Vampires, creatures of the night. They terrify towns and villages. Suck the blood of innocents, and turn others into creatures like themselves. What are vampires, how can we stop them? Many myths and legends have come of actual and factual myths and legends. The common populace generally asserts these questions about vampires.
� Can they only come out at night?
Do not fear, all these questions, and many more will be answered when we undertake our Voyages with Vampires.
Let us start with a simple history of the origins of vampires. Vampires have been around since the early 11th century. What may have become folklore can be related back to factual evidence. Generally speaking, only muggles believe that vampires are a myth. Most witches and wizards have seen or heard first hand of real vampire instances.
1047: First appearance of the word "upir" in a document referring to a German prince as "Upir Lichy", or wicked vampire. The German Prince was truly a vampire. His stature allowed him to use slaves as blood vessels. During his lifetime he killed over one thousand slaves.
1196 William of Newburgh's "Chronicles". It records several stories of vampire like creatures in England. Most actual vampire tales never made it to circulation. The Ministry of Magic made certain to hide the truth from the �Chronicles�.
1430 Vlad Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler, is born. This is the infamous Count Dracula. Dracula killed hundreds, solely to drink their blood. Most believe that he was a true vampire.
1477 Vlad the Impaler is assassinated. Dracula was assassinated by a servant when he mistakenly took the servant�s daughter as a slave. Dracula killed the girl and the enraged father had Dracula decapitated soon after.
1484 The Malleus Maleficarium, known as the witch hunter's bible, is written by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. The topic of how to hunt and destroy a vampire is discussed. This book was actually quite factual. A drunken wizard that worked for the Ministry�s Vampire Regulation Department had become drunk one evening and divulged much secret information.
1560 Erzsebet (Elizabeth) Bathory is born. Bathory is the Vampire Queen. For many vampires she is a role model. They look up to her and wish to emulate what she accomplished.
1610 Elizabeth Bathory is tried and convicted of killing several hundred girls. Her sentence is life imprisonment. It wasn�t the sentence that Bathory despised, it was the separation from her blood. Bathory preferred the blood of young girls from some strange reason.
1614 Elizabeth Bathory dies. Without a continual supply of fresh blood, Bathory�s body was unable to cope.
1679 A German vampire text, "De Masticatione Mortuorum", is written by Phillip Rohr. Rohr was a wizard that betrayed the trust of the Ministry. He chose personal muggle profit over his own kind. Fortunately, hardly no one read Rohr�s book, and even if they had, most of the information within it was incorrect.
1727-1732 Arnold Paole unleashes his vampire terror on the town of Meduegna. Paole was a fake. He would attack his victims like a vampire would, but he never actually drank their blood. It is true though that he murdered over thirty people.
1734 The word "vampyre" enters the English language. 1748 - The first modern vampyre poem, "Der Vampir", is published.
1872 In Italy, Vincenzo Verzeni is convicted of murdering two people and drinking their blood.
1924 Fritz Haarmann the "Vampire of Hanover" is arrested, tried and convicted of killing more than 20 people in a vampire crime spree.
1980 Richard Chase, the so-called Dracula Killer of Sacramento, California, commits suicide in prison.
What follows are basic definitions that all interested in a study of vampires must know. Please learn these terms before continuing, as they will make your study far easier.
Haematodipsia - A sexual thirst for blood.
Hedonism- Excessive devotion to pleasure.
Hemat(o)- [Greek] Prefix meaning blood; see also words beginning with hem, hemo, or haemat(o).
Hematemesis- The vomiting of blood.
Hematidrosis- Excretion of bloody sweat.
Hematophageous- Subsisting on blood.
Hematoporphyria- (see porphyria).
Hemeralopia- Day blindness; defective vision in a bright light.
Hemogeneic- Pertaining to production of blood.
Hemotherapy- The use of blood in treating disease.
Necro- [Greek] Prefix meaning death.
Necrocytosis- Death and decay of cells.
Necrogenous- Originating or arising from dead matter.
Necrolysis- Separation or exfoliation of necrotic tissue.
Necrophagous- Feeding on dead flesh.
Necrophagy- Parts of a mutilated corpse are eaten.
Necrophobia- Morbid dread of death or dead bodies.
Necropsy- Examination of a body after death; autopsy.
