They hide in the shadows, watching, to come visit you when you’re alone. They can bring you either death or eternal life, but either way, they’re bound to take your breath away. One bite is all they need to show you true bliss.
And we know one bite is all you need to know true bliss anytime you pick up a quality chocolate bar. Which is why chocolate and vampires might be thought to have something in common. Skip the horror and the undead. We’re talking about the seduction and the romance, the qualities of the vampire mythos that make them one of the few gorgeous and appealing specimens of the night.
And what about werewolves? What have they got to do with chocolate? Well, it depends greatly on the tale they’re in. They could be the hideous beasts that come out during the full moon, jumping out at people and killing without mercy. Or they could be shapeshifting handsome, tortured young men who want to love but fear for their beloved’s safety when the full moon rises, so there’s all that will-they-or-won’t-they kind of angst. Cue the chocolate to keep our hormone levels steady!
One of the current most popular vampire and werewolves series on the planet has already made the sexy-monster/chocolate connection and we get to reap the benefit of an exclusive chocolate bar tie-in. What is it? Read on!
Vampires & Chocolates (2002)
Author: Greg Shelton Publisher: Writer’s Club Press
(http://www.vampires.nu/pages/Resources.cfm/PageID/22/ID/1284)
This self-published book is picking up steam in the supernatural and vampire genres and the title alone is enough to get any chocoholic interested! Plus, it’s got vampires who crave the blood of humans who have eaten (or have been submerged in—don’t ask, you’ve got to check it out yourself!) chocolate, so much so that some of them scheme to populate the world with chocolate-blooded humans by creating and selling a popular brand of candy called Chocolate Bites. Little did we know that we’ve all been suckers in a group of vampires’ plans to drink our blood!
This vampire (and chocolate!) tale centers around Kenter Vonn, who joins the marketing-chocolate-initiative vampire colony. He struggles against Borgo, the vampire who changed Kenter into a creature of the night in the 17th century and the leader of the clan that prefers their victims dunked in chocolate. When Kenter falls in love with the human Jacqueline and decides to save her from becoming the undead, he strives to find a way to regain his own humanity for her sake. Along the way, he discovers the devastating truth as to why vampires have such a strong craving for chocolate!
Blood and Chocolate (1997, 2007)
Author: Annette Curtis Klause Publisher: Random House
(www.childrensbookguild.org/klause.htm)
No, not the mid-80s Elvis Costello and the Attractions album of the same name. This 1997 Young Adult book and 2007 film featuring a tribe of loup-garoux (werewolves) actually stars a teen werewolf girl named Vivian. Her love interest, Aiden, is human. Where they live, how they meet, and what happens from there on actually depends greatly on whether you’re watching or reading. And whether you’re watching or reading might be the same as the difference between enjoying a delectable morsel of chocolate or a pot of steaming brussels sprouts.
Start with the film. This is one of the rare cases where you ought to see a film adaptation before you read the novel source—because otherwise you’ll be bitterly disappointed. Enjoy the film on its own. Aside from character names, the idea of a tribe of werewolves, and a young werewolf woman at the center of a whole lot of drama, the film and the novel have little in common. Characterization and relationships aren’t even the same—often not even close. The film does, though, take the "chocolate" reference literally (which is missing in the book) by having Vivian work part-time at a chocolate and sweets shop.
As far as the book’s concerned, the "chocolate" of the title represents Vivian’s human side (Aiden’s kisses are like chocolate to her—steamy! Or is it…?) and the "blood" represents her werewolf side. Vivian has to make a choice between the two. The book’s message is actually entirely different than the film’s and it’s likely the former that will stay with you the longest. Still, you can enjoy both the fluffy light chocolate cream that is the movie as well as the bitter dark chocolate that is the film this month, right in time for Halloween!
The Twilight Saga (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Author: Stephenie Meyer Publisher: Little, Brown
(www.stepheniemeyer.com)
Chocolate isn’t significantly so much as mentioned in the pages of this four-volume epic tale of a clumsy high schooler, her protective and devoted "vegetarian" vampire love, and her fiery teen werewolf best friend/potential boyfriend, but Godiva Chocolatier certainly saw the vampire-chocolate connection when it released an exclusive The Twilight Saga "Can you resist the temptation?" chocolate bar. (here)
So what’s this Twilight? If you haven’t at least heard of it, you probably haven’t been near a bookstore lately. These New York Times Bestseller Young Adult fiction books are incredibly popular with teens, pre-teens, and adults alike—although mostly with girls and women. Most fans find protagonist Bella likeable as they step into her shoes to read the tale spun from her perspective, but it’s dashing vampire Edward whom most of the fan base adores. (And a small but very vocal minority who would take werewolf Jacob over Edward any day.) Watch for the first film adaptation to hit cinemas in November!
Featuring a picture from the cover of the first book in the series on the packaging sleeve, the Godiva Twilight milk chocolate bars have been hunted down and snatched up with more obsession and determination than Van Helsing on his quest for Dracula. Only two months after the chocolate bars’ release, these suckers (no pen intended) are scarce, but try smaller food stores or Barnes and Noble Booksellers.
This Halloween season, curl up with a book about the stunning denizens of the dark or turn down the lights and watch the drama of love, blood, and chocolate unfold on your TV screen. Just be careful when you answer the door for those Trick-or-Treaters. After all, what’s scarier? "I’ve come to drink your blood!" or "I’ve come to eat your chocolate!"?
