Why are we obsessed with vampires like Nosferatu? A psychologist explains the enduring appeal of these fictional bloodsuckers - Northeastern University College of Science

There are very few concepts that have endured as long in our culture as the vampire, and right now fans of these fictional bloodsuckers are eating well.

From a sexy update to “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire” to the sitcom shenanigans of “What We Do in the Shadows,” it’s impossible to escape vampires these days. Soon, they will be joined by another retelling of “Nosferatu,” a remake of the classic 1922 German film that was, in turn, based on Bram Stoker’s seminal vampiric text, “Dracula.”

With fangs, bats and blood dominating our screens, it’s worth asking, why are we obsessed with vampires? What does it say about us that we can’t get enough of these monstrous, yet clearly enthralling, creatures?

William Sharp, an associate teaching professor of psychology at Northeastern University and practicing psychologist, says the answer might go all the way back to Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.