Robert Eighteen-Bisang


Robert Eighteen-Bisang is a Canadian author and scholar, who is one of the world's foremost authorities on vampire literature and mythology.
His book Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula: A Facsimile Edition, which was written with Elizabeth Miller, won the Lord Ruthven Award. The "Ruthven," as it is often called, is awarded annually for the most outstanding work in vampire fiction or scholarship.
Other books by Eighteen-Bisang include Vampire Stories, which includes vampire stories by Arthur Conan Doyle: The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire, The Captain of the Polestar, John Barrrington Cowles, and The Parasite, along with The Adventure of the Illustrious Client – which Eighteen-Bisang claims is a rationalized version of Dracula – and four more stories with tenuous connections to vampires. Publishers Weekly called the book "a stretch" and something "only completionists are likely to add this to their collections."

Personal life

Eighteen-Bisang grew up in Toronto, Ontario as the son of a professional poker player. In university, he was a backgammon player and won four championships. Eighteen-Bisang aspired to be a university professor, but was talked out of the position by his professors themselves, believing the position would be too restrictive for him. After a career in marketing, Eighteen-Bisang gained an interest in vampire literature and started his research, collecting and writing. As an adult, Eighteen-Bisang still plays in backgammon tournaments and is a member of the Vancouver Backgammon Club.
Eighteen-Bisang has amassed the largest collection of vampiric literature in the world, which he houses at his personal residence. The collection includes about 2,500 books, 2,000 comic books, 1,000 magazines and over 100 films, including a first edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Academic involvement

Eighteen-Bisang is credited as proving that the novel Dracula is based on the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper. He has also discounted that Bram Stoker based his iconic character Dracula on Vlad the Impaler, as many people believe.
Eighteen-Bisang is a member of the American chapter of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula, led by president J. Gordon Melton, and is a member of the Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars. He also founded Transylvania Press, a publishing company which "publishes high-quality vampiriana for collectors, libraries and fans."
He has been invited to lecture on vampires in Dallas, London, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria. In 1997, he was guest of honor at Dracula ’97 in Los Angeles.

Literature

As author