The growing interest in stories like the Twilight saga could see “real” vampires emerge from the underground and into the daylight.
University of Western Sydney Associate Professor Adam Possamai, who specialises in sociology of religion, said the growing number of “vampires” was an example of hyper-real religions – new faiths that draw on religion, philosophy and popular culture to create their own beliefs.
He said people had been interested in vampires since the 1970s, particularly the super-human abilities of vampires.