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Kalona is an evil fallen angel whom Neferet introduces to everyone as Erebus, Nyx's Consort. Kalona goes into Zoey's dreams and tries to seduce her. He is thousands of years old, although he changes his appearance to people's preferences. He first appears in the series as a Cherokee legend, which is revealed to be true when Neferet releases him from where he was trapped in the Earth. In ''Tempted'' he is revealed to have been Nyx's Warrior, but was banished because he grew jealous of her Consort, Erebus. Kalona and Neferet are banished from the school never to return in ''Hunted''. He has a hypnotizing spell, which he used on the House of Night. He loves A-ya, a woman created by ancient Cherokee women to love him and to trap him under the earth. He also believes Zoey Redbird is A-ya (which, ironically, is a Cherokee word meaning 'me'). In ''Burned'' he is sent after Zoey, in spirit form, by Neferet's dark powers. He was also banished from Nyx's realm, both his body and soul after bringing Stark back to life because of the debt that he owed Zoey for killing her consort.
Kalona is an evil fallen angel whom Neferet introduces to everyone as Erebus, Nyx's Consort. Kalona goes into Zoey's dreams and tries to seduce her. He is thousands of years old, although he changes his appearance to people's preferences. He first appears in the series as a Cherokee legend, which is revealed to be true when Neferet releases him from where he was trapped in the Earth. In ''Tempted'' he is revealed to have been Nyx's Warrior, but was banished because he grew jealous of her Consort, Erebus. Kalona and Neferet are banished from the school never to return in ''Hunted''. He has a hypnotizing spell, which he used on the House of Night. He loves A-ya, a woman created by ancient Cherokee women to love him and to trap him under the earth. He also believes Zoey Redbird is A-ya (which, ironically, is a Cherokee word meaning 'me'). In ''Burned'' he is sent after Zoey, in spirit form, by Neferet's dark powers. He was also banished from Nyx's realm, both his body and soul after bringing Stark back to life because of the debt that he owed Zoey for killing her consort.


He is a bum head that everybody hates and loathes!!
==Film adaptation==
In 2008, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reported that a film adaptation of the series was in early planning stages.<ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Fleming |coauthors= |title=Producers building ''House of Night'' |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |page= |date=November 17, 2008 |accessdate=November 3, 2009 |quote= |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117996009.html?categoryid=13&cs=1}}</ref> Film rights were optioned by [[Empire Pictures]] and a screenplay for ''Marked'' is being written by [[Kent Dalian]]<ref>[http://pccast.blogspot.com/2010/01/movie-update.html P.C. Cast blog, Jan. 2010]</ref>, writer-director of ''Fish in a Barrel''.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1045121/ IMDB bio of Dalian]</ref>the release date is scheduled in TBA 2011.Synopsis: "Vampyres" are accepted in society. They possess a genetic anomaly that manifests itself in some people at puberty. Vampyres are "marked" and sent to the House of Night, a school that offers training necessary to become an adult vampyre. Zoey Redbird's ordinary life is thrown into disarray when she becomes a vampyre and must change schools and enter a brand new world.
Additional Notes: Based on a series of young adult novels.


==External links==
==External links==

Revision as of 07:04, 8 November 2010

House of Night
The first novel in the series
Marked
Betrayed
Chosen
Untamed
Hunted
Tempted
Burned
Awakened
AuthorP. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreRomance, fantasy, young-adult fiction
PublisherSt. Martin's Press, Atom/Little Brown(in U.K.)
Published2007–
Media typePrint

House of Night is a series of vampire-based fantasy novels by American author P. C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast. It follows the adventures of Zoey Redbird, a sixteen-year-old girl who has just become a fledgling Vampyre and is required to attend the House of Night boarding school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The series has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for 63 weeks[1] and there are over seven million copies in print in North America alone.[2] The sixth novel, Tempted, which went on sale on October 27, 2009 with a first printing of a million copies[3], entered the USA Today bestseller list that week at #1[4]. In January, 2010, Gezeichnet, a German translation of Marked, reached the #1 spot on the Der Spiegel bestseller list.[5] The series has so far sold more than ten million books[6] in 39 countries.[7]

The newest book in the series, Burned, was released on April 27, 2010.[8] Like Tempted, it entered the USA Today bestseller list that week at #1.[9] The series, which is published by St Martin's Press is planned to include twelve books.[10] In 2008, plans for a film adaptation were also announced.

The Vampyre World

The fictional world of House of Night differs from our own in one important respect: In a small percentage of teenagers, adolescent hormones trigger a strand of what is otherwise junk DNA, eventually changing them into Vampyres[11]. The change from human to Vampyre takes four years, during which time the adolescents, known as "fledglings," must attend one of the "House of Night" boarding schools[12]. While there, they are required to take the Vampyre Sociology 101 course to learn the dangers they face[13]. If a fledgling is not in constant proximity to adult Vampyres, the fledgling will die; so the fledglings rarely leave the school. About one in ten fledglings die anyway, since their bodies cannot tolerate the Change. For those who survive, there's a big reward: in the words of one of the authors, "Vampyres are like Superman. They’re super-gorgeous. They’re super-talented. They’re super-men."[14]

The House of Night, Tulsa (In real life, Cascia Hall.)

