Anne Rice is one of the best-selling writers of horror fiction ever. Her 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire was a cult hit, spawning a lengthy series of books that updated the vampire archetype for the postmodern era. Her lush, romantic fiction has explored everything from Christian apologetics to pornographic fairy tales. Sultry sorceress.

"There’s a deep link between the zombie and the way human beings see their enemies and sometimes the way they see other people. Christians really do believe that the majority of people go to hell and they believe that human depravity is total. A zombie is a perfect image of the way to see the sinful person. They see them as zombies. Those of us who aren’t religious see the religious people as zombies. We all feel we’re in a world of zombies. If you go back to Night of the Living Dead, life feels like that sometimes. You’re surrounded by people that just want to eat you."