Necrostuprum- Body-stealing.
Porphyria- A genetic disorder characterized by a disturbance in porphyrin metabolism with resultant increase in the formation and excretion of porphyrins or their precursors. If Porphyria makes you a vampire, you cannot pass it on to another by drinking their blood.
Let�s continue with a more in-depth analysis of the Vampire and its application to the modern day and ancestral worlds. While certainly an anomaly today, vampires were not during their prime. The first vampire myths come to light before the end of the middle ages.
Let us continue with a myth that no one is certain is factual. Any who have partaken a course in Muggle Studies will undoubtedly have come across Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ. Legend holds that when Judas betrayed Christ to the Romans, his family and himself were cursed. Judas committed suicide due to his guilt. In vampire folklore, suicides were cursed to come back as vampires. Many vampires that surfaced soon there after, had distinguishable red hair, such as Judas did. Thus, the premise for Judas being a possible father for all vampires. A vampire�s aversion to silver comes out of this myth. Judas betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver. However, there is no proof that silver is a deterrent of vampires.
You may find yourself wondering, where do vampires come from? Well, there are many possible explanations for this. What follows is a list giving examples according to the old legends.
� Dead wizards
Amongst our ranks are vampire hunters. It really isn�t all that hard to find vampires. Mostly, hunters just use plain, old-fashioned common sense. Of course, vampire hunters have been specifically trained in how to deal with a vampire once finding them. If you still insist on locating a vampire, listen closely.
The presence of a vampire can be signified by a few unexplained deaths, often in rapid succession; people that have become weak and/or pale; people who are complaining that they have been attacked by someone of something unknown; people who have had dreams where they are being attacked; etc.
To ensure that a buried person is still a person, and not a vampire, look for these telltale signs:
� Holes in the ground above the grave
Once a vampire has been found, here is what can be done to its corpse:
� Bury the body far from town to keep it from wandering back once it has become a vampire.
So, what are the best places for a vampire to sink its teeth. In order to cover all the areas, we will begin at the top of the body and work our way down.
� The External Carotid Artery-- The most common place for a vampire to bite. This is the artery in the side of your neck.
� The Jugular Vein-- Vampires generally will not bite this area. The jugular vein is on either side of the throat and follows down the neck from the chin to the collarbone. The jugular vein is much larger than the carotid artery, and so carries much more blood.
� The Median Cubital Vein-- This vein is located in the elbow. Usually, this is where hospitals draw blood from. In theory, if the hospitals can get blood from there, so can the vampires.
� The Ulner Artery-- This artery is in the wrist. This is the second most common place for a vampire to bite.
� The Greater Saphenous vein-- This vein runs along the inside of either thigh. The vein is large and deep; it would take a big bite to get down into it.
� The Femoral Vein-- This vein is the one at the back of the knee. The vein lies close to the skin and is an easy bite if you have a victim face down.
Ready to continue learning about where Vampires can be found. In what follows, note the location of each form of vampire.
Asia, India, Pacific Islands and Australia
Aswang- The Aswang was a woman who would appear as a beautiful maiden when she rubbed herself with a certain ointment. At night, she would fly to the roof of a house and then send down her long tongue to prick the throat of her sleeping victim. Then she would drink the blood. (Philippines)
Bhuta- A person who died unexpectedly and arose to wander the land at night. This vampire would bring back to life the dead bodies of others, who then in turn attacked the locals. (Western India)
Brahmaparusha- A vampire that drank blood from an inverted skull. (Northern India)
Chiang-shih (kiang shi)- A vicious vampire that was formed when a body was improperly buried and its host refused to leave the corpse. The Chiang-sikh was able to pass for a human. (China)
Churel- A woman who died an irregular death. She would come back to seek revenge on any family members who treated her poorly. A Churel was marked by the fact that her feet were turned backwards. (India)
Pontianak- A female vampire that attacks infants and drinks their blood. They also seduce young men while in the form of a maiden. (Java)
Rakshasas- (Rakshasas, m. Rakshasis, f.) These are semi-gods that like vampires wandered at night, had fangs, drank blood, and preferred to attack infants and pregnant women. (India)
Central and South America, Caribbean
Asema- This vampire generally took the shape of a ball of light and entered the houses of sleeping victims to drink their blood. (South America)
Cihuateteo- A semi-god, this vampire was depicted as drinking the blood of infants. They are said to be able to only wander at night, as sunlight will kill them. (Aztecs, Mexico)
Europe and the United Kingdom
Bruxa- (Bruxa, f. Bruxo, m.) Vampires that assumed animal forms and attacked, usually, infants. They were found out between midnight and 2:00 a.m. (Portugal)
Callicantzaros- A vampire that arises from people who were born on religious holidays. This vampire would attack people and tear them up on the holy days between Christmas and Epiphany. (Greece)
Lamia/ lamiai- This vampire, half woman, half serpent, lives in caves, where she drinks the blood of children. She sometimes transforms into a beautiful maiden to seduce young men and drink their blood. (Greece)
Obur- To get rid of this vampire, townspeople had to offer it tremendous amounts of food, as it was a very heavy blood drinker. It was characterized by loud noises and the ability to move things without being seen. (Bulgaria)
Middle East
Dakhanavar- This vampire lived in the wild and attacked travelers at night by sucking blood from their feet. (Armenia)
This next section is devoted entirely to the names of vampires. Call it, if you will, Vampires, from A - Z.
