Why are vampires so popular? Of all of the supernatural creatures to have stalked the collective nightmare of fiction and cinema, the vampire is surely the most eternally popular, but why? In this book we try to answer this question, and in doing so we take you on journey through time and across the world. *discover the ancient legends of vampiric figures from the oldest civilisations on Earth. *Examine the Eastern European folklore that inspired the modern vampire tales. *Learn the scientific explanations for vampire myths *Trace the literary vampire from its gothic beginnings to modern dark fantasy. *Study the evolution of the cinematic vampire from silent cinema to Hollywood blockbusters. *Meet the twisted killers who made vampires all too real All this and more can be found in the pages of this history of these dark creatures who have an insatiable THIRST FOR BLOOD.