Vampires are some of the greatest monsters in modern culture. From their roots as a disconnected set of superstitions, some of which were deeply bigoted, they have formed and evolved into one of the greatest terrors ever to stalk the night. They have featured heavily in fiction for hundreds of years, and, in the modern day, have evolved into a fascinating character archetype.
Some modern readers have bemoaned the demystification, science-fictionization, and demonsterfication of the vampire, but the best portrayals of these entities succeed at being deeply disturbing while also carrying amazing pathos. Here are some of the best novels ever to feature these iconic horrors.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
The founder of the genre
Essentially the origin of the modern vampire, Dracula is among the most definitive classics of gothic literature. Its influence on the genre cannot be overstated.
Though versions of the vampire existed in folklore, superstition, and blood libel for hundreds of years prior to the publication of this book, much of what we now regard as basic vampire lore was invented or codified in Dracula. This classic novel chronicles the interactions of several characters with the eponymous vampire as he moves from his castle in the Carpathian Mountains to the British Isles.
Essentially, all modern vampire fiction is, to some extent, a response to Dracula. Even when such books seek to subvert much of what it contains, they are still defined in relation to it. Ideas of vampires as blood-drinkers, shapeshifters, mind controllers, and aristocrats are present here, and will continue to be present throughout many of the works to follow.
I Am Legend: And Other Stories
A twist too spicy for Hollywood
Another book which played an enormous role in the codification of the modern vampire, I Am Legend is an excellent read with an excellent (and widely misunderstood) twist ending.
Another work that played a major role in shaping what vampire fiction would go on to be, I Am Legend is widely known for its influence on the post-apocalypse genre (so much so that some of you are probably surprised to learn it’s about vampires,not zombies). Its influence on vampire fiction is, sadly, often less appreciated. For better or worse, this book was one of the first to ground the idea of the vampire in science fiction rather than fantasy. I Am Legend gives quasi-scientific explanations for what vampires are, why they suck blood, and why they’re affected by mirrors, crosses, and garlic, and is one of the first works to present vampirism as a communicable disease with a biological cause.
This book takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, where most of the human population have been turned into vampires, and one man, the last man, as far as he knows,seeks to slay as many as he canwhile he struggles to survive. This novel is famous for the twist ending that gives it its title, though the details of this twist are often oversimplified. To elaborate would require spoilers, unfortunately, but suffice it to say that the ending of this book is even better than its reputation suggests.
The Strain
An amazing horror experience
Reaping many of the ideas sown by I Am Legend, The Strain and its sequels are an amazing modern take on the vampire genre, taking vampire lore to a lot of interesting places.
The Strain’s depiction of vampirism, in many ways, continues a tradition I Am Legend started. Once again, we see that vampirism is a disease, caused by both a microbe and a species of parasitic worm that take up residence in your veins. This novel is about an outbreak of that disease in the modern world. It’s a thrilling novel, with an excellent, and very diverse, main cast. Abraham Setrakian, in particular, is an amazing character, and his badassery is a great palette cleanser to the antisemitism present in a lot of pre-modern vampire lore.
The link above is to the first book, but the Strain is a trilogy of novels, and you should absolutely read all of them. If you’re even remotely into vampires, and are able to handle some diversions from old-school vampire lore, you’re going to enjoy them. These books escalate as they go on, and the stakes and tension reach insane heights by book three. We can’t even tell you the best thing about them because it’s a spoiler, but suffice it to say it’s excellently done.
Interview with the Vampire
It all means nothing, in the end
Considered by many to be the first example of truly modern vampire fiction, Interview With the Vampire takes the at-the-time revolutionary act of telling the story from the vampire’s perspective.
Dracula codified the modern vampire, and I Am Legend made him sympathetic, but it was Interview With The Vampire that gave him a voice, and, in doing so, created the first fully formed example of the vampire as we know him today, not just as a monster, but a character, capable of starring in his own story. The resulting tale is a mesmerizing tragedy, in which our heroes scour the world for the meaning of their monstrous, murderous existence. They find none, and yet those who hear their story cannot help but be so enchanted that they want to go looking for themselves.
It is difficult to overstate how amazing this book is. The modern idea of vampires as monsters comes from Dracula, but the modern idea of vampires as characters, with fully human minds, was popularized by this book. Every modern story which centers around a vampire’s perspective owes a debt to this amazing story.
The Vampire Lestat
Did the vampire change over time, or simply become more fully what it was?
This sequel to Interview With The Vampire introduces the ultimately-canonical depiction of Lestat, one of the most important vampiric heroes out there, and it replicates an enormous amount of what made the previous book great.
Anne Rice waited several years to follow up Interview With The Vampire, but when she finally did, she created a character who would become the archetype for the modern idea of the vampiric hero, from which characters like Angel would descend. We say “created” because, while a vampire named Lestat appeared in Interview With The Vampire, the extensive ret-cons this book subjects the character to completely remake him into the hero that would star in most of her remaining vampire books.
Ultimately, this book is good for the same reasons the original was. The vampiric condition is profoundly tragic, and our characters struggle to find any meaning in it. That said, this novel contains a bit more hope for them than the original. The injection of hope into a hopeless universe is usually irksome, but this novel pulls it off by founding it in a very interesting character’s complex thoughts.
Octavia E. Butler is one of the greatest writers of all time.We’ve featured her work in many earlier lists. Her post-apocalypticStarseedDuology contains two of the best and bleakest novels of all time, and rumor has it she went into Fledgling hoping to write something lighter.
The resulting novel is by far the most disturbing work in her bibliography. Though this book has an engaging plot with a nice mystery and some neat characters, the mind-controlling “symbiotic” relationships this vampire creates, and the sexualization of her child-like body, make it extremely unsettling. This vampire is barely even a murderer, yet she is somehow far more disturbing than Dracula or Armand. The resulting novel has to be beheld to be believed.
FAQ
What is the scariest vampire book?
Though Fledgling is extremely disturbing, as noted above, those looking for a straight-up horror novel would be better served by Dracula or The Strain, two very tense stories with monstrous vampires.
Who is the most powerful vampire in all of fiction?
Unfortunately for those who hate them, the vampires from Twilight are among the most powerful in fiction. Their enhanced speed and strength is taken up to eleven, and most of their weaknesses are gone. In a straight fight, Twilight’s vampires would beat most others.
