KAT’S TOP FIFTEEN VAMPIRES IN BOOKS, TV AND MOVIES
By KAT HUDDLESTON
I love vampires. They are the best monsters, and they come in all different types. Vampires not only have cool superpowers, they can choose who they want to eat. They can be oh, so bad, or not. They can be sexy, scary or downright terrifying. Here is my list of the top fifteen vampires, because ten is not enough. And no, the novel Dracula isn’t in my list, although a Dracula is. These are in no particular order.
One note, I’ve marked where TV shows and movies might be available to watch. However, things change on the internet all the time.
Lestat de Lioncourt – Interview with the Vampire, the book by Anne Rice (1976)
Yes, Louis was the vampire being interviewed, but Lestat embraced his vampirism fully in the books. Louis was a bit whiny, while Lestat was funny, charismatic, selfish and a very bad boy. I loved this book and thought it was better than the rest of the books in the series, although The Vampire Lestat expanded on the character in interesting ways.
Barnabas Collins – Dark Shadows (1966–1971)
I adored Dark Shadows, which was a soap opera that went where other soap operas didn’t. In every way, Barnabas Collins was my first… vampire. The series was truly dark and Jonathan Frid’s Barnabas Collins was captivating. He was a real antihero who was frightening, tragic and yet he could also be sympathetic. He’s mostly forgotten now because it’s been so long since he was on television. But today you can still see the series on Pluto TV, Tubi TV or DarkShadows.tv.
Count Orlok – Nosferatu (1922)
No, I was not around in 1922, but I did see this silent movie at some point and Max Schreck was terrifying as Count Orlok. Imagine what the people who watched the movie in 1922 must have thought, seeing a monster come to life before their eyes. You can catch Nosferatu on Tubi, Pluto TV or The Roku Channel.
Angelus – Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
You thought I was going to include Angel. Really? He was broody. But Angelus was absolutely monstrous when Angel lost his soul and he tore the Buffy gang apart. David Boreanaz looked like he was having a blast playing it bad and it showed. The twist brought the series to another level. The series is available on Hulu and Disney+.
Selene – Underworld (2003)
I really liked Underworld and found Selene to be a fascinating and complex character. She finds out she’s been lied to, well forever, and she goes rogue. Kate Beckinsale’s Selene is why Underworld stood out. She’s completely believable as she kicks both werewolf and vampire ass. You can find Underworld on Starz or Amazon Prime Video.
Eric Northman – The Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Mysteries book series by Charlaine Harris (2001-2013)
Yeah, I know. Everyone’s going to go for Alexander Skarsgård’s Eric in the HBO series, True Blood. But I thought Eric, the powerful vampire sheriff of Area 5, was more interesting in the book. Eric is playful and funny and powerful, while his relationship with Sookie is complicated and develops over time. And the end of True Blood just really sucked. Pun intended.
Pamela Swynford De Beaufort – True Blood (2008-2014)
While I’d choose book Eric over TV Eric, Kristin Bauer van Straten brought Pam alive in the HBO series. She was very funny and cynical and sarcastic and really, really vicious. I absolutely loved her. You can watch True Blood on Hulu and HBO Max.
Thomas and Lara Raith – The Dresden Files book series (2000-present)
Wizard Harry Dresden has a lot of monsters in his life and a lot of vampires. Thomas and Lara Raith are brother and sister White Court vampires who feed on human life-force through sexual desire. Thomas, who first appears in Grave Peril, becomes very important to Harry. He’s funny and sarcastic and morally complex. In Blood Rites, we meet Lara, who begins to take on an important role, but she’s a much darker character. They aren’t like other vampires.
Jean-Claude – Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter book series (1993)
The first five books in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, starting with Guilty Pleasures, were fantastic. Anita, a vampire hunter and necromancer, is torn between her complicated attractions to Jean-Claude, a master vampire, and Richard Zeeman, the alpha leader of the St. Louis werewolves. I have to admit I was Team Richard initially, but as the books go on, Jean-Claude proves to be a true ally to Anita. He’s also intelligent and sophisticated and powerful.
Miriam Blaylock – The Hunger (1983)
Catherine Deneuve’s Miriam Blaylock is an ancient and beautiful and predatory vampire who takes lovers and feeds on them. Over the centuries she watches those she loves grow old and die. Her character was complex and sad. I’ve seen lots of vampire movies, but this one really stayed with me because of Deneuve’s portrayal. The movie also featured David Bowie and Susan Sarandon. It’s available on Tubi or Amazon Prime Video.
Damon Salvatore – The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017)
I do think it’s pretty creepy to have a romance between a moody teen and a centuries-old vampire. And yes, I’m looking at you Twilight, but for some reason not you Buffy (at least Buffy wasn’t depressed). While some might have gone for Paul Wesley’s Stefan, I think Ian Somerhalder’s Damon Salvatore had a more interesting journey. He started out being funny and dangerous and selfish but became a very complex antihero. Available on Hulu, Peacock and HBO Max.
Frank Langella – Dracula (1979)
Christopher Lee was a fascinating Dracula through many films starting in 1958. But the Dracula I liked most was played by Frank Langella. He was charismatic and seductive, and of all the Dracula movies I remember his characterization the most. It’s available on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
All the horrific vampires – The Strain (2014-2017)
The Strain brought vampires back to the horror of Nosferatu, in a way. There are no pretty, sexy vampires in this one. All the vampires in this TV series from Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan are terrifying. In this stark world one tiny vampire worm thingy gets in your body and it causes a parasitic infection that turns you literally into a monster. It was a truly disturbing version of vampirism. You can watch it on Hulu and AMC+.
