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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ridley's Cohort" data-source="post: 263005" data-attributes="member: 545">There certainly are many, many older vampire myths.  The modern romantic vampire myth is inspired by syphillis and other sexually transmitted diseases.  (Please note I said "inspired by", not  "about".)This "Count" Dracula story dates to the nineteenth century, including the class consciousness and sexual pruderies of the middle-class.  Previous vampire incarnations would be random people infected by an evil spirit -- probably because they led evil lives and/or were not properly buried -- so they were most often peasants.But a lower class individual just was not considered socially up to the task of being a worthy antagonist of proper upper class heroes.  Allusions or hints of sexual contact would make such a story intolerable!</blockquote>