Vampyres and fledglings are not dissolved by sunlight, as in many vampire novels, but it is painful to them, so classes at the House of Night are held at night[15]. Fledglings are marked by a sapphire blue crescent-shaped outline on their foreheads; when they become full-fledged Vampyres, this mark becomes solid and they receive more 'tattoos' which extend over their cheeks (these usually represent some personality aspect; for instance, Zoey's equestrian teacher, Lenobia, has tattoos that look like horses.) Zoey is the only fledgling to receive a filled-in mark and tattoos; as she defeats evil her tattoos extend over her shoulders, down to her lower back, around her waist, down her arms and palms, and across her chest. Older fledglings and adult Vampyres need to drink small quantities of human blood, but House of Night Vampyres do not attack humans to get it; the taking of blood is pleasurable for both human and Vampyre, and may lead to a strong bond, called "Imprinting" between the two.

Some of the issues that Zoey and her friends face are not covered in Vampyre Sociology 101. They are issues faced by real-life human teenagers. Zoey keeps some secrets from her friends and gets in trouble with them, forcing her to consider the nature of friendship. Kristin Cast said that these moral dilemmas were included because "those are issues teenagers deal with." She continued, "We're not afraid to discuss things that are actually happening."[16] As it happens, this kind of exploration of human nature and identity, its meaning, essence and boundaries, form a subtext to most contemporary vampire novels[17] "The point we wanted to make," said author P.C. Cast, "is acceptance and tolerance and also that teenagers can make mistakes and recover from them."[14] While these issues might not be discussed in the Vampyre Sociology class, they form a backdrop to the novel.

Religion in House of Night

The House of Night series is filled with religion. The House of Night religion is, in the words of P.C. Cast, "heavily pagan and Wiccan based, with a huge influx of Native American myth and legend".[16] Within Vampyre society, the primary Goddess is a benevolent female named Nyx, who, at the beginning of the series, appears to Zoey and tells her that she will be Nyx's agent in the House of Night. Vampyres and fledglings cast a magic circle to communicate with Nyx or to harness the power of the elements: air, fire, water, earth, and spirit. Some demons from Cherokee mythology also play an important part in later volumes, and the Raven Mockers,[18] Kalona and Tsi Sgili[19] are taken from real Cherokee legends.[20]

Outside in the human world, the "People of Faith" is a fictional Protestant religion that is highly intolerant of anything else but their own beliefs. (In an interview, P.C. Cast said that she modeled the People of Faith on the worst fanatics of all religions, not just Protestantism.[21]) Catholicism also plays an important role in the later novels, with the fledglings joining forces with Catholic nuns against Kalona.

The religious ambiance gives House of Night a strong moral perspective which may apply to the real world as well. "Help me know the right thing to do," Zoey prays to Nyx, "and then give me the courage to do it."[22] Nyx gives Vampyres and humans free will.[23] "We all have bad things inside us,"says Zoey, and we all choose either to give in to those bad things or to fight them."[24] In other words, people who have bad, even monstrous desires are not monsters; people who give in to those urges are. This theme of free choice takes special prominence in Tempted, where Zoey discovers that, although she is the reincarnation of a woman created to love Kalona, she has the power to choose whether she will follow her previous incarnation's path or reject it.[25] One of the characters dies because Zoey makes the wrong choice.[26] Also, in Burned, a Manichaen view of the Universe is presented, in which Good battles Evil: forces of Light combat forces of Darkness and characters must choose which side to be on.[27]

The Benedictine Abbey, Tulsa (In real life, St. Joseph Monastery.)

The Setting

The series is set in Tulsa, in a small and reclusive part of Midtown. The House of Night campus is in the real life campus of Cascia Hall, and the climactic scene of the first book in the series takes place in the extensive gardens of the Philbrook Museum. Zoey sometimes sneaks off-campus to the elegant shops of nearby Utica Square, and several important confrontations take place in Utica Square's Starbucks coffee shop. Some of the novels' most dramatic scenes take place in a catacomb-like network of tunnels under downtown Tulsa built by bootleggers during Prohibition; though a few such tunnels do indeed exist,[28] and can be visited,[29] they are far less extensive than those described by Cast. The abandoned Art Deco train depot where the tunnels begin, however, is real[30] and is slated to become a concert hall[31] The location of Aphrodite's parents' mansion, South 27th Place, is a real street, though the mansion itself is fictional. Though Aphrodite's father, Mr. LaFont, the very rich and old mayor of Tulsa, has a name similar to the former, very rich, mayor of Tulsa Bill LaFortune, his character is very different, and the author has stressed that her fictional mayor is indeed fictional.[32] The Benedictine convent to which Zoey and her friends flee.[33] is real; it is called St. Joseph Monastery[34] And the devastating ice storm through which they flee was based on a real ice storm that hit Tulsa in December 2007.[35] The climactic scene in Tempted takes place far from Tulsa, on San Clemente Island near Venice, which in real life is the site of a luxury hotel.[36] The church at which the Vampyre High Council meets was built in 1131.[37]

Much of Burned takes place on the Inner Hebrides island of Skye, in the palace of Sgiach, the Vampyre queen. According to Scottish tradition, Sgiach (usually spelled Sgathach) was a princess many centuries ago who ran the best warrior training school in Scotland.[38] Princess Sgathach lived in Dunscaith Castle, which is today a ruin. (Seoras Wallace, the doughty Scottish historian who provided P.C. Cast with a background on Scottish mythology, became her boyfriend, and the Burned character of Sgiach's consort is modelled on him.[39])

The Books

Books

Marked

Zoey Redbird, a normal 16-year-old girl has been Marked as a fledgling, a Vampyre-in-training. However, it is instantly clear that she is not the average fledgling. She has a filled in crescent moon on her forehead, which happens when a vampyre completes the Change (the others are just the moon outline). Zoey is admitted to the House of Night, a Vampyre finishing school and quickly finds a group of friends- Damien, an extremely nice and intelligent gay guy, Stevie Rae, the country girl who is her roommate and becomes her best friend, and Erin and Shaunee, best friends who are freakishly alike even though they are of different backgrounds (nicknamed "The Twins").

