Another series that offers false insight on vampires...

[incubus_dreams]

Besides Anne Rice, another series that offers false insight on vampires is the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Novels by Laurell K. Hamilton. I, about oh,  7 years ago, loved the books, but now, I despise them because of stereotypical view of vampires which Ms.Hamilton expresses in her books. For example, the fear of crosses, inability to go out in sunlight, sleeping in coffins, and things of that nature. This prototype vampire that Ms.Hamilton created is fo shamelessly far from the truth i cannot stand to read the books.

[Dark_Sumerian]

Not to be a pain here, but what exactly is the truth about Vampires? 

As far as I can tell, they are a creation of the hysteria caused by the bubonic plague back in the dark ages.  People dropping dead or disappearing in a short period of time.  the Infected going mad and attacking those closest to them.  Grave Robbers lurking about at night, spooking those who heard their footsteps and then finding corpses dug up and resting in the day light.  the infected's skin became highly sensitive to sunlight because of the boils.  People thought to be dead and put in crypts suddenly making their way back to town, delirious with the sickness and causng quite a stir. Wooden stakes driven into the hearts of the recent corpses would push out excess air from the lungs, stimulating the vocal cords which in turn produced a gasping moan like sound...which would be a frightening and hard to explain experience even today.  Bodies of suspected vampires being burned resulting in less deaths and sickness.  They thought they were burning vampires to save the village but in fact were burning plague infected bodies, destroying the virus/germs responsible for the deaths.

Vlad the Impaler using gruesome and malevolent psychological warfare against his enemies leading people to think he must be a creature of some kind and not a true human.

perhaps I am reading the wrong history or focusing on the wrong accounts...but to me a Vampire seems like fantasy with plausible explanations.  What is your definition of a "true" vampire?