Page "I Am Legend (novel)" Paragraph 14

Although Matheson calls the assailants in his novel " vampires ", and though their condition is transmitted through blood and garlic is an apotropaic-like repellant, there is little similarity between them and vampires as developed by John William Polidori and his successors, which come straight out of the gothic novel tradition.

I Am Legend influenced the zombie genre and popularized the concept of a worldwide zombie apocalypse.

Although the idea has now become commonplace, a scientific origin for vampirism or zombies was fairly original when written.

According to Clasen: