American society today tends to be short-sighted and trendy. It's nearly impossible to keep track of current fads in fashion, movies, novels, and television these days due to how quickly they remain popular. In my short life, I have been the subject of boy bands, the Internet explosion, and numerous incredibly successful movie franchises. These would include Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Twilight Saga. They are all new series written in the last fifteen years, yet they contain topics that have been part of stories and history for centuries. From its first entry into modern literature in 1819 with John Polidori's “The Vampire” to Charlaine Harris's The Southern Vampire Mysteries: Dead Until Dark, vampires have undergone myriad adaptations. I believe the vampire genre is unique in its ability to adapt and remain relevant in media and therefore are the ultimate “Darwinian predators”. Through a careful examination of vampires in various forms of media I will show how this is possible. Before Dracula and “The Vampire,” vampires were trapped in myths of superstitious people that were never fully considered by mainstream society. Polidori introduced the world to Lord Ruthven and Stoker introduced us to the infamous Count Dracula. This was an important step for the vampire genre because it created realistic characters that audiences could connect with and bridge the gap between myth and reality. These vampires were no longer talked about or said to scare young children: they actually had a place in literature. Furthermore, these two vampires were the prototype of the gentle, articulate, and cultured vampires of today. “His peculiarities made him invited into every home; everyone wanted to see...... middle of paper... they did it very well. From Polidori's 1819 short story "The Vampire" to the latest in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series, vampires have grown, adapted, and been shaped by their writers to suit their ever-changing audiences. It is the flexibility and capacity for change of the vampire genre that has allowed it to thrive in media for nearly two centuries. Works Cited King, Stephen. "StephenKing.com - 'Salem's Lot." Welcome to StephenKing.com. 1 April 2005. Web. 01 December 2011. .Riso, Anne. Interview with the Vampire: A Novel. New York: Knopf, 1976. Print. Stoker, Bram. Dracula. New York: Signet Classics, 2007. Print."The Vampire - John Polidori." Books and literary classics. About.com. Network. 01 December. 2011. .