Sam Reid's flamboyant, glam-rock performance as the title character in AMC's The Vampire Lestat, now airing in the UK, has reignited discussion of why seductive TV vampires hold such a grip on audiences. The show, a rebrand and shift in focus from the earlier Interview With the Vampire seasons, follows Lestat as he trades centuries of secrecy for arena stardom, with Reid drawing on David Bowie's 1974 Cracked Actor tour footage for inspiration.

The article traces this fascination through decades of vampire dramas, from Alexander Skarsgård's breakout in True Blood and Lady Gaga's couture bloodlust in American Horror Story to The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, What We Do in the Shadows and the BBC's Dracula. It argues that vampires' appeal lies in their embodiment of freedom, power, immortality and forbidden love, allowing audiences to indulge toxic romantic tropes vicariously, with Lestat's onstage and offstage antics — including LSD-laced blood and provocative lyrics — serving as the latest, most extravagant example.