Freshman Project Essay

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Seth Grahame-Smith
Published:March, 2010 Time Period Covered: 1809-Present Date: May 3, 2013 Period: 1

Shashank Sharma

Sharma 1

Shashank Sharma Mrs. Rubiano United States History 1-H 3 May 2013 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter? In the novel Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Abraham Lincoln is portrayed as the child of a lumberjack, named Thomas Lincoln. The book has excerpts from his journal that was gifted on his birthday. Abe, in his childhood, chopped trees down to support his family. They lived together, with his mother, his sister Sarah, and his brother Thomas Jr., in Kentucky. Both of his parents were born in Virginia. (Freidel). His uncle and aunt are at his house visiting. One day while working, he sees his dad talking to a weird man. He says that his dad must pay back his loan, or he has other ways to repay debts. The next day, his mom, his uncle and his aunt are all found dead. Lincoln discovers the weird man was a vampire when his father tells him, while he is drunk. Abe promises to avenge his mothers death by killing every vampire alive in America. He sends a letter to the loaner, and kills him when he appears to their home. Later in the year, Lincoln goes to a nearby town to look for vampires to hunt, after training for months. He finds a vampire, who almost kills him, but is saved by another vampire called Henry Sturges. Henry is a good vampire, and wants to defeat the rest of the bad vampires. He trains Lincoln who will continue to kill vampires until his first son dies, also from a vampire attack. After meeting Henry, Lincoln roams around the country and kills the vampires Henry tells him to in letters. Also, in these towns, he gives public speeches about abolition. He is eventually elected for congress, and then president. Before becoming president, he falls in love with and marrieds

Sharma 2

Mary Todd. They have 3 sons. But one of them dies. Also, the novel talks about how slavery is a way to fulfill the need of blood for the vampires. The civil war is fought for the same reason. At the end of the novel, Lincoln is assassinated by a vampire named Booth. This is the end of Lincolns life. Or is it? Henry goes to Lincolns grave, and turns him into a vampire so he can live forever. Lincoln kills off the KKK and the Nazis, both of whom are vampire groups (GrahameSmith). This book is obviously not one hundred percent accurate. But many things in the novel are. For example, the time and settings of the book are accurate. Lincoln was born in Kentucky, and did, in his lifetime, move to Indiana because of a court case (Encyclopedia Britannica). He had a brother and a sister, and a mother who died when Lincoln was still a kid (Freidel). Even his child, Willie Lincoln, did die in 1862, because of typhoid (Geoff). Almost everything in the novel, except the vampires and hunting is correct. The facts that are not true would be Lincoln journal, which would be an amazing find but is completely fictional. Another fictional event is when the book talks about Lincoln meeting Edgar Alan Poe, and the two men having conversations. Lincoln loved the work of Poe, but they most likely never met in real life (Geoff). Another true incident would be when Lincoln went to New Orleans. He did visit New Orleans twice in his lifetime, in 1828 and 1830 (Geoff). Even the part about Lincoln meeting the Clary Grove Boys gang and defeating them in a fight is true. Lincoln was knows for winning this battle, and the gang members helped Lincoln win the legislative election, due to respect (Geoff). So this book is almost 100 percent historically correct, except the vampires. Or did vampires really exist?

Sharma 3

This book should definitely be read in any history class. You might argue that this book would blur fiction and fact in a students mind, but th is book is a much easier way to teach about Abraham Lincoln. It would be much better than reading a boring biography in class, and is definitely better than watching a movie about Lincoln. It would be difficult to not fall asleep. On the other hand, a fictional novel that adds spark to the life of our 16th president would definitely hook a student more. The novel is very catchy and will hook any reader till the end. And even the end will not disappoint the reader. The most important reason this book should be read in a history class would be because of its historical accuracy. As mentioned in the above paragraph, the novel is almost totally historically correct. Reading the novel would be a different and creative way to teaching about Lincolns life. I def initely thing this book should be read in any history class learning about Abraham Lincoln.

Sharma 4

Works Cited Abraham Lincoln. 2013. Encylopedia Britannica, Inc. 2013.Web. 30 April 2013. <http://schoolpreview.eb.com/levels/high/article/108307>. Freidel, Frank."Abraham Lincoln" Abraham Lincoln. 1 June 1998. Web. 29 April 2013. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln>. Geoff, Elliot. "Abrham Lincoln Vampire Hunter- facts vs fiction" Abrahamlincolnblog. 18 march 2010. Web. 2 may 2013. <http://abrahamlincolnblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/abraham-lincoln-vampire-hunterfacts-vs.html>. Grahame-Smith, Seth. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. New York City: Grand Central Publishing, 2010. E-Book.