The Morganville Vampires is a series of young adult books that mix fantasy and vampire stories. The books are written by Rachel Caine. The main character is Claire Danvers, a student at Texas Prairie University. She lives with her housemates in the vampire-controlled city of Morganville, Texas. Although the mayor of Morganville is human, the city’s people live together with a group of vampires. Morganville also has many second-hand stores that sell used items.

Several books in the series have been on the New York Times bestseller list. In September 2009, Rachel Caine agreed to write books 10, 11, and 12 in the series. In January 2010, she announced that starting with book 9, called Ghost Town, the books would first be released in hardback. In September 2011, three more books were added to the series, making the total number of books 15.

Series

• Glass Houses (October 2006, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-21994-5)
• The Dead Girls' Dance (April 2007, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22089-7)
• Midnight Alley (October 2007, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22238-5)
• Feast of Fools (June 2008, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22463-9)
• Lord of Misrule (January 2009, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22572-4)
• Carpe Corpus (June 2009, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22719-0)
• Fade Out (November 2009, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22866-9)
• Kiss of Death (April 27, 2010, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22973-8)
• Ghost Town (October 26, 2010, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-23161-9)
• Bite Club (May 3, 2011, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-23318-2)
• Last Breath (November 1, 2011, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-23487-1)
• Black Dawn (May 1, 2012, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-23671-8)
• Bitter Blood (November 6, 2012, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-23811-7)
• Fall Of Night (May 7, 2013, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-41425-X)
• Daylighters (November 5, 2013, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-41427-6)
• Midnight Bites (March 1, 2016, Berkley Softcover, ISBN 978-1101989784)

• "All Hallows" in The Eternal Kiss (2009, ISBN 978-0-7624-3717-7) and Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Amelie's Story" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "And One for the Devil" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Anger Management" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Automatic" in Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions and Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Dark Rides" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Dead Man Stalking" in Immortal: Love Stories With Bite and Vampires: The Recent Undead and Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Drama Queen's Last Dance" in Eternal: More Love Stories with Bite and Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life" in Many Bloody Returns and Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Grudge" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Home: A Morganville Story" in Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery
• "Let Them Eat Cake"
• "Lunch Date" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Murdered Out" in the UK version of Carpe Corpus and Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Myrnin's Tale" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "New Blood" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Nothing Like an Angel" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Pitch-Black Blues" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989784)
• "Sam's Story" in Midnight Bites (2016, ISBN 978-1101989

Characters

Claire Danvers is the main character in the series. She moves to Morganville to attend Texas Prairie University after graduating from high school early at age 16. She is one of the youngest characters in the series but is very smart, especially in science. Her intelligence sometimes makes others, including vampires, notice her. Claire works as an assistant to Myrnin, a job assigned to her by Amelie, the founder of Morganville and the oldest vampire in the world (except for Bishop). Claire and Myrnin become close friends because they share similar interests, but their relationship is sometimes difficult due to Myrnin’s unpredictable behavior caused by his vampire nature and a disease that affects some older vampires. At one point, Bishop takes Claire against her will to be his helper, partly to challenge Amelie, as Claire is one of the few humans Amelie cares about. Claire is in a relationship with Shane Collins, a local boy her parents disapprove of, believing she is too young to have a boyfriend. Her parents often ask her to return home with them. Claire is best friends with Eve Rosser, a goth girl who calls her “CB,” and with Michael Glass, a musician who treats her like a younger sibling. She is enemies with Monica Morrell, who initially dislikes Claire but later respects her. At the start of the series, Claire is somewhat unaware of the dangers in Morganville, but as the story progresses, she becomes stronger and more capable, adapting to life in a town ruled by vampires. She is respected and disliked by both vampires and humans, as vampires believe she has too much freedom, and humans think she sides with vampires. In the book Last Breath, Claire is killed by Magnus, a vampire, but the Glass House saves her life by turning her into a ghost trapped inside the house. Claire is described as short with brown hair, which later turns mostly red due to Eve’s influence. At the end of Bitter Blood, Claire is allowed to leave Morganville to attend MIT, a gift from Amelie for her help to the town. She briefly studies at MIT but returns to Morganville after learning about the Daylight Foundation, a group that takes over the town. She helps rescue the vampires and defeat the Daylighters.

Michael Glass is a native of Morganville and owns the Glass House. His grandfather is Sam Glass. When Claire joins the Glass House, she becomes a roommate with Shane and Eve. Michael’s strange behavior during the day, including his mysterious disappearance, causes tension with his housemates. After being attacked by Oliver, who tried to turn him into a vampire, Michael becomes a ghost, appearing only at night and drawing power from the Glass House. This makes him very strong inside the house but prevents him from leaving, which frustrates him. To escape this, Michael asks Amelie to turn him into a vampire, which strains his friendship with Shane. Michael is responsible, kind, and protective of his loved ones. He is also a talented musician and is offered a record deal in Kiss of Death, though nothing happens with it. In the final book, Michael is given a cure for vampirism with a low chance of success but survives and becomes human again. He starts a relationship with Eve early in the series and marries her twice, though their first marriage is annulled because it was between a human and a vampire. Michael is described as handsome, tall, with blue eyes and blonde hair.

