From the Gothic fiction beginning in the early 1800s, vampire have been evolving. Romantic heroes, conflicted vigilantes, metaphors for societal decay.

This post looks at nine vampire novels, beginning in the nineteenth century and culminating with The Red Line, published this decade. Each novel highlights a turning point in the imagining of vampires. Together they show why we can’t seem to let those bloodsuckers go!

Why write a post about a TV show that finished in the mid 2010s? Well, for fun, and because it’s alive and well for many of us. True Blood burst into my life in the late 2000s and I still re-watch it today.

It’s not for the fainthearted, though. (Is that why I love it? 😝)