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Interview with a member of the Canadian chapter of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula.
10/31/95 WOMAN SINKS TEETH INTO VAMPIRE LORE
By NADINE FOWNES South Shore Bureau,Lunenburg - One would never know from her sweet demeanor that Beverly Richardson has a dark side.After working all day as a computer trouble-shooter, she retires to her house on a lake, checks on her collection of 100 cactus plants and settles down for the count - Count Dracula, that is.``I've always been interested in vampires,'' said Ms. Richardson, who has been hooked on these creatures since her first Dracula movie, starring Bela Lugosi, at age six.She didn't dare tell her parents then, but she was terrified and thrilled all at the same time.``We were in the middle of a summer heat wave, and I went to bed with a winter scarf wrapped around my neck and buried myself under the covers. The next morning, I woke up and hadn't been bitten. I was still alive and I haven't been frightened of vampires since.''Ms. Richardson has become somewhat of an expert since then, reading anything about vampires she could sink her teeth into. She has amassed a collection of 500 to 600 books on the subject, from fiction like Bram Stoker's classic Dracula to analytical works about vampire mythology and the 15th century's real-life Vlad The Impaler.``People think you're a little weird, I guess. You always get those who joke and ask you, `Do you only go out at night?''' she said.But it's just a hobby. Anything more than that, she said, and it would be a little too scary.``This idea of people coming back from the dead is simply myth. If vampires did exist, I probably wouldn't be interested in reading about them. For instance, I'm not interested in serial killers, because their existence is all too true and there is nothing particularly enjoyable or fun about that.''Apparently her interest is shared by many. She attends three or four science fiction conventions every year where her lectures on vampires and photographic tours through Transylvania are some of the most popular sessions on the agendas.There is even a Dracula web site on the Internet where Ms. Richardson gets together with other vampire enthusiasts to talk about books, films and folklore.She is also on the board of the recently formed Canadian chapter of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula.They're always on the hunt for new victims, er, members. Those interested in the society can get in touch with Ms. Richardson via e-mail at ssaunder@fox.nstn.ca, or by writing the chapter's head office at Box 23240, Churchill Square P.O., St. John's, Nfld., A1B 4J9. Story available on the Internet at www.herald.ns.ca in NewsCentre, provincial news section.
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