4 CITIES WHERE YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY EXPECT A VAMPIRE ATTACK

Look, if you’re going to travel, you might as well go in with your eyes open. Some cities just have vampire attack written all over them—whether it’s the gloomy weather, the gothic architecture, or the kind of nightlife that never quite sees the sunrise. Here are four places where you should probably pack garlic alongside your passport.

1. New Orleans, Louisiana

Between the above-ground cemeteries, the year-round humidity that keeps everyone indoors after dark, and a culture that openly celebrates the dead, New Orleans might as well hang a “Vampires Welcome” sign at the city limits. The French Quarter’s wrought-iron balconies are practically designed for brooding immortals to perch on, and the city’s famous late nights mean plenty of unsuspecting revelers stumbling down dark streets at 3 AM. Anne Rice didn’t set her vampire novels here by accident—she was issuing a warning.

Red flag: A city where “cemetery tour” is a top tourist activity. 

Pair it with: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

2. Prague, Czech Republic

Cobblestone streets. Medieval architecture. Fog rolling off the Vltava River at dusk. Prague looks like a vampire’s real estate fantasy, and the city’s folklore backs it up—Czech legends are full of the undead, and the old Jewish Quarter has its own history of supernatural tales. Add in the moody castles, the absurdly cheap beer that keeps tourists out late, and alleyways that haven’t changed since the 1400s, and you’ve got prime hunting grounds.

Red flag: A clock tower where skeleton Death literally rings the hour. Subtle.

 Pair it with: The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis

3. Edinburgh, Scotland

This city was built on top of itself—literally. The underground vaults beneath the Old Town are a labyrinth of buried streets where sunlight hasn’t reached in centuries. Perfect for creatures who combust in daylight. Edinburgh also boasts graveyards older than most countries, architecture that looks like it was designed by someone who’d met a vampire and took notes, and weather so overcast that a vampire could probably do their weekly shopping at noon without a care.

Red flag: They turned their underground plague tunnels into a tourist attraction. The locals know something.

 Pair it with: The Last Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

4. Vancouver, Canada

Surprised? You really shouldn’t be. Vancouver has a street literally called Blood Alley. Blood. Alley. It’s in Gastown, and sure, the name supposedly comes from the butcher shops that once operated there, but that sounds exactly like the kind of cover story a vampire council would plant. Add in the city’s perpetual rain (sun protection built in), and Vancouver’s basically a vampire paradise hiding in plain sight behind yoga studios and hiking trails.

Red flag: A street named Blood Alley and everyone just… accepts it.

 Pair it with: Throwing Shade by Deborah Wilde