Zoey also meets a High Priestess in Training, Aphrodite, who is pretty, mean, and the queen of the social scene. Aphrodite invites Zoey to join the Dark Daughters full moon ritual, an 'invitation-only' group run by Aphrodite. Zoey is forced to go to their meeting and begins to experience blood-lust, something that is more common among older fledglings and Vampyres. Zoey freaks out after this discovery and runs out of the Dark Daughters meeting, running into her human ex-boyfriend, Heath, whom she accidentally may have imprinted on after drinking from him. Later, Zoey realizes that she can control the five elements (air, fire, water, earth, and spirit), at the goddess' ritual. This makes Zoey even more special as her goddess, Nyx, usually grants only one or two abilities to special individuals. Zoey also becomes acquainted with Aphrodite's ex-boyfriend, Erik Night, further igniting the strife between Zoey and Aphrodite; who believes Zoey just wants to steal everything she has. At the book's conclusion, Aphrodite's bad intentions cause a Dark Daughters ritual to go awry; she accidentally summons negative spirits who attack Heath. Zoey, Damien, the Twins, and Stevie Rae perform a circle and summon the five elements to drive the spirits away. Neferet comes and wipes an unconscious Heath's memory, and she then strips Aphrodite of her title of the Leader of the Dark Daughters and High Priestess in Training and gives it to Zoey - whose mark is now extended around her bangs, which, again, only happens to adult vampyres showing again she is unique.

306 pages

Betrayed

File:Houseofnight 4.jpg
Several crucial scenes in Betrayed and other volumes take place at these outdoor tables (in rear of photo) outside the Starbucks in Utica Square, Tulsa

Zoey has been at the House of Nights for a month and is feeling at home. One night when she can't sleep she heads out into the human world. Where she meets Heath again. After drinking his blood again she makes a stronger imprint on Heath. Then some teenagers begin going missing and then appear dead. Meanwhile Zoey learns that Neferet is behind the weird 'ghosts' she has been seeing. When it comes to Zoeys first ritual for the dark daughters she is annoyed when Neferet pitches all of Zoey's new ideas as her own. Stevie Rae, Damien and the Twins are all discovered to have affinities for each element. Damien, wind. Shaunee, fire. Erin, water and Stevie Rae earth. Then moments after the ritual Stevie Rae rejects the change and dies. Later on in the book, Heath is captured by a form of dead fledglings. Zoey, saves him before they kill him and whilst doing so, she finds out that Stevie Rae is the leader of them and Neferet changed them.

310

Chosen

In the third novel in this series, Zoey is seduced by Loren Blake and caught losing her virginity to him by Erik. Erik then tells all of her friends about her betrayal, alienating them from Zoey. Stevie Rae is kept sane in Aphrodite's servant's quarters at her parents' house. Aphrodite is found to have an affinity for earth. At the end of this book, Aphrodite ticks off Stevie Rae by representing the earth in a ritual to try and heal Stevie Rae's humanity. So Stevie Rae sucks her blood and Aphrodite turns into a human again, whilst Stevie Rae starts a new breed of fledgling and vampire who have red markings instead of blue.

307 pages

Untamed

Zoey tries to make up with her friends while simultaneously trying to figure out what exactly is going on at the House of Night. Former enemies, Zoey and Aphrodite start becoming friends, and Zoey reunites with her old friends by explaining why she didn't reveal her past secrets. With the approval of Shekinah, the high priestess of all vampyres who is temporarily in Tulsa, Zoey and Aphrodite decide to connect the House of Night with the outside world, and begin a relationship with Street Cats, a cat shelter/pet store run by Catholic nuns. Despite an uneasy start, Zoey soon develops a friendship with the sisters. Aphrodite has a vision where Zoey dies...twice. Meanwhile, Zoey soon becomes overwhelmed by her burgeoning feelings for a new transfer student, James Stark, and her unresolved feelings for ex-boyfriend and now new temporary professor, Erik. Zoey begins to bond with Stark only to be quickly crushed when his body rejects the Change and he dies tragically in her arms.He then comes back as one of Neferet's evil red fledglings. Zoey discovers that Stevie Rae is not what she used to be, and learns about the true evil of Neferet's newest ally, Kalona. Raven Mockers, Kalona's sons, cause Zoey's grandmother, Sylvia Redbird, to get into a serious car accident, which puts her into a coma. Aphrodite, who had temporarily been given Stevie Rae's earth affinity for safekeeping, loses the affinity, and when she and Zoey reveal this, along with her newfound humanity and the secret of the red fledglings during a school wide cleansing ritual, Neferet kills Shekinah, orders Stark to shoot Stevie Rae and make her bleed, and unleashes Kalona from the Earth. Startled by this unexpected turn of events, Zoey, her friends, Erik, and the red fledglings all escape the school and go into hiding underground. Zoey and her friends then prepare for a fight against evil with the help of their goddess, Nyx, and Zoey gains another tattoo in her palms.

