WASHINGTON, Dec 12, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Anne Rice, the gothic novelist best 
known for writing "Interview with the Vampire," died Saturday aged 80, her 
family said.

   "In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her 
accomplishments and her courage," her son Christopher Rice said in a post on 
her Facebook page.

   He said she died of complications from a stroke.

   "Interview with the Vampire," published in 1976, was made into a movie 
starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in 1994.

   She wrote dozens of books, many of them in the "Vampire" series, selling 
more than 150 million worldwide. 

   Another of her works, "The Queen of the Damned," was adapted into a film 
in 2002.

   "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," her 
son wrote.

   "As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my 
obsessive passions."

   She will be interred at a private ceremony in New Orleans, the statement 
said.

   A public celebration will be held next year in the city, with "friends, 
readers and fans" invited, her son added.