Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.

In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?

The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature.

Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.

In this volume your flesh may creep and crawl a little bit as our classic authors delve into the world of vampires. Some stories you may be familiar with but for most these will be new and unsettling experiences.

1 - The Top 10 Short Stories - Vampires - An Introduction

2 - The Vampyre. A Tale - Part 1 by John Willaim Polidori

3 - The Vampyre. A Tale - Part 2 by John Willaim Polidori

4 - The Black Vampyre by Uriah Derick D'Arcy

5 - Vampirismus or Aurelia by E T A Hoffman

6 - The Vampire by Jan Neruda

7 - The Last of the Vampires by Phil Robinson

8 - The Vampire of Croglin Grange by Augustus Hare

9 - Mrs Amworth by E F Benson

10 - The Vampire Maid by Hume Nisbet

11 - The Tomb of Sarah by F G Loring

12 - Wake Not the Dead - Part 1 by Ernst Raupach

13 - Wake Not the Dead - Part 2 by Ernst Raupach