Dracula Society of Maryland

I wanted to talk about Tom Shellenberger. When I was barely a young kid there was a man who would dress up as Dracula and walk around Dundalk, my hometown. Dundalk is like the underarm of Baltimore. Dundalk is the punching bag for the suburbs of Baltimore, always has and always will be. But I don't mind, I love growing up there. I miss it. I love Dundalk. People like Tom are Dundalk.

I have always had an affinity for vampires. I grew up with a Hollywood obsessed with the undead. Check out this list!: Once Bitten, Fright Night, Vamp, My Best Friend is a Vampire, Near Dark, The Lost Boys. All of these films came out in the mid-1980s and I watched them all, over and over again. I am still obsessed with these movies! I read everything I could find in the library on vampires as early as elementary school. In high school I found the Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice's vampire universe, and later, other writers, like Michael Romkey, Laurell K. Hamilton, John Steakley, Charlaine Harris and Brian Lumley.

But Tom Shellenberger was a real fan. Dressing everyday like it was Halloween is something only a madman does, but Tom was not mad. He was a genuine fan and wanted to spread his love of history and fantasy. Later in life Tom moved to a city I have always loved and wanted to move to myself; and the city Anne Rice made (also) famous for vampires, New Orleans. He loved Halloween and vampires, and I realized I am quite similar to Tom.

My regret is that I had not known about or joined the Dracula Society of Maryland when Tom was president. It was in my backyard, with like-minded people like me, and I was wholly unaware of it completely. So, I suppose in a way I keep this blog alive to celebrate these things like Dracula, vampires, Halloween, and people like Tom who enjoy this stuff as much as I do.