True Blood

Janos Skorzeny, "The Night Stalker"
The show: Darren McGavin plays Carl Kolchak, a police detective, in this 1972 sci-fi series. Shot in a half-narrative, half-documentary style, the show follows Kolchak as he investigates a series of murders in the Las Vegas area only to find ... moreout that the killer is a vampire. The creators of "The X-Files" often credit this show as inspiration.
The vampire: Janos Skorzeny is a well-educated, refined gentleman who takes the vampire from scary to terrifying as he chooses his victims in much the same way Jack the Ripper did. He's cold, calculating, and he never leaves any evidence. Hands down, he is creepiest of the bunch. No thinly veiled romantic metaphors here.

(ABC)