When Irish born Bram Stoker's Dracula was published in 1897, vampires were creatures of myth and fantasy.

It had taken seven years of research into European folklore and a nightmare (allegedly caused by eating too much crab) about a vampire king rising from the grave before the book was finished. There were many adventure writers at this time penning books about impending threat and invasion of the Empire and Dracula was well received. However, despite literary acclaim, Stoker was never able to make much money from his work and died in 1912 almost penniless. It was not until the advent of film that a new genre was truly born. From Nosferatu to the Blade Trilogy vampires are very much here to stay.