Vampires. We see them on television, in books, featured in artwork, and during Halloween, we love to dress up as one. Where does it all come from? What defines the vampire we see today versus the one our ancestors whispered about during those dark nights by the fire? There may not be any clear answer to this, no straight path to point to, but you will find many examples all over the world, including Hindu, Romanian, Greek, Japanese, and even Native American Lore. It dives deeper than Bram Stoker’s Dracula and older than Vlad the Impaler. Let’s take it back, to those first inklings and work our way to the familiar veins, shall we? Much of this research is part of a ten plus yearlong development for my Dark Fantasy Paranormal Romance, The Cedric Series, so let’s take a swim together. This is a multi-part series, be sure to check back for the next installments often.
What Defines A Vampire
Before we go down the blackhole of historical links and accounts, let’s take a moment to discuss what makes a thing a vampire? In today’s world, it falls back to drinking blood and unable to be in the sunlight, but as we crawl further back, this becomes less apparent. Instead, many of the early versions of “vampires” or similar creatures begin to straddle both as the walking dead or a witch featuring abilities of all kinds. Shapeshifting, flying, melting into shadows, possession and other elements have been included long before the more practical blood drinkers. Many of these early editions served as people eaters and life suckers rather than the common blood eating sort we know and love. In honor of the early formats:
We will consider anything which feeds on humans by blood or soul as a vampire.
Demons and creatures who eat people is a whole different ball game, which includes the common reference to Lilith or Lilitu of Jewish and Assyrian Mythology as well as the Babylonian demi-goddess Lamashtu or Lamassu. That’s right, I just said they don’t count as vampires, so hold on to your hats folks, you’re in for a long ride. Granted, some of the historical accounts are cannibalistic entities, but they play a huge part in vampire evolution in the path in which modern fiction has transcended.
The Meaning Behind the Word Vampire
Though I may be using vampire as a generic umbrella term, you should be aware this is a rather new word or label for our blood and soul sucking favorites. This version of the word, vampire, was first widely noted in a 1734 French tome about burial practices which soon after took hold. Belief of vampires and the art of digging them up to stake or burn their hearts became a wildfire belief spanning for a long period of time throughout the 1700 to 1800’s. This may be in part to the diseases and conditions which brought people to a deathlike sleep, and with no medical science to safely know the difference, being buried alive was common (Check out more on this topic via the podcast Lore, episode 72 ‘A Grave Mistake’).
Parts of the word are speculated to come from various places including upyr a Slavic word for witch to even Russian words such as upir (witch) or netopyr meaning bat. It was first used in its former version, upir, in a 11th century tome and by the 1400’s it had become vampir during the Renaissance and Vlad the Impaler’s reputation set it in motion. Occasionally, the word would be misspelled and thus, gave birth to a 1700-1800’s variant of vampyre. Looking to the Ancient Greek word vapi one must wonder if it joined, distorted, and mingled in the blending of cultures to the North and West for the final edition of vampir or vampire. Broken apart, and applied to Greek and Latin, vapi means ‘will drink’ or ‘to drink’ with upir or pir meaning witch; The drinking witch or perhaps, the Witch who will drink? The oldest written version of any of these is from 1036 CE in a story about “Upir Lichyj” or “wicked vampire” which refers to a Slavic Priest.
Before this, we had other terms and labels which have been used well before the creation of the current one. The Romanian term strigoi was common among traveling merchants which meant hag or evil spirit. It derives a root of the Romanian verb striga, to scream. This later gave birth to a variant called strix, meaning screech owl, and in Greek Mythology was a bird of ill omen which fed on human flesh and blood. Later, this also was used to describe a type of witch. In some places, the witch, the werewolf, and the vampire were one and the same. Many tales of the varga mor tell of a soul-sucking, or man-eating, witch who could turn into a wolf.
