The 10 Best Vampire Books

Co-written by Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro, The Strain combines elements of traditional fantasy with straight-up bloodsucking horror. These vampires aren't sexy Europeans; instead, they're grotesque, terrifying killing machines.

He freed the slaves, but in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter our 16th president spends more time emancipating the souls of the undead. Everything you need to know about this book is right there in the title; if the name appeals to you, you'll love it. If not, skip it.

One of the seminal works in the genre, Interview with the Vampire deals with one of the most frequently overlooked drawbacks to immortality: eventually, you get really bored. Readers will stay engaged, however, thanks to the rich Gothic atmosphere.

A weekend at the lake house ends with a woman kidnapped by vampires in Robin McKinley's Sunshine — but that's only the beginning of a lush, intimate horror fantasy. Fans of TV series like "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and "True Blood" will eat this one up.

If you're looking for something you can spend both this life and the next reading, The Passage weighs in at almost 800 pages, and it's the first book in a trilogy. Still, it's endlessly engaging, thanks to its imaginative reworking of familiar tropes.

A very grown-up story about adolescent angst, Let the Right One In is the account of a bullied 12-year-old who discovers an unlikely ally when a new family moves in next door. A gruesome, modern fairy tale, it's a slow-burning, horrifying look at the dangers of isolation.

As the title suggests, The Historian focuses on the role of history in shaping modern times, as well as the evils that can hide in the pages of the past. It reads more like nonfiction, and you may have to remind yourself that the events depicted never actually happened.

The one that started it all, Bram Stoker's Dracula remains a classic to this day, thanks to its tense build-up and introduction to one of the most iconic figures in the history of literature. The story is familiar, but it's a must-read for true fans of the genre.

The sixth book in the Anita Blake chronicles, The Killing Dance, marks the high point in the long-running series. You get werewolves, zombies, witches, and more in addition to bloodsuckers, and the plot combines hard-boiled detective fiction with supernatural erotica.

Our selections would not be complete without an entry from the master himself, and Salem's Lot may be his finest work to date. The story turns an idyllic town into a supernatural hellscape, thanks to liberal use of the only thing more frightening than the undead: children.