The Fiend in His Own Form: A satirical political allegory

As the title states, The Fiend in His Own Form is a satirical political allegory related in the form of a vampire story. Joshua Hauley is a washed-up middle-aged lout who lets his hormones do the thinking for him one too many times. The encounter makes him a vampire, and his murderous rampage attracts the attention of one Detective Morticia Karljice of the St. Louis Police department. We soon find that her determination to apprehend Hauley is not strictly civic minded. Karljice must negotiate the wavering line between doing her duty as a police officer and protecting secret interests of her own. It seems at first that she succeeds, but Hauley escapes her “custody” and works to create a mob of vampires bent on the vengeful death of Karljice and her associates. He accomplishes this by using white supremacist and misogynistic rhetoric to recruit his henchmen. The novel ends with a violent confrontation between Hauley and his mob and Karljice’s secret army. As already suggested, the novel is set in St. Louis and many of the character names allude to local and national political figures.I must acknowledge the influence of Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, and Joss Whedon on this story. Stoker, while not the first to tell a vampire story, can at least be said to have written The Vampire Story. Anne Rice, of course, contributed a contemporary and allegorical perspective to the genre. And I have Josh Whedon to thank for inspiring Josh Hauley’s exuberant schadenfreude.

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