The word moroi closely follows strigoi in the old Romanian folklores. It is derived from the Romanian word mora meaning nightmare. Another connection is the Russian term kikimora, but much of their lore wasn’t written down. In general, they were connected to being offspring of a werewolf or vampire, and like the strigoi, variants of dead and alive versions are scattered between the verbally passed on tales versus those written down during the Middle Ages. I would like to note, tales of werewolves date well-before vampire lore and have far more names and accounts noted. Hence, in The Cedric Series why book two, Romansanta: Father of Werewolves unfolds in the manner it does and implies werewolves created vampires.
Oldest Written Accounts of a Vampire
Not every culture and religion focused on recording or writing down their tales, mythology, beliefs and lifestyles. A great example of this would be the Celtic people who believed in having Druids to pass along their stories and religion via oral tradition, or verbal storytelling. Think of a Druid as some kind of bard, since they would sing songs and tell legends of old. Regardless, my aim is to start this journey on what had factual dates, or round about starting points. Let’s start on familiar ground, then we will make our way to a time before.
The Bible & New Testament
“I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.” - Revelations 17:6
The Bible is smattered with messages which can be taken literal or in a symbolic manner. In some instances, it seems clear the message is powerful men taking from the poor or condemning the ill. Other times, you wonder if there is some link to the belief of vampires. In short, the Old Testament makes it very clear we are not to drink the blood of others for fear of becoming something different, something cursed. Revelations 17:6 has one chilling moment, and one must wonder what sort of vampress had her fill, or will be doing so, in the Apocalypse to come. Granted, in a more symbolic manner, this is about taking in one’s faith and letting it fill them to their core. Regardless, the Bible dates back about 2,700 years and isn’t the oldest written account.
The Torah and Old Testament
“If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.” - Leviticus 17:10
The Torah, or as some say, the Old Testament, predates the modern Bible, setting it about 3,300 years old. Leviticus pushes for man to be mindful of one fact, blood is life. Thus, the lesson is instilled one who does drink the blood of others will be cast out. Or perhaps, no longer is considered a man. It wasn’t until the Talmudic in 200 CE when the Jewish vampire began its roots as seducers known as strigas, succubi, and their lead seductress, Lilith. Teamed with the teachings from the Zohar and Kabbalah practices in the 2nd Century CE, blending demon, witch, vampires, and magic users became a widely known “fact” to those in the known world. Still, Leviticus holds true to our blood drinking mortals turned vampire.
The Sibylline Oracles
“505 With supplications and unholy rites. Forsaking the Creator they were slaves To lewdness. Men possessing everything Bestow their gifts on things which cannot aid, As if they for my honors deemed these things 510 All useful, with the smell of sacrifice Filling the feast, as if for their own dead. For they flesh and bones full of marrow burn Offering on altars, and they pour out blood To demons, and they kindle lights to me 515 The giver of light, and as to a god That thirsts do mortals drunken pour out wine For nought to idols that can give no aid. I have no need of your burnt offerings, Nor your libations, nor polluted smoke, 520 Nor blood most hateful. For in memory Of kings and tyrants they will do these things Unto dead demons, as to heavenly beings, Performing service godless and destructive. And godless they their images call gods,” - Sybilline BOOK VIII
Let’s not forget the Sibyls, or Oracles, had their fair share in recording the idea these blood drinkers existed (See my article on the Oracles for more about their historical roots). The Sibylline books were first written as far back as the 6th Century BC, making them roughly 5,000 years old. Between a fire in 83 BC and the Roman General Flavius Stilicho (365-408 CE), a large portion of the Sibylline texts were lost to the world. Still, what has survived contains remnants of the Bible and Torah, and a lot more to say about the drinking of blood. Again, echoes of Leviticus can be found along with some chilling ideas of vampire worshipping and the judgment which comes from an immortal God. In BOOK II, verse 115 of the Sibylline text, it is written: “When he to judgment comes. Disable not Thy mind with wine nor drink excessively. Eat not blood, and abstain from things Offered to idols.” It seems as if blood drinking is the same as making a pact with something, or meant for non-humans entirely, and here, she warns to stay sober less you fall prey.