Shane Collins is a resident of the Glass House and a native of Morganville. He is hot-headed and often gets into trouble, though he is very protective of Claire, Michael, and Eve. He strongly dislikes vampires, especially because he believes they killed his sister, Alyssa, in a house fire. Shane and his family left Morganville after the fire, but his family life fell apart. His father became abusive due to alcoholism, and his mother began to remember her past in Morganville. Shane and his father believe Alyssa was killed by vampires, which drives them to seek revenge. Shane eventually rejects his father’s violent plans, causing a rift between them. He struggles with anger and often acts on impulse, though he is trying to change. Shane is tall, muscular, and described as good-looking with brown eyes and hair.

Eve Rosser is a native of Morganville who refused protection from her family’s vampire patron, Brandon, who sexually harassed her starting at age 15. She later refused to let Brandon abuse her younger brother, Jason. Eve wears goth clothing and makeup as a way to mock vampires. She is usually cheerful and independent but can be emotional and dramatic. She is outspoken and has offended many vampires. Eve has a troubled relationship with her brother, Jason, a criminal who claims to have killed several girls and threatens Claire. She drives an old black Cadillac, which is destroyed in Kiss of Death, and she replaces it with a black hearse. In Fade Out, Eve plays the role of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. At the start of the series, Eve works at Common Grounds and is close to her boss, Oliver, until she learns Oliver is a vampire who killed Michael. She quits her job and later returns to work at Common Grounds.

Synopsis

Morganville is a small town with many strange people. When it gets dark, dangerous individuals appear. In Morganville, there is a threat that hides in the darkest places—it will eventually come into the open.

Claire Danvers found high school very difficult, and college might be even harder. She had problems with Monica, the most cruel of the school's mean girls, and now she has three new roommates, each with their own secrets. The biggest secret is that Morganville is controlled by vampires who want to drink human blood.

Claire Danvers has faced many challenges, such as being smart in a school that values looks more than intelligence, dealing with dangerous girls in her dorm, and discovering that her college town is full of blood-drinking monsters. Good news is, Claire and her friends have avoided trouble with some important vampires in Morganville. But their peace is in danger because of her new boyfriend's father and his group that fights vampires.

Key locations

The main characters in the novels are four young adults who live in The Glass House. This house has special abilities and often helps the young people living there. It also serves as a safe place for those in need, protected by a rule called "founder's protection." The house once saved Michael Glass when he was attacked by Oliver years ago. Because of this, Michael is now bound to live in the house forever, though he is already dead and cannot die. In The Dead Girl's Dance, Michael helps Shane, who is sentenced to death, by asking Amelie to turn him into a vampire. He says, "I'm half-alive, Claire. There's no going back, I can only go forwards." After this, Michael becomes a full vampire.

Myrnin's Lab is where Claire works in Midnight Alley. It is also the workplace of her boss, Myrnin, who is known as the "Trapdoor Spider." The lab is located near the Day house and is hidden from most people, except those Amelie chooses to inform. It is said that Myrnin can sense if someone is unprotected and may harm them. The lab is used for scientific work, especially alchemy.

A third-tier state university is often the first choice for students who cannot get into more competitive schools. Most students at this university are unaware of the unusual events that occur in Morganville. Monica's mistreatment of Claire at this university was a key reason Claire sought help from The Glass House.

Common Grounds is a coffee shop near the university campus. It serves as a neutral meeting place for humans and vampires. Eve Rosser worked there until she discovered her boss, a hippie named Oliver, was actually a powerful vampire who once tried to turn Michael into a vampire. This location is important throughout the series and is owned by Oliver, a vampire mafia leader.

Houses like Claire's are found throughout Morganville. These homes are connected through Ada, an invention by Myrnin that creates memory barriers in the town (later replaced by Frank Collins, Shane's father). Amelie frequently appears in these houses during the early books. Examples of such houses include The Glass House, the Day house, and Claire's parents' home.

Adaptations

It has been shared on the author's website that the rights to create a Morganville Vampire movie, TV show, and other types of media have been bought by the team that makes the popular series Red Dwarf and by Paramount Pictures.

Morganville: The Series

In June 2013, a Kickstarter campaign was started to help turn The Morganville Vampires into a web TV series. Amber Benson was chosen to star as Amelie, the founder of Morganville. Blake Calhoun agreed to direct and produce the series. Rachel Caine also joined the project as a writer and producer. On July 11, 2013, the campaign reached its goal, raising $81,752 total.

On July 26, 2013, Rachel announced that the scripts for the first season were finished. On October 22, 2014, a trailer for the series was posted on YouTube by Geek & Sundry.