Book excerpt: Our fascination with the vampire myth has scarcely diminished since Bram Stoker's publication of the classic Dracula tale in 1897, but how much of the lore is based in fact and can science explain the origins of horror's most famous fiend? Vampirology charts the murky waters of the vampire myth - from stories found in many cultures across the globe to our sympathetic pop-culture renditions today - to investigate how a scientific interpretation may shed light on the fears and phenomena of the vampire myth.