Best TV Vampires Of All Time

Be they silly, sexy or scary (or a fun mix of all three!), the undead have been compelling audiences for decades, so we've decided to take stock of the very best.

Before we dive in, here are a few quick disclaimers: For this list, we decided to limit ourselves to three vampires per TV show, lest we start playing favorites with any one franchise. We also decided to stick with live-action shows, so don't expect to see any animated characters make an appearance.

Browse our ranking of the top TV vampires below, then drop a comment with your own favorites. Which would you add to our list?

16. Grandpa Munster (Al Lewis), The Munsters

Played by the great Al Lewis, Lily Munster's father offset his comically mischievous ways with giggle-worthy Vlad jokes.

18. Darla (Julie Benz), Angel

She was the first creature of the night we met on Buffy, and her helpless-girl-turned-cunning-killer sure did set the tone for the series and its spinoff. But hear us out: The main reason Darla's on this list is because of her showing in the spinoff Angel, where Benz was given greater leeway (and a lot more plot) to show off her vampy alter ego's sharp wit and unwanted stirrings of emotion — particularly during her high-stakes (pun intended), tragic pregnancy. 

2. Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan), The Originals

Yes, Klaus is technically a vampire-werewolf hybrid, but the character's multi-show journey from fearsome villain to loving father — one that continues to this day, at least in spirit, via The CW's Legacies — makes him far too compelling to exclude.

21. The Count (Jerry Nelson/Matt Vogel), Sesame Street

The gateway neckbiter for all anklebiters, the Muppet was more about adding numbers than subtracting one! two! three! pints of your blood.

9. Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), Dark Shadows

The supernatural dramas mentioned in this list owe a serious debt of gratitude to Dark Shadows. And the gothic soap opera owes its own thanks to Frid's character, whose 1967 introduction arguably put it on the map.

19. Drusilla (Juliet Landau), Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

While Buffy trafficked in redeemable bloodsuckers, Spike's ex-girlfriend reveled in being unrepentant about her evil ways. The goth beauty was nuttier than an almond grove, which lent a zany energy to her sadistic scenes: You never knew exactly what Dru was going to do, but you knew you were going to take guilty pleasure in finding out. 

7. Dracula (Christian Camargo), Penny Dreadful

Penny Dreadful chose to put its own spin on pop culture's most iconic vampire, and it was well worth the risk. Camargo's take on the character was all at once charismatic, sexy and sinister, and the Showtime horror-drama gave Dracula an intriguing backstory that set him apart from previous iterations. And while it pained us to watch Vanessa Ives get entangled with a villain like Dracula, the reveal that Dr. Alexander Sweet was actually the famed bloodsucker went down as one of the show's most memorable twists.

13. Rebekah Mikaelson (Claire Holt), The Originals

Despite spending more than 1,000 years as a vampire, this reformed mean girl never lost sight of her purest human desires, fighting for love and happiness until the very end. And we rooted for her every step of the way.

12. Elijah Mikaelson (Daniel Gillies), The Originals

Easily the best-dressed vampire on this list, Elijah has a sense of style matched only by his sense of duty. And even though Klaus' brother often came across as square as the fabric in his jacket pocket, he's been known to break (and rip out) the occasional heart. Let's see, what else? Great hair, well read, plays piano. OK, now we're just filling out his Tinder profile.

23. Mick St. James (Alex O'Loughlin), Moonlight

In the tradition of Angel before him, Mick was a good guy vamp in love with a blonde mortal who spent his undead existence working as a private investigator. However, unlike Angel the series, Moonlight was axed after only one season, but there was something about Alex O'Loughlin's performance as the tortured bloodsucker that, well, sucked in CBS. (The network would go on to cast him as the lead in Hawaii Five-0.)

20. Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry), What We Do in the Shadows

A cocky rake who can work wonders with a toothpick, Laszlo staked his place on this list with a winning combination of flair, lasciviousness, and the ability to have a beef with seemingly every other supernatural being out there.

11. Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), What We Do in the Shadows

Perhaps the least fearsome vampire on this list (less scary-looking than even a Muppet, yes), Colin Robinson is wonderfully unique for being an energy vampire who slays you with monotone monologues about his latest mishap with the office photocopier.

17. The Countess (Lady Gaga), American Horror Story: Hotel

Gaga took home her first Golden Globe Award for playing this immortal hotelier, a glamorous killer who liked to unwind with a bloodbath at the end of a long day. As far as Gaga's acting career is concerned, a star was born long before A Star Is Born.

22. Simon Lewis (Alberto Rosende), Shadowhunters

The quintessential undead boy next door, this bespectacled Brooklynite is the best friend we'd love to have by our side, complete with all the requisite sexual tension. Loyal as a golden retriever and twice as adorable, Simon stands out as one of this short-lived Freeform drama's greatest gifts.

3. Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard), True Blood

Calm, cool and pretty much always DTF, this literal viking is sex on a stake. Darkly funny and surprisingly vulnerable, Eric made for a formidable foe on the battlefield, romantic or otherwise. Also, remember that time we all saw him naked on that mountain?

4-5. Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley), The Vampire Diaries

As we've explained in two other recent lists — see Exhibit A and Exhibit B — we're physically incapable of ranking one Salvatore brother over another. (Seriously, we can fax over a doctor's note.) Sexy, snarky and ready to waltz at a moment's notice, the objects of Elena Gilbert's affection deserve equal billing in the undead hall of fame.

8. Katherine Pierce (Nina Dobrev), The Vampire Diaries

In the event of a nuclear war, the only living things left will be cockroaches, Cher and Katherine Pierce. The queen of mind games (and literal Queen of Hell for a hot minute!), Dobrev's undead persona was infinitely more interesting than her human counterpart, never afraid to directly pursue whatever — and whoever — she wanted at any given moment.

15. Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), True Blood

With his gentlemanly demeanor and iconic pronunciation of "Sookeh!," this Southern sweetie charmed his way into our hearts (and Sookie's bed) instantly. Unfortunately, poor Bill's story took a few questionable turns midway through the HBO drama's run, turning a once-honorable character into... well, "Billith." At least we can all agree on one thing: "Beell!" deserved better.

14. Pamela Swynford De Beaufort, True Blood

As the leather-clad proprietor of a bar named Fangtasia, Pam is pretty much the vampire drag queen of our dreams. Equal parts glamorous and temperamental, she gets extra points for being one of the few Bon Temps residents to regularly call Sookie out on her nonsense, including her iconic "fairy vagina" monologue.

6. Willam "Spike" Pratt (James Marsters), Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

Sunnydale's undead Billy Idol lookalike started off as a comically evil adversary for Buffy but ever-so-slowly morphed into a fully formed (and incredibly complicated) member of the Scooby Gang. Spike's journey on Buffy came so full circle that he wound up dying for the woman he'd once planned to off with a shotgun — and if there's a character arc more effulgent than that, we don't know about it.

1. Angel (David Boreanaz), Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

Though he was introduced as Buffy's fanged love, David Boreanaz's character soon proved himself an able (if angsty) soldier in the Slayer's army... when he wasn't wreaking bloody havoc as his soulless alter ego Angelus, that is. In our opinion, though, Angel was never better/more interesting/more moving than after he relocated to Los Angeles to help the helpless on his eponymous spinoff.

10. Thomas Eichhorst (Richard Sammel), The Strain

Even more chilling than the Master's righthand man's undead status is what he was had been before — in his former life, he was a Nazi commander at the Treblinka extermination camp in German-occupied Poland!