Difference between revisions of "Vampire" - New World Encyclopedia

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The Vampire, Philip Burne-Jones, 1897

The modern day term, Vampire (derivative of the German vampir), usually refers to mythological or folkloric beings that subsist on the life force of a human being and/or animal. In most cases, vampires are represented as reanimated corpses who feed by draining and consuming the blood of living beings. The word “vampire” is mentioned in Babylonian demonology, and the even more ancient bloodsucking Akhkharu is mentioned in Sumerian mythology. Bram Stoker's Dracula arguably presents the definitive version of the vampire in popular fiction.

Ways purported to kill vampires range from putting sawdust in or around their coffins to carrying fresh rose bush sprigs. The most popular and well-known means of killing a vampire is driving a silver stake through its heart and presenting it with holy items, such as rosaries, crosses, and holy water.

Linked to the restless souls of the dead, the vampire may indeed represent the spirits of those who died unsatisfied with their time on earth and continue to seek fulfillment of their desires by sucking the blood of those who still have life. Without understanding the reality of the spiritual world, the appearance of such beings could well be interpreted in the context of real creatures, such as bats. However, the vampire is never satisfied in this way, but only torments those on earth until its "death," and the spirit can finally find its way to an afterlife existence.

Etymology

The English word vampire is a derivative of the German vampir, which became "vampire" when passed into French, and stayed the same when it was assimilated into English. The German form came from Slavic and Slovak variants, such as the Polish upior, the Belarussian upyr, Ukrainian, Russian upir, and Bulgarian vapir.^[1] The first recorded use of the English variation "vampire" comes from a police report in Austrian controlled Serbia during the sixteenth century, in which the police were investigating vampire claims made by local peasants.

In zoology and botany, the term "vampirism" is used in reference to leeches, mosquitos, mistletoe, vampire bats, and other organisms that subsist on the bodily fluids of others.

Ancient origins

Nearly every ancient culture considered blood to be sacred. It was often thought of as not only a physical requirement for life, but also as the life-force of humankind. Rituals involving both animal and human blood (although human blood was usually held in higher esteem than the blood of animals) were common in many societies. It is, therefore, not surprising that ideas of creatures which lived off blood were popular in ancient times.

Vampire-like spirits called the Lilu are mentioned in early Babylonian demonology, and the even more ancient bloodsucking Akhkharu is discussed in Sumerian mythology. These female demons were said to roam during the hours of darkness, hunting and killing newborn babies and pregnant women. One of the demons, named Lilitu, was later adapted into Jewish demonology as Lilith.^[2]

In India, tales of vetalas, ghoul-like beings that inhabited corpses, are found in old Sanskrit folklore. Like the bat associated with modern day vampirism, they were said to hang upside down on trees found in burial grounds and cemeteries. A prominent story tells of King Vikramāditya and his nightly quests to capture an elusive vetala. The vetala legends have been compiled in the book Baital Pachisi.^[3]

The "hopping corpse" may be considered the Chinese equivalent of the vampire. However, this creature fed on a person's qi, or life force, which in China was understood as separate from the blood. In other respects it keeps within the tradition of vampiric behavior. The Ancient Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, in one myth, became full of bloodlust after slaughtering humans and was only sated after drinking alcohol colored as blood.

These are but a few examples of the numerous traditions of creatures that practice vampirism. The anthropomorphic and demonic version of the vampire did not emerge until centuries later, however, in Eastern Europe folklore.

Folk beliefs in vampires

The modern day representation of vampires owes itself directly to the folklore of Eastern Europe. It is probable that the ancient beliefs in creatures that fed off human life carried over into this area of the world and mixed with other beliefs, producing the human vampire. Some scholars have suggested this belief in vampires arose because of a series of deaths due to unidentifiable or mysterious illnesses, usually within the same family or the same small community. The rare blood disorder Porphyria, which causes increased sensitivity of the skin to direct sunlight and makes teeth appear larger than normal, as well as rabies, which can make a human act like a wild animal, have been cited by some as misunderstood disorders that helped spur the belief in vampires.^[4]

Beliefs regarding death and mortality may also have played an important role. Often in old folklore, those who committed suicide or were brutally murdered were susceptible to becoming vampires, since the natural course of their life was interrupted.

It is difficult to make a single description of the folkloric vampire, because its properties vary widely between different cultures. However, here are some of the more common characteristics among vampire legends:

The appearance of the European folkloric vampire mostly concerned features by which one was supposed to tell a vampiric corpse from a normal one, when the grave of a suspected vampire was opened. The vampire has a "healthy" appearance and ruddy skin, he is often plump, his nails and hair have grown and, above all, he or she is not in the least decomposed.
The most common ways to destroy the vampire are driving a wooden stake through the heart, decapitation, and incinerating the body completely. Ways to prevent a suspected vampire from rising from the grave in the first place include burying it upside-down, severing the tendons at the knees, or placing poppy seeds on the ground at the grave site of a presumed vampire in order to keep the vampire occupied all night counting.
Apotropaics, objects intended to inhibit or ward off vampires (as well as other evil supernatural creatures), include garlic (confined mostly to European legends), sunlight, a branch of wild rose, the hawthorn plant, and all things sacred (such as holy water, a crucifix, and a rosary).
Vampires are sometimes considered to be shape-shifters, not limited to the common bat stereotype depicted in cartoons and movies. Rather, vampires are said to morph into a wide variety of animals such as wolves, rats, moths, spiders, and so on.
Vampires in European folklore are said to cast no shadow and no reflection, perhaps arising from folklore regarding the vampire's lack of a soul.^[5]
Some traditions hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited, although after this they can come and go as they please without further permission.
Christian tradition holds that vampires cannot enter a church or holy place, as they are servants of the devil.