338 pages

Hunted

The series' fifth novel. Neferet and Kalona become lovers, and Kalona starts getting into Zoey's dreams in his attempts to seduce her. Zoey, her friends, and the red fledglings hide in Tulsa's Prohibition tunnels while trying to save the school. Darius(a Son of Erebus) and Aphrodite fall in love, and Aphrodite gets closer to Zoey. Zoey gets her friends back, but Stevie Rae denies the truth about the red fledglings saying nice things about them in addition to accidentally imprinting with Aphrodite while drinking her blood to save her own life. When Zoey is attacked by a raven mocker and has a near brush with death, she is forced to go back to the House of Night, where Neferet reluctantly heals her upon Kalona's insistence. The friends are not happy, though; Kalona's presence has caused the fledglings and the vampyres to turn their backs on Nyx. Zoey successfully persuades Stark to turn back to the good side. He becomes the second Red Vampyre when he pledges his Warrior's Oath to Zoey. Later, Zoey and her friends escape from the House of Night and flee to the abbey of the Benedictine nuns. With the help of Sister Mary Angela and Grandma Redbird, Zoey banishes Neferet and Kalona from Tulsa and hopes she and her friends will get a break, but after one of Aphrodite's visions it doesn't look that way.

323 pages

Tempted

So…you’d think after banishing an immortal being and a fallen High Priestess, saving Stark’s life, biting Heath, getting a headache from Erik, and almost dying, Zoey Redbird would catch a break. Sadly, a break is not in the House of Night school forecast for the High Priestess in training and her gang. Juggling three guys is anything but a stress reliever, especially when one of them is a sexy Warrior who is so into protecting Zoey that he can sense her emotions. Speaking of stress, the dark force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading, and Zoey is beginning to believe Stevie Rae could be responsible for a lot more than a group of misfit red fledglings. Aphrodite’s visions warn Zoey to stay away from Kalona and his dark allure, but they also show that it is Zoey who has the power to stop the evil immortal. Soon it becomes obvious that Zoey has no choice: if she doesn’t go to Kalona he will exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. Will Zoey have the courage to chance losing her life, her heart, and her soul? Find out in the next spectacular installment in the House of Night series, TEMPTED.

319 pages

Burned

Much of Burned takes place on the Inner Hebrides island named Isle of Skye in an ancient castle like this one in northwest Skye, Dunvegan Castle.

Zoey`s soul has shattered and has gone to the Otherworld due to Kalona killing Zoey's human Consort, Heath. For Zoey to get her shattered soul complete again, Stark must find a way to travel to the Otherworld without dying and save his High Priestess. The narrative mode is told from multiple points of view in third-person limited (including Stark's, Kalona's, Aphrodite's, Heath's, Rephaim's, and Stevie Rae's) and first-person narrative in Zoey's point of view, as in previous books.

Zoey is stuck in the Otherworld. If her body remains unoccupied by her spirit, it will die in a week. Her friends desperately try to find a way to save her. Aphrodite, at first only for appearances at the Vampire High Council, acts as Nyx's Prophetess and finds that she can force a vision by touching Zoey's body. She discovers that Zoey's spirit is gone from her body, and she spearheads the plan to figure out how to rescue Zoey's, the sister she never had. After some research into ancient-forgotten vampyre legends and religion, the Nerd Herd finds out about the eternal struggle between Light and Darkness personified by a Black Bull and a White Bull respectively. Stevie Rae and Rephaim together figure out that Neferet has imprisoned Kalona's body in this realm using Darkness and sent his spirit to the Otherworld to ensure that Zoey does not put the shattered pieces of her soul together and stays trapped in the Otherworld.

Zoey's friends discover, from ancient scrolls, that to travel to the Otherworld without dying they need to know more about forgotten ancient beliefs regarding the two bulls. Stevie Rae accidentally summons the White Bull, which is basically Darkness personified, to find a way for Stark, Zoey's sworn Warrior who is frantic to save her, to enter the Otherworld. The white bull tells Stevie Rae a poem about how it's possible. As payment for giving that knowledge, the white bull extracts his payment in her pain and her blood. Rephaim saves her at the last minute by offering himself. Stevie Rae summons the Black Bull and saves them both at the price of always staying connected to Rephaim's humanity. Since she survives, Stevie Rae is able to pass on the poem with the way to the Otherworld to Aphrodite.

Stark is overjoyed to find a way to help Zoey, and according to the poem goes to the Isle of Women also known as the Isle of Skye to find Sgaich, an ancient Warrior queen who can help him enter the Otherworld. Stark, Darius and Aphrodite travel to the Isle and observe the ancient warrior ways. With their guidance, Stark undertakes a perilous journey to the Otherworld where he slays his Warrior self to become a Shaman and thus reach Zoey. Stark convinces Heath that he has to leave Zoey and move on so that she, in turn, can move on and save the world from Kalona and Neferet.

