:: VAMPYRES, WHEN REALITY GOES BEYOND FICTION

Vampyres, when reality goes beyond fiction, written by Laurent Courau, photographed by Lukas Zpira and based on the eponym documentary, will be officially released on April 18th 2006 in France, Switzerland and Belgium in the Pop Cultures collection of Flammarion Editions.

Distribution: FNAC, Virgin and all independent bookstores...

New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Lausanne, Venice, New Orleans... Jamaica, Queens, Spanish Harlem, the Red District, the Lower East Side and the East Village, The French District. Vampyres' fangs, nocturnal lifestyle, clans and initiatory orders, occultism, tattoo studios, martial arts dojos and fetishistic clubs, black magic rituals and ceremonies...

Both a gonzo style adventure tale of four years of shooting of a documentary film on the vampyric subculture, and a reflection on the fringes of the dawning millennium, essay on new dark mysticism and collection of original testimonies, Vampyres takes you on a journey towards the deepest of the contemporary underground which will not leave you unscathed!

With interviews and exclusive appearances of Michelle Belanger, Father Sebastiaan, Father Vincent, Lord Xanatos & Lord Zillah of the Hidden Shadows, Miguel Valentin of the Theater of Vampyres, the Vampire Don Henrie, Saint Anthony, Marcos Drake of INRI Editions, Madame X, Jean-Paul Bourre, Nicolas C. the Vampire of Paris, Sir Victor Magnus, Maven Lore, Madame Webb & Septymus, Sir Rexxx Black, Layil Umbralux, Gabrielle St Eve, Lord A. of the Theatro dos Vampyros of Sao Paulo and numerous others...

The documentary film at the origin of this adventure, produced by Avalanche Productions, will be released at the end of 2006.

. Vampyres, when reality goes beyond fiction
. A book by Laurent Courau, photographs by Lukas Zpira
. 19.90 Euros
. 312 pages, including a color photo section of 16 pages
. Official release April 18th 2006!

About the authors:

Independent journalist and director, Laurent Courau has been following for the past ten years the mutations of our time, through his collaborations with French and foreign medias. He has published Mutations pop & crash culture, an anthology of his web magazine La Spirale, released in the spring of 2004 by the Rouergue Editions.

. Direct link towards the website of Brainsushi - The Mutant Media Agency

Nomad photographer, founder of the Body Art studio, specialist of body modifications and contemporary subcultures, Lukas Zpira tracks the freaks of the early 21st century around the world. Onanisme manu militari 2, a book dedicated to his work, has been published by Hors Editions in June 2005.

. Direct link towards the website of Blow Your Mind Productions

:: INVESTIGATION INTO THE REALM OF VAMPYRES IN ELEGY MAGAZINE

Hidden Shadows is Lukas Zpira's second book, after Onanisme Manu Militari II, published by Hors Editions.

Dedicated to one of the most important US vampyres clan, this limited edition photobook of 1000 copies is numbered and signed by the photographer.

The first 200 copies will be sold within the city of New York, home of the Hidden Shadows clan.

. Direct link towards the website of Hors Editions
. Direct link towards the website of Lukas Zpira

:: INVESTIGATION INTO THE REALM OF VAMPYRES IN ELEGY MAGAZINE

Alyz Tale consecrates an article of two pages and a column to Vampyres, when reality goes beyond fiction in the issue 41 (April/May 2006) of the magazine Elegy:

Investigation into the realm of vampyres

Independent journalist specialized in alternative contemporary cultures, Laurent Courau (who we know notably thanks to his excellent webzine laspirale.org), publishes today the result of a lengthy and thorough investigation: Vampyres, when reality goes beyond fiction (Flammarion Editions). It is in the rough neighborhoods of New York that he went, with Lukas Zpira, to meet the Vampyres, a surprising subculture: between secret society, occult practices and Victorian inspiration. Carefully avoiding any sensationalism, the author tells us about what could very well become an extraordinary cultural phenomenon.

The continuation of the article and the book column can be read in the issue 41 of Elegy magazine.

. Direct link towards the website of Elegy magazine
. Direct link towards the website of Alyz Tale

:: THE AWAKENING OF VAMPYRES IN EPOK, FNAC’S WEEKLY MAGAZINE

Epok, FNAC’s free weekly magazine, dedicates this week’s cover (illustrated by Lukas Zpira) and its four opening pages to the release of Vampyres:

The awakening of vampyres

Some 15000 descendants of Dracula haunt today the nights of the big cities. Epok met with them... Take all your godliness, crosses and garlic: what you are about to read is beyond comprehension.

The continuation of the article (which unfortunately contains some errors and approximations about the subject and the book) is this week in Epok.

. Direct link towards Epok’s webpage on FNAC’s website
. Direct link towards FNAC’s website

:: VAMPYRES IN TRAX MAGAZINE & FLUCTUAT.NET

Maxence Grugier, journalist and specialist of contemporary counter-cultures, consecrates a three-page article to the release of Vampyres in the 94th edition of Trax magazine (April 2006). He also writes on the website Fluctuat.net:

Bloodily Gonzo!

Look out major event book! Will be available in bookstores this coming April 18th: Vampyres, when reality goes beyond fiction by Laurent Courau (photos Lukas Zpira). An exceptional document about New York City’s vampyric scene and its expansion in the rest of the world. Hoax? Extreme gothic con? Not the least, and you will discover throughout the pages of this fascinating book – on top of the “y” reason for vampires – that the reality of vampirism is quite far from a fashion phenomenon (just as it is from Bram Stoker type clichés). At the core of this movement, the street first, sex, body modifications, gangs, but also solidarity, discipline, magic and a true philosophy. A culture that spreads from the streets of Queens and Brooklyn to Osaka, Toronto or Moscow... The phagocytotic process of the last counter-cultures is on the march! We’ll talk about it again very soon!

. Direct link towards the MySpace webpage of Trax magazine
. Direct Link towards the website Fluctuat.net

:: IS ESOTERISM BACK TO HAUNT POP CULTURE ?

On the occasion of the release of Vampyres, Chronicart magazine publishes an article of two pages by Laurent Courau on the return of dark esotericism in its April 2006 issue, now in newsstands:

Surge of Asian ghosts, Sumerian demons and cases of infantile possession... The supernatural and black magic invade mainstream culture of the early 21st century, as if our contemporaries needed to see the devil to conjure the hazards of their daily life.

“We have entered the fifth eon of humanity, a time considered by Anton LaVey as the age of Satan and by Aleister Crowley, the Great Beast of the Apocalypse, as the age of Horus. Humanity is getting prepared for a new important step in human evolution and magic is clearly the new path of our evolution. Black magic and the left hand path open the way for us, as they are based on the individual versus the community.” (Father Sebastiaan, excerpt from Vampyres)

The continuation of the article is in the Extra-Q section of Chronicart’s issue 24.

. Direct Link towards the website of Chronicart magazine

:: SOME LINKS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION...

Vampyres’ clans, esoteric orders, personalities from the scene, authors’ websites, publishing houses and websites dedicated to vampires of various forms.... A list of links of all kinds for the curious minds and the sensation-lovers!

Belanger, Michelle
. http://www.michellebelanger.com/

Black Trillium
. http://www.blacktrillium.com/

Bloodlines International
. http://www.bloodlinesint.com/

Blow Your Mind Productions
. http://www.blowyourmind-productions.com/

Bourre, Jean-Paul
. http://www.jeanpaulbourre.com/

Brainsushi - The Mutant Media Agency
. http://www.brainsushi.info

Cinéma des vampires
. http://www.cinema-des-vampires.net/

The Court of Lazarus
. http://www.courtoflazarus.org/

Dèmonia Magazine
. http://www.demonia-magazine.com/

Don Henrie
. http://www.vampiredon.net/

Drake, Marcos
. http://www.marcos-drake.com/

Editions Flammarion
. http://editions.flammarion.com/

Editions INRI
. http://www.editions-inri.com/

Editions de l'Oxymore
. http://www.oxymore.com/

Etoile du Nord
. http://www.etoile-du-nord.com/

Father Sebastiaan
. http://www.fathersebastiaan.com/

Hors Editions
. http://www.hors-editions.com

House Hidden Shadows
. http://www.hiddenshadowsvamp.com/

House Kheperu
. http://www.kheperu.org/

House Sahjaza
. http://www.housesahjaza.org/

House Saint Eve
. http://www.thesainteve.com/

La Spirale - an eZine for the Digital Mutants
. http://www.laspirale.org

Madame Webb
. http://www.madamewebbssight.net

Master Steelow
. http://www.mastersteelow.com/

The Maozoleum
. http://www.themaozoleum.com

Mondocourau.com
. http://www.mondocourau.com

Morsure - Le site de tous les vampires
. http://www.morsure.net

Musée des vampires
. http://www.musee-des-vampires.com/

The Internet Sacred Text Archive
. http://www.sacred-texts.com/

Strigoi Vii - The Current of Elorath
. http://www.strigoivii.org/

The Temple of the Vampire
. http://www.vampiretemple.com/

Theatre des Vampyres
. http://www.theatredesvampyres.net/

Vlad & Sky
. http://www.skyvlad.com/

White Wolf Online
. http://www.white-wolf.com/