All There Is To Know About Vampires

At first I brought you "All There Is To Know About Textual Combat", which was a huge contribution to this website for those who are interested in roleplaying. I now offer you "All There Is To Know About Vampires", as you may be surprized to know that I am also a vampireologist. Let me first start by saying this is not a roleplaying discussion, but rather a serious subject for those who may be interested. Vampireology includes not only the occult study of vampires, as you will soon find out, but also the study of other mythological creatures such as werewolves, which can be intertwined with the study of vampires in our purposes for this thread.

We begin our research in 1725 with the case of Peter Plogojowitz, a supposed vampire living in a Serbian village that soon attracted media and medical attention. The following case study was written by a German military official who was in the village at that time. Take into account that this is not a fictional story, but an actual event which really happened and was recorded in history books:

Peter Plogojowitz (1725)

This is an actual report of the history of Peter Plogojowitz which was accounted by an
official in 1725.
"After a subject by the name of Peter Plogojowitz had died, ten weeks past - he lived in the
village of Kisilova, in the Rahm district [of Serbia] - and had been buried according to the
Raetzin custom, it had been revealed that in this same village of Kisilova, within a week,
nine people, both old and young, died also, after suffering a twenty-four hour illness. And
they said publicly, while they were yet alive, but on their death-bed, that the abovementioned
Peter Plogojowitz, who had died ten weeks earlier, had come to them in their
sleep, laid himself on them, so that they would have to give up the ghost. The other
subjects were very distressed and strengthened even more in such beliefs by the fact that
the dead Peter Plogojowitz’s wife, after saying her husband had come to her and demanded
his opanki, or shoes, had left the village of Kisilova and gone to another.
"And since with such people (which they call vampires) various signs are to be seen - that
is, the body undecomposed, the skin, hair, beard, and nails growing - the subjects resolved
unanimously to open the grave of Peter Plogojowitz and to see if such above-mentioned
signs were really to be found on him. To this end they came here to me and, telling of these
events, asked me and the local pope, or the parish priest, to be present at the viewing. And
although I at first disapproved, telling them that the praiseworthy administration should
first be dutifully and humbly informed, and its exalted opinion about this should be heard,
they did not want to accommodate themselves to this at all, but rather gave this short
answer: I could do what I want, but if I could not accord them the viewing and the legal
recognition to deal with the body according to their custom, they would have to leave house
and home, because by the time a gracious resolution was received from Belgrade, perhaps
the entire village - and this was already supposed to have happened once before under the
Turks - could be destroyed by such an evil spirit, and they did not want to wait for this.
"Since I could not hold such people from the resolution they had made, either with good
words or with threats, I went to the village of Kisilova, taking along the Gradisk pope, and
viewed the body of Peter Plogojowitz, just exhumed, finding, in accordance with thorough
thoughtfulness, that first of all I did not detect the slightest odor that is otherwise
characteristic of the dead, and the body, except for the nose, which was somewhat fallen
away, was completely fresh. The hair and beard - even the nails, of which the old ones had
fallen away - had grown on him; the old skin, which was somewhat whitish, had peeled
away, and a new fresh one had emerged under it. The face, hands, and feet, and the whole
body were so constituted, that they could they could not have been more complete in his
lifetime. Not without astonishment, I saw some fresh blood in his mouth, which, according
to the common observation, he had sucked from the people killed by him. In short, all the
indications were present that such people (as remarked above) are said to have.
"After both the pope and I had seen this spectacle, while the people grew more outraged
than distressed, all the subjects, with great speed, sharpened a stake - in order to pierce
the corpse of the deceased with it - and put this at his heart, whereupon, as he was
pierced, not only did much blood, completely fresh, flow also through his ears and mouth,
but still other wild signs (which I pass by out of high respect) took place. [ He means that
the corpse had an erection] Finally, according to their usual practice, they burned the oftenmentioned
body, in hoc casu, to ashes, of which I inform the most laudable Administration,
and at the same time would like to request, obediently and humbly, that if a mistake was
made in this matter, such is to be attributed not to me but to the rabble, who were beside
themselves with fear.

Our next story begins in 1732, it is a popular document called Visum Et Repertum:

Visum et Repertum (1732)

Five years after the death of Arnod Paole, seventeen people died in under three months
from alleged vampire attacks in the same village and, on December 12th 1731, the Austrian
Emperor ordered that an inquiry should be carried out by Regimental Field Surgeon
Johannes Fluckinger. It is difficult to discount this report signed by no less than five Officers in the army of
Charles VI, Emperor of Austria as three of them were doctors and they all would have been
extremely familiar with corpses, having served in the army that had fought and defeated
the Turks between 1714 and 1718. We must remember, however, that the details
pertaining to Arnod Paole in this account are secondhand: as this report was written five
years after his death following investigation of this fresh outbreak of vampirism in
Medvegia. It was supposed that Paole were the original cause of these later events as it was
said that he had fed from animals as well as humans:

"Visum et Repertum 1732" (Seen and Discovered)

"After it had been reported that in the village of Medvegia the so-called vampires had killed
some people by sucking their blood, I was, by high degree of a local Honorable Supreme
Command, sent there to investigate the matter thoroughly along with officers detailed for
that purpose and two subordinate medical officers, and therefore carried out and heard the
present inquiry in the company of the captain of the Stallath Company of haiduks (a type of
soldier), Gorschiz Hadnack, the standard-bearer and the oldest haiduk of the village, as
follows: who unanimously recounted that about five years ago a local haiduk by the name
of Arnold Paole broke his neck in a fall from a haywagon. This man had during his lifetime
often revealed that, near Gossowa in Turkish Serbia, he had been troubled by a vampire,
wherefore he had eaten from the earth of the vampire's grave and had smeared himself
with the vampire's blood, in order to be free from the vexation he had suffered. In 20 or 30
days after his death some people complained that they were being bothered by this same
Arnod Paole; and in fact four people were killed by him.
"In order to end this evil, they dug up this Arnold Paole 40 days after his death - this on the
advice of Hadnack, who had been present at such events before; and they found that he
was quite complete and undecayed, and that fresh blood had flowed from his eyes, nose,
mouth, and ears; that the shirt, the covering, and the coffin were completely bloody; that
the old nails on his hands and feet, along with the skin, had fallen off, and that new ones
had grown; and since they saw from this that he was a true vampire, they drove a stake
through his heart, according to their custom, whereby he gave an audible groan and bled
copiously.
"Thereupon they burned the body the same day to ashes and threw these into the grave.
These people say further that all those who were tormented and killed by the vampire must
themselves become vampires. Therefore they disinterred the above-mentioned four people
in the same way. Then they also add that this Arnod Paole attacked not only the people but
also the cattle, and sucked out their blood. And since the people used the flesh of such
cattle, it appears that some vampires are again present here, inasmuch as, in a period of
three months, 17 young and old people died, among them some who, with no previous
illness, died in two or at the most three days. In addition, the haiduk Jowiza reports that his
step-daughter, by name of Stanacka, lay down to sleep 15 days ago, fresh and healthy, but
at midnight she started up out of her sleep with a terrible cry, fearful and trembling, and
complained that she had been throttled by the son of a haiduk by the name of Milloe, who
had died nine weeks earlier, whereupon she had experienced a great pain in the chest and
became worse hour by hour, until finally she died on the third day.
"At this we went the same afternoon to the graveyard, along with the often-mentioned
oldest haiduks of the village, in order to cause the suspicious graves to be opened and to
examine the bodies in them, whereby, after all of them had been dissected, there was
found:
"1. A woman by the name of Stana, 20 years old, who had died in childbirth two months
ago, after a three-day illness, and who had herself said, before her death, that she had
painted herself with the blood of a vampire, wherefore both she and her child - which had
died right after birth and because of a careless burial had been half eaten by the dogsmust
also become vampires. She was quite complete and undecayed. After the opening of
the body there was found in the cavitate pectoris a quantity of fresh extravascular blood.
The vessels of the arteries and veins, like the ventriculis ortis, were not, as is usual, filled
with coagulated blood, and the whole viscera, that is, the lung, liver, stomach, spleen, and
intestines were quite fresh as they would be in a healthy person. The uterus was however
quite enlarged and very inflamed externally, for the placenta and lochia had remained in
place, wherefore the same was in complete putredine. The skin on her hands and feet,
along with the old nails, fell away on their own, but on the other hand completely new nails
were evident, along with a fresh and vivid skin.
"2. There was a woman by the name of Miliza (60 years old), who had died after a threemonth
sickness and had been buried 90-some days earlier. In the chest much liquid blood
was found; and the other viscera were, like those mentioned before, in a good condition.
During her dissection, all the haiduks who were standing around marveled greatly at her
plumpness and perfect body, uniformly stating that they had known the woman well, from
her youth, and that she had; throughout her life, looked and been very lean and dried up,
and they emphasized that she had come to this surprising plumpness in the grave. They
also said that it was she who started the vampires this time, because she had eaten of the
flesh of those sheep that had been killed by the previous vampires.
"3. There was an eight-day-old child which had lain in the grave for 90 days and was
similarly in a condition of vampirism.
"4. The son of a haiduk, 16 years old, was dug up, having lain in the earth for nine weeks,
after he had died from a three-day illness, and was found like the other vampires.
"5. Joachim, also the son of a haiduk, 17 years old; had died after a three-day illness. He
had been buried eight weeks and four days and, on being dissected; was found in similar
condition.
"6. A woman by the name of Ruscha who had died after a ten-day illness and had been
buried six weeks previous, in whom there was much fresh blood not only in the chest but
also in fundo ventriculi. The same showed itself in her child, which was 18 days old and had
died five weeks previously.
"7. No less did a girl ten years of age, who had died two months previously, find herself in
the above-mentioned condition, quite complete and undecayed; and had much fresh blood
in her chest.
"8. They caused the wife of the Hadnack to be dug up, along with her child. She had died
seven weeks previously, her child - who was eight weeks old- 21 days previously, and it
was found that both mother and child were completely decomposed, although earth and
grave were like those of the vampires lying nearby.
"9. A servant of the local corporal of the haiduks, by the name of Rhade, 21 years old, died
after a three-month-long illness, and after a five week burial was found completely
decomposed.
"10. The wife of the local bariactar, along with her child, having died five weeks previously,
were also completely decomposed.
"11. With Stanche, a local haiduk, 60 years old; who had died six weeks previously, I
noticed a profuse liquid blood, like the others, in the chest and stomach. The entire body
was in the oft-named condition of vampirism.
"12. Milloe, a haiduk, 25 years old; who had lain for six weeks in the earth, also was found
in the condition of vampirism mentioned.
"13. Stanoika, the wife of a haiduk, 20 years old, died after a three-day illness and had
been buried 18 days previously. In the dissection I found that she was in her countenance
quite red and of a vivid color, and, as was mentioned above, she had been throttled, at
midnight, by Milloe, the son of the haiduk, and there was also to be seen, on the right side
under the ear, a bloodshot blue mark, the length of a finger. As she was being taken out of
the grave, a quantity of fresh blood flowed from her nose. With the dissection I found; as
mentioned often already, a regular fragrant fresh bleeding, not only in the chest cavity, but
also in ventriculo cordis. All the viscera found themselves in a completely good and healthy
condition. The hypodermis of the entire body, along with the fresh nails of hands and feet,
was as though completely fresh.

"After the examination had taken place, the heads of the vampires were cut off by the local
gypsies and burned along with the bodies, and then the ashes were thrown into the river
Morava. The decomposed bodies, however, were laid back into their own graves. Which I
attest along with those assistant medical officers provided for me. Actum ut supra:

"L.S. Johannes Fluchinger, Regimental Medical Officer of the Foot Regiment of the
Honorable B. Furstenbusch.
"L.S. J.H. Siegel, Medical Officer of the Honorable Morall Regiment.
"L.S. Johann Friedrich Baumgarten, Medical Officer of the Foot Regiment of the Honorable
B. Furstenbusch.
"The undersigned attest herewith that all which the Regimental Medical Officer of the Foot
Regiment of the Honorable B. Furstenbusch has observed in the matter of vampires - along
with both medical officers who signed with him - is in every way truthful and has been
undertaken, observed, and examined in our own presence. In confirmation thereof is our
signature in our own hand, of our making, Belgrade, January 26, 1732.
"L.S. Buttener, Leieutenant Colonel of the Honorable Alexandrian Regiment.
"L.S. J.H. von Lindenfels, Officer of the Honorable Alexandrian Regiment."

I found this story in René Crozet's 'La France Ensorcelée', which has been published by Éditions de Gergovie, 1993. It can also be found in the 'Guide de l'Auvergne Mystérieuse', which was published by Éditions Tchou, Paris, 1989:

In 12th century France there appears to have been a Countess who lived in an old castle called the Chateau de Deux-Forts. The story goes as follows: One night, when the Countess was preparing herself to go to bed, she discovered a strange brownish spot somewhere on her belly. She ordered her servants to scrub it off, first with cold water, then with hot water. But no matter how hard they tried, the spot could not be removed. The next morning, much to the Countess' annoyance, the ugly spot was still there. If anything, it looked as if it had grown a little larger. A medical man was summoned to come to the castle. He examined the Countess and had a good long look at the spot. He shook his head, cleared his throat, and solemnly declared that the lady was suffering from leprosy. On hearing this unwelcome news, the Countess grabbed the doctor's arm and hissed in his ear that she would order her servants to skin him alive if he would fail to find a cure for her disease.

Perhaps it was this threat that inspired the desperate physician to suggest the following remedy. There was only one thing, the doctor said, that could cure the Countess from her terrible infliction. One way only to get rid of her leprosy. She had to bathe herself in fresh human blood. And so she did ... From that day on, children started to disappear throughout the region. And pretty soon it was whispered in the villages of the Valley of the Sioule that the Countess of Deux-Forts was an evil ogre who ate little children. Guillaume VIII, the Count of Auvergne, decided to report the disturbing rumors to the king, and so did the clerical authority of Clermont. An investigation revealed the bloody crimes of the Countess. It was soon to be followed by her trial. The doctor and all the servants were duly hanged. The Countess was sentenced to be 'quartered' with the help of four horses. Afterwards a stone cross was erected to mark the place of the execution. And, in case you'd go to France, the place where it all has happened can still be seen today. It is called: 'la Croix de Male Mort'.

Obviously, the above case studies offer little to do with "traditional" vampirism. Check out our next story, again an actual non-fiction report of vampirism in real-life history. Read this:

In Breslaw, one of the chief towns of Silesia, on Friday, September 20th in 1591, a shoemaker killed himself by cutting his throat with a knife. His relatives tried to hide his act by washing the corpse and covering him with linen in such a manner that the priest was fooled into thinking that the man had died of some sort of disease. So the dead man was buried with the usual religious ceremony, despite his 'crime'. Within six weeks, however, rumors started circulating that the shoemaker had killed himself. The relatives were questioned by the authorities and soon confessed to their deed, claiming that 'it was uncertain but that he might be slain by some external mishap, or, if by himself, in some irresistible fit of frenzy or madness'. While the Council was still deliberating on what action they should take, the widow was making loud complaints against the malicious liars who were accusing her husband, and she made such a lot of noise about it, threatening to complain to the Emperor himself, that the Council was beginning to feel intimidated and were contemplating to leave the case alone. At the same time, however, new rumors started circulating. The dead man had come back from the grave. 'Those that were asleep it terrified with horrible visions; those that were waking it would strike, pull or press, lying heavy upon them like an Ephialtes: so that there were perpetual complaints every morning of their last night's rest through the whole town.'

The dead man's friends tried to ridicule and suppress these rumors. But things were getting worse and worse. At nightfall, people started worrying and hastened home to hide inside their houses. Not that it did them much good.
'For this terrible apparition would sometimes stand by their bed-sides, sometimes cast itself upon the midst of their beds, would lie close to them and pinch them, that not only blue marks, but plain impression of the fingers would be upon sundry parts of their bodies in the morning'. Even when groups of men were gathering together for safety, the dead man might suddenly appear , beat up some of those who were present, and then disappear again. Things were so getting out of hand that the authorities had no other option than to disinter the corpse. And so, on April 18th, 1592, the grave was reopened, with the town's Magistrates present. "His body was found entire, not at all putrid, no ill smell about him saving the mustiness of the Grave-cloths, his joints limber and flexible, as in those who are alive, his skin only flaccid, but a more fresh grown in the room of it, the wound of his throat gaping, but no gear nor corruption in it ..."

The corpse was kept unburied until the 24th and lots of people came to see it. Then it was buried under the Gallows, but this did not improve the situation. The dead man's attacks became more violent, and he had now started to visit his relatives as well. So this time it was his widow who went to the Magistrate and told him that she no longer objected to taking action against her dead husband. On May the 7th they dug up the body and found that he had grown 'more sensibly fleshy' since his previous interment. They cut off the head, legs and arms of the corpse, and - through the back - cut out his heart, which looked as fresh as the heart of a newly killed calf. They burned the various parts, gathered the ashes in a sack, and poured the ashes into the river. After that, the dead man was never seen again. But we are also told how one of the dead man's servants reappeared after her death. Sometimes in the shape of a woman, at other times as a dog, a cat, a hen or a goat. Interesting detail : at one point this undead servant was scared off by someone who crossed herself and called upon the name of Jesus. After the corpse had been burnt, she was never seen again.

The first mention of this case, as far as I have been able to establish, can be found in volume II of a book that has been written by Dom Augustin Calmet (1672-1757). This important vampire study was published in 1751 in Paris.
And the title of the second volume is 'Dissertation sur les Revenants en Corps, les Excommuniés,
Les Oupirs ou Vampires, Brucolaques, etc.' [1751]. Here is Dom Calmet's story:

'A priest told me, not so long ago, that while he was traveling through Moravia, he was invited by Mr. Jeanin, the Canon of the Cathedral of Olmuz, to accompany him to his village, called Liebava, where he was officially being sent by the Council of the Bishop to investigate the case of a certain well known vampire, which had caused much disorder in the village of Liebava, a couple of years ago. A trial was kept, witnesses were heard, the rules of ordinary justice were kept. The witnesses declared that an important man who had lived in Liebava had often disturbed the living of the village during the night, that he had left the churchyard and had appeared in several houses, about 3 to 4 years earlier. That those painful visits had come to an end because a Hungarian stranger who was passing through the village, had told them that he would put an end to the appearances of the vampire. To keep his promise, he climbed on top of the tower of the church and waited to see the moment on which the vampire left from its grave, leaving behind the shroud in which he had been buried, after which he went on to the village to disturb the villagers. The Hungarian, who had seen the vampire leave its grave, immediately climbed down from the tower, grabbed the vampire's shroud and took it back with him to the top of the tower. When the vampire came back from his round and could not find his cloths, he shouted at the Hungarian, who signaled that if he wanted his shroud back, he should come and get it. The vampire started climbing up, but the Hungarian threw him off the ladder and cut off his head with a spade. That was the end of the tragedy. The person who told me this story had seen nothing. Nor he, nor the Canon who was sent to investigate. They only heard the report of the local villagers, who were very ignorant, very superstitious, very gullible and prejudiced on the subject of vampirism.

