When I was buying up all the monsters and paranormal books by authors I got out of my public library last year, I wound up with two different editions of Thomas G. Aylesworth’s The Story of Vampires (1977). The other had a black and red photo cover of Bela Lugosi in a still from Dracula (1931). I opted to keep this, the Weekly Reader version, because I thought the painted cover was slightly more charming. And because Dracula looks like he’s played by Jerry Orbach. But maybe it’s just me. I really enjoy the choice to make the cloak lining gold, too, for what it’s worth.

This is a basic primer on vampires for kids. It impresses the universality of the creature, runs through its early origins (hey, Lamia!), lists lots of other names for them (upuir, vrykolaka, tii, and so forth). There’s a very quick rundown of the vampire in popular culture, then an identification guide with variants. Aylesworth doesn’t mention the mirror as a way to protect yourself (which is good, since Bram Stoker seems to have made that up) but he does mention using mustard seeds to trigger their arithmomania (one mustard seed, ah, ah ah!).

The back half is a bit disappointing. Like every other book on vampires, Aylesworth seems contractually obligated to mention Vlad Tepes and Elizabeth Bathory and hematodypsia (a disorder in which people crave blood) and premature burials, all of which always struck me as beside the point. I’d much rather have a longer catalog of regional variants than another flawed history of Vlad the Impaler.

Still, a pretty solid primer overall. In black Sharpie inside the back cover of my edition is written “Honor System” which, I hope I didn’t buy stolen goods, damn.