Why Are Vampire Stories So Popular?

For the past year, I have read many vampire novels as well as those about werewolves, witches and shapeshifters. The most popular of those seems to be vampires. So why do we find ourselves so drawn to stories of creatures such as vampires?

Most books written today portray vampires in a romantic way. J.R.. Ward for example uses a "Brotherhood" of vampires that try to protect humans from Rogue Vampires and the evil Omega. They marry and deeply love their mates and they father children that they adore above all else. This vampire series is very well done. T.J. Smith writes the Vampire Diaries and these too are romanticized and well done.

I believe that our fascination comes from several things. The most important one being the idea of being immortal. Vampires do not become ill and if a human who is ill is transformed into a vampire, the illness is cured be it cancer, leukemia or other life threatening illnesses. Imagine if they really existed, we could live forever. Another benefit to being a vampire is that they are faster, stronger, no longer need to breath and are beautiful. Vampires can also transition to different places at whim so you don't even need a vehicle to get around. Think of the gas and insurance savings. Who wouldn't want that?
Vampires have only one true soulmate and that bond can never be broken. They are usually telepathic so speech between two vampires in not required. That would be great in boring business meetings or for long tedious visits with relatives.

The vampires in today's stories don't hunt humans for blood. The use the bloodbank. This part made me chuckle a bit. So we are basically looking at domesticated vampires not like those that Bram Stocker writes about.

Our fascination stems from more of an "if only it could be real" sort of fantasy rather than an actual belief in vampires. If I could become a vampire would I do it? You bet I would (did I mention that they don't age and live forever), you have to like that.