Slavic vampires

In Slavic lore, causes of vampirism include being born with a caul (the remnants of the amniotic sac seen as a shimmery coating of the head and face immediately after birth), teeth, or tail, being conceived on certain days, "unnatural" death, excommunication, and improper burial rituals. Many Serbians believed that having red hair was a vampiric trait.

Preventive measures included placing a crucifix in the coffin, placing blocks under the chin to prevent the body from eating the shroud, nailing clothes to coffin walls for the same reason, putting sawdust in the coffin (so that when the vampire awakens in the evening he is compelled to count every grain of sawdust, which occupies the entire night, so that he will die at dawn) or piercing the body with thorns or stakes. In the case of stakes, the general idea was to pierce through the vampire and into the ground below, pinning the body down. Certain people would bury those believed to be potential vampires with scythes above their necks, so the dead would decapitate themselves as they rose.

Evidence that a vampire was active in a given locality included death of cattle, sheep, relatives, or neighbors; an exhumed body being in a lifelike state with new growth of the fingernails or hair; a body swelled up like a drum; or blood on the mouth coupled with a ruddy complexion. Vampires, like other Slavic legendary creatures, were afraid of garlic and were compelled to count particles of grain, sawdust, and the like. The most famous Serbian vampire was Sava Savanovic, from a folklore-inspired novel by Milovan Glišić.

Romanian vampires

Romania is surrounded by Slavic countries, so it is not surprising that Romanian and Slavic vampires are similar. Romanian vampires are called Strigoi, based on the ancient Greek term strix, for screech owl, which also came to mean demon or witch.

There are different types of Strigoi. Live Strigoi are live witches who will become vampires after death. They have the ability to send out their souls at night to meet with other witches or with other Strigoi, which are reanimated bodies that return to suck the blood of family, livestock, and neighbors. Other types of vampires in Romanian folklore include Moroi and Pricolici.

Romanian tradition described a myriad of ways of bringing about a vampire. A person born with a caul, an extra nipple, a tail, or extra hair was doomed to become a vampire. The same fate applied to someone born too early, someone whose mother encountered a black cat crossing her path, and someone who was born out of wedlock. Others who became vampires were those who died an unnatural death or before baptism, the seventh child in any family (presuming all of his or her previous siblings were of the same gender), the child of a pregnant woman who avoided eating salt, and a person who was looked upon by a vampire or a witch. Moreover, being bitten by a vampire meant certain condemnation to a vampiric existence after death.

The vampire was usually first noticed when it attacked family and livestock, or threw things around in the house. Vampires, along with witches, were believed to be most active on the Eve of St George's Day (April 22 on the Gregorian, and May 6 on the Julian calendar), the night when all forms of evil were supposed to be abroad.

A vampire in the grave could be discerned by holes in the earth, an un-decomposed corpse with a red face, or with one foot in the corner of the coffin. Living vampires were identified by distributing garlic in church and observing who would refuse to eat it. Graves were often opened three years after the death of a child, five years after the death of a young person, or seven years after the death of an adult to check for vampirism.

Measures to prevent a person from becoming a vampire included removing the caul from a newborn and destroying it before the baby could eat it, careful preparation of dead bodies, including preventing animals from passing over the corpse, placing a thorny branch of wild rose in the grave, and placing garlic on windows and rubbing it on cattle, especially on St George's and St Andrew's day. To destroy a vampire, a stake was driven through the body, followed by decapitation, and placing garlic in the mouth. By the nineteenth century, one would also shoot a bullet through the coffin. For resistant cases, the body was dismembered and the pieces burned, mixed with water, and administered to family members as a cure.

Greek vampires

Belief in vampires was common in nineteenth century Greece.^[6] Greek customs may have propagated this belief, notably a ritual that entailed exhuming the deceased three years after their death, and observing the extent of decay. If the body was fully decayed, the remaining bones were put in a box by relatives and wine poured over them, a priest would then read from scriptures. However, if the body had not sufficiently decayed, the corpse would be labeled a vampire.

According to Greek beliefs, vampirism could occur through various means: Excommunication or desecrating a religious day, committing a great crime, or dying alone. Other more superstitious causes include having a cat jump across the grave, eating meat from a sheep killed by a wolf, or having been cursed. It was also believed in more remote regions of Greece that unbaptized people would be doomed to vampirism in the afterlife.

