It's the "associational" part that intrigues me. In this unscientific survey method, it seems to me there are an awful lot of Romance novels featuring vampires, ghosts, or the undead in general.

What's the game? Realism exhausted? Sales improving by bringing in fantastic elements? The "Buffy" influence?

I remember when "horror" was a big section of the bookstore. Now it's reduced to about one set of shelves (Borders), or racked with "fiction" (Books-a-Million). And even when it has its own section, why are most of the books by Stephen King and Dean Koontz?

I can tell you the following:

1.) Yes, vampires are hot. Editors want vampires, and authors give them what they want. Erotica is on the rise. Paranormal Romance is a helthy genre to be in right now.

2.) Horror has always been the red-headed stepchild of the genres. No author wants to be pigeonholed as a horror writer, and horror fans hate that the spines have all been changed to say "fiction." The inherent problem is that "horror" is usually just an aspect of a larger story: a mystery, or a romance, or both.

You know, if bookstores shelved books by ambiance, maybe that would solve things. I for one would love to shop in a store with sections like, "Stories that will make you laugh" or "Memoirs that will make you cry" or "Really tough books that will take forever but you'll be glad you read" or "Cheesy romances with happy endings." It'd be fun, wouldn't it?