Meanwhile, Stevie Rae is having huge problems of her own. She is trying to hide the existence of Rephaim from the red fledglings, and at the same time she seems to be developing feelings for him. Stevie Rae struggles with being Bonded to Rephaim and tries to gets Dallas to have sex with her to break the bond. However, Rephaim feels what is happening and tries to stop her from abandoning him. Finding out that Stevie Rae has been keeping Rephaim a secret infuriates Dallas, and he lets Darkness come into him and becomes the third Red Vampyre, though he is evil and not good, like Stark and Stevie Rae. He nearly kills both Stevie Rae and Rephaim using his affinity for Electricity, but they escape.

In the Otherworld, Heath moves on and tells a devastated Zoey that they will meet again in his next life. Stark approaches her in the Otherworld and can't explain to Zoey how she must bring her soul back together. But Stark's journey has taught him of being a Guardian, which is more than simply a Warrior. He accepts that his role is to protect Zoey from anything, even if it means he dies or she doesn't love him. Stark engages Kalona in a dangerous fight. When Zoey sees this she realizes that she needs to pull herself together, and she pulls the pieces of her shattered soul back together. Before she can intervene, Kalona manages to kill Stark. Zoey attacks Kalona and manages to overpower him. She demands that he pay up the life debt he owes her for killing her Consort by bringing Stark back to life. When Kalona refuses, Nyx intervenes causing Kalona to share a part of his immortality with Stark and bring him back to life. Nyx banishes Kalona's body AND spirit from the Otherworld. Zoey fully accepts Stark as her Guardian and lets him drink from her so he could heal, the elements fill her again and all her tattoos come back.

Rephaim and Stevie Rae are together and finally seem to be starting a relationship when they feel Kalona and Zoey come back into this realm. Rephaim says that his heart has never mattered enough, and Stevie Rae says that he should come back to her when his heart is as important to him as it is to her.

At the end of the story, Zoey comes back from the other world before Stark and then brings his soul back to his body in the real world, and Zoey tells Stark that it's all over. She hears Nyx laugh and say that "No daughter, it's only just begun."

323 pages

Awakened

“My love, speak to me. Tell me everything.” Neferet went to Kalona, kneeling before him, stroking the soft, dark wings that unfurled loosely around the immortal.

“What would you have me say?” He didn’t meet her eyes.

“Zoey lives.” Neferet’s voice was flat, cold, lifeless.

“She does.”

“Then you owe me the subservience of your immortal soul.” She started to walk away from him.

“Where are you going? What will happen next?”

“It is quite simple. I will ensure Zoey is drawn back to Oklahoma. There, on my own terms, I will complete the task you failed.”

Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either...

And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart?

In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

Book will come out January 4, 2011

352 pages

The Fledgling Handbook 101

The accompany book to the House series, the Fledgling Handbook 101 in a reference used many times throughout the series. The Handbook is the book that a fledgling gets when they first enter the House of Night. This book is full of stories and how to perform rituals that are used commonly in a vampyre's life. Some stories include how Cleopatra actually made Egypt fall to Rome.

156 pages

Major characters

Fledglings

Zoey Redbird

Zoey is a 16-year-old when she comes from Broken Arrow who, when she becomes a fledgling, moves to the House of Night. Given special powers by the goddess Nyx, whom she encounters in a vision[42], her crescent moon is filled in and she has an affinity for all five elements (Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Spirit). The first five novels, and portions of the later ones, are written in the first person point of view with her as narrator, so her interior monologues assume center stage. Zoey is a lot like author Kristin Cast was at her age; this was done deliberately, to make it easier for Kristin to tell how Zoey would react in any given situation[14], and may have added depth and realism to Zoey's character, the most fully developed of the series. Like Kristin[21], Zoey has a love for brown pop. Zoey has hazel eyes, olive tone skin, and black hair.[43] She is the reincarnation of A-ya, a woman created by ancient Cherokee women, created only to love Kalona and to trap him under the earth, and has some of A-ya's memories. Zoey has a messy love life, always balancing more than one guy at a time. Zoey's soul is shattered when she witnessed Kalona snap Heath's neck. She needs to piece her soul together and return to her body in 7 days or all hell will break loose. The White Bull will kill the Black Bull and Neferet will rule even over Kalona. Darkness will rule as Neferet makes slaves of all beings. Some one stands between Zoey's soul and body though. Heath. Zoey cannot imagine life without him so she is willing to stay in the Otherworld with him forever and let her body die. Stark saves her and she returns to earth and they fall in love.

Damien Maslin

Damien is very intelligent, warm-hearted and proudly gay. Damien likes to use very long words that usually confuse the group. He has been dating Jack Twist who has an affinity for "Modern Technology." Damien has an affinity for Air. He's described as well built for fencing. Damien has brown colored hair and deer-like brown eyes.

The Twins

Shaunee Cole and Erin Bates, though not related and in fact of different races, are so psychologically connected that everyone calls them the Twins. Their valley girl banter, though predictable, provides some comedic diversion. They are both rich and always wear designer clothes. Shaunee has an affinity for Fire and Erin has an affinity for Water. Erin Bates and Shaunee Cole are described to be freakishly alike despite the fact that Erin is Caucasian with blue eyes, cream colored skin and long, straight, blond hair from Tulsa, while Shaunee is of mixed Jamaican/American descent with long dark glossy waves of hair, cappuccino colored skin, and dark eyes from Connecticut. They think of themselves as "Twins."

Jack Twist

Damien's technological and very emotional boyfriend. He's always around when the group is in need of an AV guy, or with a package of travel tissues from his 'man purse'or satchel. Jack is gifted with a vast knowledge about technology. He turns out to have an affinity for the Modern World. He also shares ownership of James Stark's giant Labrador dog, Duchess. He's described as a young, handsome and beautiful guy. He's passionate and proud about being gay.

Vampyres

Neferet

The High Priestess of the House of Night, and Zoey Redbird's mentor. Her position at Tulsa’s House of Night is roughly equal to that of a head principal, although her position carries considerably more power. As well as serving as the High Priestess at the House of Night, she also teaches Vampyre Sociology to students and is also Loren Blake's lover. At first, Neferet is seen as a sweet, protective, motherly figure to Zoey, but later on in the novels, a deep secret is discovered as it turns out she isn't quite the lovely high priestess everyone thought she was. Neferet has been embracing evil and straying from the path of Nyx. She revived Kalona, an immortal fallen angel, and used him to reach immortal status herself. She wants to revert the world back to the old ways, where vampyres ruled, and become the queen of the earth. Neferet is later discovered to be the one that murdered Professor Loren Blake and Professor Patricia Nolan.

Erik Night

Breathtakingly handsome, and a talented actor, Erik, once Aphrodite's boyfriend, falls in love with Zoey who loves him but is also bound by blood to Heath. Zoey describes him as "Superman tall" with kind of curly black hair and big blue eyes. He is excessively possessive and tends to get jealous quickly. He recently completed the Change and is a substitute Drama teacher at the House of Night. He breaks up with Zoey in Chosen when he finds her making love with Loren Blake, but he still loves her and that allows him to resist Kalona's charms and soon gets back together with Zoey when they escape the House of Night. The relationship is ill-fated, however, as he continues to be overly possessive of Zoey and she quickly breaks off the relationship again.

The southeast side of House of Night, Tulsa

Loren Blake

The Vampyre's Poet Laureate and a visiting teacher. Loren Blake has dark hair and eyes and looks like every woman's vision of the perfect man. Loren soon shows an interest in Zoey that exceeds the normal teacher-student bond. He and Zoey imprint on each other while making love, breaking the imprint between Zoey and Heath. He is soon revealed to be in league with Neferet, as well as in love with her. He is killed by Neferet in Chosen, after he goes out to look for Zoey when he feels her sadness through the bond created by their imprint. In Tempted Neferet reveals that she killed Loren as he wanted both Zoey and Neferet.

Darius

A Vampyre Warrior and member of the elite Sons of Erebus Vampyre guard, Darius enters the story in Chosen and becomes Zoey's ally. He is also Aphrodite's first real love, eventually giving her his Warrior's Oath in Tempted. He is also the only Son of Erebus not to believe Kalona is Erebus.

Lenobia

Lenobia is the House of Night Horse Mistress and the Professor of the Equestrian class. She is described as a petite woman with long blond hair and oddly gray eyes that Zoey describes as the color of slate. Her Mark is unusually beautiful for it looks like plunging horses.[44] She has complete and utter faith in Zoey, and serves as a guide to her. She assists in Zoey's escape with her friends to the Benidictine Abbey. Lenobia is a strict, but highly respected Vampyre. She is wise and noble with vast connections, including the High Council of Nyx.

Red Vampyres

Stevie Rae Johnson

A nice girl from Henryetta, Oklahoma, Stevie Rae is Zoey's roommate and immediate best friend. She has an affinity for Earth and is often depicted as straight forward and honest, but as the series continues the other sides of her begin to show. Her affinity also grows stronger through the books' progression. She was a fledging who rejected the Change and was turned into one of Neferet's evil red fledgings. Once Zoey helps her find her humanity, she is Changed into the first Red Vampyre known. While drinking Aphrodite's blood, they accidentally imprint with each other in Hunted but in Tempted she breaks their imprint by forming one with Rephaim, a Raven Mocker. Stevie Rae is the only one of the few fledglings with short hair, which is super curly, and the little country bumpkin is usually wearing cowboy boots and roper jeans. She is also the High Priestess of the Red Vampyres. In Burned, she and Rephaim finally begin to develop feelings for each other, but an obstacle is posed by Kalona's return at the end of the book. In the same book, she also managed to summon the manifestation of Darkness by mistake, thus putting her in danger. To banish the beast, she summoned the manifestation of Light, paying the cost it takes from her; tying her to the humanity in Rephaim.

