This is a question I’ve been thinking about for a while. I would guess the reason the myth of vampires has lasted for so long, is mainly because of people’s lack of medical knowledge back in the day. When someone died and no one could explain exactly how or why, the paranormal was an easy answer, I would guess.
And to answer why it is still so popular, I would say it’s all thanks to Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel.
And of course, the paranormal is really trendy at the moment. I think this myth will not stop to exist, but maybe in the future it will be tainted with sparkling vampires..

I think it lasted so long is because people like hearing these story's and like being scared and being able to scare other people. People want to scare others so they tell these stories to fascinate and scare friends and relatives.

Not only that, but why, of all bodily fluids and tissues, do we fantasize so frequently about blood as a food source?
I personally think it's because it's so salty and also because it's one of the first things we see when we **** our natural animal food sources.

when we cause death to our animal food sources

Do you think the reason we have always looked at blood as a "Food Source" is because that it has been seen as the human life force? Back in the they, all they knew was if the blood was lost, you die.

They could have lasted long because there are still people that still believe in vampires to this day.

I'm not so sure what you mean; could you please clarify?

The myth of vampires has lasted for so long because people like to be scared. They like terrible histories.I think they don’t know about life after death too. They are afraid death. But vampires live hundreds of years.

Vampire stories are interesting and some could give people "the creeps". Vampire stories are also very entertaining. Another reason is that some people still believes that vampires do exist in our world but they are just hidden from us. In result they will influence other people to also believe in the myth of vampires and so making the myth live on.

i think it lasted so long because people like creepy story, so this story was told from one people to many people and many people believed it.

I personally believe that vampire stories have lasted so long because they are a constant subject to change. When they needed an explanation for death and decomposition they were there. When Gothic horrors became popular the undead that fed on blood, a symbol for death and life itself, and were cursed with immorality were available. Finally in modern day society when all we have to fear, when all we haven't conquered, is death itself and disease something such as a disease that causes is immortality and a state of death is a perfect subject for a fiction. Plus, as we have grown more comfortable with sexuality being publicly displayed vampires have adapted to fit the role; seductive incubus and succubus style vampires have begun to proliferate. And as always... sex sells.

You make a good point. :)

With the past that this particular character in folklore has, it isn't surprising that it has lasted this long. Really, the amount of terror and the amount of action that vampires inspired in whole communities is enough to keep it reverberating for centuries alone. We see the same thing with witches and the Salem Witch Trials. That gruesome part of our past is just too absurd to forget. When the fears get turned into fiction, something that we can appreciate as false but still gives us our adrenaline rush, it is further locked into our memories, and we share the experience with others. Popular culture really has a lot of terror elements to it. The surge of chemicals we get from horror books, movies, events, just leaves us craving more. Vampires are one element that allow us to live fear we don't often experience. then there are sexualized vampires, or tortured souls like Louis and Lestat who are much more relateable and conform to meet what current society requires, and so live forever

In that time witch hunting was activating. So people might thought it will relate with witch so it pass on to generation.

Like any legend or myth, vampires are bound to be talked about for generations. Plus the element of fear and mystery makes it an ongoing thing. We may never really know if they actually do exist

They are terrifying creatures of the night.

My 4 year old daughter thinks the myth of the vampire has lasted because it's fun to feel scared.

The myth of vampire sounds so so fascinating to humans and is been so popular and still is .but what is so fascinating about them that made them last into an eternal myth?well there's three main factors,first of all the the need of information on death and the cause made humans come up with with "rational answer." According to them. Secondly symptoms , to fear , and a sleep paralysist how would they explain that every night they feel someone stocking you every night and wanting to harm you when in reality there's no one .people will think that your a becoming crazy or even worse a witch, once again they need a rational reason, a creature that no one sees and sees and comes at night and wants to hurt you, creating fear.and lastly people love to create stories what would life be without stories. there wouldn't be a way to make kids go to bed or play a joke to someone once in while to frighten others, plus people like the feeling of been scared, the adrenalin goes up, creating excitement

I believe that it has lasted for so long because of what it has to offer. It provides a history that ranges worldwide. In the video it shows the different legends that were believed around the world. Vampire legends provide sort of a medium for people to come together and share their imagination on how they believe vampires look and their various characteristics. Another reason why Vampire legends have lasted so long is because it provides an answer/solution for why things happen. According to one article I read it claimed that consuming a lot of corn contributed to the myths on vampires. Recently in America there has been a lot of movies and books written about vampires and their romances. This I think really helped the vampire legend because now a lot of people associate good thoughts with vampires. It will be interesting to see how the vampire legends progress in the future.

due to the fear and passing down o\f stories

The myth has been continually nurtured by fiction and visual arts, and romanticized to give them the 'realistic edge' with a whiff of sentimentality.

The people did not know the truth of the vampires. They thought people turned into vampires, rising from their graves and praying on the living.

The story of the vampires is told from generation to generation. And people must have liked it (and still do). Why would they otherwise tell vampire stories for over centuries?

I think the Vampire myths has lasted so long because it has never been truly solved to our satisfaction and it has a unique story. Also they are fascinating creature that lead to movies and books and games

I guess out of pure terror, excitement and for the fun of it people love telling the famous story's of vampires. You could say telling these story's to children is a way of scarring them into doing the right thing. And the fact that a classic vampire movie isn't all that bad!

I think they lasted this long because of the choices our ansesters made to create books and verbally tell us stories of Vampires, there is also the case were we like to dress up as vampires for Halloween. And they have lasted long because of old films about Vampires.

i think it lasted for a long time because we kept telling the younger generation about it maybe as a punishment to stay in bed. also many people dress up as them for halloween keeping them alive through pagen festivals

I think the vampire myth has lasted soo long because it is a very interesting concept and supernatural and paranormal things are very trendy now days; for example horror movies now days are usually based on supernatural events instead of realistic murder and popular stories, tv shows and movies like "Dracula", "Buffy" "Twilight" and etc keep the vampire/supernatural trend going.

I think it has lasted for a while because it is such a freaky myth. It gets passed down generation to generation, not to mention all the stories and movies about vampires. This myth was never fully solved, who knows? Maybe the bats that fly around Sydney are blood thirsty creatures...

I think that the myth of the vampire has lasted for so long because it can easily be changed to suit the current time period, and therefore makes it scarier. The myth of the vampire picks up on everything that people are scared of, or explains a mysterious occurrence, like 18th century Eastern Europe - they didn't know why people were dying, and it scared them, so the myth of vampires was terrifying and was talked about and retold for a long time. The myth has been adapted to suit our time, which makes it scarier and therefore lasts longer because people are intrigued and retell it.

I think that the myth of vampires has lasted for so long because of of the many stories and movies based off vampires, unexplained reasons as to why people have passed away and people being scared at the thought of Vampires.

With the many stories and films such as Dracula, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight and The Vampyre many people enjoy it so much people start to believe in Vampires and other made up creatures.

I think that the myth of the vampire has lasted so long as they have been advertised in many different ways - mainly television series and movies ,the vampire diaries, twilight are just two of many shows. This means that people become more known with vampires. This is why I believe that the myth of the vampires has lasted for so long.

As for my personal opinion, I think the myths of vampires has lasted for long because these stories were created when the education within medical ideas weren't as developed, and since there were no reasons or explainations, they would have attracted the attention of a lot of people. Also, these ideas do bother our nerves; blood sucking, neck biting, dead bodies, etc. I do believe these would have left a strong impact, which is probably why the story hasn't died out.

I believe that the vampire myth has lasted for so long as it is a common and scary topic mentioned in many types of media. Vampires are a common beast in books, scripts and animations in modern and past history. People use vampires as it was a beast common in many cultures and quite terrifying so the story could be used to scare young children. The idea of vampires sucking blood I think came from the fact that blood is a human waste that is often seen by human eyes.

I think the myth of vampires has lasted for so long because the main point of a myth is to pass it down from generation to generation by breathe or by hand. People use vampires to scare people they have more control of that person that disobeying or not listening.

Personally, I believe the reason is that the myth includes horror elements and people have always enjoyed it for various reasons since the older times to now. Furthermore, people in the past have few medical knowledge so they resorted to supernatural explanation and even as technology advanced, people still liked the myths of the past.

I think the myth of the vampire lasted so long is because it is passed down from some sort of way e.g. Halloween, events, books and movies. It can also be told for entertainment.

I think that it lasted for so long because the stories have been past on through generations and many movies and books are about vampires.Also parents could tell there children these stories to scare them into doing what they are meant to whether its not to go out at night or to go to go and stay in bed

I think the reason the myth of the vampire as lasted for such a long time is because over the years as the stories are passed in generations, people seemed to find more and more unreasonable evidence to support the existence of Vampires. In addition it has lasted so long because they have been portrayed too live forever, therefore changing with the time people seem too integrate the myth into literature. Literature seems to last for a long time, for example Dracula now known as a classic.

the definition of 'vampires' can differ depending on what nationality you are. i think it has lasted so long because different cultures can orally pass the myth in their own way.

I think that this myth still exist because a lot of people have read and slowly it passes on by generation and so one. Some of the facts still exist for example when people die they still grow long nails, long hair for certain amount of time. People also mention it a lot because there are many amazing facts that people want to know more and discover more about.

I think the myth of vampires has been stretched from generation to generation because it has taken so long to solve that vampires scientifically don't exist. They were told in story's that preach from place to place. Then people used vampires in books and on television which would attract the audience's attention.

Another reason is because Vampires can be used for any age range: children, teenagers and adults. That is why it is so popular for every category, of every genre which could last centuries.

I think that the myth has lasted as long because it gives people a chance to fantasize about things that may or may not be true and like the thrill of the chance of horror really being out there.

People's imaginations continue to run wild and humans continue renewing the myth with new stories inspired by dreams or other sources.

Hi

I guess that one of the main reasons would be the intrinsic link vampires have with death. Death has always been a curious and mysterious interest of humans. The unknown is scaring and exciting at the same time - probably more exciting because it is scaring. The romanization and sexualization of the vampire figure - that happen through book and movies - reinforced this controversial interest people had on them (if people already felt weirdly excited with their unknown origin and existence, adding that to sexual attraction only made this interest stronger and deeper - considering its complexity).
To my mind, the myth of the vampire lasted long mainly for this change not only in the character image, but also in the nature of the interest people have on them - which was varied and adapted throughout time.

The bases of the stories are from multiple cultures and places making them routed in pretty much all peoples heritage. They also continue to change over time allowing them to expand and use the same basic idea to tell hundreds of stories through out time. The real question to ask is how would they have not survived as long as they have?

Simply put, because people fear what they don't know. Therefore if you understood the creation of vampires, and the origin of the myths you would understand that someway, or another, and whether or not they exist in this dimension or not, they are real. I do believe they are real. For I've encountered one or two in my lifetime.

I think vampires were lot superior when we compare for acting inhumanely than people. It had lots of preternatural power such as metamorphosis and Herculean strength. It could live with human and it can control the other vampires. Also, it could transform human in to vampire by only drinking their blood.

The terrifying suspense of what the creature will do next, the horror of why they do it, and anger and mistrust among the villagers led the story to be told and retold, until the vampire story began to turn into our vampire stories.

Lol. Watch out of the sparkles of death!

I think it has lasted so long because people love the idea of something supernatural and mysterious. It keeps people interested.

I think that this idea of vampires has lasted so long because people love the idea of being scared and being able to scare other people with these stories.

I think the myth of the vampire lasted so long because people didn't know any better and they had no medical explanation for these mysterious deaths. People not knowing caused them to be very afraid and concerned that these supernatural creatures would attack them in the night and suck their blood and eventually turn them into vampires.

The reason the myth of the vampire lasted so long was because people didn't know any better and they had no medical explanation for these deaths. So they decided to blame it on supernatural causes like vampires

I agree with your explanation Mr. Weber, but that only explains why they believed in the past, and not why it is still believed (by some people) today. The masking of “the unknown” with paranormal phenomena can be seen in almost every myth. Alien abduction (sleep paralysis), drowning (sea monsters), the body still “grows” after death (vampires/the undead).

I think that the myth lasted so long because the idea of people rising from the dead and drinking other peoples blood intrigues people. People like to be scared and this the perfect story for that. And there are also a lot of people that believe that this story is true and tell others to scare them or as a bedtime story for their children. It is being passes on by generation to generation.

Vampires are scary creatures, but they're obviously fake. People like to be thrilled as long as it's fake, because they realise they don't have to actually be afraid. It's also because of films like Twilight reaching out to a hole new generation. This causes the myth to live on, even if it has been changed and will continue changing over time

People have always been searching for explanations for the inexplainable. There have been lots of situations in the past which the normal people couldn't explain. Nowadays, people are still looking for explanations for the 'unknown'.
I think the main reason the myth lasted for so long(for some it still does) is that some deaths are still incredibly hard to explain, and these old myths seem logical for many when someone dies in such a 'weird' way.

I think the myth lasted for so long, because people like the idea of life after death and because scary stories are fun to read and tell. Vampires are mysterious, scary creatures, that's why they keep fascinating people. The myth is also known all over the world, it has origins in a lot of countries, and that's why it has lasted so long.
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I think this isn't a question with just one answer. One answer could be that people love telling scary stories to eachother and being scared. Being scared gives you a particular feeling that is for some addictive, which causes people to keep spreading scary stories like vampire stories. Another answer is that popular vampire stories, like Dracula and Twilight, keep vampires interesting and up to date.

Because a vampire is shape-shifting, it is not delimited to a creepy monster, but also has a considerable amount of human features that make it versatile; he can be the monster and he can be the man.

The myth has lasted so long because it interests us. We are fascinated and curious about a world that may or may not exist outside ours. The stories are fun to tell and pass down, keeping the myth alive.

Because it's a vampire no it hasn't gone by light or anything that can **** him or hurt him

Vampires are creatures who sustains themselves with the life force of a living creature. I guess people back then needed some kind of monster to tell other people. And they also didn't understand a lot of things we do today. They might've wanted to blame it on a non-existent creature.

Because some people enjoy a good scary and also the villagers at the time didn't now the symptoms of death so vampires were around for awhile.

I think this myth has lasted so long because people are continually scared of the evils in the night. People use their imagination and come up with bloodthirsty monsters.

Because people were explaining the same story in all the death events.

I think because the movies, books and
legends about these beings is why they have lasted

I think its because we keep alabarating and changing the stores

I think that it has lasted for so long to keep kids from going out for to long at night.

I think that they have been around so long because once it start to die down people dicover more and more information.

because of the continued story telling and the re- imagining of the vampire lengend

because some people believe in them witch in that case keeps this myth going

I think people want some victims for inexplicable things... And some people want to make horror by vampire.....

I say it has been around for such a long time because people are always curious about who or what is out there and that hasn't changed not even ti this day

There were lots of stories and beliefs about the blood-sucking fiends. Due to the lack of science, people believe in lots of stuff.