Here's one more case study, just for comparison with the others. Robert Ambelain: 'Le Vampirisme - de la Légende au réel' Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris, 1977. According to Mr. Ambelain this is supposed to be an official report, delivered by Surgeon-Major Jozsef Faredi-Tamarzski to the Imperial Military Commission of Belgrade, October 1732:

In July 1732, Jozsef Faredi-Tamarzski, under orders from the Prince of Wurtemberg, was sent to the village of Radojevo to investigate the death of eleven villagers, who had all died in January and February of that year. According to the people of Radojevo, they were the victims of a vampire called Miloch. During his life, this Miloch had the reputation of being some sort of a sorcerer. The fact that he kept a bird which he had learned to talk, plus the fact that he had captured and tamed a wild wolf, which he then kept as a pet, seemed to confirm his magic powers. Faredi-Tamarzski made an attempt to convince the villagers that vampires did not exist. But after several discussions he came to the conclusion that they were not going to listen to his arguments. He therefore decided to exhume a few of the corpses. They started by digging up Miloch, who had been buried some 15 months ago. When they had removed the earth and lifted up the wooden board that covered the dead man, Miloch's corpse looked completely intact. But his eyes were wide open now, despite the fact that his widow had closed them after his death. A slow but steady trickle of blood was coming from his mouth. Blood was also found on the wooden board beneath the corpse, and likewise on the earth beneath that. Because the villagers insisted on it, Faredi-Tamarzski ordered the corpse to be staked. After that, fearing that they might dig up the vampire again after his departure, he had the corpse covered with unslaked lime before closing the grave again. By interrogating the relatives of the 11 victims, the doctor learned that most of them had died in 6 to 10 days by simply wasting away. During the night they had horrible nightmares and a couple of them had two bluish marks on their neck. So Faredi-Tamarzski decided to also open up the graves of the victims. Eight of them looked like decent corpses that were properly decomposing. Two of them looked well preserved, though the arm and legs were stiff and could not be moved. And the last one, a woman, looked as if she was only sleeping. Her members were perfectly flexible. Faredi-Tamarzski declares that those three looked suspicious enough to him, so he permitted the villagers to give them the same treatment as the first vampire. Despite these measures, the villagers were still of the opinion that the vampires should be cremated.

I found this story in a book by Hermann Schreiber: 'Es spukt in Deutschland', which was published in 1975 by the Arena Verlag in Würzburg. And Schreiber informs us that he has found this history in no.40 of the 'Vossischen Zeitung', of 1755:

In 1753, in the village of Hermsdorf, a woman died. During her lifetime, everyone had known her as the 'Tyroler Doktorin'. She had cured lots of people with the help of the mysterious potions that she brewed at home. When the 'Doctor' realized that her life was coming to an end, she called her husband to her bedside. He had to promise her that, after her death, he would make sure that her head was cut off before her corpse was buried. Furthermore, she made him swear that under no circumstance would she be buried in the Catholic churchyard.
After she had died, her husband found that he did not have the stomach to carry out the gruesome task that his late wife had put upon him. To make things worse, the local priest came around and to remind him of the fact that it were only the most depraved sinners who would bury their wives elsewhere. Well, you know how things go. Frau Doktorin, much against her wish, ended up resting in the Catholic Churchyard, and of course her head was still firmly attached to her neck and shoulders. Fortunately for us, the story did not end there. It did not take long before strange stories started circulating. There were rumors that the 'Tyroler Doktorin' had come back from the grave as a vampire. The guilty husband had started drinking after the death of his wife. And one night, when he was very drunk, he told his terrible secret to his drinking companions in the local inn. The next day, the whole village had heard the story, and it did not take long before the authorities had heard about it too. And thus, in 1755, the grave of the Doktorin was opened. Another thirty corpses, who were also suspected of having become vampires, were dug up as well. Ten of the corpses turned out to be in a pretty sorry state, so it was obvious that they could not be vampires. But the vampire hunters had better luck with the other ones. Twenty-one corpses, which included the Tyroler Doktorin, looked remarkably fresh, so there could be little doubt that they were vampires. The undead monsters were staked, after which they were cremated.

I found this story in a book by Hermann Schreiber: 'Es spukt in Deutschland', which was published in 1975 by the Arena Verlag in Würzburg. And Schreiber indicates that he in turn has found the material about this case in volume XIII of the 'Oppenhoffschen Sammlung' of the 'Königlichen Obertribunals':

The following history took place in a part of Poland which at the time was German territory. There, on 5 February 1870, in the town of Kantrzyno, a man called Franz von Poblocki died. On von Poblocki's death certificate it said 'Auszehrung' (consumption) as the cause of death. Franz von Poblocki, who appears to have been a man of some importance, was buried in the family grave in the churchyard of Roslasin. Within a fortnight, on 18 February 1870, von Poblocki's son Anton died, a victim of 'Galoppierende Schwindsucht'. And while Anton's corpse was still waiting to be buried, some of the other family members were beginning to suffer from health problems as well. All of the patients complained about horrible nightmares. The family gathered to discuss the situation. They soon came to the conclusion that old Franz had become a vampire. So they hired a local vampire expert, a man called Johann Dzigielski. This vampire hunter decided to decapitate the corpse of son Anton, so that the vampire victim could be buried with his head between his legs. After having taken care of the son, Dzigielski went to the churchyard where he tried to bribe the undertaker to dig up old Poblocki, so that he could be decapitated as well. The undertaker, however, would not hear of such a thing and went straight to Father Block, the local priest, who quickly wrote a letter to the Poblocki family, warning them that he was not going to tolerate any vampire hunting in his churchyard. Easy for him to say, because, unlike the Poblocki's, the priest was not likely to become the victim of the vampire. Therefore, the Poblocki family decided to ignore the priest's threats and go on with their plans. That night they dug up old Franz and Dzigielski made sure that the vampire was properly taken care of. When the meddlesome priest found out about this, he notified the authorities. And so the vampire hunters had to go on trial. The unfortunate Dzigielski received a four month sentence, but the influential Poblocki family appealed to a higher court. They pleaded that their lives had been in danger and that they had only acted out of self-defense. The judges admitted that they had a point. Consequently, on 15 May 1872, all the charges against the vampire hunters were dropped.

Forensic Nurses, regardless of their practice area, will at times come in contact with the same types of deviant behavior. Some of these behaviors may be considered rare or even non-existent. It is to our benefit that we share our investigative experiences with these cases. Vampirism is one such behavior.

In the modern age, vampires have become media stars. The word "vampire" became a household name in 1897 after the publication of "Dracula."1 More recently, the vampire novels by Anne Rice have become best sellers.2 Television shows such as "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" and movies with vampire themes are increasingly popular. However the popularity of these characters can lead some people, teenagers in particular, down a dangerous road.

Case Study

A 17-year-old white male was found unresponsive in his bedroom by his parents. He was on his knees, on the floor, with his head resting on the bed. A call was placed to 9-1-1 and emergency medical services (EMS) transported him to a local hospital. He was pronounced dead in the emergency room (ER). The deceased was noted to have a history of ADD and had been prescribed Prozac and Adderral. He was a very popular teenager who was active in many high school activities. He had recently lost Internet privileges and the Internet name he used was "Vampireboy."

During the scene investigation a black and white composition book was found next to his bed. In this 40-page journal, which was written in long hand, the deceased described himself as a "Vampiresis." In great detail, he described how he became a Vampiresis and instructs others to do the same. A sample bottle of Zoloft was found in his bathroom. At autopsy it was noted that the canine teeth appeared to have been filed. Sixteen ounces of blood was found in the stomach and 4 ounces of mucoid bloody fluid was found in the duodenum. There were no signs of ulceration or other cause for bleeding.

Medical Cases

The documented cases in the medical literature reveal similar findings. It has been noted that these individuals get sexual satisfaction from drinking blood. They believe that by drinking blood they will have an increase in strength and immunity prolonging their life. In many cases the individual enjoyed drinking their own blood, known as "auto vampirism."4 Vampirism is not thought to be the primary symptom of a psychiatric or psychopathic disorder.3 The condition is not likely to be discovered except in criminal cases where evidence is restricted by judicial ruling or by chance via psychiatric examination or surgical treatment of self-inflicted injuries. This may be the reason why so few cases are reported in the medical literature. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. R.S. McCully, at the Medical University of South Carolina, treated a 28-year-old male. It was reported that since the age of puberty he began masturbating and took erotic satisfaction in seeing his own blood. With practice he was able to direct blood spurts into his mouth.5

A case involving a woman who was four months pregnant also was reported. This patient was repeatedly hospitalized for vomiting large amounts of blood and enjoyed the sight of this blood. Blood transfusions were ordered and the patient would unhook them, stating she would rather drink the blood. Initially the cause for the bleeding was unknown. Later, a mouth exam revealed several bleeding wounds at the base of her tongue. The patient would suck at these wounds and swallow the blood. After her death, an autopsy revealed a stomach bloated with blood.2

In other documented cases, inmates in correctional institutions were caught trying to steal iron tablets. The inmates feared developing anemia, as another inmate had been trading sexual favors with the inmates for the opportunity to suck their blood.

Criminal Cases

Many criminal cases have been reported involving cases of vampirism. A few well-documented cases include the following. In 1996, a group of five teenagers from Kentucky were charged with first-degree murder in Florida, for killing the parents of one of the members. The five belonged to a cult thought to have 35 members in Kentucky. One year prior to the murder this group began playing a popular game called "Vampire, the Masquerade." This clan called themselves the "Victorian Age Masquerade Performance Society" or VAMPS. The leader engaged the group and others, in drugs, group sex and violence, which was masked by what was thought to be a theater group.6

In San Francisco in 1987 a student was jogging when he was forced into a van. The assailant slashed his cheek, drank his blood and then released him without further harm.7 In 2002, a 19-year-old in Virginia, was charged with murder after stabbing another person 30 times. In his police confession he mentioned vampirism and stated that the taste of the deceased's blood drove him into a frenzy.8

Vampire Subculture

When vampirism is embedded in a psychopathic personality disorder the potential for extremely dangerous behavior is compounded as seen in the above criminal cases. Many of theses cases involve obvious psychosis, however there is a subculture of individuals who practice vampirism out of choice and preference.

Contemporary interest in vampire-like cults began out of several role-playing games such as "Masquerade" and "Dungeons & Dragons." During many of these role-playing games, the participants want to be among the chosen beings. This can lead to a far-fetched psychological dependence. These participants are often individuals who are outcasts and are looking for an opportunity to belong to a group. These "wanna-bes" believe that by sharing their blood with other participants they will become one with that person. By sharing their life source, their blood, they in essence are bound for life and become one soul. Many of these individuals have no psychiatric history, however they are seeking close relationships with other people and want to belong to a group. This behavior for many is an attention seeking behavior.

Those persons looking for others to connect with have easy access to many others via the Internet. There are hundreds of Web sites where those who are curious about vampirism can go to gain information and network with others. Many of these Web sites offer live chat rooms and bulletin boards where messages are posted by those wanting to be blood donors or those wanting to be a receiver of others blood. Many magazines focus on the paranormal and include articles on vampirism. Individuals and groups who try to educate and promote vampirism publish newsletters on the subject. Teens today are modeling themselves after media stars who engage in vampiristic practices. According to the Associated Press, actors Angelina Jolie and Bill Bob Thornton, used to wear around their necks glass vials containing each other's blood.9 Teenagers model the behavior of these personalities in the hopes of acquiring the traits of the stars and vampires in general. Vampires fascinate many adolescents.

Investigative Suggestions

When investigating cases with vampiristic overtones, there are a few things to look for.

"Book of Shadows." These books are blank journals in which the individual writes his or her thoughts similar to a diary. Often, black and white composition books are used; however, in some paranormal specialty stores journal books can be purchased that are titled "Book of Shadows" on the cover. The writing in the books often has to do to with paranormal activity, which may include vampirism. The owner of the book will often quote song lyrics, draw pictures and provide instruction to potential readers as to how to follow in their footsteps. The drawings may be symbols that represent vampirism.

Dental Records. Dental records can be obtained to determine whether the individual has filed his or her teeth. By obtaining dental records from the earliest known dental visit, it can be determined if the teeth have been sharpened. Unfortunately, since many of these participants are teenagers, the dental records available may be minimal.

Non-human blood tests. Blood tests can be used to determine if a blood sample is that of human blood or animal blood. Investigators need to speak directly with the laboratory technician to determine the capability of the lab in testing for the animal about which you may be concerned. During the investigation for the case study presented, a blood sample was sent to a forensic science lab with a request to determine if the blood may be pig's blood. This lab did not have the capabilities to complete that request and the sample had to be sent to another lab.

Conclusion

The practice of vampirism can be dangerous for those who choose to act out characteristics of these mythical characters. Vampirism can also be dangerous to others if this practice is mixed with psychosis. For many teenagers who become involved in these activities, there can be confusion when myth and reality are blended. In the aforementioned case study, it was determined that this teenager died as the result of a Prozac and Zoloft overdose. The tests to determine the source of the blood in the stomach were inconclusive. Friends of the deceased stated that this teen and others dabbled in vampirism. They said this teenager took it too far and began to believe that he was immortal.

Forensic nurse investigators may come in contact with these deviant behaviors whether the individual is seeking medical attention, enters the criminal justice system or if a victim enters one of these systems. Montaque Summers once stated, "Cases of vampirism may be said to be in our time a rare occult phenomenon. Yet whether we are justified in supposing that they are less frequent today than in past centuries I am far from certain. One thing is plain: not that they do not occur but that they are carefully hushed up and stifled."10 To investigate these cases thoroughly, we must first realize that the practice exists and where to turn for assistance.

Here is another interesting document which I found on the internet. I find this case study to be quite interesting, if not for the fact that it takes place in my own home state. This is not the first "vampire trial" I've seen since I've lived in Florida, there have been many reports of so-called vampire cults in the sunshine state. These cults appear to be all over the southern coast of North America, some even dating back to ancient times:

"The Vampire Clan' -- Vampire cult town shrinks under national spotlight Murray, Ky. - For years, this quiet college town was best known as home to the national Boy Scout museum. Now the discovery some of its teens belonged to a vampire cult, 4 area teens are suspected of beating a Florida couple to death and the youths were involved in a strange role playing game that went from the mutilation of animals to drinking each other's blood and eventually to murder. AP

Florida v. Rod Ferrell -- On February 12, 1998, Rod Ferrell, 17, pled guilty to beating to death with a crowbar a Eustis, Florida couple, Richard Wendorf and Naoma Queen. The leader of a teenage vampire cult, Ferrell, was allegedly helped in the double slaying by his girlfriend, Charity Lynn Keesee, and 2 other members of the cult. The victims, parents of Heather Wendorf, a friend of Ferrell's and were beaten to death in their home on November 25, 1996.

Statement by Rod Ferrell 11/28/96 -- Baton Rouge, LA

Mother of `vampire cult' leader pleads guilty -- Sondra , the mother of Rod Ferrell, who police say led the "vampire cult" pleaded guilty to trying to entice a teen-age boy into sex as an initiation rite.

Death sentence for cult leader reduced -- The death sentence of the cult leader, Rod Ferrell, now 20, condemned for fatally beating a Eustis couple, was reduced to life in prison by the state Supreme Court. Florida's high court ruled more than a year ago that the state can not execute killers who committed their crime before age 17. The July 1999 decision said allowing such a rare punishment would be cruel and unusual and therefore unconstitutional. Ferrell, was 16 when he killed.

Here's another interesting case of vampire study taken from Native American folklore:

U`TLÛÑ'TÄ ~ A VAMPIRE FROM CHEROKEE FOLKLORE

Among the Cherokee there is a legend of a terrible bloodthirsty ogress who slaughters people and eats their livers. Known as the U`tlûñ'ta, this she-creature can adopt any shape or appearance to suit her purpose, but in her right form she looks very much like an old woman, except that her whole body is covered with a skin as hard as a rock that no weapon can penetrate. On her right hand she has a long, stony forefinger made from hard bone, shaped like an awl or the head of a spear. She uses this ghastly weapon to stab whomever she encounters. Because of this fearsome weapon she is called U`tlûñ'tä, or 'Spear-finger'. Some people call her Nûñ'yunu'ï, or 'Stone-dress' because of her stony skin. By whatever name she is called, though, this vengeful and bloodthirsty creature is to be deeply feared.

In addition, there where several medical conditions and illnesses such as catatonia and porfariea. Catatonia was a condition whereby a person would fall into a deep coma for days at a time. Outwardly, he or she would appear to have died. Breathing was not discernable. Doctors would place mirrors in front of peoples' mouths to see if the mirror would fog up from expelled breath. It was believed that this mirror test would catch the faintest of breath and fog the glass. If it did not fog, the person was believed to be dead. Often, the heartbeat was so low and slow it could not be picked up even with a stethoscope of that day. And the heartbeat could not be heard by placing one's ear to the chest of the person, as was most often done by doctors not rich enough to have a stethoscope, or prior to it's invention. The person in a state of catatonia could not feel or hear. Even stabbing them with a needle to see if they would move was pointless and just went to show the absence of life.

So, many of these people were declared dead, then laid out for viewing or placed into graves or burial chambers above ground. Often these people would become conscious days later to find themselves buried alive in coffins, or pine boxes, or locked in airless vaults. They would scream or go mad from pure terror while trying to claw their way out. Years later when someone else died and the grave was opened to add the new person, or the tomb opened, there would be the remains of the corpse usually with expressions of terror or in positions of struggle. Also giving proof that the dead came back to life.

The other illness mentioned is a blood disorder. It causes the patient to go into a coma-like sleep. Very like catatonia, but this illness also produces a blood-red rash, or cherry-red rash, about the mouth and hands. Can you feel the terror of a relative going into a child's room or a spouse's room, which is dimly lit, with candles or oil lamps to see a blood red stain about that person's mouth? The lighting is very bad; flickering shadows. Would it not look like blood, and would that not terrify the relative into running out of the room rather than trying to see if it was blood, and if this person was asleep? And if the relative tried to wake him and they did not stir during the day but was active at night? Even if the relative touched the blood and found it was not actually wet or dried blood, might they not think a large amount of blood drunk by this person had stained their skin? Another reason for the belief that vampires drink blood.

Add this to the church teaching and church law that demons drink the blood of the living, demons drink the breath and life of the living, demons possess the living, demons are evil, and demons are servants of Satan. If you did not believe this, back then, you were considered a heretic, a sinner and possibly under the very control of Satan yourself. So all good people believed these myths, for not to believe was to go against God, and the church, and that meant damnation and suffering in hell for all time. Not to mention possibly being killed yourself, getting your family killed and having all you owned taken by the church.

Now that you've seen some of my case studies, let's put folklore aside for a moment and talk about something which I think every "true" vampireologist should take an interest in... medicine:



Various theories have also been put forward to explain the physiological attributes of vampires--pointy teeth, inability to face the sun, etc. In 1985 a Canadian biochemist, David Dolphin, proposed that vampire legends might have started with a rare hereditary blood disease called porphyria. Sufferers of porphyria have a deficiency of heme, one of the pigments in oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Dolphin suggested victims might have developed a craving to drink blood to alleviate their symptoms. Although the disease is treatable today, early victims were extremely sensitive to sunlight, and therefore went out only at night. The sun could horribly disfigure them, and cause their lips and gums to tighten until their teeth looked like fangs.

Another physical condition that could produce a vampire-like appearance is congenital syphilis. This can result in children born with all the front teeth shaped like incisors. The eyes are often pale and encircled with a dark ring, resulting in lightblindness--the sufferer can only seen in the dark. The palate is deformed, so that only liquids may be ingested, and the nose bridge collapses. All of these are attributes of traditional vampires. Late congenital syphilis is a subset of cases of congenital syphilis. By definition, it occurs in children at or greater that 2 years of age who acquired the infection trans-placentally.

Symptoms include:

-blunted upper incisor teeth known as Hutchinson's teeth
-inflammation of the cornea known as interstitial keratitis
-deafness from auditory nerve disease
-frontal bossing (prominence of the brow ridge)
-saddle nose (collapse of the bony part of nose)
-hard pallet defect
-swollen knees
-saber shins
-short maxillae
-protruding mandible

A frequently-found group of symptoms is Hutchinson's triad, which consists of Hutchinson's teeth (notched incisors), keratitis and deafness and occurs in 63% of cases. Treatment (with penicillin) before the development of late symptoms is essential.

