Vampires are creatures who feed on blood. In fantasy, vampires are usually humans who have been killed by other vampires and then "sired" into vampirism themselves.

Vampires are generally depicted as creatures of the night, unable to survive in direct sunlight; they have supernatural powers (usually strength and the ability to transform into animals, especially birds), and can only be killed with a stake through the heart or by being decapitated or burned.

Vampires are referred to as "the undead"; generally they can be hurt or thwarted by religious symbols such as a cross or holy water and by garlic.

Modern stories and films about vampires often modify the abilities and weaknesses of vampires.

The vampire is usually perceived to be a sexual creature; the act of drawing blood is often depicted in erotic terms.

More recently vampires have been depicted as metaphors for disease and their feeding is analagous to spreading a disease.

The seminal view of vampires is contained in the novel Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker. Stoker's character was based on Vlad the Impaler, an historical Romanian prince of the 15th century. Interestingly, an earlier, much less successful, work on this topic is The Vampyre (1819) by John William Polidori who started his novel as his entry into the ghost story competition that also produced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Prominent 20th century vampire novels include I am Legend (1954) by Richard Matheson and 'Salem's Lot (1975) by Stephen King.

Some well-known recent works on vampires include a number of novel series: the most prominent of these include:

• Laurell K. Hamilton's series about Anita Blake, vampire hunter, starting with Guilty Pleasures (1993)
• Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series, starting with Dead Until Dark (2001)
• Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, beginning with Interview with the Vampire (1976)
• Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Saint-Germain series, starting with Hotel Transylvania (1978)

Vampires are very popular in film and television. There are many versions of Dracula; an early important film is Nosferatu (1922); the most famous is the 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi. Two other notable versions are Dracula (1979), starring Frank Langella and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), starring Gary Oldman. Love at First Bite (1979) is a spoof starring George Hamilton.

Other popular portrayals of vampires occur in Blade (1998) and its sequels, a series of films starring Wesley Snipes, and in the film and television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel.