, but it is nevertheless a horror story. You have a medieval castle, a dark forest, a protagonist who is a trouvère named Gérard de l'Automne and, well vampires. It is simply the ideal story to read in the upcoming weeks to Halloween, when the nights are getting cold. Sure, medieval France is far too exotic to be plausible, but the atmosphere makes up for it. You can read it online here. Enjoy the chill.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

setting the scene, I like that, I usually watch my favorite spooky movies in the weeks before the big day but never thought of the scary books, I now can only listen to audio and I have a feeling that will be extra spooky,,

Debra She Who Seeks said...

That is one creepy book cover!