Adze
A vampire spirit that inhabits tribal sorcerers in Africa. The Adze flies around in the form of a firefly. But, if it is caught, it changes back in to its human form. It drinks blood and preys on children, especially handsome ones.
Algul
The Algul is an Arabic vampire, meaning horse leech. This form of vampire is traditionally a female demon that feasts upon dead babies and lives in cemeteries.
Alp
A German vampire spirit that torments the nights and dreams of women. The creature�s physical manifestations can be very dangerous. Long connected with the nightmare, the Alp is considered male, sometimes the spirit of a recently deceased relative, most often an actual demon. Children can become an Alp if their mother used a horse collar during childbirth. The Alp commonly appears as a cat, pig, bird or other animal. The Alp can fly like a bird and ride like a horse. The Alp is virtually impossible to kill because it is associated with nightmares.
Asanbosam
A vampire found in Africa. The Asanbosam is believed to reside deep within forests, most often encountered there by hunters. It generally looks like a human, with two exceptions: its teeth are iron and its leg have hooklike appendages.
Bajang
A Malysian vampire that appears as a cat and threatens children. The Bajang can be enslaved and turned into a demon servant. They are often handed down from one generation to the next within a family.
Baobhan-sith
A Scottish vampire that disguises itself as a beautiful maiden and lures its victims to their deaths.
Civatateo
A witch-vampire found among the Aztecs. Children were there favorite victims. These vampires appeared with white faces, their hands covered in white chalk, and with crossbones drawn on there clothing.
Danag
An ancient species of Filipino vampire. The Danag worked with humans for many years but the partnership ended one day when a woman cut her finger and a Danag sucked her wound, enjoying the taste so much that it drained her body completely of blood.
Dearg-due
From Ireland, its name means "Red Blood Sucker." This vampire dates back to Celtic times and is still feared. The only way to stop it is to pile stones upon any grave suspected of housing such a beast.
Doppelsauger
A vampire most often found in Germany. A child once weaned would become a vampire if s/he should nurse again.
Ekimmu
One of the most feared of vampires, found among the Assyrians and Babylonians. Said to be a departed spirit, the soul of a dead person unable to find peace. The creature traveled the earth, waiting to attack. There were many ways in which a person could become an Ekimmu, among these were violent/premature death, unfulfilled love and improper burial.
Eretica
A Russian vampire, usually a heretic who has returned from the dead. A woman who sold her soul in life and returns in the form of a ragged old woman. Active only in spring and autumn, it was believed that seeing the eyes of such a creature would result in a slow withering death.
Gayal
A vampire spirit from India. Usually created due to the death of a man who has no one to properly perform the burial rites at his funeral. Upon return, he seeks his revenge upon the sons of others and upon his on relatives.
Kasha
A Japanese vampire that feeds by removing corpses from graves or prior to cremation and devouring them.
Kuang-shi
A Chinese vampire, caused by the possession of a recently deceased corpse. They are rumored to have the ability to fly.
Langsuir
A Malaysian vampire, said always to take the form of a beautiful woman. A woman becomes this vampire if she dies in childbirth. She generally feeds on the blood of children.
