Dracula and Beyond: Top 10 Vampire Books

Taking his cue from Bram Stoker’s own notes, Dacre Stoker spins a web of gothic intrigue and monstrous terror as the fictionalised creator of Dracula faces an unimaginable horror of his own. Both a fascinating account of Bram Stoker’s early life and a heart-stoppingly terrifying tale of the uncanny, Dracul is one of the horror novels of the year.

The Young Adult debut from Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-winning Kiran Millwood Hargrave is a sensuous, sinister chiller that reimagines the story of Dracula from the point of view of his enslaved brides. A compelling tale of love and companionship set amongst the stygian murk of Transylvania, The Deathless Girls is a scintillating work of gothic fiction.

Thoroughly immersive and chillingly atmospheric, Kostova’s remarkably assured debut plunders the Dracula myth to craft a thrilling modern-day mystery with evocative echoes of medieval vampire lore. Sustaining extraordinary narrative suspense for over seven hundred pages, The Historian is a master-class in storytelling from an exceptional literary talent.

From the gleefully twisted imagination of Kim Newman comes a barnstorming alternate history novel where Dracula is Queen Victoria’s new consort and vampires are an everyday feature of society. With a plot revolving around Jack the Ripper and lashings of grand-guignol gothic adventure, Anno Dracula is a tremendous horror/whodunit romp.

A cornerstone of the vampire genre, Rice’s stunningly accomplished spine-chiller finds a tormented vampire recounting his tragic, immortal existence. Character driven and emotionally intelligent, Interview with the Vampire elevated the vampire story to literary credibility whilst retaining the gothic thrills and melodrama so beloved of the form.

Credited with introducing the vampire to British popular culture, Polidori’s gothic novel dates from the same era as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and shares much of its heightened realism and crepuscular atmosphere. This edition also includes numerous other short works of pioneering horror from a variety of period authors, resulting in a darkly fascinating glance at the origins of the vampire genre

One of the finest modern vampire tales, Lindqvist’s complex work draws out the metaphorical allusions of vampirism and interweaves them with themes of social realism, teenage ennui and the tormented bonds of friendship. Sensitively written, poignant and very, very frightening, Let the Right One In is a landmark of twenty-first century horror.

Slowly building a tangible atmosphere of ominous dread, Martin’s masterful tale of the supernatural unfolds against a backdrop of steamships in Antebellum Mississippi, and a sinister benefactor with some very strange habits. Full of deftly handled twists and turns, Fevre Dream is a thoroughly rewarding change of pace from the creator of A Song of Ice and Fire.

Wire-taut and almost unbearably tense, Matheson’s ground-breaking zombie/vampire hybrid unleashed a horde of imitators and continues to influence both horror and sci-fi genres. Told in crisp, spare prose, I Am Legend’s lone-wolf narrative demands a one-sitting reading.