John Blair Killing the Dead Vampire epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World 536pp. Princeton University Press. £30 (US $35). A dead body, as anyone who has sat with one will know, is an unsettling

OUR TOP FIVE PICKS OF THE WEEK

How many of your favourite scary movies may have inspired fiction to become reality? We investigate…

More than 20 years in, and Avatar have stepped up with their most commercial album yet. Their next move? A support slot with Metallica – if Las Vegas doesn’t kill them first

Forget the USA – Germany produced one of the most venomous thrash bands of them all. Frontman Mille Petrozza looks back on 40 years of extreme aggression

New tribute to their former guitarist Brian James is delivered with real passion.