Hollywood is obsessed.

Sure, we often think of obsessions like sex, violence, gigantic robots, and of course,

epic battles between good and evil.

But another obsession of Hollywood is vampires.

You have to admit though that there's a lot to love about vampires.

Some mortality, wealth, power, and superhuman abilities such as flight and strength.

Yes, they come with trade-offs, such as incredibly bad sunburns, but every movie I've seen,

and I've seen a lot, believe me, tends to show vampires that are fairly happy with

their lot in life.

My exposure to the world of vampires happened in the late 90s when I was in college.

A friend of mine recommended the Anne Rice novel, Interview with the Vampire.

I devoured that and many of the sequels.

They're fun reads, and they certainly set the tone for a decade or more of vampires

centered entertainment.

I won't touch on the vampires of the Twilight books, mostly because I haven't read them,

but I will say this.

Those books, however lambasted they have been by critics, have shown that popular cultures

love of all things vampires is as undying as the creatures themselves.

I'm Aaron Manke, and this is lore.

When most people think of vampires, they envision something that is purely European creation.

Before an accent, Victorian era dress and dark manner homes and castles, it's a common

visual language for most of the Western world, so I don't blame movies and books for

...