Twenty-Five Tales of Baital
“Madhusadan proceeded to make his incantations, despite terrible sights in the air, the cries of jackals, owls, crows, cats, asses, vultures, dogs, and lizards, and the wrath of innumerable invisible beings, such as messengers of Yama (Pluto), ghosts, devils, demons, imps, fiends, devas, succubi, and others. All the three lovers drawing blood from their own bodies, offered it to the goddess Chandi, repeating the following incantation, “Hail! supreme delusion! Hail! goddess of the universe! Hail! thou who fulfillest the desires of all. May I presume to offer thee the blood of my body; and wilt thou deign to accept it, and be propitious towards me!” - ‘Vikram and the Vampire’ by Sir Richard F. Burton
At the end of this list is a more obscure piece with an origin date unknown. Baital Pachisi, or “Twenty-five tales of Baital” was written in an ancient Hindu language known as Sanskrit (the language of the gods) which dates as far back at 600 BC. This is a vampire story nearly some 1,000 years older than the Sibyls’ own writings with a rewritten account in 1037 CE when the original scrolls were decaying. Later, an English adaptation, though loosely based on the original version, called “Vikram and the Vampire” would be written by Sir Richard F. Burton. Baital was the name of a celestial spirit known as a Pishacha, or for our convenience, vampire. According to legends, the Pishacha fed on human energy or souls, hung upside down in trees, and much more.
Considering the snippets strewn across these ancient times, vampires were feared as soul suckers who humans enticed with their blood. We were also guilty of wanting their power, their immortality, and even their blessing and would take it upon ourselves to drink blood in order to become something more.
Historical Accounts of Vampires
Fact often can be stranger, or more horrific, than fiction. What one creates in their imagination can be kept secret, but when actual blood is spilled, we are forever stained. A lot of this attributes to the people and families it impacted. It’s hard to make up a story when evidence of death and destruction is left in the wake of the monster. These are the blood sucking and soul shattering monsters who had faces, names, and more harrowing, were made of flesh and bone like yourself.
Upir Lichy – 1047 CE
Written in a Slavic document using proto-Russian language, “upir lichy” is referring to a priest of all people, meaning wicked vampire. This is during the time of Vladimir Jaroslav, Prince of Novgorod in Northwest Russia and a stickler for recording his encounters and things he faced. These were times of drastic change with Mongols, Christianity movements, the condemning of Paganistic and old Slavic religions, and even later the Romans and Turks. Turmoil and rage were pouring into Prince Jaroslav’s country from all corners of the world. Converting his land and people to Christianity, he declared war on Paganism.
What followed I cannot say, having no luck finding a translated direct copy of this Book of Prophets or Prophecies matching the dates to confirm. The assumption here, is the “wicked vampire priest” was a Pagan one, or possible one who straddled the two religions. He would be declared a heretic for holding onto his beliefs, practices, and perhaps seen “barbaric” in the eyes of the Roman religion being pressed upon his peers. Either way, this soul stealing vampire priest was labeled as such in the pages of history books.
In general, the upir was a sort of witch or sorcerer, which upon their death came back to life as a vampire. They were often said to be punished, unable to rest in peace for their heresy against the Orthodox Church. Selling their souls to the devil, they gained powers and would prey upon the living stealing souls and converting others. You can see, a lot of tie-in’s in opposing and converting religious beliefs. Fear was a factor for reorganizing and condemning those faithful to their former religion or deities.
Sir Gilles de Rais – The Vampire of Brittany – 1404-1440 CE
You may not recognize this name, but you should know who he was famous for fighting and being a companion with: Joan of Arc. In 1440, a large number of confessions hit a marshal in the accounts of kidnapped or missing children and the belief they were sacrificed to the devil. Unable to ignore this, Gilles was brought to trial. No one knows how many (mostly boys) fell victim to Gilles and his accomplices, but 140 victims were listed. From the poor to the sons of high ranking families were all no longer accounted for among the living. A war hero of prestige birth and rank had become a monster after losing Joan and the war ending.