A petechia (pronounced [p?'ti?ki?]), plural petechiae (p?'ti?k?i?) is a small red or purple spot on the body, caused by a minor hemorrhage (broken capillary blood vessels).

Anemia (AmE) or anæmia/anaemia (BrE), from the Greek (??a?µ?a) (an-aîmia) meaning "without blood," is defined as a qualitative or quantitative deficiency of hemoglobin, a molecule found inside red blood cells (RBCs). Since hemoglobin normally carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, anemia leads to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) in organs. Since all human cells depend on oxygen for survival, varying degrees of anemia can have a wide range of clinical consequences.

Jaundice, also known as icterus (attributive adjective: "icteric"), is yellowish discoloration of the skin, sclerae (whites of the eyes) and mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia (increased levels of bilirubin in the blood).

Hutchinson's teeth (also known as Hutchinson's incisor, Hutchinson's sign or Hutchinson-Boeck teeth) are a sign of congenital syphilis. Babies with this have teeth that are smaller and more widely spaced than normal and which have notches on their biting surfaces. It is named after Sir Jonathan Hutchinson, an English surgeon and pathologist, who first described them. Sir Jonathan Hutchinson (23 July 1828-23 June 1913), English surgeon, ophthalmologist, dermatologist, venereologist and pathologist, was born on 23 July 1828 at Selby, Yorkshire, England, his parents belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

Medical Research: Porphyria

Cutaneous porphyria

The erythropoietic porphyrias primarily affect the skin, causing photosensitivity (photodermatitis), blisters, necrosis of the skin and gums, itching, and swelling, and increased hair growth on areas such as the forehead. Often there is no abdominal pain, distinguishing it from other porphyrias.

In some forms of porphyria, accumulated heme precursors excreted in the urine may cause various changes in color, after exposure to sunlight, to a dark reddish or dark brown color. Even a purple hue or pink urine may be seen. Heme precursors may also accumulate in the teeth and fingernails, giving them a reddish appearance.

Porphyria has been suggested as an explanation for the origin of vampire and werewolf legends, based upon certain similarities between the condition and the folklore. Porphyria cutanea tarda presents clinically as a pathological sensitivity of skin exposed to light causing scarring, hair growth and disfiguration. Additionally, it was believed that the patients' missing heme could be absorbed through the stomach, correlating with the legends' hematophagy. Hematophagy (sometimes spelled haematophagy or hematophagia) is the habit of certain animals of feeding on blood (from the Greek words, haima "blood" and phagein "to eat"). Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious proteins and lipids that can be taken without enormous effort, hematophagy has evolved as a preferred form of feeding in many small animals such as worms and arthropods.

Drinking blood and manufacturing foodstuffs and delicacies with animal blood is also a feeding behavior in many societies. For instance, cow blood mixed with milk is a mainstay food in the African Maasai. Some sources say that Mongols would drink blood from one of their horses if it became a necessity. Black Pudding is eaten in many places around the world. Some societies, such as the Moche, had ritual hematophagy, as well as the Scythians, a nomadic people of Russia, who had the habit of drinking the blood of the first enemy they would kill in battle. Some religious rituals underline the importance of metaphorical hematophagy, such as in the transubstantiation of wine as the blood of Jesus Christ during Catholic eucharist. Psychiatric cases of patients performing hematophagy also exist. Sucking one's own blood from a wound is also a behaviour commonly seen in humans, and in small enough quantities is not considered taboo. Finally, human vampirism has been a persistent object of literary and media attention.

Judaism, Islam, and Christianity forbid drinking of blood. There are references in the Old and New Testaments clearly prohibiting this practice (see, for instance, Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 3:17, 7:26, 17:12, 17:14, 19:26; Deuteronomy 12:16, 12:23, 15:23; 1 Samuel 14:33-34; Ezekiel 33:25; Acts 15:20, 15:29, 21:25).

Hypertrichosis, congenital generalized Hypertrichosis or werewolf syndrome is a medical term referring to a condition of excessive body hair. Werewolf syndrome comes from the characteristics of a mythological werewolf of which the person is completely covered in hair or fur. It can be generalized, symmetrically affecting most of the torso and limbs, or localized, affecting an area of skin. The hair does not usually cover the eye area, hands or the feet.It may be mild or severe. In most cases, the term is used to refer to an above-average amount of normal body hair that is unwanted and is an aspect of human variability. In medical practice, once generalized hypertrichosis has been distinguished from hirsutism, it is most often considered a variation of normal, primarily resulting from genetic factors. Although the statistic has been cited that this only occurs for 1 out of 10 billion people, 19 people alive today have hypertrichosis.

Severe hypertrichosis is quite rare, almost certainly due to unknown genetic defects, and can result in excessive or animal-like hair on both face and body. Some of these people have been displayed in carnival sideshows with names such as "dog-boy" or the "bearded lady." Fedor Jeftichew, Stephan Bibrowski and Annie Jones are well known examples. Most of the people recently featured in the media with hypertrichosis are from the Aceves clan of Loreto, Zacatecas, Mexico, some of whom have immigrated to the United States. Many of them have worked for circuses. The brothers Victor Ramon "Danny" Ramos and Gabriel "Larry" Ramos have worked as acrobats. Their cousins, Jesus "Chuy" Aceves, and his sister, Lili, have worked in sideshows.

Medical Research: Rabies

Rabies (Latin: rabies, “madness, rage, fury” also “hydrophobia”) is a viral zoonotic neuroinvasive disease that causes acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in mammals. In non-vaccinated humans, rabies is almost invariably fatal after neurological symptoms have developed, but prompt post-exposure vaccination may prevent the virus from progressing. There are only six known cases of a person surviving symptomatic rabies, and only one known case of survival in which the patient received no rabies-specific treatment either before or after illness onset. Any mammal may become infected with the rabies virus and develop symptoms, including humans. Most animals can be infected by the virus and can transmit the disease to humans. Infected bats, monkeys, raccoons, foxes, skunks, cattle, wolves, dogs or cats provide the greatest risk to humans. Rabies may also spread through exposure to infected domestic farm animals, groundhogs, weasels and other wild carnivores. Rodents (mice, squirrels etc) are seldom infected.

The virus is usually present in the nerves and saliva of a symptomatic rabid animal. The route of infection is usually, but not necessarily, by a bite. In many cases the infected animal is exceptionally aggressive, may attack without provocation, and exhibits otherwise uncharacteristic behaviour. Transmission may also occur via an aerosol through mucous membranes; transmission in this form may have happened in people exploring caves populated by rabid bats. Transmission between humans is extremely rare, although it can happen through transplant surgery (see below for recent cases), or, even more rarely, through bites, kisses or sexual relations.

After a typical human infection by bite, the virus enters the peripheral nervous system. It then travels along the nerves towards the central nervous system. During this phase, the virus cannot be easily detected within the host, and vaccination may still confer cell-mediated immunity to prevent symptomatic rabies. Once the virus reaches the brain, it rapidly causes encephalitis. This is called the “prodromal” phase. At this time, treatment is useless. Then symptoms appear. Rabies may also inflame the spinal cord producing myelitis.

The period between infection and the first flu-like symptoms is normally two to twelve weeks, but can be as long as two years. Soon after, the symptoms expand to slight or partial paralysis, cerebral dysfunction, anxiety, insomnia, confusion, agitation, abnormal behavior, paranoia, terror, hallucinations, progressing to delirium. The production of large quantities of saliva and tears coupled with an inability to speak or swallow are typical during the later stages of the disease; this can result in “hydrophobia,” where the victim has difficulty swallowing because the throat and jaw become slowly paralyzed, shows panic when presented with liquids to drink, and cannot quench his or her thirst. The disease itself was also once commonly known as hydrophobia, from this characteristic symptom. The patient “foams at the mouth” because they cannot swallow their own saliva for days and it gathers in the mouth until it overflows. Death almost invariably results two to ten days after the first symptoms; the few humans who are known to have survived the disease were all left with severe brain damage, with the recent exception of Jeanna Giese (see below). It is neurotropic in nature.

Case Studies: “On June 17, 1981 she was bitten on the ankle by a dog in New Delhi. On August 18, about two months later, she experienced the first prodromal symptoms. She became anxious and depressed, and it became impossible for her to drink more than small sips of liquid. While sleeping, she frequently sat up in bed suddenly, terrified. On August 19, she became confused, hallucinated, and was incontinent of urine. On August 20, she was unable to eat or drink and was taken to the hospital where she hallucinated and screamed in terror. Misdiagnosed as a psychiatric case, she was injected with a tranquilizer and sent home, however she repeatedly woke up screaming in fear and became so wild and agitated that her husband felt he could not deal with her by himself and took her to her mother's house. She remained terrified, hallucinating and screaming in horror throughout the night. She had no water for almost three days. She fell into a coma the next morning, and died on August 23.”

There are an estimated 55,000 human deaths annually from rabies worldwide, with about 31,000 in Asia, and 24,000 in Africa. One of the sources of recent flourishing of rabies in East Asia is the pet boom. China introduced in the city of Beijing the “One Dog policy” in November 2006 to control the problem. India has been reported as having the highest rate of human rabies in the world. Nineteen of the twenty-two human rabies cases documented in the United States between 1980 and 1997 have been identified genetically as bat rabies. In many cases, victims are not even aware of having been bitten by a bat, assuming that a small puncture wound found after the fact was the bite of an insect or spider; in some cases, no wound at all can be found, leading to the hypothesis that in some cases the virus can be contracted via inhaling airborne aerosols from the vicinity of bats. For instance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on May 9, 1997, that a woman who died in October, 1996 in Cumberland County, Kentucky and a man who died in December, 1996 in Missoula County, Montana were both infected with a rabies strain found in silver-haired bats; although bats were found living in the chimney of the woman's home and near the man's place of employment, neither victim could remember having had any contact with them.

Enough with the science... What are vampires?

The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first appearance of the word vampire in English from 1734, in a travelogue titled Travels of Three English Gentlemen published in the Harleian Miscellany in 1745. Vampires had already been much discussed in German literature. After Austria gained control of northern Serbia and Oltenia in 1718, officials noted the local practice of exhuming bodies and "killing vampires". These reports, prepared between 1725 and 1732, received widespread publicity. The English term was derived (possibly via French vampyre) from the German Vampir, in turn thought to be derived in the early 18th century from Serbian ??????/vampir. The Serbian form has parallels in virtually all Slavic languages: Bulgarian ?????? (vampir), Czech and Slovak upír, Polish wapierz, and (perhaps East Slavic-influenced) upiór, Russian ????? (upyr'), Belarusian ???? (upyr), Ukrainian ????? (upir'), from Old Russian ????? (upir'). (Note that many of these languages have also borrowed forms such as "vampir/wampir" subsequently from the West; these are distinct from the original local words for the creature). The exact etymology is unclear. Among the proposed proto-Slavic forms are *opyr? and *opir?. Like its possible cognate that means "bat" (Czech netopýr, Slovak netopier, Polish nietoperz, Russian ???????? / netopyr' - a species of bat), the Slavic word might contain a Proto-Indo-European root for "to fly". An older theory is that the Slavic languages have borrowed the word from a Turkic term for "witch" (e.g. Tatar ubyr).

The first recorded use of the Old Russian form ????? (Upir') is commonly believed to be in a document dated 6555 (1047 AD). It is a colophon in a manuscript of the Book of Psalms written by a priest who transcribed the book from Glagolitic into Cyrillic for the Novgorodian Prince Vladimir Yaroslavovich. The priest writes that his name is "Upir' Likhyi " (????? ?????), which means something like "Wicked Vampire" or "Foul Vampire." This apparently strange name has been cited as an example of surviving paganism and/or of the use of nicknames as personal names. However, in 1982, Swedish Slavicist Anders Sjöberg suggested that "Upir' likhyi" was in fact an Old Russian transcription or translation of the name of Öpir Ofeigr, a well-known Swedish rune carver. Sjöberg argued that Öpir could possibly have lived in Novgorod before moving to Sweden, considering the connection between Eastern Scandinavia and Russia at the time. This theory is still controversial, although at least one Swedish historian, Henrik Janson, has expressed support for it. Another early use of the Old Russian word is in the anti-pagan treatise "Word of Saint Grigoriy," dated variously to the 11th–13th centuries, where pagan worship of upyri is reported.

Apotrope (adj.: apotropaic) refers to objects such as amulets and talismans or other symbols intended to "ward off evil" or "avert or combat evil." The word is of Greek origin (ap?t??p?) and literally means "turning away" which was seen in the apotropaic eye, an exaggerated eye painted on drinking vessels in the 6th century BC to ward away spirits while drinking. Curiously, eyes were often painted to ward off the evil eye. The word is also used in vampire fiction and folklore in reference to symbols such as crucifixes, the Holy Sacraments, silver bullets, wild roses and garlic that can ward away or destroy vampires. The Yiddish expression, "Kain ein horeh" (???? ??? ???) is apotropaic in nature, and literally translates to "no evil eye," somewhat equivalent to the expression, "Knock on wood."

Tales of the undead consuming the blood or flesh of living beings have been found in nearly every culture around the world for many centuries.[53] Today we would associate these entities with vampires, but in ancient times, the term vampire did not exist; blood drinking and similar activities were attributed to demons or spirits who would eat flesh and drink blood; even the devil was considered synonymous with the vampire. Almost every nation has associated blood drinking with some kind of revenant or demon, or in some cases a deity. In India, for example, tales of vetalas, ghoul-like beings that inhabit corpses, have been compiled in the Baital Pachisi; a prominent story in the Kathasaritsagara tells of King Vikramaditya and his nightly quests to capture an elusive one. Pishacha, the returned spirits of evil-doers or those who died insane, also bear vampiric attributes. The Ancient Indian goddess Kali, with fangs and a garland of corpses or skulls, was also intimately linked with the drinking of blood. In Egypt, the goddess Sekhmet drank blood.

The Persians were one of the first civilizations to have tales of blood-drinking demons: creatures attempting to drink blood from men were depicted on excavated pottery shards. Ancient Babylonia had tales of the mythical Lilitu, synonymous with and giving rise to Lilith (Hebrew ?????) and her daughters the Lilu from Hebrew demonology. Lilitu was considered a demon and was often depicted as subsisting on the blood of babies. However, the Jewish counterparts were said to feast on both men and women, as well as newborns.

A vetala, or baital, is a vampire-like being from Hindu mythology.The vetala are defined as spirits inhabiting corpses. These corpses may be used as vehicles for movement (as they no longer decay while so inhabited), but a vetala may also leave the body at will. In Hindu folklore, the vetala is an evil spirit who haunts cemeteries and takes demonic possession of corpses. They make their displeasure known by troubling humans. They can drive people mad, kill children and cause miscarriages but they also guard their villages. They are hostile spirits of the dead trapped in the twilight zone between life and after-life. These creatures can be repelled by the chanting of holy mantras. One can free them from their ghostly existence by performing their funerary rites. Being spirits, unaffected by the laws of space and time, they have an uncanny knowledge about the past, present and future and a deep insight into human nature. Hence, many sorcerers seek to capture them and turn them into slaves. A sorcerer once asked King Vikramaditya to capture a vetala who lived in a tree that stood in the middle of a crematorium. The only way to do that was by keeping silent. However, every time Vikramaditya caught the vetala, the vetala would enchant the king with a story that would end with a question. No matter how hard he tried, Vikramaditya would not be able to resist answering the question. This would enable the vetala to escape and return to his tree. The stories of the vetala have been compiled in the book Baital Pachisi. There is also a strong Vetala cult in the Konkan region, under the names of Betal, Vetal, etc. It seems, however, that the relation between the literary Vetala and this demigod's is feeble at best.

The strix or striga (pl. striges; occasionally corrupted to stirge) was an Ancient Roman legendary creature, usually described as a nocturnal bird of ill omen that fed on human flesh and blood, like a vampire. Unlike later vampires, it was not a revenant—a risen corpse—but the product of metamorphosis. The name is Greek in origin and means "owl", with which bird it is usually identified (the name of the genus Strix follows this meaning). The legend of the strix survived into the Middle Ages, as recorded in Isidore's Etymologiae, and gave both name and attributes to the striga - the name of a Romanian imaginary evil feminine being (also the name of the Common Barn Owl and of the Death's-head Hawkmoth), strigoaica - the name of the Romanian witch, strigoi - the Romanian vampire, and to the strega, the Italian witch. The Romanian striga was further borrowed into Albanian (shtriga).

Lilith (Hebrew ?????) is a mythological female Mesopotamian storm demon associated with wind and was thought to be a bearer of disease, illness, and death. The figure of Lilith first appeared in a class of wind and storm demons or spirits as Lilitu, in Sumer, circa 4000 BC. Many scholars place the origin of the phonetic name "Lilith" at somewhere around 700 BC despite post-dating even the time of Moses. Lilith appears as a night demon in Jewish lore and as a screech owl in the King James version of the Bible.

Peter Plogojowitz (Serbian form: Petar Blagojevic/????? ??????????) (d.1725) was a Serbian peasant who was believed to have become a vampire after his death and to have killed nine of his fellow villagers. The case was one of the earliest and most sensational cases of vampire hysteria. It was described in the report of Imperial Provisor Frombald, an official of the Austrian administration, who witnessed the staking of Plogojowitz.

Peter Plogojowitz lived in a village named Kisilova (today - possibly Kisiljevo), in the part of Serbia that temporarily passed from Ottoman into Austrian hands after the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718) and was ceded back to the Ottomans with the Treaty of Belgrade (1739) (see Arnold Paole - Background for more details on the historical context). Plogojowitz died in 1725, and his death was followed by a spate of other sudden deaths (after very short maladies, reportedly of about 24 hours each). Within eight days, nine persons perished. On their death-beds, the victims allegedly claimed to have been throttled by Plogojowitz at night. Furthermore, Plogojowitz's wife stated that he had visited her and asked her for his opanci (shoes); she then proceeded to move to another village. In other legends it is said that Plogojowitz came back to his house demanding food from his son, and when the son refused Plogojowitz brutally murdered his own son. The villagers decided to disinter the body and examine it for signs of vampirism, such as growing hair, beard, and nails and absence of decomposition.

Arnold Paole (d. c. 1726) (Arnont Paule in the original documents; an early German rendition of a Serbian name or nickname, perhaps ?????? ?????, Arnaut Pavle) was a Serbian hajduk who was believed to have become a vampire after his death, initiating an epidemic of supposed vampirism that killed at least 16 persons in his native village of Medwegya (also rendered as Metwett; likely a German rendition of Serbian Medveda, not to be confused with the modern Southern Serbian town of Medveda), located at the Morava river near the town of Paracin. His case, like the similar case of Peter Plogojowitz, became famous because of the direct involvement of the Austrian authorities and the documentation by Austrian physicians and officers, who confirmed the reality of vampires. Their report of the case was distributed in Western Europe and contributed to the spread of vampire belief among educated Europeans. The report and its significance for the subsequent Eighteenth century vampire controversy are nowadays explained with the poor understanding of the process of corpse decomposition at the time.

