Vampires: History of Vampires Timeline

Vampire History

Vampire Timeline: Vampire myths go back thousands of years and are seen in almost every culture worldwide. There are an endless variety of vampires recorded. China has red eyed monsters with green or pink hair while the Greek have Lamia; which has the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a winged serpent. Even further separated are the vampire foxes in Japan. Malaysia has the Penanggalang; which is a head with trailing entrails that sucks your blood.

Year Event

5000 BC

The emergence of Vampirism in the Mediterranean Basin.

2000 BC

Tomb of the Vampire is erected in Giza, Egypt.


Jesus is claimed to have healed vampires at Capernaum.


Reign of Longinus, Rome's Vampire Emperor.


Charlemagne defeats Quadilla the Vampire thus saving Rome.


"Upir" makes it's first appearance as a word referring to a Russian prince as "Upir Lichy", or wicked vampire.


First Crusade expels vampires from The Holy Land, Jerusalem.


"Chronicles" by William of Newburgh's. It recorded several stories of vampire-like revenants in England.


"Dracula" aka Vlad Dracula or aka Vlad the Impaler is born.


Vlad the Impaler is assassinated.


The Malleus Maleficarium (The Witch Hunter's Bible) is written by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. The topic of how to hunt and destroy a vampire is discussed within it's pages.


Italian scientist Ludovico Fatinelli burned at the stake for suggesting a biological cause for vampirism in his "Treatise on Vampires".


Erzsebet (Elizabeth) Bathory is born.


"The Ship of the Dead" brings vampires to the New World.


Elizabeth Bathory is tried and convicted of killing several hundred of girls. Her sentence is life imprisonment.


Elizabeth Bathory dies.


A German vampire text, "De Masticatione Mortuorum", is written by Phillip Rohr.


The word "vampyre" enters the English language.


The first modern vampyre poem, "Der Vampir", is published.


A vampire appears in Lord Byron's The Giaour.


John Polidori's "The Vampyre," is the first vampire story in English is published.


Bram Stoker is born.


Haussman destroys Paris' Vampire Quarter then rebuilds city.


Copper Creek Siege in California prompts formation of Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency.


In Italy, Vincenzo Verzeni is convicted of murdering two people and drinking their blood.


New York Vampire riots ensue.


Steketee's Vampire Rights Movement in France is started.


"Dracula" by Bram Stoker is published in England.


Worldwide vampire population hits the one million.


Fritz Haarmann "The Vampire of Hanover" is arrested, tried and convicted of killing more than 20 people in a vampire crime spree.


Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, is released.


The movie "Vampyr," directed by Carl Theodore Dreyer, is released.


"Dracula's Daughter" is released.


U. S. President Franklin Roosevelt unveils "The Zozobra Project".


"Son of Dracula", stars Lon Chaney, Jr., as Dracula.


In New Mexico an auto mechanic named Joe Valdez becomes the first successful recipient of the vampire vaccine.


The Count Dracula Society is founded in the United States by Donald Reed.


"The Munsters" and "The Addams Family"; television shows with vampire characters.


Jeanne Youngson founds The Count Dracula Fan Club.


Due to the Lazo Disaster in Siberia, the United Nations (UN) passes a resolution banning vampire blood research.


Sean Manchester founds The Vampire Research Society. "In Search of Dracula" by Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu is published.

Stephan Kaplan founds The Vampire Research Centre.


The first of The Vampire Chronicles, "Interview With the Vampire", by Anne Rice is published.


Frank Langella stars in the remake of Dracula.


Richard Chase, the so-called Dracula Killer of Sacramento, California, commits suicide in prison.


"The Vampire Lestat" by Anne Rice is published and reaches the best seller list.


President Reagan lifts ban on the vampire and zombie blood research.


"Methuselah Project" is initiated at the Santa Rosa Institute.


"The Queen of the Damned" is published by Anne Rice.


"Vampire: The Masquerade", the vampire role-playing game is released by White Wolf.


"Bram Stoker's Dracula" directed by Francis Ford Coppola opens in movie theaters.

Andrei Chikatilo of Russia, is sentenced to death after killing and committing vampirism on 55 people.

"The Tale of the Body Thief" by Anne Rice is published.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 American action/comedy/horror film about a valley girl cheerleader named Buffy (Kristy Swanson) who learns that it is her fate to hunt vampires. The movie is a parody which plays on the cliches of typical horror films. The film was written by Joss Whedon who later created the darker and more acclaimed TV series of the same name starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. It was a moderate success at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics.


The film version of Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" opens with Tom Cruise as The Vampire Lestat and Brad Pitt as Louis.


TV series - Kindred: The Embraced (1996) airs on TV. The vampire TV show was cancelled when the star Julian Luna (Mark Frankel) was killed by a motor cycle accident.


TV series - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 - 2003) airs on TV. An American television series; a supernatural drama that aired from March 10, 1997 until May 20, 2003. The series was created in 1997 by writer-director Joss Whedon. The series narrative follows Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar), the latest in a line of young women known as Slayers. Slayers are chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness. Like previous Slayers, Buffy is aided by a Watcher, who guides, teaches, and trains her. Unlike her predecessors, Buffy surrounds herself with a circle of loyal friends.




Blade is released into theaters.

Pandora by Anne Rice is published.

The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice is published.


Vittorio the Vampire by Anne Rice is published.


Blade II is released in theaters. Blade forms an uneasy alliance with the vampire council in order to combat the Reaper vampires who feed on vampires.

Queen of the Damned is released in theaters. The Vampire Lestat becomes a rock star whose music wakes up the queen of all vampires.


Twilight is released in theaters. A teenage girl risks everything when she falls in love with a vampire.

TV Series - True Blood airs on HBO.



The Vampire Diaries series airs. It is about a teenage girl torn between two vampire brothers with a long dark past.