Ann Rice. I haven't even read all of their books, but I think a lot of Rice's books take place in the past and seem richer in gothic detail, but I don't know. Anyway, they say she's the one that really sparked all this pretty new interest in the vampire. Interview was written in 1977, so it came out before Vampire Diaries, Vampire Chronicles, Vampire Academy,Twilight, Sookie, and all the rest I can think of.
I wish I could write like Ann Rice. Interview With The Vampire was a seemingly original idea- interviewing a vampire.