Especially important is Gerard van Swieten's part in the fight against superstition during the enlightenment, particularly in the case of the vampyres, that were reported from villages in Eastern Europe in the years between 1718 and 1732. After the last of the wars against the Turks in 1718 some parts of the land, e.g. Northern Serbia and a part of Bosnia, went to Austria. These parts were settled with refugees that had the special status of dutyfree farmers. But for that they had to take care of the agricultural development and secure the frontier. Because of that the reports about the vampyres reached for the first time German-speaking area. In the year 1755 Gerard van Swieten was sent by Empress Maria Theresa to Moravia to investigate the situation relating to vampires. He viewed the vampire myth as a "barbarism of ignorance" and his aim was to eradicate it. He investigated it very thoroughly, and wrote a rational report, Abhandlung des Daseyns der Gespenster (or Discourse on the Existence of Ghosts), in which he offered an entirely natural explanation for a belief in vampires. He explained the unusual states in the graves with possibles causes like processes of fermentation and lack of oxygen what was a reason for preventing decomposition. Characteristic for his opinion is this quotation from the preface to his essay of 1768: “… that all the fuss doesn't come from anything else than a vain fear, a superstitious credulity, a dark and eventful imagination, simplicity and ignorance among the people.” Some other physicians supported his theory or even found out other reason for the frequent deaths in the villages, e.g. epidemics. Therefore Gerard van Swieten is one of the most important fighters against the superstition of the “simple” people. Because of his report, Empress Maria Theresa enacted an edict about vampyres that prohibited all traditional processes such as impalement, beheading and burning of dead bodies.

In Aztec mythology, the Cihuateteo (also Ciuteoteo, Ciuateoteo or Civateteo; singular Ciuateotl or Cihuateotl, lit. goddess) were the spirits of human women who died in childbirth (mociuaquetzque.). Childbirth was considered a form of battle, and its victims were honored as fallen warriors. Their physical remains were thought to strengthen soldiers in battle while their spirits became the much-feared Cihuateteo who accompanied the setting sun in the west. They also haunted crossroads at night, stealing children and causing sicknesses, especially seizures and madness, and seducing men to sexual misbehavior. Their images appear with the beginning day signs of the five western trecena, (1 Deer, 1 Rain, 1 Monkey, 1 House, and 1 Eagle) during which they were thought to descend to the earth and cause particularly dangerous mischief. They are depicted with skeletal faces and with eagle claws for hands. They are associated with the goddess Cihuacoatl and are sometimes considered envoys of Mictlan, the world of the dead. Cihuateteo are servants of the Aztec moon deities Tezcatlipoca and Tlazolteotl.

The Mercy Brown Vampire Incident, which occurred in 1892, is one of the best documented cases of the exhumation of a corpse in order to perform rituals to banish an undead manifestation. In Exeter, Rhode Island, the family of George and Mary Brown suffered a sequence of tuberculosis infections in the final two decades of the 19th century. Tuberculosis was called "consumption" at the time and was a devastating and much-feared disease. The mother, Mary, was the first to die of the disease, followed in 1888 by their eldest daughter, Mary Olive. Two years later, in 1890, their son Edwin also became sick. In 1891, another daughter, Mercy, contracted the disease and died in January of 1892. Friends and neighbors of the family believed that one of the dead family members was a vampire (although they did not use that name) and causing Edwin's illness. This was in accordance with threads of contemporary folklore linking multiple deaths in one family to undead activity. Consumption was a poorly understood condition at the time and the subject of much urban mythology. George Brown was persuaded to exhume the bodies, which he did with the help of several villagers on March 17, 1892. While the bodies of both Mary and Mary Olive had undergone significant decomposition over the intervening years, the more recently buried body of Mercy was still relatively unchanged and had blood in the heart. This was taken as a sign that the teenager was undead and the agent of young Edwin's condition. The cold New England weather made the soil virtually impenetrable, essentially guaranteeing that Mercy's body was kept in freezer-like conditions in an above-ground crypt during the 2 months following her death. Therefore, the lack of decomposition is not surprising. Mercy's heart was removed from her body, burnt, and the remnants mixed with water and given to the sick Edwin to drink. Unfortunately, despite all his efforts, George was unsuccessful in protecting his son, who died two months later.

There are two main vampire-like creatures in the Philippines: the Tagalog mandurugo ("blood-sucker") and the Visayan manananggal ("self-segmenter"). The mandurugo is a variety of the aswang that takes the form of an attractive girl by day, and develops wings and a long, hollow, thread-like tongue by night. The tongue is used to suck up blood from a sleeping victim. The manananggal is described as being an older, beautiful woman capable of severing its upper torso in order to fly into the night with huge bat-like wings and prey on unsuspecting, sleeping pregnant women in their homes. They use an elongated proboscis-like tongue to suck fetuses off these pregnant women. They also prefer to eat entrails (specifically the heart and the liver) and the phlegm of sick people.

Allegations of vampire attacks swept through the African country of Malawi during late 2002 and early 2003, with mobs stoning one individual to death and attacking at least four others, including Governor Eric Chiwaya, based on the belief that the government was colluding with vampires.

In early 1970 local press spread rumors that a vampire haunted Highgate Cemetery in London. Amateur vampire hunters flocked in large numbers to the cemetery. Several books have been written about the case, notably by Sean Manchester, a local man who was among the first to suggest the existence of the "Highgate Vampire" and who later claimed to have exorcised and destroyed a whole nest of vampires in the area.[89] In January 2005, rumours circulated that an attacker had bitten a number of people in Birmingham, England, fuelling concerns about a vampire roaming the streets. However, local police stated that no such crime had been reported and that the case appears to be an urban legend.

In Romania during February 2004, several relatives of Toma Petre feared that he had become a vampire. They dug up his corpse, tore out his heart, burned it, and mixed the ashes with water in order to drink it.

In 1985 biochemist David Dolphin proposed a link between the rare blood disorder porphyria and vampire folklore. Noting that the condition is treated by intravenous haem, he suggested that the consumption of large amounts of blood may result in haem being transported somehow across the stomach wall and into the bloodstream. Thus vampires were merely sufferers of porphyria seeking to replace haem and alleviate their symptoms. The theory has been rebuffed medically as suggestions that porphyria sufferers crave the haem in human blood, or that the consumption of blood might ease the symptoms of porphyria, are based on a misunderstanding of the disease. Furthermore, Dolphin was noted to have confused fictional (bloodsucking) vampires with those of folklore, many of whom were not noted to drink blood. Similarly, a parallel is made between sensitivity to sunlight by sufferers, yet this was associated with fictional and not folkloric vampires. In any case, Dolphin did not go on to publish his work more widely. Despite being dismissed by experts, the link gained media attention and entered popular modern folklore.

A number of murderers have performed seemingly vampiric rituals upon their victims. Serial killers Peter Kurten and Richard Trenton Chase were both called "vampires" in the tabloids after they were discovered drinking the blood of the people they murdered. Similarly, in 1932, an unsolved murder case in Stockholm, Sweden was nicknamed the "Vampire murder", due to the circumstances of the victim’s death. The late 16th-century Hungarian countess and mass murderer Elizabeth Báthory became particularly infamous in later centuries' works, which depicted her bathing in her victims' blood in order to retain beauty or youth.

In Maya mythology, Camazotz (alternate spellings Cama-Zotz, Sotz, Zotz) was a bat god. The cult of Camazotz began around 100 B.C. among the Zapotec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico. The cult of Camazotz worshiped an anthropomorphic monster with the body of a human, head of a bat (though the exact proportioning varies with account). The bat was associated with night, death, and sacrifice. This god soon found its way into the pantheon of the Quiché, a tribe of Maya who made their home in the jungles of what is now Guatemala. The Quiché identified the bat-deity with their god Zotzilaha Chamalcan, the god of fire. There is some evidence to support that the Camazotz myth may have sprung from actual large, blood-drinking bats of the Mexico, Guatemala, and Brazil areas. Evidence is in the form of fossils of Desmodus draculae, the giant vampire bat. There have also been skeletons of D. draculae found which were sub-fossil, of very recent age. These sub-fossils suggest that the species were still common when the Mayans civilization existed, and may still be in existence today, though it is doubtful. The Giant Vampire bat (Desmodus draculae) was a species of Vampire bat that inhabited the Americas during the pleistocene. It was 30% larger than the Common Vampire Bat.

Christianization began almost as soon as they arrived in their new homelands. But through the 9th and 10th centuries the Eastern Orthodox Church and the western Roman Church were struggling with each other for supremacy. They formally broke in 1054 AD, with the Bulgarians, Russians, and Serbians staying Orthodox, while the Poles, Czechs, and Croatians went Roman. This split caused a big difference in the development of vampire lore - the Roman church believed incorrupt bodies were saints, while the Orthodox church believed they were vampires.

Even today, Gypsies frequently feature in vampire fiction and film, no doubt influenced by Bram Stoker's book "Dracula" in which the Szgany gypsies served Dracula, carrying his boxes of earth and guarding him. In reality, Gypsies originated as nomadic tribes in northern India, but got their name from the early belief that they came from Egypt. By 1000 AD they started spreading westward and settled in Turkey for a time, incorporating many Turkish words into their Romany language. By the 14th century they were all through the Balkans and within two more centuries had spread all across Europe. Gypsies arrived in Romania a short time before Vlad Dracula was born in 1431.

Their religion is complex and varies between tribes, but they have a god called O Del, as well as the concept of Good and Evil forces and a strong relationship and loyalty to dead relatives. They believed the dead soul entered a world similar to ours except that there is no death. The soul stayed around the body and sometimes wanted to come back. The Gypsy myths of the living dead added to and enriched the vampire myths of Hungary, Romania, and Slavic lands. The ancient home of the Gypsies, India has many mythical vampire figures. The Bhuta is the soul of a man who died an untimely death. It wandered around animating dead bodies at night and attacked the living like a ghoul. In northern India could be found the brahmaparusha, a vampire-like creature with a head encircled by intestines and a skull from which it drank blood. The most famous Indian vampire is Kali who had fangs, wore a garland of corpses or skulls and had four arms. Her temples were near the cremation grounds. She and the goddess Durga battled the demon Raktabija who could reproduce himself from each drop of blood spilled. Kali drank all his blood so none was spilled, thereby winning the battle and killing Raktabija. Sara or the Black Goddess is the form in which Kali survived among Gypsies. Gypsies have a belief that the three Marys from the New Testament went to France and baptised a Gypsy called Sara. They still hold a ceremony each May 24th in the French village where this is supposed to have occurred.

One Gypsy vampire was called a mullo (one who is dead). This vampire was believed to return and do malicious things and/or suck the blood of a person (usually a relative who had caused their death, or not properly observed the burial ceremonies, or who kept the deceased's possessions instead of destroying them as was proper.) Female vampires could return, lead a normal life and even marry but would exhaust the husband. Anyone who had a hideous appearance, was missing a finger, or had animal appendages, etc. was believed to be a vampire. Even plants or dogs, cats, or farm animals could become vampires. Pumpkins or melons kept in the house too long would start to move, make noises or show blood. To get rid of a vampire people would hire a dhampire (the son of a vampire and his widow) to detect the vampire. To ward off vampires, gypsies drove steel or iron needles into a corpse's heart and placed bits of steel in the mouth, over the eyes, ears and between the fingers at the time of burial. They also placed hawthorn in the corpse's sock or drove a hawthorn stake through the legs. Further measures included driving stakes into the grave, pouring boiling water over it, decapitating the corpse, or burning it. In spite of the disruption of Gypsy lives by the various eastern European communist regimes, they still retain much of their culture. In 1992 a new king of the Gypsies was chosen in Bistritz, Romania.

Oh, wow, so those are vampires... What are werewolves?

Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes or wolfmen, are mythological humans with the ability to shapeshift into wolves or wolf-like creatures, either purposely, being bitten by a another werewolf or after being placed under a curse. The medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury associated the transformation with the appearance of the full moon; however, there is evidence that the association existed among the ancient Greeks, appearing in the writings of Petronius. This concept was rarely associated with the werewolf until the idea was picked up by Gervase. Shape-shifters similar to werewolves are common in tales from all over the world, though most of them involve animal forms other than wolves.

Until the 20th century, wolf attacks on humans were an occasional, but widespread feature of life in Europe. Some scholars have suggested that it was inevitable that wolves, being the most feared predators in Europe, were projected into the folklore of evil shapeshifters. This is said to be corroborated by the fact that areas devoid of wolves typically use different kinds of predator to fill the niche; werehyenas in Africa, weretigers in India, as well as werepumas ("runa uturunco") and werejaguars ("yaguaraté-abá" or "tigre-capiango") of southern South America.

Dr Lee Illis of Guy's Hospital in London wrote a paper in 1963 entitled On Porphyria and the Aetiology of Werewolves, in which he argues that historical accounts on werewolves could have in fact been referring to victims of congenital porphyria, stating how the symptoms of photosensitivity, reddish teeth and psychosis could have been grounds for accusing a sufferer of being a werewolf. This is however argued against by Woodward, who points out how mythological werewolves were almost invariably portrayed as resembling true wolves, and that their human forms were rarely physically conspicuous as porphyria victims. Others have pointed out the possibility of historical werewolves having been sufferers of hypertrichosis, a hereditary condition manifesting itself in excessive hair growth. However, Woodward dismissed the possibility, as the rarity of the disease ruled it out from happening on a large scale, as werewolf cases were in medieval Europe. Rabies has been suggested as being a likely originator of werewolf lore, seeing as how the symptoms of rabies bear some similarities to those manifested by werewolves.

The earliest authenticated written record containing the word "werewolf" is present in Gervase of Tilburys Otia Imperialia written in 1212. Little more than a century later, the 12th century poem The Romance of William and the Werewolf was translated from old French into English in the 14th century. The name most likely derives from Old English wer (or were) and wulf. The first part, wer, translates as "man" (in the sense of male human, not the race of humanity). It has cognates in several Germanic languages including Gothic wair, Old High German wer, and Old Norse verr, as well as in other Indo-European languages, such as Latin vir, Irish fear, Lithuanian vyras, and Welsh gwr, which have the same meaning. The second half, wulf, is the ancestor of modern English "wolf"; in some cases it also had the general meaning "beast." An alternative etymology derives the first part from Old English weri (to wear); the full form in this case would be glossed as wearer of wolf skin. Related to this interpretation is Old Norse ulfhednar, which denoted lupine equivalents of the berserker, said to wear a bearskin in battle.

Many European countries and cultures influenced by them have stories of werewolves, including Albania (oik), Armenia (mardagayl) France (loup-garou), Greece (lycanthropos), Spain (hombre lobo), Argentina (lobizón), Mexico (hombre lobo and nahual), Bulgaria (???????? - varkolak), Turkey (kurtadam), Czech Republic/Slovakia (vlkodlak), Serbia/Montenegro/Bosnia (vukodlak, ????????), Belarus (vaukalak, ????????), Russia (vourdalak, ?????????), Ukraine (vovkulak(a), vurdalak(a), vovkun, ???????????), Croatia (vukodlak), Poland (wilkolak), Romania (vârcolac, priculici), Macedonia (vrkolak), Slovenia (volkodlak), Scotland (werewolf, wulver), England (werewolf), Ireland (faoladh or conriocht), Germany (Werwolf), the Netherlands (weerwolf), Denmark/Sweden/Norway (Varulv), Norway/Iceland (kveld-ulf, varúlfur), Galicia (lobisón), Portugal/ (lobisomem), Lithuania (vilkolakis and vilkatlakis), Latvia (vilkatis and vilkacis), Andorra/Catalonia (home llop), Hungary (Vérfarkas and Farkasember), Estonia (libahunt), Finland (ihmissusi and vironsusi), and Italy (lupo mannaro). In northern Europe, there are also tales about people changing into animals including bears, as well as wolves.

Who are some of our "first" vampires, or vampire-gods?

Cain

I'm addressing Cain first, because I feel I'm more well versed on him than any of the other subjects of my scrutinization. Cain is the character from the Holy Bible, first son of Adam and Eve, the supposed first people. That would have made Cain the 3rd person on the earth. Adam and Eve gave Cain a younger brother, Abel. Abel was a sheperd of sorts, and kept livestock, while Cain was a farmer of the land. They both gave offerings to God, Abel giving the best of his flock, and Cain the best from his field. God praised and acknowledged Abel for his offering, but was dissapointed with Cain's offering. Cain became quite jealous of Abel, calling him out into the fields, where he slew Abel. God called Cain forth, and asked him if he'd seen Abel. Cain said he didn't know, but you can't very well lie to God. God knew Cain's lie immediately, and put a mark upon him so none would kill him, and sent Cain forth into the land of Nod, which is East of Eden. That's about where you can twist the story, and make Cain look like a vampire. God was said to have put a mark upon Cain, so that none would kill him, and he'd wander forever as an outcast. Some people think that this mark might have been the mark of vampirism, and given Cain vampiristic traits. It is said that no one could kill Cain, and that he was to live forever, which would certainly be construed as immortality, which vampires supposedly have. So its not too hard to see where some people might see Cain as a vampire. If you want a bit more info on Cain, take a look at the Book of Nod, which is written in a poem-like fashion, which goes more in depth (fictionally) into Cain's history after he left Eden. Nod was a country a few miles away from Eden...there's actually a settlement in the Middle East called Nodqui, quite close to a set of ruins whose location matches the description of the surroundings of Eden.

"14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him." - Genesis (Chapter-4)

Lillith

Lilith is one of the more famous figures in Hebrew and Jewish religion. She was first known as a storm demon, and later became associated with the night. She was also part of a group of Sumerian vampire demons that included Lillu, Ardat Lili, Irdu Lili, and herself. It was mentioned in the Tolmud (6th century AD) that she was Adam's first wife. But they had an argument over who would get the dominant position during sexual intercourse(seriously), and she used her magic to fly away to the Red Sea, where demons were abound. There, she took many lovers, and brought forth many offspring, which were called the lilim. She also met three angels sent by God, which whom she worked out an agreement. She gained vampiric abilities over babies, but agreed to stay away from ones with amulets bearing the three angels names, which were Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, Lilith was still attracted to Adam, so she returned to haunt him. Lilith and her cohorts all took the form of succubi and incubi, and attacked them, causing Adam and Eve to parent many more demons. Because of this legend, Lilith was seen as a succubus more than a vampire. As you can plainly see, Lilith isn't one of the more favored deities of the Hebrew or Jewish faith. She's seen as quite evil, and hateful towards mothers and their children. The vampiric ability given to her by the three angels is the main reason for her being considered the first vampire. And if both Cain's and Lilith's stories were to be true, then I would imagine that Lilith's transformation to a vampire would have occurred before Cain's, being as she was Adam's first wife, and Cain would've been the first child of Adam's second wife, Eve. There's a movie out, by the name of Bordello of Blood, which portrays Lilith as a vampire. It's a Tales From the Crypt film, and a decent movie. It's easily worth the couple dollars to rent, if you want to play with the idea of Lilith being a vampire. The movie is very similar to From Dusk Till Dawn - if you've seen both, you'd understand. Except, of course, for the fact that most of the early part of the Bible was bastardised from ancient Babylonian religion. Lilith is taken from the name for a group of female wind spirits, the Lilitu.