Lobishomen
A Brazilian vampire, that preys mainly on women. It doesn�t kill its victims, rather it prefers instead to draw small amounts of blood.
Lugat
A form of Albanian vampire, said to be reasonably harmless, only feeding briefly on its victims, not actually killing them.
Mara
A Slavic vampire. Said to be the spirit of an unbaptised dead girl. She is a terrible night visitor who crushes and oppresses her victims. She is also said to be fond of feeding on the blood of children.
Masan
A vampire from India, usually the ghost of a child, that delights in tormenting and killing children. Able to curse a children that walk in its shadow.
Masani
A female vampire from India, she is said to be the spirit of burial grounds. Her hunts are conducted by night,. Anyone passing the burial site will be attacked.
Muroni
A vampire found in Romania. It is said to have the ability to change itself into a variety of different animal forms. While in one of these incarnations the Muroni can kill easily.
Nelapsi
A Slovak vampire, the Nelapsi are said to be able to massacre entire villages in a single visit. They also has the ability to kill with a single glance.
Nosferatu
A Romanian species of vampire, said to be the illegitimate child of parents who were illegitimate.
Obayifo
A vampire found in Africa. It leaves its human body at night and feeds. It is fond of young children and can also cause blight in crops.
Pacu Pati
A powerful vampire from India. The creature is deemed lord of all beings of mischief. It is seem at night in cemeteries and places of execution.
Pelesit
A Malaysian spirit vampire. It invades a person�s body, causing illness and death.
Penanggalan
A Malaysian vampire, it flies at night with only the head and neck of its body complete.
Pisacha
The Pisacha are created by the vices of humanity. While it prefers to devour corpses, it can also cure diseases.
Pelesit Rakshasa
This Indian vampires means "the injurer". The female assumes the form of a beautiful woman and lures men to their death. A child will be transformed into such a creature if s/he can be induced to eat human brains.
Ramanga
A living vampire found in Madagascar. As a servant of tribal elders, the Ramanga would consume the nail clippings and spilled blood of a noble member of the tribe.
Stregoni benefici
An Italian vampire, said to be on the side of goodness, and a mortal enemy of all evil vampires.
Strigoii
The infamous Romanian dead vampire. There are numerous ways to become a Strigoii, which include being a seventh son and suicide.
Ubour
A Bulgarian vampire that is created when a person dies violently and/or the spirit refuses to leave the body. After a forty day burial period, the corpse rises and begins to cause a great deal of mischief. Generally it does not drink blood.
Upier
A Polish vampire that is unusual in the fact that it rises at midday and returns to sleep at midnight. It is said to consume vast quantities of blood. This creature�s fascination with blood goes much further than normal vampires as it sleeps in blood as well.
Upyr
A Russian vampire that is extremely vicious. It will first attack children and then continue on to kill the parents.
Varacolaci
One of the most powerful vampires of all the undead, Romanian. It is said to have the ability to cause both lunar and solar eclipses.
Vrykolakas
A species of vampire found in the Adriatic and Aegean regions. It is created by various means including an immoral life. It travels in the dark and knocks upon doors, calling out the name of someone inside, if the person responds they will die soon after.
Vrykolatios
A vampire species found on the island of Santorini. They are described as creatures that feast on the living.
Perhaps you are wondering if we will ever explain how to kill a Vampire. Now that you have had a substantial background in the vampire variations, we will move on to more important matters.
First, you must note that vampires are able to regenerate themselves. This regeneration is, however, strictly limited to non-fatal damage. The following are examples of what isn�t fatal:
Minor Cuts and Abrasions heal almost instantly
Before this text offers ways to kill vampires, let us first divulge the methods by which we defend against vampires. There are four main ways and they are as follows:
Using Garlic
Now you are ready to defeat a vampire. The simplest ways to kill one are as follows:
By Fire If a vampire is consumed entirely by flames and reduced to smoldering ash, then they will be destroyed.
By Sunlight The most well-known. A vampire exposed to sunlight begins to burn. If you keep them there long enough, they die.
By Decapitation This is a symbolic act, the reason it works is because since time out of mind, beheading has been part of the rituals of executions.
By Stake Most have seen a stake driven through the heart of a vampire. While some will argue that this method doesn�t work, it has been proven on certain occasions.
