I linked a while back to a series of articles at The Hope Chest about vampire automobiles. Now there's an excellent article in Friday's New York Times by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan about the origin and development of the vampire myth, and why it seems to be gaining in power these days.

They emphasize that while the substance of the myth is probably very old, the modern species came into existence around the time when technology was making it possible to travel and communicate over great distances, drawing people into a ever tightening web in which information (and we have to include viruses in this category, which may explain the connection between vampires and disease in Nosferatu, for example) could spread with great rapidity. That web is only growing tighter:

The wireless technology we carry in our pockets today was the stuff of the science fiction in our youth. Our technological arrogance mirrors more and more the Wellsian dystopia of dissatisfaction, while allowing us to feel safe and connected at all times. We can call, see or hear almost anything and anyone no matter where we are. For most people then, the only remote place remains within. "Know thyself" we do not.

Or truly know each other, I would add.