Why are we so fascinated with vampires...

Photo by: Everett Collection(3); Newline / Wireimage; Summit Entertainment

Why exactly are we so fascinated with vampires?  Perhaps it is because they are human and yet they are monsters.  On the other hand, they are monsters who are also human.  So we can see ourselves in them.  They, for the most part, look like us, they walk and talk like us (although we may be disappointed if they do not speak with a thick Euro or Emo accent).  They dress like us (although we prefer them in elegant evening wear).  So part of their appeal is that right now, at this very moment, they could be among us; sitting beside us on a train or bus, next to us at a theatre, or even, famously, a vampire could be that pallid high school hunk sparkling in the sun light as he sits next to a dreary goth wannabe in science class. 

In most neighborhoods, the bug-eyed alien or drooling blood-soaked psychopath would be instantly recognized for the fearsome threat they are.  Not so the vampire.  Whether the suave, courtly European, the futuristic warrior, or the angst-ridden teen, they are among us.  Be afraid.  And be safe.