Yep, vampire myths go back thousands of years to ancient tales (in Mesopotamian, Hebrew, and Greco-Roman mythology) of blood-drinking demons and spirits.
The specific folklore of the undead, corpse-like vampire originated in Eastern Europe and/or Slavic regions in the early medieval period. The first written reference appearing in Old Russian in 1047, but since the Norse belief in draugr and haugbui goes back further (but the Norse were generally illiterate until the arrival of the Catholic Church), they probably told such tales for hundreds of years before the stories were written down.
Before the Norse, though, there were such noctural creatures as the Babylonian Lamashtu or Greek striges.
The "vampire" creature, for hundreds of years, was a repulsive bloated corpse that would drag you into the grave, or curse you or your farm, etc. It only became a well-mannered aristocrat sometime in the 19th century. Polidori (whom you mentioned) was a friend of Lord Byron's, who might have been an early influence on how a vampire would behave and look like.
Vampires suck.