Tragic news this Sunday morning as we’ve learned that Anne Rice, the prolific horror writer behind the iconic “Interview With the Vampire” and the entire “The Vampire Chronicles” book series, passed away last night due to complications resulting from a stroke. She was 80.
“Earlier tonight, Anne passed away due to complications resulting from a stroke,” Rice’s son, Christopher Rice, said in a statement on social media. “She left us almost nineteen years to the day my father, her husband Stan, died. The immensity of our family’s grief cannot be overstated. As my mother, her support for me was unconditional — she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity and challenge the dark voices of fear and self-doubt. As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions.
“In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and her courage, awash in memories of a life that took us from the fog laced hills of the San Francisco Bay Area to the magical streets of New Orleans to the twinkling vistas of Southern California. As she kissed Anne goodbye, her younger sister Karen said, ‘What a ride you took us on, kid.’ I think we can all agree. Let us take comfort in the shared hope that Anne is now experiencing firsthand the glorious answers to many great spiritual and cosmic questions, the quest for which defined her life and career.
“Throughout much of her final years, your contributions to this page brought her much joy, along with a profound sense of friendship and community,” he tells her fans. “Anne will be interred in our family’s mausoleum at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans in a private ceremony. Next year, a celebration of her life will take place in New Orleans. This event will be open to the public and will invite the participation of her friends, readers and fans who brought her such joy and inspiration throughout her life.”
Rice wrote nearly 40 novels, including the famed “The Vampire Chronicles” and the more recent “Mayfair Witches”. She sold some 135 million copies, placing her among the most popular fantasy writers of all time, notes THR.
She also penned the screenplay to the 1994 adaptation of Interview With the Vampire, which starred Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, and introduced millions to the iconic vampire Lestat. Queen of the Damned would also receive the Hollywood treatment in 2002, starring the late Aaliyah.
AMC had recently given a series order to “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches”, as they continue to film “Interview With the Vampire”, the first in a new series based on “The Vampires Chronicles”.
The works of Anne Rice will live on in infamy and her impact on the genre will continue to be felt until the end of time. You can read a wonderful obit over at THR.
What is your favorite Anne Rice novel and why?
Stuart Townsend and Aaliyah in QUEEN OF THE DAMNED