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Vampires were perceived as horrifying unnatural monsters and served to define the boundaries of the normal. As an abomination, every vampire had to be annihilated to reinstate the natural order. This perception changed in the twentieth century, when vampir es turned into the readers ́ subjects of identification and sympathy. The trend began in Anne Rice ́s Interview with the Vampire and was developed in the twenty- first century novels. Their adaptations allowed further characterization of the new type of a vam pire, who feels sympathy with humans and even falls in love with them. This development in the vampire ́s portrayal, from a hideous monster to a suffering hero, creates an important part of this paper, which deals with representation and portrayal of vampir es in various film and television adaptations of novels. The analysis focuses especially on the adaptations of Bram Stoker ́s Dracula, Anne Rice ́s The Vampire Chronicles and Charlaine Harris ́s The Southern Vampire Mysteries, concentrating on the way the vam pire characters are depicted in the chosen adaptations. Further, the paper presents whether and how the main vampire characters conceal their monstrosity, the way their true nature tends to be revealed, and whether they embody a hero or a villain in the st ory, as well as their perception by other characters.