2007-07-23 The Vampire Empire

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THE VAMPIRE EMPIRE

(Formerly THE INTL. COUNT DRACULA FAN CLUB)

Photos (from left to right):
(1) Dr. Jeanne Keyes Youngson, President and Founder of The Count Dracula Fan Club, and the Vampire Empire. (Photo: Jerome Dillon) (2) Some first and early Stoker editions. (Photo: Mark Benecke) (3) Life mask of Jonathan Frid and vampire memorabilia. (4) Part of the club's collection. (5) Vlad Tepes collection. (6) The famous "Vampire-Santa" Christmas tree at Club Headquarters.

WEB FRIENDS OF THE VAMPIRE EMPIRE

"Bite Me" (UK), "Happy Halloween" (USA), & "Delirium" (USA). For further information on any or all of the above, please contact us at: vampirempire146@hotmail.com

Time marches on and we are keeping right in step with our various plans and projects. The Count Dracula Fan Club had a long and successful run (over 35 years!), but when our Dracula Museum moved to Austria, we decided to rethink, refresh and redefine the society. This resulted in the formation of THE VAMPIRE EMPIRE -- and we're never looking back!

As a registered member of the VE, you will receive:

1. Complimentary copy of The Bizarre World of Vampires, a delightful, witty and informative book on the vampire in folklore, as well as a copy of Private Files of a Vampirologist: Case Histories & Letters, by the president and founder of the society, Dr. Jeanne Keyes Youngson.

2. Quarterly newsletters with our Super Sweepstakes, list of recommended books, movie reviews, plus special mailings with surprises galore. Best of all, and as in the past, we will have lots of opportunities for members to participate in club activities.

3. FREE membership in our exclusive PEN PAL NETWORK which is co-sponsored by THE VAMPIRE INFORMATION EXCHANGE. (Note: The Pen Pal Network is for registered members of the VIE and/or TVE only).

4. A copy of The Vampire Empire Handbook when published.

5. Access to two e-mail HOTLINES. We'll always be here for you!

6. FREE membership in the INTL. FRANKENSTEIN SOCIETY.

7. Invitation to the ANNUAL CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE to see our famous VAMPIRE-SANTA tree which has been featured in numerous national and international TV documentaries, magazines and various other publications. (Photo to registered members upon request).

Annual fee: $30.00 (USA) $35.00 (all other places)
British members may pay by check (20 pounds Sterling)
In the USA, payments must be in the form of a money order, made out to Margaret J. Youngson.

Check/Money Order (U.S. funds only, please) to:

DRACULA UNLIMITED, Penthouse North, 29 Washington Square West, New York, N.Y. 10011-9180, USA

HISTORY

Dr. Jeanne Keyes Youngson, President and Founder
Thomas A. Peck, Vice President (USA)
Dr. Mark Benecke, Vice President (Europe)
M. Jane OZ, Executive Director
Jerome Miller, Treasurer

PATRONS:

Norine Dresser
Katherine Ramsland
Bernard Davies
Dr. Arthur Roth

SPECIAL ADVISORS:

Dr. Elizabeth Miller
Martin V. Riccardo
Eric Held
Marjorie E. Keyes
Robert Quincy Clark

[Don't miss Vampire Empire's Vampire Books (click)!]


And here comes...
A TRIBUTE TO THE PREZ

Nobody but nobody has done more for vampire fandom than Dr. Jeanne Keyes Youngson who founded the first, the only and the original Count Dracula Fan Club in 1965.

Youngson's involvement and influence within the vampire community defies belief. The thousands of vampire web sites dedicated to Dracula, Vlad Tepes, Bram Stoker and the vampire in general. are proof of the ever-growing popularity of the elusive Undead. And Jeanne Youngson was there first !

No other Dracula Society even appeared on the scene (with the exception of the in-name-only Count Dracula Society in Los Angeles) until the 1970's, when several other Dracula associations were developed in both the United States and England.

Youngson's fan club is the only Dracula organization to start and successfully maintain a Dracula Museum. Her turn-of-the-century "Worldwide Vampire Census" has been called the definitive survey of the New Age Vampire, while Private Files of a Vampirologist: Case Histories and Letters has been acknowledged as one of the best presentations of contemporary vampire "wouldbe's", published to date. The Research Library, founded by Youngson in 1969, now includes her personal collection of vampire, werewolf and Dracula books, and has been used by many famous authors and scholars unable to find relevant material elsewhere. And these are just a few of the accomplishments that make "The Prez", as Jeanne is known to both members of the society and those who work with her, a very special person indeed.

LONG LIVE THE PREZ, AND MAY SHE CONTINUE TO ENHANCE AND ENCHANT THE DRACULA SCENE AS SHE HAS FOR, LO, THESE MANY, MANY YEARS!

'Way back in the dark ages, the 1960s that is, few people knew from vampires. Some avid horror movie fans were aware of the undead from seeing Hammer Studio's "House of Dracula" and "Bride", and of course the 'zine, "Famous Monsters" and the TV show "The Munsters": helped a bit. Still, vampires were not really de rigueur until the 1970s and '80s, when they began to capture the public's imagination in a big way.

Youngson tells of the time she first went to Romania on a guided tour, during which thoughts of Stoker's novel continued to run through her head. The Romanian guide delighted in telling members of the group about the one and only Vlad the Impaler, aka Vlad Dracula, who is still revered by many Romanians for his courage and nobility. (There is a framed picture of the voivode in the high school in Aref, Romania; see photo on the right) 

The photograph on the left shows Jeanne Youngson pointing to a spot in New Orlean's Lafayette Cemetery where an alleged vampire-ghost was "seen" as recently as 1989.