vampire

Vampire is a legendary or fictional being said to subsist by feeding on the blood or life force of living creatures. In many traditions, vampires are undead beings who return from the grave to prey upon the living, though the details vary widely by culture and era. The term Vampire in English and other European languages derives from various South Slavic and Germanic words for revenant; the modern concept was shaped by folklore, literature, and later media.

Folklore across Eastern Europe provides some of the best-known material. Traditional vampires are revenants who return from the grave to prey on the living, with traits that vary by region. Common motifs include nocturnal activity, a craving for blood, and weaknesses such as stakes, garlic, holy symbols, or fire. Some traditions emphasize curses or moral corruption rather than undead status.

In Western literature, vampires were popularized in the early 19th century with John Polidori's The Vampyre (1819) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), which consolidated features such as immortality, hypnotic powers, and nocturnal predation, and linked vampirism to Christian symbolism and fear of daylight.

Since then, vampires have become a staple of modern fiction, film, television, comics, and games, interpreted in many ways from monstrous predators to tragic romantic figures.