Stark

James Stark is the best archer in the world, but he isn't proud of it. Stark appears briefly after being transferred from the House of Night in Chicago, then dies in Zoey's arms as she begins to develop feelings for him during his first night in Tulsa. He is described as being of average height with well built arms, sandy brown hair, warm brown eyes, and a cocky smile. Stark is an archer and his gift from Nyx is that he never misses his target. Unfortunately the target his subconscious selects is not necessarily the one he wants to hit. After a terrible accident killing his mentor, Stark gave up archery. That is, until Zoey convinced him otherwise. Stark and Zoey have an instant connection with each other, in which they became close enough that Zoey had to, after he becomes a red fledgling, help him choose the right path, the good path. When Zoey accepts Stark's Warrior Oath to her, he officially chooses the path of good and becomes the second Red Vampyre and the first male one. He almost kills himself with his own arrow when Neferet commands him to shoot Zoey's heart, which he considers his. Luckily, Zoey sent the five elements to protect him and stop the arrow. Stark was left with a terrible wound but remained alive. In the seventh book, Burned, Stark becomes Zoey's Guardian, in order to save her shattered soul in the Otherworld. P.C. Cast has said that Stark's evolution into a Guardian was a surprise even to her; she originally introduced Stark simply as a love interest for Stevie Rae.[21]

Dallas

One of Stevie Rae's red fledglings, also her boyfriend in a way. When Rephaim interrupts them having sex, just before Stevie Rae bites his neck to feed from him, he feels such rage at Stevie Rae defending Rephaim that he allows Darkness to embrace him and he attacks them with electricity (his affinity). At this, he experiences the Change and becomes the third Red Vampyre in existence. But the First Evil vampire from rage, and calls Stevie Rae a ho, then runs to the House Of Night

Humans

Aphrodite LaFont

Daughter of Tulsa's extremely rich mayor, Aphrodite enters the series as a conceited, selfish rich girl who tells Zoey, "Things go my way. You want to get along here, you'd best remember that."[45] But Aphrodite, afflicted with painful prophetic visions and mentally abused by her domineering parents, soon is seen as a richer, more complex character, and in the end becomes Zoey's friend. She is described as gorgeous and having very big, blond hair. She is also described as statuesque and is referred to as looking like an angel.

Aphrodite is also introduced as the leader of a group known as the Dark Daughters in Marked until control is taken from her and given to Zoey, once Zoey shows the power that was bestowed upon her by the goddess Nyx. Aphrodite gets Changed back into a human in the end of Chosen in order to give back Stevie Rae's humanity. Though she lost the state of being a Vampyre fledgling, she is still considered more than a normal human, given that her goddess-given gifts still remain with her. She softens up as the series progresses and becomes a part of Zoey's tight circle, admitting to herself that she's found a sister in Zoey. Aphrodite coins Zoey and her friends, "the Nerd Herd." Aphrodite falls in love with Warrior Darius, who is her sworn Warrior and who loves her for who she is, even though she doesn't feel she deserves to be loved. The Oath proves that Aphrodite is not just an average human, for Warrior Oaths do not take effect on humans. After Stevie Rae's death, Aphrodite held her Earth affinity, which was taken back by Nyx herself and returned to Stevie Rae after her rebirth as a Red Vampyre. In Hunted, an accidental imprint is formed between the two, as a result of Aphrodite saving Stevie Rae's life. In Tempted, Stevie Rae imprints with the Raven Mocker, Rephaim, causing their imprint to break. In Burned, Aphrodite widens the scope of her powers, able to see into someone's soul, allowing her to become a true prophetess of Nyx.

Heath Luck

Quarterback of his high school football team and in love with Zoey since third grade. Heath was her boyfriend before she became a fledgling. Later, when Zoey accidentally tastes his blood, they become imprinted on each other. They stay imprinted on and off during all of the books and always have a good, romantic connection. He is willing to do anything for Zoey even if it means that he has to share her with others. He is killed by Kalona in Tempted because he overhears him talking to Neferet. Zoey sees Kalona break Heath's neck, summons Spirit to attack Kalona, and then collapses. In Burned, Heath performs a final act of sacrifice as he departs to the afterlife, which will help Zoey recover her shattered soul and return from the Otherworld.

Sylvia Redbird

A native Cherokee and a Wise Woman (also referred as 'Ghigua' in the book), Zoey's grandma provides comfort and advice to Zoey. She is by default the mother figure in Zoey's life, and some of the names she calls her are Zoeybird, and U-we-tsi-a-ge-ya (the Cherokee word for daughter). In touch with ancient Cherokee spirits, she helps Zoey deal with her new world of Vampyres, spirits and demons. She also accepts Zoey for who she is and not what everyone wants her to be. She even helps Zoey save her own life in Untamed. In Hunted she personifies Earth and helps to banish Kalona.

John and Linda Heffer

Zoey's stepfather, John Heffer, is a narrow-minded control freak who dominates his wife Linda, a once loving mother to Zoey. Linda now rejects Zoey's nonconformity and Zoey has a strained relationship with her. John is an elder of the People of the Faith, a religious group that discriminates against Vampyres, and believes that any religion except their own is wrong. Linda is a weak-willed woman who prefers to have someone else make her decisions and this also ruins her relationship with her mother, Sylvia Redbird. As a small joke, Zoey calls John her step-loser. Neither have been mentioned since Untamed.

Raven Mockers

Rephaim

Rephaim is the first and favorite son of Kalona. In Tempted, he kills Professor Anastasia, then gets shot by Darius while chasing after Zoey and her friends. Stevie Rae finds him injured, but instead of killing him she is compelled to rescue him. She nurses him back to health, which Rephaim considers a life-debt. Evil red fledgling Nicole reads his mind when she finds him healing in the tunnels, and she uses him to trap and try to kill Stevie Rae. Rephaim fulfills his life debt by saving Stevie Rae from this trap and letting her feed from him. Doing so created a strong imprint between the two, which broke the previous imprint Stevie Rae already had with Aphrodite.

