Vera H-C Chan from Yahoo Search compiled a list of the top 15 searches for the supernatural yesterday. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised to find that UFOs didn’t make the list, given all the sightings reported this year as well as France’s launch of their infamous UFO case report website. I figured that the term would have made it to the top 5, at the very least. Who knew.

As a fan and writer of ghost stories, I was pleased to see that the term “ghost” made it to the top this year. Thanks to shows like “Ghost Hunter” and “Ghost Whisperer,” I anticipate that this term will remain in the top 10 until the end of 2008.

1. Ghost
2. Dragon
3. Vampires
4. Bigfoot
5. Loch Ness Monster
6. Godzilla
7. Chupacabra
8. Monsters
9. Dracula
10. Unicorns
11. Zombie
12. Frankenstein
13. Sasquatch
14. Werewolf
15. Mermaids

Source: Yahoo! Search

This is a two-part review, as I read both the book and watched the movie this week. I’ll start off with the book. The story is narrated by Robert Neville, who starts off by telling us how he avoids the vampires that try to break into his house every night. As the story unfolds, we learn more about how this situation came about and how he is the only survivor of this cataclysmic event. What I found interesting was how Neville became immune to the vampirus germ.

Matheson wrote this book so well that I almost felt as though I was there with Neville as he drinks himself into a stupor each day in order to deal with the pain of his losses and the utter isolation he feels because he is the only human being left alive on the planet. Although there are several horrific moments in the story, I felt that I Am Legend was more poignant and literary. The reader is taken on a tour of this man’s psyche as he tries to understand what happened and if he can “cure” the vampires.

Because I Am Legend is a novella, the publisher decided to tack on several short stories, which I thought were completely unrelated to the main theme of the book. For instance, there was a short story about a woman who was attacked by a rare “hunter” doll. It didn’t matter to me that these stories were well-written; I was expecting a continuation of the main story, or, at the very least, a vampire theme. I returned the book to my bookcase, content that I had read what I had set out to read. Despite that quibble, I highly recommend this book because it not only makes you feel, but it makes you think.

The Movie

Hollywood almost always hacks up the author’s stories to suit their audience. That’s a given. What they did with I Am Legend was modernize it. The story begins with an interview with a doctor who discovers the cure for cancer in 2012. This “cure” proves deadly to the human race. Robert Neville relives the night he lost his family as he washes his dog, when his stop watch goes off to alert him to board up his house, etc. In the book, he was a plant worker who teaches himself how to use a microscope and to distinguish the characteristics of germs and viruses. In the movie, he is a military colonel who is also a scientist. During the three years of the aftermath, he tries to develop a cure for this condition so he can revive the human race from near extinction.

Will Smith performed excellently in his role as Robert Neville. One particular scene that almost made me cry was when he was standing in a movie store, trying to hold a conversation with mannequins. This scene accomplished the sense of total isolation very well. There’s plenty of action in this movie, as Neville is constantly having to watch out for the rabid vampires, who reminded me of the caricature of Pink Floyd’s The Wall–huge, gaping mouths with beady little eyes. To say any more would risk spoiling the movie. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, go see it.

Paranormal romance, especially involving vampires, have broken sales records over the past twenty years, according to publishing sources. Vampires have always been popular among horror readers. Anne Rice made a name for herself with her vampire stories back in the 80s and 90s. After 9/11, vampire romance boomed. Author and psychiatrist, Lynda Hilburn has come up with some theories after talking with her clients.

“There are several theories about the increase in sales of vampire romance,” Hilburn said. “A recent view is that women feel less safe and secure in the world, and the previous symbols of strong, semi-dangerous males — our law enforcement and military warriors — were replaced by supernatural beings. Indestructible supernatural beings. Unlike the undead, real flesh-and-blood men can be killed in war or through terrorist acts. Facing a frightening daily “reality” made escaping into magical worlds, filled with all-powerful, appealing immortals, a healthy coping mechanism.”

Hilburn also reports that women in therapy are disappointed with the men in their lives. The idea of a drop-dead gorgeous guy lurking outside their windows is much more appealing than watching their husbands or boyfriends sitting in front of the television. She has written a book, called The Vampire Shrink, which involves the main character becoming attracted to an 800 year-old vampire as well as the FBI profiler.

Source: YourHub.com Boulder

The Transylvanian castle of Vlad the Impaler (or Count Dracula) is an impressive 14th century fortress that last belonged to Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Queen Marie of Romania, until the Communists seized it in 1956. It was relinquished back to the family seven months ago on the condition that it was kept as a state-run museum for three years, whether it remained in the family or was sold.

Queen Marie’s grandson, Dominic von Habsburg, has decided that he wants the castle to be owned by the people of Brasov, who benefit from the tourism as well as the cultural heritage. He is asking £40m, with the hopes that the local council of Brasov will buy the castle. According to Aristotel Cancescu, the council president, the Brasov authorities are very interested in the acquisition.

Source: Times Online