Exorcism This is a highly controversial way to kill a vampire. There is no proof that this works, only folklores and legends.
Let us end this text with a discussion of some of the greatest vampire tales known to our kind. Croglin Grange, John George Haigh, Arnold Paul, and Dracula.
In the late 17th century, there was a town called Croglin Grange, England. A small home here was rented by two brothers and their sister. One night, the sister was start gazing when she noticed two lights flickering within a group of trees in her yard. Sensing something evil, as the lights emerged from the trees, the sister tried to unlock the door when she heard scratching at the window. A few moments later the window shattered and the creature climbed in.
The creature entwined its long, bony fingers around her hair and sank its teeth into her neck. her screaming awoke her brothers and they tried desperately to break into the room. By the time the brothers got into the room, the creature had fled and the sister was unconscious upon her bed.
The family moved away, for the sister�s sake, only to return seven years later to face their demons. In March of that year, the sister again heard the scratching at her window. This time she quickly screamed for her brothers. One brother was able to wound the creature with a gunshot to the leg.
Unfortunately, the creature escaped to an old family crypt. The next day, with all of Croglin Grange to support them, the brothers opened the tomb and found within a coffin, the withered remains of a corpse...with a fresh bullet wound in its leg.
The story of Peter Plogojowitz begins in 1725. The incident was recorded by a German military official stationed in the village of Kisilova.
Peter Plogojowitz had just recently died, and one member of the community wanted to open the grave to make sure he was truly dead. What this villager was looking for was any sign that the body was not decomposing.
Upon viewing the body, with a priest present, they noticed that the body was not properly decomposing. There was no odor, and only the nose looked like it was breaking down. Otherwise, the body looked completely fresh. New skin was growing to replace the old white, clammy one. The hair, beard, and nails had all completely grown back. They even noticed that there was fresh blood in his mouth (the community believed that he had sucked the blood from those he had killed).
The villagers decided to drive a stake through his heart to kill him. When they did so, blood poured not only from the wound, but from the ears and mouth. They then proceeded to burn the body, which is custom.
There aren�t many vampires that compare to John George Haigh. Haigh was born in Wakefield, England. His parents were deeply religious as members of the group, �Plymouth Brethren.� Haigh rebelled against his parents and joined the Church of England when he was just a boy.
Haigh had a recurring dream throughout his life. In it, there was a forest of crucifixes that gradually turned into trees that dripped blood. A man would be collecting the blood in a cup. Before Haigh woke up, the man would offer him a drink from the cup.
Haigh�s criminal spree began in early adulthood. He was jailed several times for fraud and forgery. It was until middle age that his true criminal streak would begin.
In 1944, Haigh rented a basement in London. Less than a year later he killed his first victim there (September 9). He filled a cup with his victim�s, William Donald McSwan, blood and drank it.
When Haigh was finally caught, he confessed and blamed it on his dream. Thanks to the press, he became to as the �Acid Bath Vampire.� Haigh was hung to death on August 10, 1949.
Our story of Arnold Paul begins in 1727. Paul was a young soldier who had just returned home to a village near Belgrade. With his wages, he purchased land and a home. He didn�t socialize much with his neighbors, and always gave off an air of sorrow.
Eventually, he married a neighbor�s daughter, who learned why he was always so sad. When Paul was still in the military, he had been attacked one night by a vampire who bit him and tried to drink his blood. Paul managed to fight off the vampire with him until sunup, where the vampire immediately died. Paul drank some of the vampire�s blood, but was unable to complete the ritual by extracting and consuming the dirt from the creature�s grave. Paul was afraid that upon his death he would become a vampire.
Shortly thereafter, Paul died. About a month later, villagers reported seeing Paul wandering around the village. Anyone who came in contact with him died a few days later. The villagers decided to exhume his body and called in government workers. The government�s examiner noted that upon removal, Paul�s body, though 40 days dead, was fresh and in a vampire state. Also discovered was fresh blood in Paul�s mouth. Paul was staked through the heart and burned to ash. The ashes were then placed back into his coffin. Paul�s victims were also disposed of in a similar fashion.
Five years later, the attacks began again. More coffins were opened and some were discovered to be in the same state as Paul�s. Those that were believed to be vampires were burned to ash and staked through the heart. After this, there were no more vampire attacks in the small village.
