Sir Francis Varney is the titular vampire of the Varney the Vampire Penny dreadfuls by James Malcolm Rymer. Francis Varney is the first known sympathetic vampire in fiction.
Origin[]
Varney the Vampyre originated in the 19th century penny dreadfulof that name. Francis Varney, a nobleman from the English Civil War, was punished for the murder of his son by being transformed into a loathsome blood-sucking monster. He was the first vampire to be depicted with fangs and possessed both a hypnotic gaze and super strength, as well as the first tragic, sympathetic vampire anti-hero of sorts.