"How many children do you estimate that the Sire de Retz and his servants have killed?"
"The reckoning is long. I, for my part, confess to having killed twelve with my own hand, by my master's orders, and I have brought him about sixty. I knew that things of the kind went on before I was admitted to the secret”
- The Book of Were-wolves by Sabine Baring-Gould
Some say it was his grief and desire to prove there was no God in which drove him to such drastic and terrible deeds. His confessions sound as if his devotion to God would forgive him for all and any sins he would desire to commit. Anything found in the Bible he would commit, drinking of blood as stated in Leviticus to sacrificing the youthful in the name of Satan and even raping and eating his victims. There are a few who think he was innocent and this was a conspiracy to wipe away one of Joan’s allies, but he had confessed to his accusations. Within forty-eight hours he was said to flow from belligerent to calm to crying out a sermon before hung at the gallows.
Vlad III of Wallachia – Dracula – 1439 CE
Vlad the Impaler is a story we all know. Vlad II sold his son as part of a peace treaty to the Turks. Upon earning a reputation, Vlad was granted leave to go home and that’s when hell broke loose. Prior to this, his father joined the Order of the Dragon and was dubbed the title drac meaning dragon. In Romanian, this word had another association and meaning, devil. Thus, Vlad earned titles as son of the dragon/devil. Whether he drank the blood of his enemies or was simply bloodthirsty is hard to really say at this point. The bloodshed was the result of his position as the Prince of Wallachia. He immediately stopped paying homage to the Sultan, and any against this, were invited over for a dinner, where stabbings and impaling made up the final course.
It is believed during his years imprisoned in the dungeon of Tokat Castle and time spent in battle made him no stranger to killing any who stood in his way. The lack of hesitation earned him taking credit for impaling merchants and villagers all over Romania, especially those who made the mistake of ever doing business with his enemies in the past. Indeed, he had taken on the rule of his namesake as the devil. As for where he was laid to rest, its still a mystery historians chase after. Regardless, he has been inspiration for a lot of vampire fiction including Dracula (novel), Vampire Hunter D (anime and short novel series), The Historian (novel), and countless Dracula titled movies, for better or worse.
Countess Elizabeth Bathory – The Blood Countess – 1560-1614 CE
Not only was she said to drink the blood of countless young girls but would bathed in the stuff. Though her family swept this “hobby of hers” under the rug for a long time, her thirst and ferocious desires eventually became too great. She preferred to be surrounded by youth, most of her servant girls of nine to fourteen. Many of the villagers had lost their daughters to her stern and cruel practices. During the dead of winter, she had one girl punishing another by tossing water on her in the courtyard until she froze to death. She was a cruel, she was a monster.
It was one faithful moment which would set Countess Bathory’s obsession with blood into motion. A girl had been brushing her hair, and unfortunately, snagged or tugged too hard. The Countess slapped her, landing on the girl’s ear, and hit with such force, she had burst the poor thing’s eardrum. Blood spurt across the Countess, but when she wiped it away, she noticed something. The skin was soft, youthful where the blood had been. Thus, gave birth to the bloodshed which inspired modern writers of vampire fiction. In January of 1611, she and her cohorts, or dealers, were put on trial for 80 counts of murder. Her punishment for her crimes? She was bricked into her room, fed through a slit in the wall for three years before she died in August 1614. She was only stopped when she turned her appetite to the daughters of nobles.
Frederick Ransom – Woodstock Vampire – 1817
Sometimes the title of vampire doesn’t come from what bloodthirsty actions they took, but something out of one’s control. Tuberculosis was spreading fast, even in Vermont, and with symptoms such as coughing up blood, the pale and walking dead appearance, and how it sucked the souls from those around them due to how contagious this disease could be in the right environment, panic ensued. Frederick died at the age of twenty. Immediately after, his brother fell horribly ill. Fearing Frederick was sucking the life from his brother and would soon come back from the grave for the remaining family, Frederick’s father did the only thing he knew of: dig up his son’s body.
Telltale signs of vampirism would be: blood around the mouth, a bloated corpse, a heart with blood still in it, and nails and hair appearing longer. - Gareth Henderson from The Vermont Standard
Daniel Ransom, the younger brother, wrote in his memoir of the event, despite being three at the time. They exhumed his brother’s body, cut out his heart, and burnt it in a blacksmith’s fire. What no one realized is how fast this vampire accusation would spread decades later. Many of the accused were nothing more than victims of the pandemic of tuberculosis where medical science wasn’t widespread enough to help in curing the ill or preventing the spread.
Lena Mercy Brown – New England Vampire Panic – 1892
Though early on our historical vampire inspirations came from ancient locales, America had taken the belief to a new level. One well-documented case happened in Exeter, Rhode Island when the family of George and Mary Brown was riddled with consumptions, or tuberculosis. As one after another fell ill and died, neighbors and friends were convinced the Brown family were being targeted by a vampire. At this point in history, it was believed one of the family members were the creature and would have to be dug up from the grave.
Desperate, George gave permission to do just that. On March 17th, 1892 a large gathering came to watch as they exhumed all the bodies of his family while his last surviving member, his son Edwin, lay ill-stricken. Among these corpses was the Mother who died first, followed by the eldest daughter Mary Olive who died in 1883, and lastly, the youngest, Mercy who died in 1891. One by one, villagers, a doctor and a newspaper reporter lay witness to this drastic measure. It was Mercy’s body which shocked them all. Ah, but unlike the others, she had been kept in a freezer-like above-ground vault and thus her liver and heart still held blood. She had only been dead for two months and kept there since the ground in winter is too frozen to bury anyone.
Regardless, her heart was burnt, a tonic made of its ashes, mixed with water and given to Edwin in hopes of freeing him from the vampire’s spell. He died two months later. The events in 1892 were so well reported in America that Bram Stoker, a stage manager from a theatre group from London, had saved a copy of poor little Mercy’s exhumation when he went home. Upon his death, a copy of the article was found tucked inside one of his journals.
“High Albania, Chapter IV” by Mary Edith Durham - 1909
It was there with the Seltze tribe when Mary first discovered tales of the Shtriga or striga. She discovered very quickly that all the tribes she would encounter shared this same belief. The villagers told how the striga could be in a village for years undetected. These fiendish creatures were believed to be a sort of female vampire, blending in, feeding on the blood of children, enchanting grown folk and making people shrivel up and die. Mary says the Kilmeni tribe had a sure way of catching one:
It is to keep the bones of the last pig you ate at carnival, and with these to make a cross on the door of the church upon Easter Sunday, when it is full of people. Then if the Shtriga be within, she cannot come out, save on the shoulders of the man that made the cross. She is seen, terrified, vainly trying to cross the threshold, and can be caught. - Mary Edith Durham
It was important to hunt the striga down, for she alone could heal her own victims. Mary was even told how one man’s father had saved a child. A child was dead, white and cold, and his father dragged an old woman into the home. Drawing a pistol, he demanded for her to spit in the child’s mouth to bring it back to life. When she relented, the child came back to life and she was soon after punished. There are many more accounts she records in High Albania and I encourage to dive in and indulge of her fascination with the wave of superstitions many held strongly to in these villages she visited. Even at the turn on the 20th Century, the belief in this vampire was very real to a large, mixed community in Albania.
Vampires within Older Fiction
We know of Dracula but there were many other pieces written with vampires or vampire-like beings. Some insist they are female, others that they change, and many tie them to the grave. With illnesses like tuberculosis and nobility eating and drinking the blood of their subjects, it wasn’t hard to find inspiration. No one was safe from the powers of a vampire. The could haunt you like a ghost, steal your soul or life and drink blood as if they were the devil himself. Thus, stories were told to capture the imagination.
