 After explorations in Central and Eastern Europe following the fall of communism and the opening of lost archives, Tony Thorne published the definitive English-language biography of the 16th century Hungarian Countess Erzsebet Bathory, reputed to be a mass murderer who bathed in the blood of her victims.His "Children of the Night" is a comprehensive account of the historical origins of the vampire myth as well as its subsequent representations in literature and popular culture.The book additionally examines contemporary vampire culture through interviews with self-styled ‘living vampires’.