Vampires are one of the most popular and enduring creatures of horror fiction and folklore. They are often depicted as undead beings who feed on the blood of living humans, usually by biting their necks with sharp fangs. But where did the vampire legend come from, and how has it changed over time?

The idea of bloodsucking monsters or spirits is not unique to any one culture or region. Many ancient civilizations had stories of demonic entities that preyed on the life force of humans or animals. For example, the Mesopotamians had the Lamashtu, a female demon who killed infants and drank their blood; the Greeks had the Empusa, a shape-shifting daughter of Hecate who seduced men and drained their blood; and the Chinese had the jiangshi, a reanimated corpse that sucked the qi (vital energy) of its victims.

However, these early examples of bloodsucking beings are not exactly vampires as we know them today. They are more like demons or ghosts, rather than undead humans who can turn others into their kind. The origin of the modern vampire legend can be traced back to medieval Europe, where superstitions about death and disease were rampant.

In the Middle Ages, people often buried their dead hastily and without proper care, especially during times of plague or war. Sometimes, corpses would be disinterred for various reasons, such as to make room for more burials, to relocate them to another place, or to check for signs of vampirism. When people saw that some bodies were not decomposed as expected, or had blood around their mouths or on their shrouds, they assumed that they were vampires who had risen from their graves to feed on the living.

According to folklore, there were many ways to become a vampire after death. Some common causes were being an evil person, a witch, a suicide, or an unbaptized child; being cursed by a vampire or a sorcerer; being bitten by a vampire or an animal; or having a cat jump over the corpse. There were also many ways to prevent or destroy a vampire, such as staking it through the heart with wood or iron, beheading it, burning it, exposing it to sunlight, or sprinkling it with holy water or garlic.

The belief in vampires was so widespread and strong that it sometimes led to mass hysteria and violence. In some areas, people accused others of being vampires and executed them without trial. In other cases, people exhumed suspected vampires and mutilated their corpses or displayed them publicly as a warning. Some famous historical examples of vampire panics include the Arnold Paole case in Serbia in the 18th century, and the Mercy Brown case in Rhode Island in the 19th century.

The vampire legend reached its peak in popularity and influence in the 19th century, when it inspired many works of literature, art, and theater. The most famous and influential of these works was Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker published in 1897. Dracula introduced many of the characteristics and tropes that we associate with vampires today, such as their aristocratic appearance, their hypnotic powers, their aversion to crosses and mirrors, and their ability to transform into bats or wolves.

Dracula was based on various sources of vampire lore and history, but especially on the figure of Vlad the Impaler, a 15th-century prince of Wallachia (now part of Romania) who was notorious for his cruelty and his habit of impaling his enemies on stakes.