What better way to finish then with the story of Dracula. Perhaps, the most famous of all vampires. Let us venture into his world. Then you can decide for yourself if his name is worth the fame.
Vlad Dracula was born in 1430. Living in Wallachia, Dracula was raised amidst a dark time for Eastern Europe. There was much warring within the smaller countries. Ruling families fought with the aristocrats that tried to control their reign. Externally, the countries warred, and created alliances through treaties and marriages. All kings of the region had to remain loyal to the Church, religion, and the Byzantine Empire.
Less than a year later, Dracula�s father invested into a group called �The Order of the Dragon.� In 1436, Dracula�s father obtains the Wallachian Throne, a southern district of Transylvania, from his stepbrother Alexandru Aldea.
At the age of 12, Dracula is imprisoned, along with the rest of his family, by the Turks. Dracula and his younger brother Radu are held hostage by the Turks to ensure his father�s loyalty. In 1446, the Turks overtake Greece. A year later, Dracula�s father is beheaded and his brother, Mircea, is buried alive for their loyalty to the Turks.
At the age of 18, Dracula takes reign of the Wallachian Throne for a brief period. 7 years later, Dracula takes the throne again and begins his reign of terror. He begins by killing a race of people called the Boyars. In 1461, Dracula battles against the Turks and loses.
In 1462, Dracula�s wife commits suicide and he gets imprisoned in Hungary for 13 years. In 1474, Dracula gets out of prison and takes back his throne, currently held by his brother Radu. In 1476, Dracula is decapitated, 46 years old.
� Do they really drink blood?
� Can a stake through the heart kill them?
� Will a cross and/or garlic protect you?
� Can Vampires fly? Can they transform into bats?
� Is Dracula a real vampire? Or a tale?
� If a vampire drinks a person�s blood do they die? Or do they become a vampire?
� Werewolves
� Heretics
� Outcasts
� Illegitimate offspring of illegitimate children
� Anyone killed by a vampire
� Suicides
� Unavenged deaths
� Untimely/ unhappy deaths
� Witches
� Murderers
� Excommunicants
� Robbers/ villains
� Accursed
� An unburied body which has had sun or moonlight fall upon it (Primarily in China)
� An unburied body that has been leapt over by a cat
� Those without full rights before death (Slavonic)
� Children born or conceived on a great Church holiday. (Slavonic)
� Still born children and unbaptised children (Rise as vampires 7 years after their death, Slavonic)
� Any animal (including cat) that has passed over an unburied body (Slavonic)
� Anyone who has eaten the flesh of a sheep killed by a wolf (Slavonic)
� Perjurers, liars
� 7th sons
� Man born with a caul (a piece of the placenta that may become stuck to the child's head as it is born. Easily wiped off, but many cultures have interpreted it as sign, some good, some bad, of what that child will be like when grown.)
� A pregnant woman who has been looked at (especially after her 6th month) by a vampire, her child as a great risk of becoming a vampire.
� A shadow of a living man falling upon an unburied body.
� A nun stepping over an unburied body.
� Corpse with one or more of the following:
Wide open eyes
Ruddy complexion
No decomposition
� Nails and hair that have grown out
� Bite marks on the neck
� Shroud (burial cloth) partially or entirely devoured
� Blood in the veins
� Coffin containing blood
� Apparently well fed body
� Flexible limbs
� Stake or pin the body into the grave.
� Severe the head from the body and place it between the legs or under an arm.
� Bind he feet and legs to prevent the body from escaping the grave.
� Dismember the corpse and bury the pieces separately from each other.
� Burn the corpse to ashes.
� Tear out the heart.
� Throw boiling water or oil onto the grave.
� Drive a stake through the heart or navel.
� Place garlic in the mouth.
� Lay out a body several days to make sure it doesn't start acting like a vampire.
� Break the corpse's neck as another preventive measure.
Stab Wounds and Brakes heal in about 10-20 seconds
Bullet holes heal in a matter of minutes to hours, depending on severity
Burns take time, days or months.
Missing Limbs will grow back over the course of a year or so.
Stuff that could have killed you - take years to heal fully.
Bear a cross
Use Holy Water(must contact the vampire)
Remain on the hallowed ground of a church