Vlad the Impaler

Vlad the Impaler, sometimes known as Vlad Tepes Dracul, is noted for many things. Probably the foremost would be his influence upon Bram Stoker's character, Dracula. The name Tepes means, "The Impaler," a nickname given him for his cruelty and harshness with anyone that might cross him. The name Dracul could mean one of three things: Son of Dracul, Son of a devil, or son of a dragon. My best guess would be that it means Son of Dracul, being as his father's name was Vlad Dracul. But, in turn, I believe(not sure) that his father's last name was Dracul, as in, son of a dragon. I think thi because his father belonged to the Order of the Dragon, a Christian organization sworn to fighting the Turks. The exact birth date of Vlad is unkown, but is assumed to be late in 1430, in Schassburg, Transylvania. Shortly after his birth, in 1431, was when his father joined the Order of the Dragon. I'm not going to go too deep into Vlad's history, as he can easily be sought out in any encyclopedia if you want more information. But there are a few points you should know. In 1456, Vlad took control of Wallachia, where he reigned for six years hence, which was when he started gaining a vicious reputation. In 1459, he built the castle now known as Castle Dracula. Vlad frequently used terrorist tactics against his enemies, such as leading raids across the border to Transylvania in 1457, 1459, and 1460, often using impalement as punishment. Vlad's most noted accomplishment is probably that of being responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, while ruling less than half a million people, in just six years time. Ivan the Terrible, who Vlad is frequently compared with, was only responsible for 10,000 deaths; pretty weak in comparison to Vlad. The location of Vlad's burial site is unsure, but is presumed to be at the Snagov Monastery, where there were two tombs which might have been his. One, near the altar, was found empty, while the other held a nicely decayed body wearing a crown, and rich-looking clothing (for that time period). Vlad is probably thought of by some people as the first vampire because Abraham Van Helsing speaks of him being one in the book, "Dracula," of which an excerpt is shown here:

"He must indeed, have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great rivers on the very frontier of Turkeyland. If that be so, then was he no common man; for in that time, and for centuries after, he was spoken of as the cleverest and most cunning, as well as the bravest of the sons of the "land beyond the forest." That mighty brain and that iron resolution went with him to the grave, and are even now arrayed against us. The Draculas were, says Arminius, a great and noble race, though now and again twere scions who were held by their coevals to have had dealings with the Evil One. They learned his secrets in the Scholomance, amongst the mountains over Lake Hermanstadt, where the devil claims the tenth scholar as his due. In the records are such words as "Stregoica" - witch; "ordog and pokol" - Satan and Hell; and in one manuscripts this very Dracula is spoken of as "wampyr," which we all understand too well."

Kali

Kali is the Hindu deity of time, sometimes known as Sara, the Black Goddess. She's often depicted as a naked black woman wearing a garland of human skulls, having a frightening visage, laughing, and having blood-stained fangs and a protruding tongue. She usually has four arms - one with a sword, one holding a human head, another supposedly removing fear, and the last is said to be granting bliss. She is often recognized for her blood thirst and brutality. Her earliest appearance in writing was in the 6th century AD, when she was called to give assistance in war.
Her most famous appearance was probably in the Devi-mahatmya, where she helped Durga, another Hindu Goddess, in fighting a demon, Raktabija. Raktabija had a unique power; with each drop of his blood spilt, he could reproduce himself. So every time Durga would harm him, he would make clones. Durga quickly found herself on the losing side of the battle. Then Kali came to the rescue. Kali ate all the clones, and vampirized Raktabija, thus ridding the world of the demon. Kali gained mixed feelings from the Hindu people. From one view, she frequently fought demons and things of an evil nature, bringing about order and good. But on the other, she represented forces which opposed social order with her bloodlust and frequent frenzied activity.

Akasha

Akasha (or Akash, Akasa, ????) is the Sanskrit word meaning "aether" in both its elemental and mythological senses. In Hinduism Akasha means the basis and essence of all things. The source of everything that exists. It is one of the Panchamahabhuta, or "five great elements"; its main characteristic is Shabda (sound). In Hindi the meaning of Akash is sky. Anne Rice used the word "Akasha" as the name of the very first vampire in the novel The Queen of the Damned. In popular Warcraft III custom map DotA, Akasha is the name of a female hero with the ability to create waves of sound that damage multiple units. In the Mage: The Ascension role-playing game, a group of mages calls itself the "Akashic Brotherhood", after a character called Akasha.

Nifl

Alternate name for the Teutonic underground Goddess Hel, ruler of the dead. She was the Greek Nephele. Both names Nifl and Nephele, meant darkness, clouds, and obscurity. Children of Nifl were the Niflungar, or Nibelungs, the Burgundians' designation of their dead ancestors, who lived in the womb of Nifl-Hel and were turned black, like shadows; In the Bible, the same ancestral ghosts are called nephilim. By Jewish tradition the nephilim were giants, sprung from a great dark mother named Nephesh, Soul of the Earthly World.

Edited by Angel_Melfina: Removed nude images. I know they are historical, but younger kids look at this site and may see that.

Do you have a headache from reading? Heheh... Well I have some bad news for you, we've only begun to scratch the surface. There is still so much more we have yet to discuss, if you are going to become a "true" vampireologist... For instance, do you know what a Dhampir is?

A Dhampir (also dhampire, dhamphir or dhampyr) in Balkan folklore and in vampire fiction is the child of a vampire father and a human mother, with vampire powers but none of the weaknesses.[1] (in fiction, the reverse occurs as well). A dhampir is believed to have the unique ability to see vampires, even when they are invisible, and is unusually adept at killing them.

The word "dhampir" is associated with the folklore of the Roma people of the Balkans, whose beliefs have been described by T. P. Vukanovic. In the rest of the region, terms such as Serbian vampirovic, vampijerovic, vampiric (thus, Bosnian lampijerovic, etc.) literally meaning "vampire's son", are used. In other regions the child is named "Vampir" if a boy and "Vampiresa" if a girl, or "Dhampir" if a boy and "Dhampiresa" if a girl.

In the Balkans it is believed that male vampires have a great desire for women, so a vampire will return to have intercourse with his wife or with a woman he was attracted to in life. Indeed, in one recorded case, a Serbian widow tried to blame her pregnancy on her late husband, who had supposedly become a vampire, and there were cases of Serbian men pretending to be vampires in order to reach the women they desired. In Bulgarian folklore, vampires were sometimes said to deflower virgins as well. A vampire may also move to a village where nobody knows him and marry and have children there. The sexual activity of the vampire seems to be a peculiarity of South Slavic vampire belief as opposed to other Slavs, although a similar motive also occurs in Belarusian legends.

Some traditions specify signs by which the children of a vampire can be recognized. Serbian legends state they have a large head and lack a shadow; in Bulgarian folklore, possible indications include being "very dirty", snub-nosed or even noseless, having a soft body, no nails and bones (the latter physical peculiarity is also ascribed to the vampire itself), and "a deep mark on the back, like a tail".

Among all Balkan peoples it is believed that the child of a vampire has a special ability to see and destroy vampires. Among some groups, the ability to see vampires is considered exclusive to dhampirs. The powers of a dhampir may be inherited by the dhampir's offspring. Various means of killing or driving away vampires are recognized among peoples of the region, but the dhampir is seen as the chief agent for dealing with vampires. Methods by which a dhampir kills a vampire include shooting the vampire with a bullet, transfixing it with a hawthorn stake, and performing a ceremony that involves touching "crowns" of lead to the vampire's grave. If the dhampir can't destroy a vampire, he may command it to leave the area.

A dhampir is always paid well for his services. The amount of money varies, but there is never haggling over the price. Standard pay for a dhampir may also include a meal or a suit of clothing. Sometimes a dhampir is paid in cattle, jewelry or women.

Charlatans traveling the regions around the Carpathian Mountains, Balkans and elsewhere in Eastern Europe would claim to be dhampirs. They were believed to be the only ones who could see the spirit and would put on elaborate shows for villages. Once fear, grief and superstition took hold in a village following a recent death, the dhampir would "come to the rescue".

Blade, from the Marvel comic book series Tomb of Dracula and others, became a popular character through the Blade movie made in 1998 and its sequels, starring Wesley Snipes as the main hybrid hero. However, instead of being the offspring of a vampire and human, Blade became a dhampir-like being because his mother was bitten by a vampire while she was pregnant with her baby, Eric. Technically, Blade could still be considered a dhampire in that he's the son of a human father and a vampire mother (even though his mother did not become a vampire until she was already pregnant with him). Blade is only recently depicted as a dhampir, as the original incarnation had the same origin, but did not have vampiric powers. Instead, he could 'smell' things of a supernatural nature, most usually vampires. However, in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Blade is indeed an actual dhampir, a son of a vampire and a human woman.

In Dungeons & Dragons, the dhampir appear as a monster template in Libris Mortis under the name Half-Vampire, in Dragon #313 under the name Katane, and in Ravenloft: Denizens of Dread under the name Dhampir. All three are separate interpretations of the same concept and as such have different (though somewhat similar) powers and abilities.

The character Nicholas Bane is a Dhampir who grew up an orphan after his mother died and not knowing his father. He became a Vampire hunter after finding out the nature of his cursed life in hopes of finding a measure of peace. The focus of Claws of Darkness, takes place in Santa Anna, Mexico as Bane hunts a drug lord who became a vampire. At the same time a werewolf is killing numerous members of the cartel and is believed to be the victim of a brutal murder by the drug lord. Nicholas Bane seems to have numerous psychic powers such as the ability to see into peoples hearts, hypnotize people to manipulate their emotions, superior speed and strength. For a Dhampir, Bane seems fairly strong and is able to stand his ground against full vampires. It is shown that he relies on blood only in cases of extreme necessity and from packets in his brief case.

The character Alek Knight is the dhampir anti-hero of the Slayer vampire series of novels by Karen Koehler. He is also a skilled vampire hunter. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir "guardian"-in-training, in the novel Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, who is the friend of Lissa Dragomir, a Moroi princess. In the book both vampires (known as Moroi) and Dhampir are born, a Dhampir being the child of a Moroi and a human or a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.

Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D series follows a Dhampir called “D” who travels across the desolate Frontier of 12090 AD Earth hunting the Nobility (the term used in the book in reference to vampires). There are several books in the series and two anime based on the first and third novels. In both the anime and novel series D’s patronage is often questioned alluding to the idea that he is the son of the Sacred Ancestor (translated in the first anime as Count Dracula). It is explained in the 6th novel that all dhampir have a subconscious hatred for other dhampir. Also according to the anime, dhampirs choose either the life of a noble or that of a human, and in the case of the latter, it normally fails, or the dhampir is run out of the village or killed. The character D chooses the life inbetween, slaying vampires but not shaming away what he is. "Vampire Hunter D" has inadvertently created a new word, "dunpeal". The phonetic transposition of the word "Dhampir" to Japanese resulted in "Danpiru", which was then incorrectly transliterated back to English as "Dunpeal" (in the second movie, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust) or "Dampiel" (in the first movie, Vampire Hunter D).

In the Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game universe created by White Wolf Game Studios, a dhampir is the child of a 15th generation Vampire and a Mortal, but two 15th generation vampires can't procreate, because without at least some "spark of life", a new life is not possible. Another similar being is the freakish revenant, which is almost identical in biology to a dhampir, but created through generations of crossbreeding ghouls rather than procreation between a thin-blood and a human. Additionally, in the Kindred of the East setting, dhampyr means the offspring of an Asian vampire (also called Cathayan or Kuei-jin) with a human or with another of its kind. Dhampires, or Shade Walkers, can function both day and night, although they find sunlight uncomfortable. They can breed with humans, but not with Kuei-jin or other dhampires.

A daywalker is a vampire which, for various reasons, is immune to the effects of sunlight and is able to operate during the day. The term was coined in the Blade comics published by Marvel and was popularized by the Blade films based upon them. Many dhampir (half-vampire/half-humans) are daywalkers. However, some pureblooded vampires are powerful enough or have found ways to negate the effects of sunlight. An example of this is Count Kinkell from Tsukuyomi - he is able to bend light around himself so that he is not burned. Sometimes, a daywalker may be immune to some of the other classic vampire weaknesses, such as garlic or the need to drink blood.

In most folklore, vampires are not killed by sunlight and therefore are not limited to only nighttime escapades. The belief that sunlight hurts them was actually popularized by F.W. Murnau's classic silent film Nosferatu, in which the vampire Graf Orlock is lured into feeding upon one of the female protagonists until daybreak when he was "dissolved" by the morning light.

Connor is the offspring of two vampires, one of whom possesses a human soul. He has all the strengths and powers of a vampire. His powers include, but are not limited to: Vampiric speed and agility, Vampiric physical strength - Several times the strength of an average human. Vampiric durability - a 50 ft. drop doesn't trouble him, however he is still injured like a human by piercing wounds, Vampiric senses - sensory perception several times more powerful than that of a human. Connor also has none of the weaknesses of a vampire. The sun, holy water, wooden stakes, crosses etc. affect him no differently than they would a normal human. He also lacks the vampiric blood lust, and possibly even vampiric fangs, and consumes normal food and drink. In some ways (with the exception of is enhanced senses), his powers resemble those of the Slayer.

A vampire hunter or vampire slayer is someone who specializes in finding and destroying vampires. In dark fantasy fiction, they may sometimes also deal with other harmful supernatural creatures. The most well known vampire hunter is Professor Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's horror novel Dracula.

"Professional" or semi-professional vampire hunters played some part in the vampire lore of the Balkans (especially in Bulgarian, Serbian, and Romani folk beliefs). In Bulgarian, the terms used to designate them included glog (lit. "hawthorn", the species of wood used for the stake), vampirdzhiya, vampirar, dzhadazhiya, svetocher etc. They were usually either born on Saturday (then called Sabbatarians, Bulgarian sâbotnichav) or the offspring of a vampire and a woman (typically his widow), called a dhampir in Romani or a vampirovic in Serbian; both facts gave them the innate capability of detecting vampires (and sometimes other supernatural entities as well). In the case of the Sabbatarians, it was believed in some places that they needed to be fed with meat from a sheep killed by a wolf (Bulgarian vâlkoedene); this would enable them not to fear the things they saw. In some traditions, the killing of vampires was only performed by vampire hunters. Aside of the well-known manners of execution (staking the corpse, burning it etc) that were normally entrusted to them, the hunters were also capable of using other methods such as enticing the invisible creature with music and then shooting it, or throwing its hat or head-cloth into the water and telling it to go fetch it (which caused it to drown).

Alexander Anderson works for the Vatican's secret Iscariot Organization (AKA Section XIII), who act like the Hellsing Organization, but are more fundamental, and serve to fight for Catholicism, as opposed to Hellsing protecting the Commonwealth. Iscariot is more radical and fundamental exterminating any humans who ally themselves with the undead. Other members include their leader, Bishop (later Archibishop) Enrico Maxwell and other assassins, Heinkel Wolfe and Yumie Takagi.

The Belmont Clan, the Morris family and Adrian Farenheits Tepes a.k.a Alucard from the Castlevania series of video games. Almost all the main characters of Castlevania could be called vampire hunters. Blade, a vampire hunter featured by Marvel Comics and a trilogy of films of the same name. Blade is a Dhampir, a half-vampire. Abraham Whistler, Abigale Whistler and Hannibal King from the third film of the Blade Series, Blade: Trinity. Hannibal takes the form of an ex-vampire who was subsequently cured of his affliction and took up hunting out of a desire for revenge. Sam and Dean Winchester from the television series Supernatural. John Winchester, Dean Winchester, and Sam Winchester from Supernatural television series have all faced vampires before.

In March 2007, self-proclaimed vampire hunters vandalized the grave of former Serbian president Slobodan Miloševic and staked his body through the heart into the ground. Although the group involved claimed this act was to prevent Miloševic from returning as a vampire, it is not known whether those involved actually believed this could happen or if the crime was simply politically motivated.

In Eastern European and gypsy vampire lore, some vampires are believed
to be invisible to all but a dhampir, the offspring of a vampire and a
mortal. In spite of the fact that the gypsy mulo [q.v. 2:03] was said
to be a spirit of the dead person separate from the physical corpse, it
was also believed that the male mulo was capable of impregnating living
women, often their grieving widows. The resulting child was variously
called a "vampijorivic", a "vampiric", or a "lampijerovic", all of which
mean "little vampire". Another name for such an offspring is "dhampir".
Depending on the legend, dhampirs may be able to automatically see
vampires, or they may have to enact some sort of ritual, such as putting
on their clothes backwards or looking through a sleeve.

The typical dhampir story has a vampire bothering a town. A wandering
dhampir comes through, hears of the town's vampire problem, and offers
to kill the vampire--for a fee, of course. The dhampir goes to the town
square and calls out a challenge to the vampire, asking him to meet the
dhampir there on the morrow. (Vampires in these legends aren't limited
to nighttime.) The next day, the dhampir returns to the town square and
waits for the vampire to arrive. When the vampire "appears", the dhampir
wrestles the invisible creature, shoots him with a gun, or somehow bests
him and chases the vampire out of town. End of the town's vampire problem.

There are also cases where a dhampir is able to detect the grave of a
vampire and destroy it by shooting a bullet into the corpse or by more
traditional means such as staking, beheading or cremation. The natural
male offspring of a dhampir were also believed to be dhampirs, and so
the profession of vampire hunting was often an inherited career. At
least as late as 1959 in Kosova, there were dhampirs still in the
business of hunting down and destroying vampires.

Dhampirs in legend don't have special abilities other than being able to
see invisible vampires. As with legends, however, writers have liked the
idea of a dhampir and have added to the legend, often completely redoing
it and just taking the name, as with Vampire Hunter D, for example.

Vampires in legend and fiction are usually already dead...er...UNdead.
Therefore, the aim is not to kill them but to destroy them in such a
way that they can never again rise up to walk among the living. Some
time-honored ways of destroying a vampire include:

- Burning. This seems to be a universal method in both legend and
fiction of destroying vampires.

- Cutting out the heart and burning it.

- Cutting off the head. Some legends say that this must be done with a
gravedigger's shovel. In fiction, however, Van Helsing's autopsy
knives seemed to work just fine on Lucy. Other legends require that
the head be moved away from the body lest the head and body re-unite.

- Driving a stake through the heart. This method seems to work best on
fictional vampires. In legendary vampire lore, staking a vampire
serves merely to "nail" him in place so as to prevent him from leaving
the coffin or to allow other procedures [as above] to be performed
without having to worry about the vampire moving, shapeshifting, or
otherwise escaping. In many of these legends, the stake must be of a
particular wood, such as ash, hawthorne, maple, blackthorn, buckthorn,
or aspen. The power of these woods is often claimed to lie in Christian
symbolism. For example, ash has been cited as the wood from which
Christ's cross was made. Plants with thorns, such as hawthorn, wild
roses, and blackthorn, are associated with the crown of thorns worn by
Christ at his crucifixion. However, in his book _Fasti_ [which was
written prior to the death of Christ], Ovid describes the value of
hawthorn in warding off vampire striges [see 2.04 Stryx] who like to
feed on the blood and guts of human infants, so the roots of some of
these legends obviously predate Christian influences.

- Exposing to sunlight. Like staking, exposing a vampire to sunlight has
become one of the more common methods of destroying fictional vampires,
at least since Count Orlock greeted the dawn through a window in the
1922 classic movie "Nosferatu". Legendary vampires are not quite so
sun-sensitive. [see Vrykolakas 2.04, vulnerabilities 2.06, and
dhampirs 2.08]

- Dispelling the vampire with holy symbols, such as the Eucharist or
holy water. This idea seems to derive from the Christian belief, as
espoused by Leo Allatius (and later by Dom Augustin Calmet) that
vampires are in league with Satan. In modern fiction, however, this
tactic is more commonly used to prevent a vampire from returning to
his coffin, and he is consequently killed by exposure to the sun.

- Calling in a dhampir.

So now we've covered all the basics. You've learned about the medical history of vampires, and the differences between some of the vampire species. We've talked about some of the progenitors of the earliest vampires, and also learned a little more about werewolves. No vampireologist's library would be complete however without a vampire chronology:



1047
The word upir (an early form of the word later to become "vampire") first appears in written form in a document referring to a Russian prince as "Upir Lichy", or wicked vampire.

1190
Walter Map's De Nagis Curialium includes accounts of vampire like beings in England.

1196
William of Newburh's Chronicles records stories of vampire-like revenants in England.

1431
Vlad Dracul's son, Vlad Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler, is born.

1442
Vlad Tepes is imprisoned with his father by the Turks.

1443
Vlad Tepes becomes a hostage of the Turks.

1447
Vlad Dracul is beheaded.

1448
Vlad Tepes briefly attains the Wallachian throne. Dethroned, he goes to Moldavia and befriends Prince Stefan.

1451
Vlad and Stephan flee to Transylvania.

1455
Constantinople falls.

1456
John Hunyadi assists Vlad Tepes to attain Wallachian throne. Vladislav Dan is executed.

1458
Matthias Corvinu succeeds John Hunyadi as King of Hungary.

1459
Easter massacre of boyars and rebuilding of Dracula's castle. Bucharest is established as the second governmental centre.

