While the bulk of vampire lore hails from Eastern Europe and the surrounding areas, folklore traditions from around the world feature various forms of blood-sucking monsters. Some similar creatures drain their victims of psychic or sexual energy, health, or qi (life essence). A few of the most well known types of vampires are discussed below.

In Europe, most legend regarding vampires is the legacy of Slavic cultures. Vampire lore flourished among the Romanized inhabitants of Eastern Europe, the Romanians, and was further informed by the beliefs of the Gypsies in the area. India, The ancestral homeland of the Gypsies, also features extensive traditions regarding vampires.

Perhaps the most well known form of vampire, popularized by fiction and film in the Western world, is the nosferatu. This Romanian vampire is the illegitimate child of two illegitimate children, and he engages in bloodsucking and sex with mortal women. According to legend, a woman thus impregnated will give birth to a witch or a moroii, a "living vampire" as opposed to the undead variety. Moroii are identified at birth by their hairy appearance, although such features as a caul, a tail, or an extra nipple could also signal vampiric identity.

The other main type of vampire in Romanian culture is the strigoii. Strigoii are either living witches or undead vampires, but the living ones become full fledged vampires after their earthly deaths. Living Strigoii can send their souls out at night to commune with others of their kind, and the undead feed on the blood of people and livestock. The word strigoii is derived from the name of an ancient Roman bloodusucker, the strix, a nocturnal bird that feeds on humans.

Gypsies, or Roma people, traditionally believe that the souls of the dead remain close to their bodies and sometimes wish to come back. The mullo, the Romani version of the vampire, usually returns to the human world to wreak revenge on a relative who has somehow done the dead person wrong. They suck the blood of their victim and otherwise torment him or her. Gypsies also believe in the dhampir, the son of a vampire and a mortal woman, usually the vampire's widow, who is skilled in hunting and killing vampires.

The Indian culture from which the Roma people originated also has many traditional bloodsucking creatures, notably the deity Kali, the "black goddess." Indian vampires include the Bhut, the evil ghost of a man who died an untimely death, and the Vetala. Both vampire varieties frequent graveyards, animate corpses, and attack the living. The Brahmaparush, from Northern Indian folklore, drinks its victim's blood through a hole in the skull and then eats the brains, finally dancing with the victim's intestines wrapped around its head.

Creatures similar to European vampires exist in cultures all over the world. One interesting example is the Chinese hopping corpse, an undead monster who kills its victims by draining their qi. Another well known bloodsucker is the Central American chupacabra, who feeds on the flesh and blood of livestock during the night.