Vampire Forensics

This book just went on the buy list: Vampire Forensics by National Geographic editor Mark Jenkins, which explores the history and origins of vampire folklore around the world. There's a quick interview with the author at the National Geographic's Intelligent Travel blog:

Originally, when the dead came back, they weren't really malicious. There's a story of a shoemaker who came back and helped his family out by making shoes. Other dead people who were thought to have returned from the grave...