Here are ruined castles, abbeys and crypts, spires and bats silhouetted against full moons, sharp-toothed men in full evening dress seducing beautiful, innocent young women, coffin lids being raised to reveal unspeakable residents. But the classic vampire of gothic tradition is not the only fiend to stalk the thousand pages of this vast collection.

Vampires come in many guises, and all can be found within: reluctant vampires, detective vampires, space vampires, lesbian vampires, punk vampires. There are stories here by men and women from every literary era of the past century and a half, right up to the most talented writers of the present day.

Includes stories from Lord Byron, John Keats, Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, M R James, H P Lovecraft, D H Lawrence, Roger Zelazny, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Dan Simmons, Lisa Tuttle, Stephen King, Anne Rice and Clive Barker.