“Vampyrismus” by Baron Gerhard van-Swieten – 1768
The magic of the deceased (Magia posthuma) was then in vogue in those areas. They called the dead, who were so vicious, vampires, and believed that they suck human blood.
“Vampyrismus” by Baron Gerhard van-Swieten - Rough Translation
Written in German, this was essentially a mockumentary designed to bring to light the rampage of labeling the deceased and diseased as a supernatural vampire. The Baron would never know that some folks to his piece very literal, despite his introduction of declaring “these are fake notes written in German.” He had defined them, identified them, spoke of what they could do and proper disposal of these creatures of ill-will. It was meant to be humorous, but in a time when panic and pandemics were putting entire families in the grave, the mind does wonder.
“The Vampyre: a Tale” by John William Polidori – 1819
“There was no colour upon her cheek, not even upon her lip; yet there was a stillness about her face that seemed almost as attaching as the life that once dwelt there:—upon her neck and breast was blood, and upon her throat were the marks of teeth having opened the vein:—to this the men pointed, crying, simultaneously struck with horror, "A Vampyre! a Vampyre!" - “The Vampyre: a Tale” by John William Polidori
This is a great example of a trend of spelling vampire as vampyre which happened during this 1700-1800’s. The introduction to this piece is amazing and he does discuss the fact consumption, tuberculosis, had much of the grounding in the research and belief of vampires in the time he wrote this piece. If you were looking for some great resources, this is a good fictional piece with some of the inspirations revealed upfront. He quotes work, such as The Giaour, along with people within this period and gives a great glance of even how vampires tied into heresy. Remember, that’s why Upir Lichy was convicted as a vampire in 1047 CE. Regardless, his writing and storytelling brings this blood sucking thirst and desire to life. In a few ways, there’s this ting of romanticizing and I wonder if this piece had a large influence on inspiring Bram Stoker’s own piece, Dracula.
“Vikram and the Vampire” by Sir Richard F. Burton – 1870
Scarcely, however, had the words passed the royal lips, when the Vampire slipped through the fingers like a worm, and uttering a loud shout of laughter, rose in the air with its legs uppermost, and as before suspended itself by its toes to another bough.
- “Vikram and the Vampire” by Sir Richard F. Burton
This is a loosely based version of one of the oldest written vampire lores. Sir Richard takes us for quite the adventure and introduces us to a Baital, or vampire of the mischievous sorts. Here we have a blood and flesh eating being in the form of a giant demonic bat. It hangs from a tree and can dissolve into mist. Later in the story, he possesses and hypnotizes people and shenanigans ensue. The vampire in these tales is a master of trickery and illusion. Not only does he change his own appearance, but the vampire can change the appearance of others. It seems the vampire in this story let’s himself be captured by Vikram then grew curious and asked questions on who he was and where he came from. Amused by the stubborn capturer, he reminds him to keep his manners and speak nicely to him. Especially since Vikram will be strapping him to his back like a beggar’s wallet by the use of his waistcloth.
Russian Fairy Tales by Ralston – 1872
nor does their evil influence die with them, for after they have been laid in the earth, they assume their direst aspect, and as Vampires bent on blood, night after night, they go forth from their graves to destroy. - Russian Fairy Tales by Ralston
I love Russian fairy tales, and they have their share of vampire references. They also include numerous tales of wizards and witches, who are one and the same. That’s right, when a witch or wizard die and are buried, they come back as vampires! Granted they were said to have sold their souls to the devil, but it is an intriguing idea that someone who can cast spells and use magic get this added bonus.
There was also belief that the devil would collect their souls to free their bodies for use by demons. In this scenario, the vampire would still venture out to drink the blood of the living. It is also in these tales we are given the idea vampires had to return to their coffins by the rooster’s crow as in the story The Coffin-Lid. It is said you are more likely to run into a vampire at crossroads or the neighborhood of a cemetery and it’s advised to not be in these places when night falls.
