Anne Rice: Author’s final hours shared by son Christopher

By Justina Terhember

Anne Rice, author of the best-selling Vampire Chronicles novel series died Saturday 11^th 2021, her son Christopher Rice announced on social media, via her official fan page. She was 80, and passed away due to complications resulting from a stroke, he wrote, adding that he was at his mother’s bedside when she died.

Rice’s biggest success was her first novel, ‘Interview with the Vampire’, which was published in 1976 and introduced the character of the vampire Lestat, who would be the central character in the 13-book series, dubbed The Vampire Chronicles, and the most recent one was published in 2018.

Christopher, in a Facebook post, also revealed how he, in her final hours, 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.”

Christopher added that as Anne’s younger sister Karen kissed her goodbye, she said to the ailing writer: “What a ride you took us on, kid.”

The full message on Facebook reads:

“Dearest People of the Page. This is Anne’s son Christopher and it breaks my heart to bring you this sad news. Earlier tonight, Anne passed away due to complications resulting from a stroke. 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. 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.”

The film of Rice’s ‘Interview with the Vampire’ is credited with igniting interest in the vampire genre, which resulted in TV series like ‘The Vampire Diaries’, as well as the ‘Twilight’ movie franchise, and many more.

Although she lived most of her life in California, Rice was a native of New Orleans and set many of her stories there, according to her website biography.