Introduction

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface ix
4. Acknowledgments xiii
5. Introduction 1
6. 1. Conventional Versions: The Soucouyant Story in Folktales, Fiction, and Calypso 35
7. 2. Nineteenth-Century Connections: European Vampire Stories and Configurations of the Demonic Black Woman 86
8. 3. Draining Life Rather than Giving It: Maternal Legacies 125
9. 4. “Queering” the Norm: Vampirism and Women’s Sexuality 159
10. 5. Reconstructing a Nation of Strangers: Soucouyants in the Work of Tessa McWatt, David Chariandy, and Helen Oyeyemi 189
11. 6. Shedding Skin and Sucking Blood: Playing with Notions of Racial Intransigence 221
12. Conclusions 253
13. Notes 265
14. Works Cited 273
15. Index 291
16. About the Author 296