In Burned, Rephaim experiences new emotions, particularly toward Stevie Rae. When she accidentally conjures Darkness, he senses her fear and summons dark power to fix himself and find Stevie Rae. He faces Darkness and claims her as his own and sacrifices himself as the blood payment required, which gives Stevie Rae just enough of time to summon Light. As payment by Light, she becomes tied to the humanity inside Rephaim to save his life again. Rephaim stops Stevie Rae from breaking their imprint and he becomes her Consort. At the end of Burned, when he senses his father Kalona return from the Otherworld, Rephaim goes to Italy, leaving Stevie Rae in Tulsa.

Immortals

Nyx

Nyx is the Goddess worshipped by all Vampyres. She is also worshiped by other cultures, through various physical forms and names, possibly even as the Virgin Mary. Nyx appears to be Native American in Marked, but later on in the series she wears the body of "spirit personified." Zoey and her friends try to follow her wishes no matter how bad things get, while Neferet goes against Nyx; as Nyx has granted all of her subject the free will to make their own choices. Nyx tells Zoey that she never takes back a gift that she has given. This is why she says she can't stop Neferet in Untamed. But in Burned, she intervenes as Zoey confronts Kalona, forcing him to pay the debts Zoey demands he return.

Erebus

Erebus is Nyx's consort- an Immortal with gold wings. Kalona pretends to be Erebus on Earth, despite his black wings, so he can gain the Vampyres' trust. Erebus has had a very limited presence in the books so far, mostly only being mentioned in name.

Kalona

Kalona is an evil fallen angel whom Neferet introduces to everyone as Erebus, Nyx's Consort. Kalona goes into Zoey's dreams and tries to seduce her. He is thousands of years old, although he changes his appearance to people's preferences. He first appears in the series as a Cherokee legend, which is revealed to be true when Neferet releases him from where he was trapped in the Earth. In Tempted he is revealed to have been Nyx's Warrior, but was banished because he grew jealous of her Consort, Erebus. Kalona and Neferet are banished from the school never to return in Hunted. He has a hypnotizing spell, which he used on the House of Night. He loves A-ya, a woman created by ancient Cherokee women to love him and to trap him under the earth. He also believes Zoey Redbird is A-ya (which, ironically, is a Cherokee word meaning 'me'). In Burned he is sent after Zoey, in spirit form, by Neferet's dark powers. He was also banished from Nyx's realm, both his body and soul after bringing Stark back to life because of the debt that he owed Zoey for killing her consort.

He is a bum head that everybody hates and loathes!!

Notes

  1. ^ San Francisco Chronicle article
  2. ^ House of Night Shines for SMP, article in Publishers Weekly
  3. ^ Tulsa World article
  4. ^ USA Today lists, search archive for Nov 5
  5. ^ Der Spiegel list for 2/1/10
  6. ^ article about P.C. Cast in The Oklahoman
  7. ^ P.C.Cast interview at OSU Tulsa
  8. ^ P.C. Cast official blog for Feb. 2010
  9. ^ Bestseller list retrieved May 10, 2010
  10. ^ "Young Blood: Vampires go to finishing school in a mother-daughter team's best seller", Wall Street Journal article. See also the article in Publishers Weekly
  11. ^ Cast, Marked, p. 23
  12. ^ Cast, Marked, p. 6
  13. ^ Cast, Marked, p. 102
  14. ^ a b c P.C. Cast interview
  15. ^ Cast, Marked, p.51
  16. ^ a b Toronto Star article
  17. ^ W.P. Day, Vampire Legends in Contemporary American Culture, p.4
  18. ^ Prajznerová, Cultural Intermarriage, p.63
  19. ^ Jones, Evil in our Midst p. 219
  20. ^ Much of the Kalona myth was apparently made up by the authors, since it refers to events a thousand years ago in Oklahoma, and until 1830, the Cherokee lived not in Oklahoma but in the region of New Echota, Georgia
  21. ^ a b c P.C. Cast interview May 3, 2010
  22. ^ Cast, Marked, p. 248
  23. ^ Cast, Untamed, p. 72
  24. ^ Cast, Hunted, p. 274
  25. ^ see e.g. Tempted, page 206
  26. ^ Tempted, page 316
  27. ^ Cast, Burned, p. 83-85
  28. ^ map of tunnels
  29. ^ "Tasha Does Tulsa" blog telling how to tour the tunnels
  30. ^ P.C.Cast's blog with photos of Tulsa Depot
  31. ^ Tulsa Symphony website
  32. ^ P.C.Cast interview
  33. ^ Cast, Hunted, p. 289
  34. ^ St. Joseph Monastery website
  35. ^ P.C. Cast Blog, 6:08 PM comment]
  36. ^ hotel website
  37. ^ Venice tourist website about the island
  38. ^ The Brave Sons of Skye, p. 1
  39. ^ Daily Mail article (6/23/10) written by Cast
  40. ^ P. C. Cast announced this title in March 2010 in a reply to a comment on her blog. Since this is a working title, it might well be changed before the book is published.
  41. ^ Amazon.com lists it for release october 26 2010 http://www.amazon.com/Fledgling-Handbook-House-Night-Novels/dp/0312595123
  42. ^ Cast, Marked, p.39
  43. ^ Description of Zoey from Marked, p. 8
  44. ^ Marked, p. 131
  45. ^ Cast, Marked, p.69
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