Another fun story within this collection is The Two Corpses were two vampires argue on who will get to eat a soldier returning home. The interesting part is one corpse comes from the graveyard while the other is inside a church. By the end of the story, the rooster crows and they fall dead. The soldier lives, praising the Lord for saving him from the wizards.
“Carmilla” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu – 1872
"Your mother warns you to beware of the assassin." At the same time a light unexpectedly sprang up, and I saw Carmilla, standing, near the foot of my bed, in her white nightdress, bathed, from her chin to her feet, in one great stain of blood. - “Carmilla” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
If you feel like you know this one, yet not sure, it’s because it has influenced many authors in present day. One of my favorite references to Carmilla has to be from the anime movie and short novel series, Vampire Hunter D (Spirit of Carmilla scene: https://youtu.be/wmskV9CGTOM ). In fact, it is implied D’s father is “Dracula” and “Carmilla” is his step mother of sorts, while his birth mother was human. Anyhow, in this piece the main character finds himself caught in a strange situation. He begins to see a ghostly version of Carmilla at the foot of his bed and within the mansion. Upon investigation, the cast comes to agree she is a vampire and discover her coffin. The intriguing aspect here is the tie-in’s with Elizabeth Bathory, having Carmilla bathing in blood and her coffin filled with the stuff.
Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” – 1897
He was lying on his belly on the floor licking up, like a dog, the blood which had fallen from my wounded wrist. He was easily secured, and, to my surprise, went with the attendants quite placidly, simply repeating over and over again: “The blood is the life! The blood is the life!” - “Dracula” by Bram Stoker
Taking in the literature and historical accounts of vampires, we were given a novel which has continued to dazzle modern audiences. Bram Stoker had done some research, some reading, and even saved clippings about the “New England Vampire” epidemic during his time touring with his theatre group in 1892. This work of fiction took a little bit from everywhere for one grand finale, the firework show everyone would remember. You can find references from various places such as the Bible, Carmilla, and many of the works we discussed. He romanticized the story and thanks to his experience as a stage manager, he was able to capture the audience where others had failed.
Today we still know “Dracula” and many of us reply “Bram Stoker’s? Or Vlad the Impaler?” It gave us a journaled account of one man’s struggle to save the love of his life while confronting the supernatural in ways one had never thought possible. He gave us the idea they were nobility in their own right, but creatures deserving of pity at times. From this point, Bram Stoker was a driving force to inspire the present-day vampire and encouraged us to dive deeper, stranger, and leave the readers thirsting for more.
Conclusion
I like to think by the time the 1900’s took hold the belief in the real vampire faded away. It had held our descendants captive and even imprisoned our ancestors, but as medical science improved, the occurrence of the dead coming back from the grave vanished. We learned what tuberculosis was, that germs can take out entire households, and the monsters were merely human, and we could stop them. I have dove far, and down the unbeaten path. Though there were Greek Goddesses and Babylonian Demi-gods, I wanted to take us on a journey less walked, reviewed, and reflected on.
Vampires are part of our culture, they always have been, but they aren’t haunting and feeding off our families anymore. Instead, they are in the spotlight in movies, television series, comics, cartoons, anime and books. We love them, and in a way, fact has inspired fiction in ways no one in the 1800’s could ever imagine. Those few brave writers who indulged in writing about the vampires and taking the time to address, this is consumption, vampires are simply innocents accused of something supernatural, should know their message was heard. The terrifying thing here is to imagine the misunderstanding of pandemics had gave birth to this. No means to double check if someone was dead or alive, I imagine coming back from the grave happened quite a lot! Still, we haven’t forgotten our roots, or our imagination.
