9 producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov have purchased the rights to Seth Grahame-Smith's novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

The horror novel is one of a growing trend of pseudo-historical books that purport to tell the monster-slaying feats of various key figures in history. In Grahame-Smith's story, the 16th US President is seen as an axe-throwing, highly trained vampire assassin.

Burton and Bekmambetov have paid for the rights themselves, rather than through a studio, and are bringing in 9 producer Jim Lemley to oversee the Lincoln film. Grahame-Smith, who also wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, is writing the initial draft of the screenplay.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was published in the US by Grand Central Publishing on March 2nd, with Constable publishing it in the UK on April 29th.