Fatih Danacı ile söyleşi
Karanlığın Çocukları 15. program konuğu Yrd. Doç. Tarık Emre
Tarık Emre Yıldırım söyleşisi
Catherine Karp
Catherine Karp
Catherine Karp, creator of vampire blog and writer has been quest to Karanlığın Çocukları's 10th program. She has prepared a vampire playlist for us. And it has been played in Karanlığın Çocukları.
We also made an interview with her and her blog. Below, you can read our quesitons and asnwers.
How did you begin to interest in vampires?
I always liked watching the Bela Lugusi Dracula films on TV when I was a kid. Starting around the age of 11, I started dressing as a vampire every other Halloween. I became a fan of spooky books and movies from a young age, and ghosts and vampires topped my list of favorite dark characters.
There are losts of types of vampire. Who is your favorite vampire character?
Dracula's always been a favorite of mine. He's both sinister and gentlemanly, plus he paved the way for so many other vampire characters. I even saw Dracula: The Musical on stage a while back...and loved it.
What is your opinion about vampire folklore. Why do you think people belived in vampires for thousands of years?
I love vampire folklore. It shows up in every corner of the world and offers a glimpse into a culture's belief systems. Most vampires of legend are horrifying and far different from vampires we see in today's fiction. I think the folklore has endured because vampires embody our mixed emotions about death. We don't like to think of death as being permanent, but we're terrified of what would happen if people could indeed come back from the grave.
Tell me about your blog. When did you launch your blog and what was your main purpose?
I launched the blog in February 2007 after I finished writing the rough draft of a vampire novel. I didn't know much about blogging at the time, and it was at first a quiet way for me to give updates about my book. Once I started adding vampire polls, music, and my vampire movie list, it started taking off.
Do you think that there is good information about vampires in internet?
There's pretty much EVERY type of information about vampires on the internet, good and bad. You can learn anything you want to know about vampires these days, from books to vampire events to the minute details of a specific vampire character. Even vampire folklore, which seems to be the least popular aspect of the modern vampire craze, shows up all over the place.
What is your most favorite vampire song. and tell me the reason?
That's a hard one. It changes depending on what I've found for my Music Monday features, but right now I really enjoy "Gothic-Surf-a-Rama" by the Vampire Beach Babes. I was raised by parents who were teens in the sixties, so they passed on their love of surf music to me. I love that the band took the gothic culture and blended it into a danceable song that sounds like it could be from an old beach movie. If I were to hold a vampire party, I'd kick it off with this song.
You are also writer. What kind of books are you writing?
Right now I'm writing a young adult gothic historical novel called Blackbirds. I'm working with an agent in New York, and we're hoping we can find a home for the book when I'm finished. In the past I've published historical fiction for adults, plus I've written the vampire novel I mentioned before. The vampire novel hasn't made it into print, but there's an excerpt of it at VampireFilmFestival.com.
Why is your blog's name is suburban vampire?
The name of my vampire novel was originally A Vampire in the Suburbs. I decided to give the blog a name that was a variation of the title.
Do you believe in vampires? Is there any strange vampire stories around you, in your city, in your region for example?
I don't believe in the version of vampires that comes from legends. I know there are many people who claim to be vampires, but not in the sense of rising from the dead. Some claim to need blood; some require energy from other people. About the closest thing to vampires I've ever encountered in real life was a ghost and vampire walking tour of New Orleans, after dark, during a lightning storm. I had trouble sleeping after that one. I haven't heard of any legends in my particular region of the United States, though.
Is there a lot of people who find you from internet and did you ever get strange stories about your internet readers?
I've met so many wonderful people through my blog. It would seem like I'd come across some strange tales with a vampire site, but no one has described any bizarre vampire encounters to me. Yet. I've had the opportunity to meet writers, musicians, filmmakers, artists, other bloggers, and vampire fans. There's a huge, devoted following to the world of vampire entertainment.
When we think about art we can see vampires in every artistic areas. what do you think about this, why art choose itsef vampires as a subject?
Vampires can be many things--beautiful, horrifying, tragic, comical. They're open for interpretation, which is why I think so many artists like to use them as a subject. They're as varied as art itself.
In which part of vampire art do you interest most?
I like vampire movies the best. I honestly have a hard time finding vampire novels I enjoy, but cinematic vampires really appeal to me. There's something so compelling about seeing vampires in action.