References
1. Etymology of the word “vampire” - https://www.etymonline.com/word/vampire
2. FORUM: Word Reference Discussion on Ubyr – Etymology - https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/vampire-ubyr-etymology.2615925/
3. ‘Genesis of the word “Vampire”’ by Vampriologist - http://vampirologist.blogspot.com/2009/01/genesis-of-word-vampire.html
4. Vampire folklore by region - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region
5. Etymology of the word “Strigoi” - https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/strigoi
6. Podcast – Lore episode 72 ‘A Grave Mistake’ - http://www.lorepodcast.com/episodes/72
7. Strigoi - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strigoi
8. Bible, New King James Version - https://biblia.com/books/nkjv/Re17.6
9. “How Old is the Bible” by Paul Ratner - http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/how-old-is-the-bible
10. The Sibylline Oracles - http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/sib.pdf
11. The Oracle: Real or Myth? - http://www.scififantasynetwork.com/oracle-real-myth/
12. “Vikram and the Vampire” by Sir Richard F. Burton - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2400/2400-h/2400-h.htm
13. Sanskrit - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit
14. Baital Pachisi - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baital_Pachisi
15. The Baital Pachisi English Translation by WB Barker - https://archive.org/details/TheBaitalPachisiEnglishTranslationWBBarker1855
16. Pishacha - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pishacha
17. The Book of Were-wolves by Sabine Baring-Gould - http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5324
18. Moroi - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroi
19. Vampyrismus by Freiherr van Gerard Swieten, 1700-1772 - http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30886/30886-h/30886-h.htm
20. Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore by Ralston, 1828-1889, Published 1872 - http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22373/22373-h/22373-h.htm#Page_295
21. The Vampyre; a Tale by John William Polidori, 1795-1821, Published in April 1819 issue of New Monthly Magazine and was there erroneously attributed to Lord Byron, Fiction – Vampire – http://www.gutenberg.org/files/6087/6087-h/6087-h.htm
22. Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, 1814-1873, Fiction - Vampire – http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10007/10007-h/10007-h.htm
23. Vampires in Russia - https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Russia%2C+Vampires+in
24. Bathory’s Torturous Escapades are Exposed - https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bathorys-torturous-escapades-are-exposed
25. High Albania by Mary Edith Durham - http://www.digital.library.upenn.edu/women/durham/albania/albania-IV.html
26. Vampyrism by Gerard van Swieten 1768 - http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30886/30886-0.txt
27. How Mosquitos Came To Be – A Tlingit Legend - http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/How_Mosquitoes_Came_To_Be-Tlingit.html
28. Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke - https://www.amazon.com/World-Lore-Monstrous-Creatures-ebook/dp/B0738LH55P
29. The Real Dracula: Vlad the Impaler - https://www.livescience.com/40843-real-dracula-vlad-the-impaler.html
30. Gilles de Rais – Medieval Vampire - https://www.vampires.com/gilles-de-rais-medieval-vampire/
31. ‘History of Vampires’ Recounts Woodstock Tale - https://www.thevermontstandard.com/2010/11/%E2%80%98history-of-vampires%E2%80%99-recounts-woodstock-tale/
32. “Dracula” by Bram Stoker - http://www.gutenberg.org/files/345/345-h/345-h.htm
33. The Golden Bough by James George Frazer - https://ia800303.us.archive.org/3/items/cu31924021569128/cu31924021569128.pdf
Vampires in Lore & Mythology
1. Ab (Khmer)
2. Asanbosam
3. Astrigons
4. Bhuta
5. BrahmarākŞhasa
6. Chandi
7. Dhampirs
8. Draugr
9. Empusa
10. Eretiks
11. Genspenster
12. Hooh-strah-dooh
13. Impundulu
14. Jiangshi
15. Koldun
16. Kudesnik
17. Lamia
18. Loogaroo
19. Mandurugo
20. Moroi
21. Mosquito Man
22. Mullo
23. Murony
24. Patasola
25. Penanggalan
26. Peuchen
27. Pishacha
28. Pontianak
29. Porcelnik
30. Ramanga
31. Riri Yaka
32. Shuten-doji
33. Skazkas
34. Snaxar
35. Soucouyant
36. Striga
37. Strigoi
38. Strix
39. Tunda
40. Upir
41. Varga mor
42. Vieszcy
43. Vritra
44. Yara-ma-yha-who
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