Whether characters in movies, books, or nightmares, vampires are among the most recognizable monsters in the world. Today, vampires are characterized by fangs and an unshakable lust for human blood, but some vampire myths differ from these notions. Vampire lore around the world is an entertaining introduction to a variety of cultures. Readers will be thrilled to discover that some ancient myths are actually scarier than modern stories. They'll also find several explanations for vampire behavior to be entertainingly bizarre, such as people clawing their way out of graves because they weren't quite dead yet.