ABSTRACT
The vampires of Bram Stoker's Dracula might not recognize their modern counterparts. The nineteenth century vampires of European folklore were undead corpses who dwelt in graves or crypts by day, roamed about at night, and returned to their sleeping places before sunrise. Vampire groups are diverse and their beliefs about concepts such as blood, dress, and lifestyle vary considerably. Blood was essential for the continued existence of the nineteenth century vampire, and the consumption of blood appears also to be at the heart of contemporary vampirism. Some of the other nineteenth century vampire 'criteria' have, however, been modified by contemporary fans. The mixture of alienation, yearning for community, and wanting to find a way of expressing oneself is perhaps what Giddens means when he refers to the problem of the maintenance of self-identity in a world where most traditional systems of meaning and social order have dissolved.
