Are Vampires Real? Welcome! Whether you picked up this field guide out of sheer boredom or keen curiosity, let me be the first to welcome you on your journey into the unknown. If you love terrifying tales and bone-chilling legends, you're in the right place. If you hate all that stuff, that's cool, too! Stick around. This field guide has it all: Science! History! Gross facts! Not-so-gross facts! Cute bats! A really good garlic bread recipe! Seriously, don't go. Come back! Please! UH . . . WHO ARE YOU? Excellent question, hypothetical reader! I'm your guide to the weird world of the supernatural. In this book, I'll cover everything there is to know about vampires, and then some. It's like the saying goes: knowledge is power against bloodsucking children of the night. THE ELEPHANT-ER, VAMPIRE IN THE ROOM Vampires?! Are they even real? Well, the answer is: yes and no. When you think of the classic vampire, you're probably imagining a spooky undead being who stalks the night, looking for their next innocent human to suck blood from. Or perhaps you're imagining a sparkly, glamorous vampire who goes to high school. Maybe this vampire can turn into a bat, likes to sleep in a coffin, and has fangs pointy enough to make a dentist faint. That kind of vampire, the vampires in books and movies and our imaginations? They don't exist. At least, not in the real world. You're not going to run into a vampire sucking on a blood bag like it's a juice box while you're walking the dog or biking to school. But what if I told you that there is more to vampires than just a guy in a cape who can turn into a bat? The vampire legend has to come from somewhere , right? That's where things get interesting. Vampire lore has its roots in real-life history, science, and culture. The same goes for just about any supernatural legend. There's a story behind everything. You just have to know where to look. WHAT'S IN THIS THING? In this guide, we're going to bust that coffin wide open and shine a light on the mystery of how the vampire legend got started and how vampires became such a big deal. We'll dig into all the basics with Vampires 101, study up on the history of vampires, and meet terrifying vampire-like supernatural creatures from all around the world! The world is a spooky, weird, and awesome place. This field guide is here to help you on your journey as you explore the supernatural. So, whenever you're ready, let's go! And by go , I mean keep reading. This is a book, after all. Excerpted from Hanging with Vampires: A Totally Factual Field Guide to the Supernatural by Insha Fitzpatrick All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.