There are three things Seth Grahame-Smith wants you to know.
Between 1607 and 1865, vampires “thrived in the shadows of America;” Abraham Lincoln “was one of the gifted vampire hunters of his day;” and Grahame-Smith has obtained the secret journals of Lincoln’s vampire-hunting exploits.
These “facts” are laid out in the beginning of Grahame-Smith’s new book, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” an alternative telling of Lincoln’s life that became one of Amazon.com’s most popular titles within days of its release this week.
Grahame-Smith will be discussing “Vampire Hunter” at the Abraham Presidential Museum at 7 p.m. Saturday. Expecting large crowds, museum officials have moved the event to the museum’s Plaza, which can seat 400. As of Thursday evening, 250 tickets to the free event had been given away.
“I was surprised and hugely flattered” to be invited to Springfield, Grahame-Smith said Thursday.
Grahame-Smith has already proven himself a skilled “masher” of genres via his surprise 2009 bestseller, “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” Taking on Lincoln’s larger-than-life story seemed to be a challenging new target. Movie deals are in the works for both books.
“As I began to intensely research Lincoln’s life, what struck me was how much tragedy he had to endure,” Grahame-Smith said, “burying his mother, sister, two children and first love, and coming from absolutely nothing and achieving what he achieved.
“If anything, the process of writing the book made me respect him enormously,” he said.
Grahame-Smith’s vampires aren’t the romantic sort found in the popular “Twilight” novels. They have more in common with slavery owners. And they die violently, usually from the sharp end of Lincoln’s ax.
With Lincoln, Grahame-Smith walks a fine line between history and fiction. While it appears that vampires, and not poisoned milk, killed Lincoln’s mother Nancy, Grahame-Smith did employ some historical restraint.
“(Gen. George) McClellan was somebody I really wanted to kill,” he said. “The more I read about him — he was the worst kind of bureaucrat. I really wanted to punish him. But I wanted to adhere to real timelines, dates and deaths. McClellan did live on after the war.
“So I just have Lincoln intimidate him. He intimidates the hell out of him, for sure.”
Pete Sherman can be reached at 788-1539.
Presidential museum officials welcome “Vampire Hunter” writer
If you can’t defeat the vampire-killing Abraham Lincoln, you might as well join him.
This Saturday, just a few days after the release of Seth Grahame-Smith’s “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” already 15th in popularity on Amazon.com, Grahame-Smith will discuss his new book at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.
Museum officials invited Grahame-Smith sensing he’d draw new audiences to the museum.
Illinois state historian Tom Schwartz was at a conference last spring when he read a Washington Post story about Grahame-Smith’s take on Jane Austen. The article also mentioned the upcoming book on Lincoln.
“When I got back, (museum) deputy director Jennifer Tirey said, ‘I have this neat idea.’”
“We were both on the same wavelength,” Schwartz said. “If you want to reach a certain audience, that’s what they seem to be reading. The idea is, that if you can get them hooked on that, they might move on to more serious works.
“But I had to be satisfied it was appropriate,” Schwartz said. “So I read ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ and realized there was something serious going on. It was playful, yet respectful.”
Schwartz also was able to read an advance copy of “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.”
“You know, it wasn’t bad,” he said. “It’s pure fantasy and not to be a substitute for a real scholarly biography. But it’s well-written and fast-paced.”
Schwartz’s favorite Lincoln/pop-culture moment dates back to an original “Star Trek” episode in which Lincoln teams up with Capt. James T. Kirk.
“As strange as this may seem, this is in keeping with our mission,” Schwartz said. “We collect anything that comments on Lincoln and his legacy.”
Pete Sherman can be reached at 788-1539.
Want to go?
What: Seth Grahame-Smith discusses his new book, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer.”
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.
Details: The event is free, but reservations are required. Call 558-8934 for tickets. The event also will be streamed live on the Internet at www.presidentlincoln.org. Immediately before and after Grahame-Smith’s presentation, the museum will display artifacts relating to “Lincoln and Gothic Horror.”
Extras: Visit The Abraham Lincoln Observer (blogs.sj-r.com/alo).
Read the original article from The State Journal-Register.
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