Arlene gets her teeth into her job

By Thomas McGuigan
BBC News Online Scotland

Being the editor of a magazine dedicated to vampires isn't exactly your everyday occupation. But for Arlene Russo, it's a labour of love.

Arlene Russo (centre) says stereotypes are a problem in her line of work

It might sound bizarre but Arlene is actually squeamish about the sight of blood.

Despite that, she launched her Glasgow-based magazine, "Bite Me", in 1999 after visiting the World Dracula Congress in Los Angeles.

Her motivation? Partly to satisfy her own interest in writing and partly because of a growing interest in the subject.

Arlene, 30, reckons the world has the wrong view of vampire "fans".

"Society and the press tend to view vampire fans as potential blood-drinking fiends," she said.

"I would say you are safer in a room with a vampire than you are with a Glasgow 'ned'.

Italian origins

"I don't know people who drink blood. Why should I have to justify a crime I've not committed? Why should I have to explain to the world that the vampire fans I know are not dangerous?

"I seem to spend my time telling people what I'm not as opposed to what I am. "People are surprised when they see me. They expect to see a Goth with a chalk white face and heavy eyes.

"As I am of Italian origin I have always preferred the sun-kissed look and prefer Dolce and Gabbana, and Valentino to shapeless Marilyn Manson T-shirts any day."

Bite Me articles Exposing Dracula lies and myths How to tell if your neighbour is a werewolf Ten facts about Christopher Lee Graveyard habits Infamous vampires of New York Interview with a psychic vampire

Arlene became hooked when, as a 10-year-old, she was "captivated" by Christopher Lee's depiction of Dracula.

"My parents allowed me to stay up late to watch the horror double bills. I think they regret it now," she admitted.

Vampires, she said, are a hobby like football, snooker and sci-fi or western films. "I always remember Christopher Lee baring his fangs in Dracula Prince of Darkness and used to have arguments with a classmate when I said that he disappeared beneath a sheet of ice in a film and met a watery grave.

Stunt double

"She thought I was making it up. About 15 years later I met this classmate out of the blue when she turned up at one of the film nights I organised at the Glasgow Film Theatre cinema.

"I told her I was right and that I had met the stuntman who doubled for Dracula in that scene."

So is Scotland home to any vampires? Arlene said: "That depends on what your concept of a vampire is. For me, the vampire is a supernatural being that exists in the realms of our imagination.

Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I had not, out of the blue, gone to LA

"I believe it would be the reanimated corpse that has come back to life to feed off the blood of the living. Until science proves this exists then I cannot believe."

Arlene said the people she meets through her work and travels are not devil-worshipping blood suckers, or if they are, she has not been told.

"All I know is that they're professors of literature, academics and scientists. They are supermarket check-out girls and housewives. They are everywhere."

People she meets on the vampire circuit are frequently willing to offer her new material for the magazine.

Human combustion

She said: "Contributors include German forensic biologist Dr Mark Benecke, who is listed in Who's Who in the World, for his contribution to forensic science.

"In his spare time he is European vice-president of the world's biggest Dracula fan club in New York. He has written reports for Bite Me on spontaneous human combustion and offered a forensic view on impaling."

Arlene said she has always wanted to be a writer and took a self-teaching publishing course to give her the grounding and knowledge required to make "Bite Me" a success.

Bite Me has proved a hit with vampire fans

She said it was a daunting prospect at the outset and has few regrets about entering "a male dominated profession".

Readers of the magazine come from Scotland, the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, Honolulu, New Zealand and Iran.

Her most bizarre experience happened when she was contacted by a man in a Dutch prison.

"I received a handwritten letter from an inmate who wanted me to send over a real vampire to drain the warden's blood," she recalled.

"He was being entirely serious, and this came just as I'd launched the magazine. At that stage I wondered what I'd got myself into.

"I still remember sitting in a café in Byres Road in Glasgow, opening the letter and the shock I got."

Bella Lugosi's son

Vampire fans, she said, come from all backgrounds and age groups.

"I often approach complete strangers, most recently a woman at a Tesco check-out, and tell them they'd make the perfect vampire.

"After the initial surprise and embarrassment, they then confess to always having had a love of the fanged creatures."

The World Dracula Congress was held to celebrate the centenary of Bram Stoker's Dracula novel.

Arlene met Bella Lugosi's son and had to contend with a psychic vampire "who kept staring into my eyes trying to drain me".

She does not see her long-term future in vampires but, apart from plans to study law at some stage, is happy to let fate decide her next step.

She said: "Launching the magazine seemed like the right thing to do at the time. The visit to the LA convention was a complete chance event and I didn't think my career would be based on vampires.

"Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I had not, out of the blue, gone to LA. Often I wish I hadn't, but for some reason it was a question of my destiny."