Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series has enjoyed astounding commercial success, not just with adolescents as originally intended but with a wide and diverse audience, yet the cultural and literary contributions of these novels have been largely overlooked. This dynamic volume reveals how the Twilight series has fundamentally altered our interpretations of vampires. These essays bring together a broad range of perspectives on the vampire series, from gender issues to the genre of Gothic fiction to environmental concerns. Ultimately, this compelling collection provides insights on how we can better "read" popular culture and loosen the restrictive boundaries between pleasure and intellectual pursuit along the way.