1820 "The Vampire: A Tragedy in 5 Acts"

The British Library holds treasure for individuals lucky enough to tread its halls. One of the treasures is the short five act play by John Dorset, "The Vampire: A Tragedy in 5 Acts." In short, in a true piece of Victorian scatter-shot, it blames everyone for their own lack of morals. 

The preface, from the Examiner, states:

"There are vampires who waste the heart and happiness of those they are connected with, vampires of avarice, vampires of spleen, vampires of debauchery, vampires in all the shapes of selfishness and domestic tyranny. What is the seducer and abandon-er of a trusting young girl but a vampire not sufficiently alive to his own cruelty? What is a husband who marries for money, and then tramples on his wife but a Vampire? What is the "poisonous bosom snake of Milton but a female vampire, wearing a man's heart out by holding him without loving him?"

The author has set the play in the "obscurity" of the Egyptian annals" during the 10th C.  And in many, many ways it is a Romeo and Juliette retelling, with the faithless Abdella (Romeo character)  playing the part of the immoral vampire because he loves (seduces) a young innocent gal (Astarte) and abandons her for the power and authority of the Alexandrian queen (Nouroyan). Unlike Romeo and Juliet, Nouroyan is quite attracted to the invading Persian, Abdella, and when she agrees to the betrothal, she has no idea whatsoever that he is already affianced to Astarte.

In a very classic tragedy ending, all the main characters are dead at the end, either killed by conspirators seeking the throne for themselves, or killed by a sea-god upset with the unethical behavior of the protagonists. 

Note that I am pretty sure the London audience would have loved this play due to its bow to morality even while it allowed partially dressed actors to parade across the state. And again, the embracing metaphor of the vampire as anyone who places their own needs above those of society writ-large allows for a wide brush to paint pretty much anyone.