Spike – Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
While Angel/Angelus was either good or bad depending on who was driving, Spike was completely unique. James Marsters was brilliant as the funny and vicious Spike. At first, he’s all in as he attempts to kill his third Slayer. Unfortunately, Angelus wants to bring about hell on earth, which is a problem for Spike. He likes earth the way it is. That turns him into a very complicated character, and in fact, my favorite vampire. The series is available on Hulu and Disney+.
A Max Maguire Vampire Novel
Book One
Kat Huddleston
Genre: Urban Fantasy Vampire Thriller
Date of Publication: Oct. 5, 2026
Number of pages: 378
Word Count: 119,000
Cover Artist: BRoseDesignz
Tagline: Former Special Forces Sniper. High School History Teacher. Vampire.
Book Description:
Who Knew Immortality Could Be So Short?
When high school history teacher Max Maguire begins to suspect one of his brightest students is in trouble, he ends up walking down the wrong alley. Suddenly, he's staring down the fangs of a beautiful, powerful, and utterly merciless vampire named Jade.
As Max's life takes a dark turn, he’s forced to learn how to survive in Jade's twisted world. But if Jade thinks her hostage is going to play nice, she really should have read his resume. This former Special Forces sniper might just have to dust off some very lethal muscle memory.
While Max plots exactly how to kill the most dangerous predator on the planet, he discovers there’s another group of vampires that have their own plans for Jade. Before he knows it, Max is caught in the crosshairs of a vampire war that neither side can afford to lose.
And there's one thing neither side knows... Max has a secret of his own.
CONTENT WARNING: This is NOT a romance. The novel contains mature content intended for readers 18 and older. This is a gritty, fast-paced genre hybrid combining vampires with dark urban fantasy, tactical military thriller action, and sarcastic humor, with a wisecracking protagonist at its center. There is explicit sexual material, including non-consensual sex, graphic violence, torture, adult themes, and visceral horror elements. In other words, my vampires don't sparkle.
Excerpt
from Dead Man’s Trigger
When Max Maguire joins a group of vampires who
hunt vampires, his first mission gets complicated very quickly and Max has to
draw on his Special Forces training – and get creative.
Without a word, the team quickly
exited the van. They barely made a sound, with only the muffled noise of doors
opening and closing to betray their arrival.
Max crawled up into the passenger’s seat and waited. Terry had a
revolver out and ready on his lap. Chase and the team stood near the trees sizing
up the situation.
“Five hostiles inside with two humans, two hostiles out back,” Chase
said in a low voice through his headset. Max watched as Chase pointed to Sumi
and Tank and then to the rear of the house. He knew from experience, no one
would talk at this stage unless they had to. Sound was always risky.
Sumi and Tank took off in a blur. Max did as Tank suggested and reached
out with his senses to follow the action. The rest of the team crouched by the
tree line for a moment and then Chase motioned for them to go.
Chase, Shades and Father Frank were beginning their approach from the
front. Everything in the backyard was happening so fast, Max was having trouble
keeping track of what was going on. One of the vamps went down immediately and
vanished from Max’s internal radar. The other had avoided a round to the heart
and took off. Sumi was in pursuit, but Max lost her. He tried to find her
again, but she was out of his range.
He looked at Terry, a worried expression on his face.
“She’s okay, Max. She can take care of herself,” he said.
Max nodded and got back to the action. The attack from the front had
started and Max could sense the chaos in the house as the vampires dove for
cover or tried to reach their weapons. Two were killed immediately, but the
other three were putting up a fight. Then one of them dove through a side
window, right through the wood covering it, and Max saw he was out of the house
and headed for them. Max didn’t have a weapon, but he wasn’t about to be a
sitting duck. Terry nodded at Max and they both opened their doors to get out
of the van.
The vamp looked like a biker, defined by leather, tattoos and long
hair. And he was really pissed. When the angry vampire saw them, he raised his
revolver and started shooting at them on the run. One of the rounds whizzed by
Max’s ear and he dove to the ground in a roll, coming up on his hands and
knees. Terry started firing back, but the vampire was moving fast. They were
trading shots, so Max pushed himself up and flew at the vampire, tackling him,
the two rolling one over the other until they crashed into a tree.
Max was stunned for a moment, but so was his opponent. He saw the flash
of the revolver and he went for it, the two struggling over the weapon. The
vampire smashed Max in the chest with his fist and sent him flying backwards.
Ending up flat on his back, he rolled onto his knees just as the vampire got a
shot off. Suddenly his lower back was on fire and Max knew he’d been shot. Now
he was pissed.
Terry was rounding the van. He took a shot, but missed the vampire. The
bad guy was distracted for just a moment, and that’s all Max needed. He
scrambled onto his hands and knees. Ignoring the pain, Max launched himself at
the vampire again, breaking a branch of a tree off along the way and knocking
his opponent to the ground. Max drove the large end of the branch into the
vampire’s chest as the bad guy was raising the weapon to take another shot. The
vampire stopped, a look of total surprise on his face. The branch with its
leaves still intact stuck out of him as if the tree was growing right through
him. And then he turned to dust.
Max’s back hurt like hell and he fell to the ground on his side. Then
Terry and Chase were standing over him.
“Death by maple. That’s
a first,” said Terry.
Kat Huddleston is a Chicago-based writer, teacher and artist who loves all things sci-fi. She was an entertainment journalist for the Syfy Channel’s website and for Sci Fi Magazine a while ago, and has always had a deep addiction to writing, teaching and creating art.
Kat is an award-winning painter and fused glass artist who taught fused glass, and her art can be found in several galleries.
While Kat has mostly lived in a fantasy land, she’s made a living as a journalist and dabbled in short story and screenplay writing.
Dead Man’s Trigger is Kat’s first novel in the Max Maguire Vampire series.
Kat lives with her two helper cats, Jax and Nicky.
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