The birth of "The Vampyre" is quite an interesting story in itself. Truth be told, this short story of great renown has two creators: Lord Byron and John Polidori. During the summer of 1816, Lord Byron and his physician/friend, John Polidori, were traveling through Europe when a seasonal storm caused a delay. Along with Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley (Percy's wife), and Clair Clairmont (Mary's half-sister), the two gentlemen decided to settle within the Villa Diodati upon the shores of Lake Geneva for a few days. At the moment, I'm admittedly unsure, despite my present research, as to whether or not Percy, Mary, and Clair were Byron and Polidori's traveling companions during the entire trip from Switzerland to Italy.
During their stay at the estate, Lord Byron proposed that each member of the group write a ghost story of sorts in order to alleviate their collective boredom. While another great piece of literature (though not vampiric) was created, that being Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Lord Byron produced a mere fragment of a story which he soon abandoned. Initially, Polidori had an idea concerning a skull-headed lady, but upon finding Byron's abandoned tale, he expanded it and created one of the most famous vampire stories of all time and certainly one of the earliest in recorded history.
The Literary Gothic | John Polidori The Lord Ruthven Pages - "The Vampyre,' Part I