The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories, a 1987 anthology edited by Alan Ryan, is, like most story collections, a mixed bag. My tastes favor the Gothic and literal when it comes to vampire tales, and so I particularly enjoyed the front section of this chronologically arranged collection, most especially J. Sheridan Le Fanu's classic "Carmilla"; "Dracula's Guest" by Bram Stoker; "The Room in the Tower" by E.F. Benson; "Shambleau" by C.L. Moore; and " The Drifting Snow" by August Derleth. But in the back section of the book, when the tales became more modern and psychological, I did not have such a good time. Two long stories in particular, "Cabin 33" by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and "Unicorn Tapestry" by Suzy McKee Charnas, I did not care for at all, which made for a particularly rough 110-page slog near the end of the book. This is all a matter of taste, of course. So with some 'good' stories and some 'bad', I'll call it a wash and give the anthology a nice middle-of-the-road rating.