Abstract
The concept of vampires in contemporary fiction has evolved significantly from its traditional gothic roots to include a broader range of characteristics and themes. This article centers on the House of Night series, which describes how vampires are portrayed in contemporary literature. In this series, vampires are not portrayed as horrific but rather as more ethical, faint figures that address modern social challenges as opposed to the repulsive and wicked stereotypes of the past. This study analyses how the House of Night series incorporates power, ethical quality, and identity issues while reinterpreting the vampire legend through a comprehensive scholarly assessment considering the series’s plot, character development, and thematic components. The focus is on contrasting these modern depictions with those found in classic vampire novels, such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles. The portrayal of vampire characters in this series as a representation of current problems, such as moral dilemmas, social acceptability, and personal development, is supported by discoveries that show how society is advancing towards diversity and how it is reconsidering spread-out principles.
Keywords: Contemporary Fiction, Evolution, Folklore, Redefining Vampires, Vampire Mythology