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The earliest vampire myths didn't actually involve the drinking of blood. It was more a draining of life essence. The blood drinking didn't come about until around the 18th century. And there was, originally, no biting involved. Instead the vampire would slash the throat of their victim and drain it into a bucket, which they wluld drink out of.
There was a fantastic folktale I read some years ago about a man who was walking home late at night when he was offered a ride into town by a mysterious stranger in a horse drawn cart. The man accepted and as noticed the stranger smelled like wet dirt but thought nothing of it at the time. As they started riding through town, each hoise they passed the stranger would say locked regardless of if the door was open or not. When finally they passed a house that the stranger determined was open, he stopped the cart and forced the man to go into the house with him. Inside the stranger found the a woman, and forced the man to watch as he grabbed her, cut her throat open, drained it into a bucket, and then drank by cupping his hands. Afterwards the stranger forced the man back into the cart where they continued riding until they reached the local cemetery. The stranger got out and forced the man to follow him to an open grave. The stranger then tried to embrace the man and pull him into the grave with him, but was repelled as the sun started to rise.
