Eric Northman is a character from the The Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse Series by author Charlaine Harris. Little is known about Eric, except that he is the likely oldest and most powerful vampire in Area 5, the territory that includes the small town in Northern Louisiana where Sookie lives, where he serves as Sheriff. The novels hint that he was probably a Viking from present-day Sweden in his human life, and Harris has stated that he had children while human, and was very proud of them. Eric owns a vampire bar in Shreveport called Fangtasia, that serves as his headquarters. He runs the bar with the help of his vampire offspring Pam and a few others.