Vampires have intrigued me since I was in third grade. One of my favorite books at that age was the Great Illustrated Classics edition of Dracula. I remember reading that over and over again, especially during a visit to my grandparents on Nantucket. I can’t say that I’ve finished the actual version of the book, but Dracula holds a spot near and dear to my heart.

But more on vampires and less on my emotional attachments to a book I haven’t finished.

Vampire myths are some of my favorite things because they are so strange and varied. Disease, desire, death. If you watch the History Channel as often as I do, you’re bound to have come across some of the interesting hour long specials about vampires in history (Countess Bathory, Vlad the Impaler, the New England vampires). The methods for killing them are so different. Shoving a brick down their throats. Decapitation. Stabbing them with a stake. Sunlight (damn you Twilight with your sparkly, fangless non fiends).

My favorite portrayel of vampires in pop culture is probably in the show Supernatural. The vampires there look like normal folks, they drink, etc, and even if they don’t drink human blood, its for blending in and survival, not because they have a moral code. Oh, and their fangs descend from their gums. How awesome is that?

So, dear readers, any favorite vampire myths?