1460
Attack upon Brasov, Romania.

1461
Successful campaign against Turkish settlements along the Danube. Vlad's involvement in military campaigns will make him a hero in some people's eyes. His savage treatment of opponents earns him the hatred of others, and the nickname, "Vlad the Impaler". Summer retreat to Tirgoviste.

1462
Following the battle at Dracula's castle, Vlad flees to Transylvania, where he begins 13 years of imprisonment.

1463
Vlad Tepes becomes Prince of Wallachia and moves to Tirgoviste.

1475
Summer wars in Serbia against Turks take place. November: Vlad resumes throne of Wallachia.

1476
Vlad the Impaler is assassinated.

1484
The Malleus Maleficarium, known as "the witch hunter's bible", is authored by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. How to hunt and kill a vampire is discussed in the work.

1560
Elizabeth Bathory is born.

1600–1800
Europe and Russia are plagued with superstition about the vampire.

1610
Elizabeth Bathory is arrested for killing several hundred people and bathing in their blood. Tried and convicted, she is sentenced to life imprisonment, being bricked into a room in her castle.
Leo Allatius finishes writing the first modern treatment of vampires, De Graecorum hodie quirundam opinationabus.

1614
Elizabeth Bathory dies.

1657
Francoise Richard's Relation de ce qui s'est passé a Sant-Erini Isle de l'Archipel links vampirism and witchcraft.

1672
Wave of vampire hysteria sweeps through Istra (now in modern Slovenia). Corpses of suspected vampires are typically staked (to keep them from rising) and decapitated.

1679
German text De Masticatione Mortuorum is written by Philip Rohr.

1710
Vampire hysteria sweeps through East Prussia.

1725
Vampire hysteria return to East Prussia.

1725–1730
Vampire hysteria lingers in Hungary.

1725–1732
The wave of vampire hysteria in Austrian Serbia produces the famous cases of Peter Plogojowitz and Arnold Paul (Paole).

1727–1732
Arnold Paole wreaks his vampiric havoc on the small town of Meduegna, near Belgrade.

1734
The word "vampyre" enters the English language in translations of German accounts of European waves of vampire hysteria.

1744
Cardinal Giuseppe Davanzati publishes his treatise, Dissertazione sopre I Vampiri.

1746
Dom Augustin Calmet publishes his treatise on vampires, Dissertations sur les Apparitions des Anges des Démons et des Esprits, et sur les revenants, et Vampires de Hundrie, de Bohème, de Moravic, et de Silésie.

1748
The first modern vampire poem, Der Vampir by Heinrich August Ossenfelder, is published.

1750
Another wave of vampire hysteria occurs in East Prussia.

1756
Vampire hysteria peaks in Wallachia.

1772
Vampire hysteria occurs in Russia.

1797
Goethe's Bride of Corinth (a poem concerning a vampire) is published.

1798–1800
Samuel Taylor Coleridge writes Christabel, now conceded to be the first vampire poem in English.

1800
I Vampiri, an opera by Silvestro de Palma, opens in Milan, Italy.

1801
Thalaba by Robert Southey is the first poem to mention the vampire in English.

1810
Reports of sheep being killed by having their jugular veins cut and their blood drained circulated through northern England.
The Vampyre, an early vampire poem, by John Stagg is published.

1813
A vampire appears in Lord Byron's The Giaour.

1819
The first vampire story in English, The Vampyre by John Polidori, is published in the April issue of New Monthly Magazine.
John Keats composes The Lamia, a poem built on ancient Greek legends.

1820
Lord Ruthwen ou Les Vampires by Cyprien Berard is published anonymously in Paris.
13th June: Le Vampire, the play by Charles Nodier, opens at the Theatre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris.
August: The Vampire; or, The Bride of the Isles, a translation of Nodier's play by James R. Planche, opens in London.

1829
March: Heinrich Marschner's opera, Der Vampyr, based on Nodier's story, opens in Leipzig.

1841
Alexey Tolstoy publishes his short story, Upyr, while living in Paris. It is the first modern vampire story by a Russian.

1847
Varney the Vampyre begins its serialisation as a penny dreadful.
Birth of Bram Stoker.

1851
Alexandre Dumas' last dramatic work, Le Vampire, opens in Paris.

1854
The case of vampirism in the Ray family of Jewell, Connecticut, is published in local newspapers.

1872
Carmilla, by J. Sheridan LeFanu, is published.
Vincenzo Vierzeni is convicted in Italy of murdering two and drinking their blood.

1874
Reports from Ceven, Ireland, tell of sheep having their throats cut and their blood drained.

1888
Emily Gerard's Land Beyond the Forest is published. It will become a major source of information about Transylvania for Bram Stoker's Dracula.

1894
H.G. Wells's short story, The Flowering of the Strange Orchid, is a precursor to science fiction vampire stories.

1897
Bram Stoker publishes Dracula.
The Vampire by Rudyard Kipling becomes the inspiration for the creation of the vampire as a stereotypical character on stage and screen.

1912
The Secrets of House No. 5, possibly the first vampire movie, is produced in Great Britain

1914
Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker is published posthumously.

1920
Dracula, the first film based on the novel, is made in Russia. Sadly, no copy has survived.

1921
Hungarian filmmakers produce a version of Dracula.

1922
Nosferatu, a German-made silent film produced by Prana Films, is the third attempt to film Dracula.

1924
Fritz Haarmann the "Vampire of Hannover" is convicted of killong over 20 in vampiric crime spree.
Hamilton Dean's stage version of Dracula opens in Derby.
Sherlock Holmes has his only encounter with a vampire in The Case of the Sussex Vampire.

1927
14th February: Stage version of Dracula debuts at the Little Theatre in London.
October: American version of Dracula starring Bela Lugosi, opens at Fulton Theatre in New York City. Tod Browning directs Lon Chaney in London After Midnight, the first full-length feature film.

1928
England sees the first printing of The Vampire: His Kith and Kin by Montague Summers.

1929
Montague Summers's second vampire book, The Vampire in Europe, is published.

1931
January: Spanish film version of Dracula is previewed.
February: Dracula, the American film version starring Bela Lugosi, premiers at the Roxy Theatre in New York City.
Peter Kurten of Düsseldorf, Germany, is executed after being found guilty of murdering a number of people in a vampiric killing spree

1932
The highly acclaimed movie Vampyr, directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, is released.

1936
Dracula's Daughter is released by Universal Pictures.

1942
A. E. Van Vought's Asylum is the first story about an alien vampire.

1943
Son of Dracula (Universal Pictures), starring Lon Chaney Jr. as Dracula, is released.

1944
John Carradine plays Dracula for the first time in Horror of Dracula.

1953
Drakula Istanbul'da, a Turkish film adaptation of Dracula, is released.
Eerie No. 8 includes the first comic book adaptation of Dracula.

1954
The Comics Code banishes vampires from comic books.
I am Legend by Richard Matheson presents vampirism as a disease that alters the body.

1956
John Carradine plays Dracula in the first television adaptation of the play for Matinee Theatre.
Kyuketsuki Ga, the first Japanese vampire film, is released.

1957
The first Italian vampire movie, I Vampiri, is released.
American producer Roger Corman makes the first science fiction vampire movie, Not of This Earth.
El Vampiro with German Robles is the first of a new wave of Mexican vampire films.

1958
Hammer Films in Great Britain initiates a new wave of interest in vampires with the first of its Dracula, starring Christopher Lee and released in the United States as the Horror of Dracula.
First issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland signals a new interest in horror films in the United States.

1959
Plan 9 From Outer Space is Bela Lugosi's last film.

1961
The Bad Flower is the first Korean film adaptation of Dracula.

1962
The Count Dracula Society is founded in the United States by Donald Reed.

1963
Parque de Juelos (Park of Games) is the first Spanish made vampire movie

1964
The Munsters and The Addams Family, two horror comedies with vampire characters, open in the autumn television season.

1965
Jeanne Younson founds The Count Dracula Fan Club.
The Munsters, based on the television show of the same name, is the first comic book series featuring a vampire character.

1966
Vampire Barnabas Collins makes his debut on Dark Shadows.

1969
First issue of Vampirella, the longest running vampire comic book to date, is released.
Denholm Elliot plays the title role in a BBC television production of Dracula, Does Dracula Really Suck? (aka Dracula and the Boys) is released as the first gay vampire movie.

1970
The Vampire Research Society is founded by Seán Manchester.
Christopher Lee stars in El Conde Dracula, the Spanish film adaptation of Dracula.

1971
Marvel Comics releases the first copy of a post-Comics Code vampire comic book, The Tomb of Dracula. Morbius, the Living Vampire, is the first new vampire character introduced after the revision of the Comics code allowed vampires to reappear in comic books.

1972
Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu release In Search of Dracula, linking Vlad the Impaler as the inspiration for Stoker's Dracula.
The Night Stalker with Darrin McGavin becomes the most watched television movie to that point in time.
Vampire Kung-Fu is released in Hong Kong as the first of a string of vampire martial arts films.
A Dream of Dracula by Leonard Wolf complements McNally's and Florescu's effort in calling attention to vampire lore.
True Vampires of History by Donald Glut is the first attempt to assemble the stories of all the historical vampire figures.
Stephan Kaplan founds The Vampire Research Centre.

1973
Dan Curtis Productions' version of Dracula (1973) stars Jack Palance in a made-for-television movie.
Nancy Garden's Vampires launches a wave of juvenile literature for children and youth.

1975
Fred Saberhagen proposes viewing Dracula as a hero rather than a villain in The Dracula Tape.
The World of Dark Shadows is founded as the first Dark Shadows fanzine.

1976
First book of Anne Rice's vampire series, Interview With The Vampire, is published.
Stephen King is nominated for the World Fantasy Award for his vampire novel, 'Salem's Lot.
Shadowcon, the first national Dark Shadows convention, is organised by Dark Shadows fans.

1977
A new dramatic version of Dracula opens on Broadway starring Frank Langella.
Louis Jourdan stars in the title role in Count Dracula, a three-hour version of Bram Stoker's book on BBC television.
Martin V. Riccardo founds the Vampire Studies Society.

1978
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's book Hotel Transylvania joins the volumes of Fred Saberhagen and Anne Rice as the third major effort to begin a reappraisal of the vampire myth during the decade. Eric Held and Dorothy Nixon found the Vampire Information Exchange.

1979
Based on the success of the new Broadway production, Universal Pictures remakes Dracula, starring Frank Langella.
The band Bauhaus's recording of 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' becomes the first hit of the new gothic rock music movement. Shadowgram is founded as a Dark Shadows fanzine.

1980
Richard Chase, The Dracula Killer of Sacramento, commits suicide in prison.
The Bram Stoker Society is founded in Dublin, Ireland.
The World Federation of Dark Shadows Clubs (now Dark Shadows Official Fan Club) is founded.

1983
In the December issue of Dr. Strange, Marvel Comics' ace occultist kills all of the vampires in the world, thus banishing them from Marvel Comics for the next six years.
Dark Shadows Festival is founded to host an annual Dark Shadows convention.
The Hunger, starring Catherine Deneueve, Susan Sarandon, and David Bowie, is released.

1985
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice is published and reaches the best seller list.
Fright Night, Transylvania 6-5000, and the anime flick Vampire Hunter D are among a number of vampire films released.

1986
Vamp, featuring Grace Jones, is released. Films like it, last year's Fright Night and – 1987 – The Lost Boys combine horror and humour.

1988
The Queen Of The Damned by Anne Rice is published.
Dracula's Widow, directed by Francis Ford Coppola's nephew, bombs.

1989
Overthrow of Romanian dictator Nikolai Ceaucescu opens Transylvania to Dracula enthusiasts.
Nancy Collins wins a Bram Stoker Award for her vampire novel Sunglasses After Dark.

1991
Vampire: The Masquerade, the most successful of the vampire role-playing games, is released by White Wolf.

1992
Bram Stoker's Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is released.
Andrei Chokatilo of Russia is sentenced to death after killing and vampirising 55 people.
The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice is published.
Film version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer appears.

1994
Interview With The Vampire comes to the big screen. Oprah Winfrey forms "prayer circle" outside premiere to work against the forces of darkness she believes the film is calling down. Others also are appalled by the casting of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.

1995
Pam Keesey edits Dark Angels, an anthology of lesbian vampire fiction.

1996
The series Kindred: the Embraced airs for a whole 8 episodes.
Director Quentin Tarantino makes From Dusk Till Dawn.

1997
TV version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Geller, debuts. Teen lockers get new poster girl.

1998
Blade is released, with Wesley Snipes as a vampire slayer.
Pandora and The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice are published.

1999
Vittorio the Vampire by Anne Rice is published.

2002
Blade II and Queen of the Damned are released.

2004
Blade: Trinity

One of my favorite subjects in vampire lore is a popular story written in 1897 entitled "Bram Stoker's Dracula"... There is sooo much lingering between Bram Stoker and his folkloric vampire Dracula, that one could very well write an entire section on this subject alone. Most of the following images were taken from Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film entitled "Bram Stoker's Dracula" in honor of the original story. Coppola's film is so remarkably similar to Bram Stoker's story, that I feel it needs reference here:

“Love Never Dies”



Let me begin with a statement, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the greatest love story ever written. A man so in love he renounces God for taking his bride, so in love that he gives is soul to the night to be eternaly damned. The story begins with Vlad a warrior fighting for the church during the Holy wars, when he recieves false news of his lovers suicide, he slaughters everyone in his path until returning to the church for which he defended. Upon arriving, enraged he curses God and defiles the Holy place, there he drinks the blood of Christ in exchange for immortality only it came with a price. His Soul.

“I shall rise from my own death, to avenge hers with all the powers of darkness. “


Keanu Reeves plays a young lawyer named Jonathan Harker who is assigned to a gloomy village in the mists of eastern Europe by his realistate company in the late 19th century.There he is captured and imprisoned by the undead vampire Dracula. Captivated by a picture of Jonathan’s bride-to-be who images his late lover, Dracula plans his journey to London to claim her for hiself.

“What devil or witch was ever so great as Atilla whose blood flows in these veins?”

Mina Murry (Wynona Ryder) sits at home dreaming of her fiance’s return, lonely and growing weary from worry because Jonathan hasn’t responded to her letters. Her best friend lucy mysteriously comes down with a fever, a sickness like no other known to doctors. Her peers believe her to be possessed by the devil himself, so they consult one Dr. Vanhelsing, a witch doctor and hunter of demon’s.

“I was betrayed. Look at what your God has done to me!”

Meanwhile Mina needs to get away, she decides to go out on the town to get her mind off of everything, she then runs into a mysterious man from far away who she is immediately drawn too by some strange attraction. Count Vladimir then entraces her and seduces her to fall in love with him.

“Listen to them: the children of the night. What sweet music they make. “

I like how Francis Ford Copella focused on that aspect of the story, staying true to the classic novel. I’m sure horror fans were a little disappointed and didn’t expect the films lack of gore and horror, but I liked it mainly because it wasn’t the same old Dracula story thats been done time and time again.

“I am the monster that breathing men would kill. I am Dracula. “

This film was beautifuly made, Francis Ford Coppola done a wonderful job creating a 19th century atmosphere. The actors/actresses delivered a flawless performance and were very well casted, Gary Oldman stole the show with his passion for the character he portrayed. This movie will stand the test of time and I believe it to be the greatest depictation of Bram Stoker’s novel And the best Dracula film ever made.

“Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks upon this earth is the one who finds… True love?”

Vlad Tepes was born in November or December 1431, in the fortress of Sighisoara, Romania. His father, Vlad Dracul, at that time appointed military governor of Transylvania by the emperor Sigismund, had been inducted into the Order of the Dragon about one year before. The order - which could be compared to the Knights of the Hospital of St. John or even to the Teutonic Order of Knights - was a semimilitary and religious society, originally created in 1387 by the Holy Roman Emperor and his second wife, Barbara Cilli. The main goals of such a secret fraternal order of knights was mainly to protect the interests of Catholicism, and to crusade against the Turks. There are different reasons why this society is so important to us. First, it provides an explanation for the name "Dracula;" "Dracul," in Romanian language, means "Dragon", and the boyars of Romania, who knew of Vlad Tepes' father induction into the Order of the Dragon, decided to call him "Dracul." "Dracula," a diminutive which means "the son of Dracul," was a surname to be used ultimately by Vlad Tepes. A second major role of this Order as a source of inspiration for Stoker's evil character is the Order's official dress - a black cape over a red garment - to be worn only on Fridays or during the commemoration of Christ's Passion.

In the winter of 1436-1437, Dracul became prince of Wallachia (one of the three Romanian provinces) and took up residence at the palace of Tirgoviste, the princely capital. Vlad Tepes followed his father and lived six years at the princely court. In 1442, for political reasons, Dracula and his younger brother Radu were taken hostage by the Sultan Murad II; Dracula was held in Turkey until 1448, while his brother Radu decided to stay there until 1462. This Turkish captivity surely played an important role in Dracula's upbringing; it must be at this period that he adopted a very pessimistic view of life. Indeed, the Turks set him free after informing him of his father's assassination in 1447 - organized by Vladislav II. He also learned about his older brother's death - Mircea was the eldest legitimate son of Dracul - and how he had been tortured and buried alive by the boyars of Tirgoviste.

At 17 years old, Vlad Tepes Dracula, supported by a force of Turkish cavalry and a contingent of troops lent to him by pasha Mustafa Hassan, made his first major move toward seizing the Wallachian throne. But another claimant, no other than Vladislav II himself, defeated him only two months later. In order to secure his second and major reign over Wallachia, Dracula had to wait until July of 1456, when he had the satisfaction of killing his mortal enemy and his father's assassin. Vlad then began his longest reign - 6 years - during which he committed many cruelties, and hence established his controversed reputation.

His first major act of revenge was aimed at the boyars of Tirgoviste for the killing of his father and his brother Mircea. On Easter Sunday of what we believe to be 1459, he arrested all the boyar families who had participated to the princely feast. He impaled the older ones on stakes while forcing the others to march from the capital to the town of Poenari. This fifty-mile trek was quite grueling, and those who survived were not permitted to rest until they reached destination. Dracula then ordered them to build him a fortress on the ruins of an older outpost overlooking the Arges river. Many died in the process, and Dracula therefore succeeded in creating a new nobility and obtaining a fortress for future emergencies. What is left today of the building is identified as Castle Dracula.

Vlad became quite known for his brutal punishment techniques; he often ordered people to be skinned, boiled, decapitated, blinded, strangled, hanged, burned, roasted, hacked, nailed, buried alive, stabbed, etc. He also liked to cut off noses, ears, sexual organs and limbs. But his favorite method was impalement on stakes, hence the surname "Tepes" which means "The Impaler" in the Romanian language. Even the Turks referred to him as "Kaziglu Bey," meaning "The Impaler Prince." It is this technique he used in 1457, 1459 and 1460 against Transylvanian merchants who had ignored his trade laws. The raids he led against the German Saxons of Transylvania were also acts of proto-nationalism in order to protect and favour the Wallachian commerce activities.

