One of the most common tropes is the vampire, who features in every media. The best known comic book biter is Vampirella, scantily clad (how else?) in red and white. Strangely, her fangs are on either side of the two center teeth, rather than at the canines, third from center. TV was home to Barnabas Collins in the soap Dark Shadows, and his brethren later fought Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Filmdom played host to vampires in the Hammer horror series starring Chris Lee and Peter Cushing. Even cartoons get into the act with the pixie Vampirina. The Hotel Transylvania franchise stars Dracula and his hip daughter in a CGI hodgepodge of the entirety of monsterdom.
Ghosts haunt the cartoon zone in the guise of Casper, along with more sinister counterparts from the early years. Our old friend Hammer contributed films like Thirteen Ghosts. Nineteenth century England was the high point of the printed ghost story.
Returning to the ubiquitous Hammer, we have a fine snake-hair entry in The Gorgon, again starring horror kings Lee and Cushing. A close companion is the basilisk from Harry Potter.
Mythology doesn't automatically resonate; I wasn't able to get into a book where centaurs flew helicopters. But I did adopt one of the gorgons--Stheno--in a comic. She represents the youngest sister, formerly a spoiled Greek princess.
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