Some History of Vampires

Let’s be real- you probably know what a vampire is. Nevertheless, there are many different kinds and characteristics of vampires from all around history, and they all share one common factor: they feed on human blood. These creatures of the night will typically drain the blood of their victims, and in some cases, turn their victims into completely new vampires. They can’t go out in the sun, are weak to garlic, crosses, and sometimes even silver, and cannot view themselves within a mirror. They may also have the ability to shapeshift into a bat or a wolf, and their hypnotically sensual abilities make catching prey easy. 

 

But where did all of this come from exactly? Well, it’s thought that Irish writer Bram Stoker, author of the 1897 gothic novel Dracula named Count Dracula after Vlad Dracul (or Vlad the Impaler). Dracul, born in Transylvania, Romania, ruled over Walachia, Romania in periods between 1456-1462. He is often described by historians as a ruthless and cruel ruler who bravely fought off the Ottoman Empire, and is characterized by his favorite method of killing- impaling his victims with wooden stakes. According to legend, Dracul enjoyed dining amongst his dying victims and dipping his bread in their blood. Due to these similarities, it is believed that Dracul could have inspired Dracula’s character, who drinks blood and can be killed by getting impaled by a wooden stake. 

Vlad the Impaler

Setting fiction aside for a moment, what about real vampires? Are they real? This question has been floating around since the Middle Ages. It was not hard to be convicted of vampirism in the Middle Ages, and practically anything could land you the contempt of everyone around you, especially if you suffered from an unknown physical or emotional illness. The plague often left patients with a bloody mouth, which to the uneducated, was a sure sign of vampirism. It is also believed that porphyria, a blood disorder that causes severe blisters on the skin when exposed to sunlight, is another such illness that is linked to the legend of vampirism. It doesn’t help that some symptoms of porphyria can be sated by drinking blood, either. Other diseases such as rabies and goiter have also been blamed for the vampire myth.

 

Now, we travel to the 21st century, where “real” vampires do happen to exist. These “vampires” are self-identified people who drink blood in the hopes of staying healthy, though some may also simply crave blood or believe they need to drink blood to survive. Whether or not they are truly vampires, our modern vampires go about their business quite privately, drinking blood from willing donors in private “feeding rituals”. Some of these vampires do not drink blood at all, but instead feast on the energy of those around them- and when they don’t, they claim to become agitated and depressed. 

As an ardent vampire enthusiast, I find the practice of modern vampirism intriguing and would love the chance to interview or chat with these vampires about their condition. For now, though, I find the mythos of vampires enough to sate my own thirst. 

Learn more about vampire history at History.com

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