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This unique study explores the vampire as host and guest, captor and hostage: a perfect lover and force of seductive predation. From "Dracula" and "Carmilla", to "True Blood" and "The Originals", the figure of the vampire embodies taboos and desires about hospitality, rape, and consent. The first section welcomes the reader into ominous spaces of home, examining the vampire through concepts of hospitality and power, the metaphor of threshold, and the blurred boundaries between visitation, invasion, and confinement. Section two reflects upon the historical development of vampire narratives and the monster as oppressed, alienated Other. Section three discusses cultural anxieties of youth, (im)maturity, childhood agency, abuse, and the age of consent. The final section addresses vampire as intimate partner, mapping boundaries between invitation, passion, and coercion. With its fresh insight into vampire genre, this book will appeal to academics, students, and general public alike
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