Vampires have been part of fiction since people began telling scary stories. They’ve evolved from European folklore to some of the most beloved characters in popular culture. Take a look at our favorites—from the spooky to the sexy (and none of the sparkling)!

Carmilla

This badass lesbian vamp was one of the first to appear in literature, a quarter of a decade before Dracula. She’s shown up in all sorts of adaptations and media since her debut in 1871, sometimes as a sympathetic heroine, sometimes as a vicious villain.

Bunnicula

What’s more devilishly adorable than a vampire bunny? This book series is the perfect level of horror for young readers and a great story for all ages.

Drusilla and Spike

If you watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you were probably in love with this dark duo. Drusilla is the epitome of a romantic vampiress, while Spike is one of our favorite bad boys. A typical date for this couple involves torture, murder, and true love shared over a sweet drink of blood.

Dracula

We can’t have a list of favorite vamps without the classic. Dracula’s story is one of the main reasons we think of vampires seducing their victims—there’s just something sexy about biting your lover’s neck.

Blade

Technically, he’s a dhampir, or half-vampire. He’s still a badass superhero who uses his vampiric powers to protect his town from the vampire elders intent on starting a war between the vampires and the humans.

Marceline the Vampire Queen

Instead of ruling over some kingdom, this queen spends her time hanging out with friends and jamming on her blood-red guitar. Marceline is a breakout character from the show Adventure Time—her past is complex and frankly, more interesting than the actual protagonists’. She was born half-demon, abandoned as a child in the midst of a nuclear war, cares for her senile father figure, and might have had a relationship with the princess of the society that developed after the war. It’s a lot to take in—just watch the show.

Lestat

Is your mental image of a vampire the aristocratic gentleman who happens to drink blood? You can blame Lestat. This antihero of Anne Rice’s novels appears time and again as a complicated character who’s always interesting. Plus, he’s bisexual—because the dark has always been home to people and vampires a little outside of the norm.

Dio Brando

Born poor, he became a vampire to get his revenge against the wealthy family that stands for all that kept him down. He appears in multiple arcs of the anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and the show is as crazy as the name implies. Dio is sometimes a badass villain, and other times an unthinkable evil that you just love to hate. Does his name remind you of an 80s metal band? That’s on purpose.

Vampira

Can you say #stylegoals? This classic character combined sexiness and glamour in the perfect undead look. People today still emulate her plunging necklines and impeccable makeup. Beyond the character, Vampira has always been amazing—she’s the creation of Maila Nurmi, daughter of Finnish immigrants, who worked hard to make a name for herself in 1950s Hollywood. Her legacy lives on in the form of Elvira and similar characters.

Who are your favorite vampires? There are so many out there, good, evil, beautiful, hideous, and more. We can’t possibly cover all of them—but we’d love to hear more from you!