Cultural xenophobia aside, the cross thing arises from the old tradition of re-burying suspected vampires at a crossroads to prevent them from finding their way back to the village.

I'd heard about the burial at a crossroads thing, but didn't know if that came before or after the link to the sign of the cross.

So, really, it's an example of borrowing a trope and adapting it without really understanding what you're doing.

True, but it bothers me still that it seems like nobody's really thought to question this trope, or adapt it to a world that has clearly expanded beyond just the influence of Christianity.

And it still doesn't address why the large majority of vampires and their angsty girlfriends tend to be white and of the middle class. Blade and the L.A. Banks books aside, it seems like vampirism is still a rather socio-economically and racially restricted place. I'd like to see that change. And I'd like to see vampires adapted to fit with other religions and mythologies besides the Christian one.