GROSSMONT COLLEGE–The 17th Annual Literary Arts Festival hosted Werewolves, Vampires, and Zombies – Oh My!, In the Griffin Gate on May 2 as part of their series of events. The event included a panel of guest speakers that spoke about the supernatural and the undead in literature.
The guest speakers were all Grossmont college instructors and authors. The panelists provided a variety of topics that gave different viewpoints on the undead.
Lauren Spears presented an abridged version of her master’s thesis, A Tale of Two Monsters, on the differences and similarities between vampires and zombies. Linda Mitchell read excerpts from her upcoming book, Werewolf Whisperer , and Lisa Shapiro , who spoke about the castles that inspired her book The Castle Ghost
Spears lectured on how vampires and zombies are of the same species and the only thing that separates the two is socio-economic status. She spoke about evolution and de-evolution of both vampires and zombies in popular culture.
“Monsters are metaphors.” Stated Spears “Vampires represent our fear of the elite and zombies represent our fear of the mindless masses.” Spears concluded the lecture with a question. “What does the new zombie trend say about our society?”
Linda Mitchell read selections from her book, Werewolf Whisperer. The book was a story about a girl who had psychic abilities, befriends a werewolf from an early age who’s journey takes her through a world where werewolves are not accepted. The book will be released on online retailer Amazon’s website later this summer.
Perhaps the most amusing part of the event was an impromptu speech caused by technical difficulties that a faculty member presented. The speech consisted of the sexuality that vampires represented and the ways that the sexuality represented had changed over time.
Lisa Shapiro gave an insight into the research writers must undertake to insure the accuracy of their books. Her research took her to England where she visited many castles ruins, battle grounds, and manor houses.
