Indisputably the most famous Vampire story is Dracula. But how did we get to that point? In this volume we present a roll-call of classic authors including Robert Louis Stevenson, M R James, E F Benson, John William Polidori, Uriah Derrick D’Arcy and many others who short story by short story establish the building blocks of this horrific yet thrilling genre. Here all manner of characters and narratives weave together to bring a unique yet intricate account of the beginnings of this most troubling of literary genres.