There are many anecdotes about the philosophy of Vlad Tepes Dracula. He was for instance particularly known throughout his land for his fierce insistence on honesty and order. Almost any crime, from lying and stealing to killing, could be punished by impalement. Being so confident in the effectiveness of his law, Dracula placed a golden cup on display in the central square of Tirgoviste. The cup could be used by thirsty travelers, but had to remain on the square. According to the available historic sources, it was never stolen and remained entirely unmolested throughout Vlad's reign. Dracula was also very concerned that all his subjects work and be productive to the community. He looked upon the poor, vagrants and beggars as thieves. Consequently, he invited all the poor and sick of Wallachia to his princely court in Tirgoviste for a great feast. After the guests ate and drank, Dracula ordered the hall boarded up and set on fire. No one survived.

In the beginning of 1462, Vlad launched a campaign against the Turks along the Danube river. It was quite risky, the military force of Sultan Mehmed II being by far more powerful than the Wallachian army. However, during the winter of 1462, Vlad was very successful and managed to gain many victories. To punish Dracula, the Sultan decided to launch a full-scale invasion of Wallachia. Of course, his other goal was to transform this land into a Turkish province and he entered Wallachia with an army three times larger than Dracula's. Finding himself without allies, Vlad, forced to retreat towards Tirgoviste, burned his own villages and poisoned the wells along the way, so that the Turkish army would find nothing to eat or drink. Moreover, when the Sultan, exhausted, finally reached the capital city, he was confronted by a most gruesome sight: thousands of stakes held the remaining carcasses of some 20,000 Turkish captives, a horror scene which was ultimately nicknamed the "Forest of the Impaled." This terror tactic deliberately stage-managed by Dracula was definitely successful; the scene had a strong effect on Mehmed's most stout-hearted officers, and the Sultan, tired and hungry, admitted defeat (it is worth mentioning that even Victor Hugo, in his Legende des Siecles, recalls this particular incident). Nevertheless, following his retreat from Wallachian territory, Mehmed left the next phase of the battle to Vlad's younger brother Radu, the Turkish favorite for the Wallachian throne. At the head of a Turkish army and joined by Vlad's detractors, Radu pursued his brother to Poenari castle on the Arges river.

According to the legend, this is when Dracula's wife, in order to escape Turkish capture, committed suicide by hurling herself from the upper battlements, her body falling down the precipice into the river below - a scene exploited by Francis Ford Coppola's production. Vlad, who was definitely not the kind of man to kill himself, managed to escape the siege of his fortress by using a secret passage into the mountain. Helped by some peasants of the Arefu village, he was able to reach Transylvania where he met the new king of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus. However, instead of providing some help, Matthias arrested Dracula and imprisoned him at the Hungarian capital of Visegrad. It was not until 1475 that Vlad was again recognized as the prince of Wallachia, enjoying a very short third reign. In fact, he was assassinated toward the end of December 1476.

We do not know exactly why Bram Stoker chose this fifteenth century Romanian prince as a model for his fictional character. Some scholars have proposed that Stoker had a friendly relationship with a Hungarian professor from the University of Budapest, Arminius Vambery (Hermann Vamberger) , and it is likely that this man gave Stoker some information about Vlad Tepes Dracula. Moreover, the fact that Dr. Abraham Van Helsing mentions his "friend Arminius" in the 1897 novel as the source of his knowledge on Vlad seems to support this hypothesis. It should also be kept in mind that the only real link between the historical Dracula (1431-1476) and the modern literary myth of the vampire is in fact the 1897 novel; Stoker made use of folkloric sources, historic references and some of his own life experiences to create his composite creature. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that Vlad Dracula's political detractors - mainly German Saxons - made use of the other meaning of the Romanian word "Dracul" - "Devil" - in order to blacken the prince's reputation. Could the association of the words "Dragon" and "Devil" in Romanian language explain an earlier link between Vlad Tepes and vampirism?

Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Tepes in Romanian) was descended from Basarab the Great, a fourteenth-century prince who is credited with having founded the state of Wallachia, part of present-day Romania. The most famous of the early Basarabs was Vlad's grandfather, Mircea cel Batrin (Mircea the Old). As Wallachian "voivode" (a word of Slavic origin, used in Romania for the leader of a principality, a war-lord, or a supreme chief), Mircea was prominent for his struggles against the Ottoman Empire and his attempts to exclude permanent Turkish settlement on Wallachian lands.

Mircea died in 1418 and left behind a number of illegitimate children. As there were no clear rules of succession in Wallachia (the council of "boyars" had the power to select as voivode any son of a ruling prince), Mircea's death led to conflict between his illegitimate son Vlad (Vlad the Impaler's father) and Dan, the son of one of Mircea's brothers. This was the beginning of the Draculesti-Danesti feud that was to play a major role in the history of fifteenth-century Wallachia. In 1431, the year in which Vlad the Impaler may have been born (not confirmed), his father Vlad was stationed in Sighisoara as a military commander with responsibility for guarding the mountain passes from Transylvania into Wallachia from enemy incursion.



In 1431, the senior Vlad was summoned to Nuremberg by Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor, to receive a unique honor. He was one of a number of princes and vassals initiated by the Emperor into the Order of the Dragon, an institution, similar to other chivalric orders of the time, modelled on the Order of St George. It was created in 1408 by Sigismund and his queen Barbara Cilli mainly for the purpose of gaining protection for the royal family; it also required its initiates to defend Christianity and to do battle against its enemies, principally the Turks. As an indication of his pride in the Order, Vlad took on the nickname "Dracul." (The Wallachian word "dracul" was derived from the Latin "draco" meaning "the dragon.") The sobriquet adopted by the younger Vlad ("Dracula" indicating "son of Dracul" or "son of the Dragon"), also had a positive connotation.

In Romanian history, Vlad is usually referred to as "Tepes" (pronounced Tse-pesh). This name, from the Turkish nickname "kaziklu bey" ("impaling prince"), was used by Ottoman chroniclers of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries because of Vlad's fondness for impalement as a means of execution. The epithet, which echoed the fear that he instilled in his enemies, was embraced in his native country. No evidence exists to suggest that Vlad ever used it in reference to himself. By contrast, the term "Dracula" (or linguistic variations thereof) was used on a number of occasions by Vlad himself in letters and documents that still survive in Romanian museums.


We know little about Vlad's early childhood in Sighisoara. His mother was apparently Cneajna, of a Moldavian princely family. He was the second of three sons; his brothers were Mircea and Radu. The family remained in Sighisoara until 1436 when Vlad Dracul moved to Targoviste to become voivode of Wallachia. Here, young Vlad was educated at court, with training that was appropriate for knighthood. But his father's political actions were to have major consequences for him and his younger brother Radu. On the death of Sigismund, Vlad Dracul ranged from pro-Turkish policies to neutrality as he considered necessary to protect the interests of Wallachia. To ensure the reliability of Dracul's support, the Sultan required that two of his sons -- Vlad and Radu -- be held in Turkey as guarantees that he would actively support Turkish interests. The two boys may have spent up to six years under this precarious arrangement. Young Vlad would have been about eleven years old at the time of the internment, while Radu would have been about seven. It appears that they were held for part of the time at the fortress of Egregoz, located in western Anatolia, and later moved to Sultan Murad's court at Adrianople. The younger brother Radu, a handsome lad who attracted the attention of the future sultan, fared better than Vlad, a factor that helps explain the bitter hatred and rivalry that developed between the brothers later. Apparently, no serious physical harm came to the boys during these years of captivity, though the psychological impact on Vlad is difficult to assess. After their subsequent release in 1448, Radu chose to remain in Turkey. But Vlad returned to Wallachia to find that his father had been assassinated and his older brother Mircea buried alive by the nobles of Târgoviste who had supported a rival claimant.



Vlad was voivode for three separate periods, totalling about seven years. Not too much is known of his first brief period of rule (in 1448). This reign was short-lived, and Vlad spent the next eight years plotting his return to power. Finally in 1456 he was successful and ruled for the next six years, the period about which most is known. After major battles against the Turks in 1462, he escaped across the mountains into Transylvania and was held as a prisoner by the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus until the mid-1470s. His recovery of the throne for a third time in 1476 was brief, for he was killed in battle during the subsequent winter.

Though Vlad was to reign for less than seven years, his reputation throughout Europe was widespread. There are several primary sources of information, which offer a variety of representations, from Vlad as a cruel, even psychopathic tyrant to Vlad as a hero who put the needs of his country above all else. Consequently, it is a virtually impossible task to reconstruct his political and military activities with certainty.



The most influential in establishing his notoriety throughout Europe, were the German sources, dating from as early as 1463 (while Vlad was still alive). The most popular were several pamphlets that began to appear late in the fifteenth century and which were widely circulated because of the recent invention of the printing press. Indeed, some of the earliest secular texts to roll off the presses were horror stories about Vlad Dracula. Written in German and published at major centres such as Nuremburg, Bamberg, and Strassburg, these had such unsavory titles as The Frightening and Truly Extraordinary Story of a Wicked Blood-drinking Tyrant Called Prince Dracula. Researchers have discovered at least thirteen of these pamphlets dating from 1488 to 1521. The printers of the Dracula tales also included woodcut portraits of the prince and, in some cases, illustrations of his atrocities.

Other historical documents include Russian sources, notably one which presented not only the cruel side of Vlad's behavior but also his sense of justice and his determination to restore order. Turkish chronicles, not surprisingly, emphasize the horrors that Dracula inflicted on his enemies, especially during the battles of 1461-62. By contrast there are the Romanian oral narratives, still preserved in the villages near the ruins of Vlad Dracula's fortress on the Arges River. Here we find a very different Vlad: a prince who repeatedly defended his homeland from the Turks at a time when just about every other principality in the region had been subjected to Ottoman rule; and a leader who succeeded in maintaining law and order in what were indeed lawless and disorderly times.



All of these sources are biased. In the case of the German reports, the German Saxons of Transylvania were victims of inccursions by Vlad into what was an independent state and the imposition of his harsh economic measures. One could hardly expect then to be objective informants. The Turkish chroniclers are hardly any more objective, downplaying Vlad's military successes and stressing their own demonstrations of bravery and cunning. Russian narratives were generally more unbiased. The Romanian narratives, by contrast, present a very different Vlad: a folk hero who endeavored to save his people not only from the invading Turks but from the treacherous boyars.

Vlad's immediate priority when he regained his throne in 1456 was to consolidate his position in Wallachia. He was determined to break the political power of the boyars (nobles) who tended to support puppet (and often weak) leaders who would protect their interests. Such a policy, Vlad realized, worked against the development of a strong nation-state. A related internal problem that faced Vlad was the continuous threat from rival claimants to the throne, all of whom were descendants of Mircea cel Batrin. Coupled with his determination to consolidate his own power was his extreme view of law and order. He did not hesitate to inflict the punishment of impalement on anyone who committed a crime, large or small. On the economic front, he was determined to break the hold that the Saxon merchants of southern Transylvania (especially Brasov) had on trade. Not only were these merchants ignoring customs duties, they were also supporting rival claimants to his throne.



Vlad began his six-year period of rule in 1456, just three years after Constantinople fell to the Turks. It was inevitable that he would finally have to confront the Turks, as the small principality of Wallachia lay between Turkish controlled Bulgaria and the rest of central and eastern Europe. Vlad precipitated the anger of the Sultan by refusing to honor an earlier arrangement to pay an annual tribute and to supply young Wallachian men for the Turkish army. After a period of raiding and pillaging along the Danube border, full-fledged war broke out during the winter of 1461-62. His exploits drew the attention of several European rulers, including the Pope himself. The Turks launched a full counter-offensive. Badly outnumbered, Vlad employed every possible means to gain an advantage: drawing the enemy deep into his own territory through a strategic retreat, he burned villages and poisoned wells along the route; he employed guerilla tactics, using the local terrain to advantage; he even initiated a form of germ warfare, deliberately sending victims of infectious diseases into the Turkish camps. On 17 June 1462, he led a raid known in Romanian history as the "Night Attack." But the Sultan's army continued onwards and reached the outskirts of Vlad's capital city. There Vlad used his most potent weapon -- psychological warfare. The following is an account from the Greek historian Chalkondyles of what greeted the invaders:

"He [the Sultan] marched on for about five kilometers when he saw his men impaled; the Sultan's army came across a field with stakes, about three kilometers long and one kilometer wide. And there were large stakes on which they could see the impaled bodies of men, women, and children, about twenty thousand of them, as they said; quite a spectacle for the Turks and the Sultan himself! The Sultan, in wonder, kept saying that he could not conquer the country of a man who could do such terrible and unnatural things, and put his power and his subjects to such use. He also used to say that this man who did such things would be worthy of more. And the other Turks, seeing so many people impaled, were scared out of their wits. There were babies clinging to their mothers on the stakes, and birds had made nests in their breasts."



The Sultan withdrew. But the war was not over. Mehmed threw his support behind Vlad's brother Radu, who with the support of defecting boyars and Turkish soldiers, pursued Vlad all the way to his mountain fortress at Poenari. According to oral legends that survive to this day in the village of Aref, near the fortress, Vlad was able to escape into Transylvania with the help of local villagers. But he was soon arrested near Brasov by Matthias Corvinus, who had chosen to throw his support behind Radu, Vlad's successor. Corvinus used as evidence letters supposedly written by Vlad that indicated he was a traitor to the Christian cause and was plotting to support the Turks; Romanian historians concur that these letters were forgeries and part of a larger campaign to discredit Vlad and justify Corvinus's actions.

Vlad is best known today in the West for the many cruel actions that have been attributed to him. Even his most ardent defenders will concede that he took drastic measures to achieve his political, economic and military objectives. Most of these occurred during the period 1456-1462.

One of his earliest actions was taken against the nobles of Tirgoviste whom he held responsible for the deaths of his father and brother. According to an early Romanian chronicle, in the spring of 1457, Vlad invited the nobles and their families to an Easter feast. After his guests had finished their meal, Vlad's soldiers surrounded them, rounded up the able-bodied and marched them fifty miles up the Arges River to Poenari, where they were forced to build his mountain fortress. His prisoners labored under very difficult conditions for many months. Those who survived the gruelling ordeal were impaled.

Impalement was an especially sadistic means of execution, as victims would suffer excruciating pain for hours, even days, until death came. It appears that Vlad was determined at times to administer it in ways that would ensure the longest possible period of suffering for the victim. While impalement was his punishment of choice, Vlad apparently employed other equally tortuous ways of dispensing with opponents. One of the German pamphlets (Nuremberg 1488) notes the following episodes:



"He had some of his people buried naked up to the navel and had them shot at. He also had some roasted and flayed.

"He captured the young Dan [of the rival Danesti clan] and had a grave dug for him and had a funeral service held according to Christian custom and beheaded him beside the grave.

"He had a large pot made and boards with holes fastened over it and had people's heads shoved through there and imprisoned them in this. And he had the pot filled with water and a big fire made under the pot and thus let the people cry out pitiably until they were boiled quite to death.

"He devised dreadful, frightful, unspeakable torments, such as impaling together mothers and children nursing at their breasts so that the children kicked convulsively at their mothers' breasts until dead. In like manner he cut open mothers' breasts and stuffed their children's heads through and thus impaled both.

"He had all kinds of people impaled sideways: Christians, Jews, heathens, so that they moved and twitched and whimpered in confusion a long time like frogs.

"About three hundred gypsies came into his country. Then he selected the best three of them and had them roasted; these the others had to eat."

While it is impossible to verify all of these, there is no doubt that Vlad meted out his punishments with unusual cruelty. Several of the tales of his atrocities occur in three or more separate and independent accounts, indicating a large measure of veracity. One is this story of how he dispensed with the sick and the poor:

"Dracula was very concerned that all his subjects work and contribute to the common welfare. He once noticed that the poor, vagrants, beggars and cripples had become very numerous in his land. Consequently, he issued an invitation to all the poor and sick in Wallachia to come to Târgoviste for a great feast, claiming that no one should go hungry in his land. As the poor and crippled arrived in the city they were ushered into a great hall where a fabulous feast was prepared for them. The princes guests ate and drank late into the night, when Dracula himself made an appearance. 'What else do you desire? Do you want to be without cares, lacking nothing in this world,' asked the prince. When they responded positively Dracula ordered the hall boarded up and set on fire. None escaped the flames. Dracula explained his action to the boyars by claiming that he did this, 'in order that they represent no further burden to others so that no one will be poor in my realm."



Nobody was immune from his cruelty. Another widely disseminated tale involves the arrival in his court of two foreign ambassadors:

"Some Italian ambassadors were sent to him. When they came to him they bowed and removed their hats and they kept on the berets beneath them. Then he asked them why they did not take their caps off, too. They said it was their custom, and they did not even remove them for the Emperor. Dracula said, 'I wish to reinforce this for you.' He immediately had their caps nailed firmly on their heads so that their caps would not fall off and their custom would remain. Thus he reinforced it."

In other versions, the ambassadors are Turkish and the caps are turbans. But the essence of the story remains the same.

Impalement also proved to be a powerful deterrent to would-be criminals. Consider the following story, found in both Russian and Romanian narratives:

"Dracula so hated evil in his land that if someone stole, lied or committed some injustice, he was not likely to stay alive. Whether he was a nobleman, or a priest or a monk or a common man, and even if he had great wealth, he could not escape death if he were dishonest. And he was so feared that the peasants say that in a certain place, near the source of the river, there was a fountain; at this fountain at the source of this river, there came many travelers from many lands and all these people came to drink at the fountain because the water was cool and sweet. Dracula had purposely put this fountain in a deserted place, and set a cup wonderfully wrought in gold and whoever wished to drink it from this gold cup and had to put it back in its place. And so long as this cup was there no one dared steal it."

Perhaps his most horrifying atrocities were committed against the Germans (Saxons) of Transylvania, beginning with raids on a number of Transylvanian towns where residents were suspected of supporting a rival:

"In the year 1460, on the morning of St Bartholomew's Day, Dracula came through the forest with his servants and had all the Wallachians of both sexes tracked down, as people say outside the village of Humilasch [Amlas], and he was able to bring so many together that he let them get piled up in a bunch and he cut them up like cabbage with swords, sabers and knives; as for their chaplain and the others whom he did not kill there, he led them back home and had them impaled. And he had the village completely burned up with their goods and it is said that there were more than 30,000 men."



But the incident that was to cause the greatest damage to his reputation took place in Brasov. When the local merchants refused to pay taxes in spite of repeated warnings, in 1459 Dracula led an assault on Brasov, burned an entire suburb, and impaled numerous captives on Timpa Hill. The scene has been immortalized in an especially gruesome woodcut which appeared as the frontispiece in a pamphlet printed in Nuremberg in 1499. It depicts Vlad having a meal while impaled victims are dying around him. As he eats, his henchmen are hacking off limbs of other victims right next to his table. The narrative begins as follows: "Here begins a very cruel frightening story about a wild bloodthirsty man Prince Dracula. How he impaled people and roasted them and boiled their heads in a kettle and skinned people and hacked them to pieces like cabbage. He also roasted the children of mothers and they had to eat the children themselves. And many other horrible things are written in this tract and in the land he ruled." A similar woodcut appeared the following year (Strasbourg) with the caption, "Here occurred a frightening and shocking history about the wild berserker Prince Dracula." Whether the accounts were accurate or not, Vlad's evil reputation was assured.

In spite of such reported atrocities, Vlad Tepes is a significant figure in Romanian history. For one thing, he was one of a number of voivodes who contributed to the building of a strong, independent Wallachian state. He stood up against the powerful nobles and assured law and order in what were lawless times. But most of all he is remembered for standing up against the Ottoman Empire, at a time when other principalities around him were falling under Turkish control. He is perceived as something of a David facing a Goliath. As for the brutality of his punishments, his defenders point out that his actions were no more cruel than those of several other late-medieval or early-Renaissance European rulers such as Louis XI of France, Ferdinand of Naples, Cesare Borgia of Italy, and Ivan the Terrible of Russia.



