Any investigation into vampire legends leads inevitably to the works of Montague Summers (1880&;1948), whose research and writings in the 1920s established him as the subject&;s preeminent authority. This study examines vampire lore in fantastic detail, constituting a record of folk beliefs unequaled in its sheer scope and depth. It features all the apparatus of an academic work, including footnotes and references to rare source documents, and it addresses such issues as how vampires came into existence, vampirish behavior, vampire-like ancient myths, and vampires in modern literature.