To understand the fascination with vampires, you only have to look at yourself in the mirror. Now, erase the lines, the extra few pounds you’ve put on, all of your little imperfections. See yourself as you really want to be. This is the common image of the vampire. To be seductive, strong, intelligent, and eternally youthful.

And, for all of this, there is only a small price to pay: you are the ultimate predator, you are at the top of the food chain, you hunt humans. You can lure them with your beauty, and make them want to be your prey, or you can chase them down in the night, laughing as they scream and try to run away. You can have anyone you want, just by looking at them, or grabbing them.

This is the lure, and the fascination with vampires. They are us, only more so. They come out at night, when the rest of us are heading home, eating dinner, getting ready to sleep and all of the other mundane chores of mortal life. They can’t come into your home unless you invite them, and if they ask, you can’t help but invite them.

They prey on our fears, and our desires. To be chased by the creature that goes bump in the night, to be so scared that you can’t even scream or to run from something that you know will get you in the end. To be young, immortal and strong.

And, let’s not forget the sexual connotations also. The taking of blood, the life of each human, drained by the predator. By being youthful, and gorgeous, with no moral compass, you can do anything you wish, and with anyone.

That is part of it, to have everything you wish and not have to worry about your conscience telling you that it’s wrong.

Danger inspires us. We leap out of airplanes, race cars, run with the bulls, all to experience that rush of adrenaline that floods through our bodies when we are in danger. Vampires are dangerous; the smell of blood incites them faster than it does sharks. And, they are more predatory.

However, modern literature on vampires is starting a new trend, the vampire as hero. The vampire whom only sucks blood as a last resort or, whom hunts animals to ease the anguish caused by his hunger. The fascination with vampires is growing, however as we remove the negatives of being a vampire this may change. If we take away the hunger, the predator, the killer, we will remove the implicit danger which is the real underlying fascination.