Vampires

What's the deal with vampires? Have they always been popular or are they a new fad?

Vampires have been popular in our culture for as long as I can remember. Something about their pseudo-humanity makes them compelling figures and Dracula is one of the all time great bad guys. But 2008 was an especially big year for them. Twilight the film based on the apparently widely popular book, True Blood on HBO, and a South Park episode lampooning "vamp kids" were all huge. Was it a coincidence? I just want another Blade.