Vampirism: Literary Tropes of Decadence and Entropy

This study of the vampire in literature from the early nineteenth century to the present analyzes its metaphorical characteristics. The vampire is the perfect figure of disorder and entropy, and its dominance as a literary figure/monster, an instigator of chaos of all kinds, makes it worthy of study for readers interested in an emerging theory of literary disorder as well as horror literature. Entropy, the most intriguing root metaphor of our time, and the vampire, figure of decadence, degeneration, and perverse physics, illuminate each other as Michael J. Dennison examines such famous works as Dracula and The Fall of the House of Usher, as well as works that have unjustly fallen into near obscurity.