Vampires offers a bite-sized overview of the ever-mutating vampire, a phenomenon created by primal human fears of blood-sucking monsters. The book delves into ancient vampiric beliefs including the Chinese hopping vampire Jiangshi and Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, as well as Gothic horrors from the late Middle Ages. The evolution of vampires in literature, film and television is comprehensively covered, from the iconic Dracula tale, Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series; ‘Nosferatu’, the first Hollywood take on vampires and modern films such as the ‘Blade’ trilogy and ‘New Moon’; and popular TV shows including ‘The Twilight Zone,’ ‘True Blood’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries.’