What is it about vampires that captures people's imagination? Is it because they drink blood? Is it because they live for ever? Is it because they sleep in coffins? Is it the main elements of the vampire myth that fascinated them, or is it the numerous details? Is it the tragedy of their lives, the romance of it, the hopelessness of it, or the fact that they're fugitives for most of the time? It saves authors from having to set up a dramatic hostile situation; it's all done for them.
Then, there's the comedic aspect; one of Terry Pratchet's characters is a vampire, Otto Chriek, who has sworn off human blood, joined something analogous to Alcoholics Anonymous, and goes to regular meetings, etc. He is the photographer for a newspaper, and when he takes a photograph, the virus* thinks it is daylight, and reduces poor Otto to a small pile of ashes. But, each time this happens, he carefully arranges to spill a little of his own blood on the ashes, and whoosh, he rises from it (unfortunately without any clothes on), and continues as before, only with a severe headache.
* The latest theory about vampires is that vampirism is caused by a virus, which also gives vampires all the special powers they are reported to have.
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