Today, Vlad Tepes is still remembered. In the village of Aref, near the fortress at Poenari, the locals depict him as a hero and friend to the people:

"My grandfather used to tell me that during the reign of Vlad the Impaler, Romanians paid tribute to the Turks in exchange for peace. This tax included one to two hundred young people a year to serve in the mercenary corps of the Turkish army. Some of these lads came from the village of Aref. Vlad the Impaler decided to put a stop to it. The mighty Sultan, on hearing that Vlad refused to pay tribute, sent an army to capture him alive and bring him to Turkey. When the Turkish army crossed the Danube, Vlad retreated through this village to his fortress. When he arrived at Castle Poenari, he sent word to the village asking the elders for advice. Vlad told the elders, 'The Turks have surrounded this fortress and I want you to take me across the border into Transylvania, by morning.' One of the elders who was an iron smith said, 'I have a plan. Let us reverse the shoes of the horses so that when we leave the fortress and the Turks come, they will think we have entered when we have actually gone away' So they reversed the shoes and escaped through a secret passage, and crossed the Carpathian Mountains into Transylvania. When they reached the border, Vlad asked how he could compensate them for their loyalty. The elders of Aref replied, 'Your Highness, give us not gold or silver because these can be spent. Give us land because the land is fertile and will keep us alive for all time.' So he asked for a rabbit skin and wrote on it, 'I give you, the elders of Aref, fourteen mountains and nine sheepfolds which you will have forever.' And we still have a couple of the mountains from that time. And as children, listening to our grandfather, we rejoiced at how Vlad fooled the Turks."

The villagers keep these stories alive to this day.

Less than two months into his final reign (probably near the end of December, 1476) Vlad was killed in battle in a forest just north of Bucharest. The circumstances are unclear. A Russian source claims that he was mistaken by one of his own men for a Turk and consequently killed. More likely is that he was attacked by a rival claimant, Basarab Laiota (who succeeded him as voivode), and killed by a hired assassin. One story goes that he was beheaded, and his head was taken back to the Sultan in Constantinople and displayed as a trophy. Tradition has it that his body was taken by monks to the Snagov Monastery and buried there close to the altar, in recognition of the fact that he had supplied funds for the rebuilding of the monastery years earlier. However, excavations on the site during the early 1930s failed to uncover a burial site. Where are his remains? Some suggest that he was buried elsewhere on the monastery site where indeed remains were found but have since disappeared. Others contend he is buried near the altar, but at a greater depth than was excavated. Yet others suggest he may have been interred in a different monastery altogether. We may never know.







As for Vlad's immediate family, we know practically nothing certain about his first wife (assuming they were even married), except that she was a Transylvanian noblewoman. Her name is unknown. She is, however, preserved in this surviving oral narrative in Aref:

"It is said that Vlad the Impaler had a kind and humble wife with a heart of gold. Whenever Vlad took his sword and led his army into battle, his wife's heart grew sad. One night a strange thing happened. An arrow entered through one of the windows of the fortress and put out a candle in their bedroom. Striking a light, she discovered a letter in the point of the arrow which said that the fortress was surrounded by the Turks. Approaching the window she saw many flickering fires in the valley. Thinking that all was lost, and without waiting for her husband's decision, she climbed up on the wall of the fortress and threw herself into the Arges River."

This cannot be verified through historical documents.

We do know that Vlad later married Ilona Szilagy, who was related to Matthias Corvinus, the king of Hungary who had placed Vlad under arrest following his escape from Wallachia in 1462. It appears that Corvinus made an arrangement with Vlad to restore him to his throne. To strengthen the bond, Vlad was offered a royal bride. After his death, Vlad's wife was left with his three sons. Mihnea, the eldest, was from his union with the Transylvanian noblewoman. He had two sons by his Hungarian wife -- Vlad, and a second whose name is unknown. Only Mihnea succeeded in gaining the Wallachian throne. During his brief rule from 1508-1509, he showed signs that he could be as atrocious as his infamous father; nicknamed "Mihnea the Bad," he is reputed to have cut off the noses and lips of his political enemies. He was assassinated in 1510 on the steps of a church in Sibiu.



According to genealogical research conducted by historians Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally (published in their 1989 book Dracula: Prince of Many Faces), the Romanian male line died out in 1632. As for the Hungarian lineage, the last male descendant died late in the sixteenth century, though a female line can be traced for an additional hundred years. As for indirect descendants, it has been verified that Professor Constantin Balaceanu-Stolnici of Bucharest is descended from Vlad Dracula's half-brother, Vlad the Monk. According to researchers at the Institute of Genealogy of the Romanian Academy, other claims are unsubstantiated.

Whatever Vlad might have been, nowhere is it stated that he was (or was believed to have been) a vampire. While some of early negative reports aligned Vlad with the devil (playing on the alternative meaning of "dracul"), this was not a vampiric association. The word "vampire" was never used in connection with Vlad until long after Bram Stoker's novel appeared and it became popular to assume (incorrectly) that Vlad was Stoker's inspiration for his vampire Count.

You cannot mention Prince Vladislavs III Dracvla without mentioning his contemporary, Countess Bathory:

Elizabeth Bathory was born in Hungary in 1560, approximately a hundred years after Vlad the Impaler died. One of her ancestors Prince Steven Bathory, was even a commanding officer who helped Vlad Dracula In 1546, when he claim the throne in Wallachia back again.
At the time Elizabeth was born, her parents George and Anna Bathory belonged to one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the country. Her cousin was the prime minister in Hungary, another relative was cardinal, and her uncle Stephan later became King of Poland. But the Bathory-family, beside the very rich and famous, also contained some very strange relatives. One uncle was known to be a devil-worshipper, and other members of the family were mental insane and perverted.

In the spring 1575, at the age of 15, Elizabeth was married to Count Ferencz Nadasdy, who was 25. The Count added her surname to his, so Elizabeth could keep her family name Bathory. After the marriage they moved to Castle Csejthe a mountaintop fortress overlooking the village of Csejthe, which lies in the north-western part of Hungary. Count Ferencz spent a great deal of time away from home, often fighting against the Turks. He was a very brave and daring soldier on the battlefield, and later in life he earned a reputation as the "Black Hero of Hungary".

While her husband was pursuing his passion for war, throughout all the 25 years they were married, Elizabeth was often left to herself, and her life became more and more boring. To kill some time, beside admiring her own beauty in the mirror for hours, she took on young men as lovers, and onetime she even ran of with one, but she soon returned home and the Count forgave her. Another thing Elizabeth did to amuse herself while home alone, was to pay visits to her aunt Countess Klara Bathory, an open bisexual. She presumably enjoyed herself with her aunt Klara, since she visited her aunt's estate frequently.

It was also then she began to develop an interest in the occult. An old maid named Dorothea Szentes, also called Dorka, who was a real witch, instructed her in the ways of witchcraft and Black Magic. Later Dorka became Bathory's helping hand, when she was encouraging Elizabeth's sadistic tendencies, like the inflicting of pain upon people. Together with Dorka, Elizabeth began the task of disciplining the female servants, and torture them in an underground chamber. In the Countess's service, as helpers in the macabre punishments of the servants, was her old nurse Iloona Joo, her manservant Johannes Ujvary and a maid named Anna Darvula, who alleged also was Elizabeth's lover.

With the aid of this crew, Elizabeth made Castle Csejthe to a place of pure evil. She would always find excuses to inflict punishment and torture, upon her young servant girls. She preferred to having the victim stripped naked and then whip the girl on the front of her nude body rather than the back not only for the increased damage this would do, but so that she then could watch their faces contort in horror at their most grim and burning fate. Another favorite was when she would stick pins, in various sensitive places on the victims body, such as under fingernails.

In 1600 Ferencz died and Elizabeth's period of real terror began. First of, she sent her hated mother-in-law away. Secondly, she would have peace to enjoy a new kind of bath, that nobody was to known of. Short before her husband died something happened, that changed Elizabeth's life. She was now close to 40 and time, had taken it's toll on her appearance. Elizabeth tried to conceal the wrinkles through cosmetics. But this could not cover the fact, that she was getting old and close to losing her beauty. Then one day it happened

Then one day it happened. A young chambermaid accidentally pulled Elizabeth Bathory's hair while combing it. The infuriated Countess slapped the girl's head so hard, that blood spurted from her nose, which splashed upon her own hand. Where the blood had touched her skin, Elizabeth immediately though it took on the freshness of her young chambermaid's skin. She then got hold of Johannes Ujvary and Dorka to undress the young girl, upon holding her arms over a big vat, then they cut her arteries. After the young girl was dead Elizabeth then stepped into the vat, and took a bath in her chambermaid's blood. She was now sure, she had found the secret of eternal youth through this vampirism. She had discovered that blood is life.

Over the next ten years, Elizabeth Bathory's evil trusted helpers provided her with beautiful young girls, from some neighboring villages, upon the cover of hiring them as servants to Castle Csejthe. Back in the castle, the young girls would be mutilated and killed, so the Countess could take her blood baths. Sometimes, she would even drink their blood, to gain some sort of inner beauty. But soon Elizabeth began to realize that the blood of simple peasant girls, was having little effect on the quality of her skin. Better blood was now required. Elizabeth then started picking girls from some of the surrounding lower nobility. These noble girls were consumed in exactly the same beastly fashion as the peasant girls who preceded them.

However, with the disappearance of girls of noble birth, Elizabeth was now becoming very careless in her actions. People who lived in the neighboring villages, had already begun to talk. And soon the rumor about the horror in Castle Csejthe reached the Hungarian Emperor. The Emperor then ordered Elizabeth's own cousin, the Count Cuyorgy Thurzo, who was governor of the province to raid the castle.

On December 30, 1610. A band of soldiers led by Elizabeth's own cousin, raided Castle Csejthe at night. They were horrified by the terrible sights in the castle. A dead girl was lying in the main hall, drained of blood, another girl, who had her body pierced, was still alive. In the dungeon they later discovered, were several girls waiting in prison cells, some of whose bodies had been tortured. Below the castle, they found the bodies of some 50 dead girls.

During the trial 1611, a register with the names of around 650 victims, was found in the Countess's living quarters. But the trial was largely just for show and to make the occasion "official". A complete transcript of the trial was made at the time, and it still remains today in Hungary. All of Elizabeth's four accomplices were sentenced to death. Only Elizabeth was not brought before a court and tried. She remained confined in her castle while her four sadistic accomplices were tried for their crimes.

But she got her punishment, when the Hungarian Emperor demanded her condemn to lifelong imprisonment in her own castle. Stonemasons were brought to her Castle Csejthe, to wall up the windows and the door to the bedchamber with the Countess still inside. Here she would spend the remaining days of her life, with only a small opening for food to be passed to her.

In 1614, four years after she was walled in, one of the Countess's jailers found her food untouched. After peeking through the small opening in Elizabeth's walled-up cell, he saw her lying face down on the floor. Elizabeth Bathory the "Blood Countess" was dead at the age of fifty-four.

Countess Elizabeth Báthory (Báthory Erzsébet in Hungarian, Alžbeta Bátoriová in Slovak, Alžběta Báthoryová in Czech, Elżbieta Batory in Polish, August 7, 1560 – August 21, 1614), was a famous Hungarian countess from the renowned Báthory family.

She spent most of her adult life at Čachtice Castle in nowadays Slovakia. The Báthory family is famous for defending Hungary against the Ottoman Turks. She is possibly the most prolific serial killer in history and is remembered as the "Blood Countess" and as Bloody Lady of Čachtice, after the castle near Trenčín, at that time in Royal Hungary, where she spent most of her life.

After her husband's death, she and four collaborators were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls and young women, with one witness attributing to them over 600 victims, though she was only convicted on 80 counts.[1] In 1610, she was imprisoned in Čachtice Castle, where she remained bricked in her room until her death four years later. She was never formally tried in court.

The case has led to legendary, highly dubious accounts of the Countess bathing in the blood of virgins in order to retain her youth. These stories have led to comparisons with Vlad III the Impaler of Wallachia, on whom the fictional Count Dracula is partly based, and to modern nicknames of the Blood Countess and Countess Dracula.

Early years
Elizabeth Báthory was born on a family estate in Nyírbátor, Hungary, and spent her childhood at Ecsed Castle. Her father was George Báthory, a brother of Andrew Bonaventura Báthory, who had been Voivod of Transylvania of the Ecsed branch of the family, while her mother was Anna Báthory (1539-1570), daughter of Stephen Báthory, another Voivod of Transylvania, of the Somlyó branch. Through her mother, she was the niece of Stefan Báthory, King of Poland.


[edit] Married life
At the age of 11, Báthory was engaged to Ferenc Nádasdy and moved to Nádasdy Castle in Sárvár, Hungary. In 1575, she married Nádasdy in Varannó. At age 15 she had her first child.

Nádasdy’s wedding gift to Báthory was his home, Čachtice Castle, situated in the Little Carpathians near Trenčín, together with the Čachtice country house and 17 adjacent villages. The castle itself was surrounded by a village and agricultural lands, bordered by outcrops of the Little Carpathians. In 1602, Nádasdy finally bought the castle from Rudolf II, so that it became a private property of the family.

In 1578, Nádasdy became the chief commander of Hungarian troops, leading them to war against the Ottomans. With her husband away at war, Elizabeth Báthory managed business affairs and the estates. That role usually included providing for the Hungarian and Slovak peasants, even medical care.

During the height of the Long War (1593-1606), she was charged with the defense of her husband's estates, which lay on the route to Vienna.[2] The threat was significant, for the village of Čachtice had previously been plundered by the Ottomans while Sárvár, located near the border that divided Royal Hungary and Ottoman occupied Hungary, was in even greater danger.

She was an educated woman who could read and write in four languages.[2] We know of several instances where she intervened on behalf of destitute women, including a woman whose husband was captured by the Turks and a woman whose daughter was raped and impregnated. She was interested in science and astronomy.[citation needed]

Her husband died in 1604 at the age of 47. His death is commonly reported as resulting from an injury sustained in battle.

Early investigation
Between 1602 and 1604, Lutheran parish priest István Magyari complained about atrocities both publicly and with the court in Vienna, after rumors had spread.[3]

The Hungarian authorities took some time to respond to Magyari's complaints. Finally, in 1610, King Matthias assigned György Thurzó, the Palatine of Hungary, to investigate. Thurzó ordered two notaries to collect evidence in March 1610.[4] Even before obtaining the results,[5] Thurzó debated further proceedings with Elizabeth's son Paul and two of her sons-in-law. A trial and execution would have caused a public scandal and disgraced a noble and influential family (which at the time ruled Transylvania), and Elizabeth's considerable property would have been seized by the crown. Thurzó agreed that Elizabeth Báthory should be kept under strict house arrest, but that further punishment should be avoided.[6] It was also determined that Matthias did not have to repay a large debt for which he lacked sufficient funds.[7]


[edit] Arrest and trial
Thurzó went to Čachtice Castle on December 30, 1610 and arrested Báthory and four of her servants, who were accused of being her accomplices. Thurzó's men reportedly found one girl dead and one dying. Another woman was found wounded, others locked up.[8]

While the countess was put under house arrest (and remained so from that point on), her associates were brought to court. A trial was held on January 7, 1611 at Bytča. The trial was presided over by Royal Supreme Court judge Theodosious Syrmiensis de Szulo and 20 associate judges. Bathory herself did not appear at the trial. Intimidation and torture were part of the judicial process. She was also accused of witchcraft and pagan practices.[9]

The defendants at that trial were:

Dorottya Szentes, also referred to as Dorko.
Ilona Jó
Katarína Benická
János Újváry, "Ibis" or Ficko.
Dorko, Ilona and Ficko were found guilty and executed on the spot. Dorko and Ilona had their fingernails ripped out before they were thrown into a fire, while Ficko, who was deemed less guilty, was beheaded before being consigned to the flames. A public scaffold was erected near the castle to show the public that justice had been done. Katarína Benická was sentenced to life imprisonment, as she only acted under the domination and bullying by the other women, as implied by recorded testimony.[citation needed]


[edit] Last years and death
During the trial of her primary servants, Elizabeth had been placed under house arrest in a single room. She remained there for four years, until her death.

King Matthias had urged Thurzó to bring her to court and two notaries were sent to collect further evidence[10], but in the end no court proceedings against her were ever commenced.

On August 21, 1614, Elizabeth Báthory was found dead in her castle. Since there were several plates of food untouched, her actual date of death is unknown. She was buried in the church of Čachtice.[11]

In 1610 and 1611 the notaries collected testimonies from more than 300 witness accounts. Trial records include testimonies of the four defendants, as well as 13 more witnesses. Priests, noblemen and commoners were questioned. Witnesses included the castellan and other personnel of Sárvár castle.

According to these testimonies, her initial victims were local peasant girls, many of whom were lured to Čachtice by offers of well-paid work as maidservants in the castle. Later she is said to have begun to kill daughters of lower gentry, who were sent to her gynaeceum by their parents to learn courtly etiquette. Abductions were said to have occurred as well.

The descriptions of torture that emerged during the trials were often based on hearsay. The atrocities described most consistently included:

severe beatings over extended periods of time, often leading to death.
burning or mutilation of hands, sometimes also of faces and genitalia.
biting the flesh off the faces, arms and other bodily parts.
freezing to death.
bad surgery on victims, often leading to death.
starving of victims.
The use of needles was also mentioned by the collaborators in court.

Some witnesses named relatives who died while at the gynaeceum. Others reported having seen traces of torture on dead bodies, some of which were buried in graveyards, and others in unmarked locations.

According to the defendants' confessions, Elizabeth Báthory tortured and killed her victims not only at Čachtice but also on her properties in Sárvár, Sopronkeresztúr, Bratislava and Vienna, and even between these locations.

In addition to the defendants, several people were named for supplying Elizabeth Báthory with young women. The girls had been procured either by deception or by force.

A little-known figure named Anna Darvulia was also rumoured to have influenced much of Báthory's early sadistic career but apparently died long before the trial.

The number of young women tortured and killed by Elizabeth Báthory is unknown, though it is often cited as being in the hundreds, between the years 1585 and 1610. The estimates differ greatly. During the trial and before their execution, Szentes and Ficko reported 36 and 37 respectively, during their periods of service. The other defendants estimated a number of 50 or higher. Many Sárvár castle personnel estimated the number of bodies removed from the castle at between 100 to 200. One witness who spoke at the trial mentioned a book in which a total of over 650 victims was supposed to have been listed by Báthory herself. This book was never mentioned anywhere else, nor was it ever discovered; however, this number became part of the legend surrounding Báthory.

László Nagy has argued that Elizabeth Báthory was a victim of a conspiracy,[12] a view opposed by others.[13] Nagy argued that the proceedings were largely politically motivated. However the conspiracy theory is consistent with Hungarian history at that time.[14]

The case of Elizabeth Báthory inspired numerous stories during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The most common motif of these works was that of the countess bathing in her victims' blood in order to retain beauty or youth.

This legend appeared in print for the first time in 1729, in the Jesuit scholar László Turóczi’s Tragica Historia,[15] the first written account of the Báthory case.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, this certainty was questioned, and sadistic pleasure was considered a far more plausible motive for Elizabeth Báthory's crimes.[16] In 1817, the witness accounts (which had surfaced in 1765) were published for the first time,[17] demonstrating that the bloodbaths, for the purpose of preserving her youth, were legend rather than fact.

The legend nonetheless persisted in the popular imagination. Some versions of the story were told with the purpose of denouncing female vanity, while other versions aimed to entertain or thrill their audience. During the twentieth and twenty first centuries, Elizabeth Báthory has continued to appear as a character in music, film, plays, books, games and toys and to serve as an inspiration for similar characters.