Hi readers,
When I first heard about the Highgate vampire I was really interested to know more. So, when I found this book on sale at The Works, I was eager to read it as it claims to be based upon the true events. London's Highgate cemetery is a fascinating place and a lot of odd things have happened there. Most are probably not true and who really knows about the others? As much as I want to get into the review, I thought it might be interesting to have a brief look at the cemetery and the story of the vampire. The book goes into some details, but it left me hungry for more!
Highgate Cemetery was opened in 1839 and was a part of London's plan to provide more cemeteries outside the inner-city. It soon become a fashionable place to be buried and become home to the rich and famous. The Victorians were really into their Gothic tombs and headstones. The more fancier your headstone or family crypt displayed how much wealth you had. In 1854 the cemetery was expending and become divided into two areas; the west and east sides. Today, the east area is closed and only open to the public via a tour group. This is because it has become a nature reserve, has listed buildings and old structures so it needs protecting. The west side is open to the public and for a small charge you can visit during daylight hours. (See the website link to Highgate.org below for more information).
The Highgate vampire story or urban legend begin in the 1970's, when supernatural events were attributed to a vampire. It sparked a media frenzy, books were written and people hunted the vampire. It is claimed that an occult interested group of young people liked to roam through the cemetery, which had been come very overgrown, dilapidated and vandalized. One of the members spent the night in the cemetery and afterwards wrote about seeing a ghost. When he asked if others had seen anything odd, people replied with claims of seeing a variety of ghostly figures. A second man reported that he believed a vampire king lived in the cemetery. The vampire had been a Romania medieval nobleman who'd practiced black magic and he'd been brought to England in a coffin by his followers in the 1700's. He'd been buried in the area which then become Highgate cemetery. The man then claimed that Modern Satanists had roused the vampire and to vanquish him he needed to be he staked and have his head cut off and burned.
There was never any real evidence and though the second man wrote a book The Highgate Vampire (1985) containing his account and how he actually killed the vampire. It still doesn't mean that anything actually happened or was seen. However, the urban legend become the inspiration for other books, movies and people. Today, some people still believe that there was and/or still might be a vampire lurking in the cemetery.
Hence, the inspiration for The Vampire of Highgate (2012). It is a young adult novel by first-time novel writer Asa Bailey. He is a British writer-director and he's worked on a number of movies as a writer, editor, producer and director. His bio says he was fascinated by vampires and the Gothic from an early age. The novel's prologue states that a London taxi driver told him the urban legend on his way back home one night.
The novel's plot follows the main character Kathy, as she travels from New York to London in search of her family. However, she discovers that her sister has disappeared and might have been kidnapped by vampires and that this has something to do with the Highgate Vampire. She also finds out that she is a vampire hunter and that she must face all the vampires to save her sister. She has dreams/visions which guide her and she receives a book sent from her sister, which contains information about vampires.
Whilst, the plot at first seems interesting it relays on coincidences and obvious twists to see it through. Ever event and plot point seems to work out far too nicely. To me this means that some of the realism gets lost and that there's not much of a mystery to things. Overall, though the plot does work and it does grab you enough to keep reading till the end. There are linking in sub-plots, which focus on the background of other characters and the victims of the high gate vampire. These are marked by a changed in the date and often appear at the beginning of the chapter. They give out some information, but for me I felt they digressed and it slowed down the flow of the story too much. I'd have liked this to be more incorporated.
The characters are well described and developed. Kathy and her sister Amber have large roles in the novel as well as their aunt and a vampire hunter. The vampires seem to be on the side and though there is a lot about them, for me I'd have enjoyed this book more if it was told from their point of view. The sub-plot of the vampires is that they know that the sister know where the Highgate vampire, who is their king, is hiding in the cemetery. He is been trapped there and comes out to feed every ten years if possible. The vampire leader kidnaps the sisters and makes then show him the right tomb, so that he can release the king.
The narrative is very structured and simple, which is understandable for the young adult audience. I did enjoy this because it meant that more was left to the imagination and I could read the novel faster. However, I felt it needed more description in some areas, just to improve the writing. The dialogue also felt a little un-real for me. It was too simple, too many questions/answers and to obvious in establishing what was going on.
Overall, I'm rating this novel as a good read. It's suitable for adults as well as teenagers. It has good characters and an interesting plot. For me I wanted a little bit more, but I did enjoy reading it and it captured the urban legend of the Highgate vampire nicely.
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Image From:
http://chocolatechunkymunkie.blogspot.co.uk/2012_07_01_archive.html
Additional information from:
Wiki -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highgate_Vampire
http://highgatecemetery.org/
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