<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Although he didn't know it at the time, Vampires in Fiction began when Lord Byron, the notorious Romantic poet, said "We will each write a ghost story," one day during a "wet, ungenial summer" in 1816. Byron had just set in motion a chain of events that would lead to both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein–and the first vampire story in English literature.

The Vampyre (1819) was written in response to Byron's challenge by the poet's personal physician, John Polidori. Originally attributed to Byron himself, the eerie story caused a sensation and successfully transplanted the vampire from folklore to fiction. It also established the image of the vampire as a decadent aristocrat–not unlike Byron.

More Victorian vampire stories followed, including Varney the Vampire (1847), a hugely popular "penny-dreadful" serial that eventually ran for 220 chapters. Published anonymously, the book is now believed to be the work of Thomas Malcom Rymer. Of much higher literary quality was Carmilla (1871) by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, the quintessential lesbian vampire story. The Victorian vampire tradition culminated in Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker, which became the definitive vampire novel for generations to come.

Although no novel came close to challenging Dracula for at least fifty years, short fiction involving vampires continued to proliferate. From 1923 to 1955, probably the best place to find intriguing new vampire stories was within the pages of the original Weird Tales. The legendary pulp magazine published numerous vampire tales by Robert Bloch, August Derleth, Robert E. Howard, Henry Kuttner, Seabury Quinn, Clark Ashton Smith, Manly Wade Wellman, and many others. Particularly notable was "Shambleau" (1933) by C. L. Moore, a mixture of science fiction and horror that featured one of the very first alien vampires.

Outside of Weird Tales, Ray Bradbury created a stir with "Homecoming" (1946), an award-winning story about the only mortal child in a family of vampires and other supernatural creatures. (Note: Bradbury later incorporated this story into his 2001 novel, From The Dust Returned.) Fritz Leiber's "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" (1949) was a chilling tale of psychic vampirism.

On the novel front, vampire fiction finally began to creep out from beneath the looming shadow of Dracula. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (1954) took a more scientific approach to the myth, portraying vampirism as a virus that eventually overtakes the entire world. Some of Your Blood (1961) by Theodore Sturgeon was a sympathetic portrait of a human vampire whose need for blood was more of a psychosexual compulsion than a curse. As the years went by, vampire fiction was increasingly told from the point of view of the vampire itself. Ahead of the trend was The Dracula Tape (1975) by Fred Saberhagen, which retold Stoker's tale from the Count's perspective. To date, Saberhagen has written nine sequels, continuing the adventures of his more heroic version of Dracula. (His novelization of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula is not part of this series.)

Interview with the Vampire (1976) by Anne Rice is arguably the most influential vampire since Dracula. Very much a vampire novel for vampires (and vampire wannabes), it has inspired numerous imitations. Rice expanded on her vampire mythos in The Vampire Chronicles and New Tales of the Vampires series of novels, which now comprise a dozen volumes. She has recently taken her writing in a new direction and it is uncertain whether she will write any further novels in the vampire genre.

Hotel Transylvania (1977) by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro launched a series of historical novels about a sympathetic vampire and the women in his very long life. The Saint-Germain Cycle is up to seventeen novels and counting, plus another five related novels.

By now, new vampire novels were appearing at an unprecedented rate. Notable works included 'Salem's Lot (1977) by Stephen King, The Vampire Tapestry (1980) by Suzy McKee Charnas, The Hunger (1981) by Whitley Strieber, Fevre Dream (1982) by George R.R. Martin, Vampire Junction (1984) by S. P. Somtow, and Those Who Hunt the Night (1988) by Barbara Hambly, Children of the Night (1992) by Dan Simmons, and The Golden (1992) by Lucius Shepard.

Many popular vampires series continue to this day, including:

Necroscope (1986) by Brian Lumley, launched a series of espionage-tinged vampire thrillers that currently runs over thirteen volumes, organized into various trilogies and sub-series.

The Vampire Files by P.N. Elrod, which began with Blood List (1990), are hard-boiled detective yarns about Jack Fleming, an undead private eye. Eleven novels and counting.

The Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels by Laurell K. Hamilton, which began with Guilty Pleasures (1995), are huge bestsellers with an increasing emphasis on erotica. Eleven novels and counting. See also the Women of the Underworld series by Kelley Armstrong and the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison.

The Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon is an example of what can be dubbed "post-vampire" fiction. In creating the Dark-Hunters, Kenyon took elements of vampire pop culture and blended it with her own imagination to create something unique. The Dark-Hunter series has branched off into the Were-Hunter and Dream Hunter sub-series.

The Carpathians series by Christine Feehan, which began with Dark Prince (1999), is a highly successful example of the flourishing vampire romance novel category. Fifteen novels and counting.

Anno Dracula (1992) by Kim Newman began a series of novels and short stories set in an alternate timeline in which Dracula conquered the British Empire.

Dead Until Dark (2001) by Charlaine Harris launched the bestselling Southern Vampire series. Five books and counting.

The year 2004 saw the release of Past Sins by Don Ecker. Drawing upon his previous experiences as a police detective and army combat veteran, he created a novel that was a combination of vampire horror and military adventure.

Undead and Unwed (2004) by MaryJanice Davidson exemplifies the rapidly growing new subgenre of vampire "chick lit." Three books and counting.

These days, vampires have burst beyond the bounds of straight horror fiction to infiltrate almost every popular genre except maybe westerns. Vampires now star in romance novels, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy adventures, science fiction, children's literature, and even "chick lit."

Some things don't change, however. The most successful vampire novel of 2005 was The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, an ambitious new take on the legend of . . . Dracula.

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