In this engrossing book, Paul Barber surveys centuries of folklore about vampires and offers the first scientific explanation for the origins of the vampire legends. From the tale of a sixteenth-century shoemaker from Breslau whose ghost terrorized everyone in the city, to the testimony of a doctor who presided over the exhumation and dissection of a graveyard full of Serbian vampires, his book is fascinating reading. A preface written for this reissue edition reflects on the book's impact in the twenty years since it was published and analyzes contemporary trends in the fascination with vampires, including the Stephenie Meyer Twilight novels.