Frank Stanfield has been a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 40 years, including at the Orlando Sentinel, where he covered the double-homicide trial of vampire cult leader Rod Ferrell. Since then, he has covered the case for other news outlets through the appeals process and a resentencing hearing in 2019, where he pleaded with the court to reduce his life sentence. He continues to cover other stories -- the kind that make Florida … [Read more...]
COLD BLOODED: A True Crime Story of a Murderous Teenage Vampire Cult
Investigators and Central Florida residents were horrified when 16-year-old vampire cult leader Rod Ferrell was arrested and charged with bludgeoning a cult member's parents. When they realized the slain couple's 15-year-old daughter was missing, they feared she was a victim, too. Detectives and journalists swarming over three states soon uncovered a web of blood-drinking occult rituals, illicit sex, wildly dysfunctional families and spiritual … [Read more...]
COLD BLOODED Author Frank Stanfield: Why Are Vampires So Popular?
Why are vampires so popular in pop culture? I mean, sure, Count Dracula wore nice clothes -- black tie for dinner and all -- and he lived in a castle, but he was so creepy. Bela Lugosi launched a career scaring the heck out of moviegoers in 1931’s Dracula. I watched it as a kid on late night “Creature Feature” TV shows in the1960s. Deep psychological messages escaped me at the time. Perhaps I was too busy bonking my little brother over … [Read more...]
