Author Michael E. Bell is the retired State Folklorist of Rhode Island. He has a Ph.D. in Folklore from Indiana University, Bloomington, an M.A. in Folklore and Mythology from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a B.A. in Anthropology/Archaeology from the University of Arizona, Tucson. He is the author of Vampire’s Grasp: The Hidden History of Consumption in New England (Warren History Press 2024). Michael’s first vampire book, Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England's Vampires (2001; 2011 enlarged ed.) was a BookSense 76 Pick and winner of the Lord Ruthven Assembly Award for Best Nonfiction Book on Vampires. Michael and his wife, Carole, split their time between Texas and Rhode Island.