The appearance of vampires varied throughout Greece and were usually thought to be indistinguishable from living people, giving rise to many folk tales with this theme.^[7] However, this was not the case everywhere: On Mount Pelion vampires glowed in the dark, while on the Saronic islands, vampires were thought to be hunchbacks with long nails; on the island of Lesbos vampires were thought to have long canine teeth much like wolves. Vampires could be harmless, sometimes returning to support their widows by their work. However, they were usually thought to be ravenous predators, killing their victims who would be condemned to become vampires. Vampires were so feared for their potential for great harm that a village or an island would occasionally be stricken by a mass panic if a vampire invasion were believed imminent. Nicholas Dragoumis records such a panic on Naxos in the 1930s, following a cholera epidemic.

Varieties of wards were employed for protection in different places, including blessed bread (antidoron) from the church, crosses, and black-handled knives. To prevent vampires from rising from the dead, their hearts were pierced with iron nails whilst resting in their graves, or their bodies burned and the ashes scattered. Because the Church opposed burning people who had been baptized, cremation was considered a last resort.

Roma vampires

Traditional Romani beliefs claim that the dead soul enters a world similar to their own, except that there is no death. The soul lingers next to the body and sometimes wants to return to life. The Roma legends of the "living dead" have indeed enriched the vampire legends of Hungary, Romania, and the Slavic world.

The ancient home of the Roma, India, describes many vampiric entities. The Bhut or Prét is the soul of a man who died an untimely death. It wanders around animating dead bodies at night, attacking the living much like a ghoul. In northern India, there is the BrahmarākŞhasa, a vampire-like creature with a head encircled by intestines and a skull from which it drank blood. Vetala and pishacha are other creatures who resemble vampires.

The most famous Indian deity associated with drinking blood is Kali, who has fangs, wears a garland of corpses or skulls, and has four arms. Her temples are located near 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 him. Sara, or the Black Goddess, is the form in which Kali survived among Roma. Some Roma believe that the three Marys from the New Testament went to France and baptized a Gypsy called Sara. They still hold a ceremony every May 24, in the French village where this is supposed to have occurred. Some refer to this Black Goddess as "Black Cally" or "Black Kali."

One form of vampire in Romani folklore is called a mullo (one who is dead). This vampire is believed to return and do malicious things and/or suck the blood of a person (usually a relative who had caused their death, or did not properly observe the burial ceremonies, or who kept their possessions instead of destroying them, as was proper). Female vampires could return, lead a normal life, and even marry, but would eventually exhaust the husband. Anyone who had a horrible appearance, was missing a finger, or had appendages similar to those of an animal, was believed to be a vampire. If a person died unseen, he would become a vampire, likewise if a corpse swelled before burial. Dogs, cats, plants, or even agricultural tools 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, one could hire a Dhampir (the son of a vampire and his widow) or a Moroi to detect the vampire. To ward off vampires, gypsies drove steel or iron needles into a corpse's heart and placed pieces 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, as well as decapitating or burning the corpse.

Even today, Roma frequently feature in vampire fiction and film, no doubt influenced by Bram Stoker's Dracula, in which the Szgany Roma served Dracula, carrying his boxes of earth and guarding him.

Modern belief in vampires

Beliefs in vampires persist to this day. While some cultures preserve their original traditions about the immortal, most modern-day believers are more influenced by the fictional image of the vampire as it occurs in films and literature.

In the 1970s, there were rumors (spread by the local press) 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 an entire nest of vampires in the area.

In the modern folklore of Puerto Rico and Mexico, the chupacabra (goat-sucker) is said to be a creature that feeds upon the flesh or drinks the blood of domesticated animals, leading some to consider it a kind of vampire. The "chupacabra hysteria" was frequently associated with deep economic and political crises, particularly during the mid-1990s.

During late 2002 and early 2003, hysteria about alleged attacks of vampires swept through the African country of Malawi. Mobs stoned one individual to death and attacked at least four others, including Governor Eric Chiwaya, based on the belief that the government was colluding with vampires.^[8]

In Romania during February of 2004, several relatives of the late 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.^[9]

In January 2005, rumors began to circulate that an attacker had bitten a number of people in Birmingham, England, fueling concerns about a vampire roaming the streets. However, local police stated that no such crime had been reported. This case appears to be an urban legend.^[10]

Vampire style groups have developed where vampire behavior is practiced, such as a preference for night time and darkness, and the drinking of blood.^[11] However, it should be noted that a majority of these people do not believe they are vampires in the folkloric sense. Rather, they believe that drinking blood is a sacred ritual, and will often drink small amounts of their own or other members' blood. Mainstream culture frowns on such behavior, and it is often seen as a perverse sub-culture and Satanic or evil in nature, even though many who practice such culture disavow any malicious intentions.

Vampires in fiction and popular culture

Lord Byron arguably introduced the vampire theme to Western literature in his epic poem The Giaour (1813), but it was John Polidori who authored the first "true" vampire story, called The Vampyre. Polidori was the personal physician of Byron and the vampire of the story, Lord Ruthven, is based partly on him—making the character the first of the now familiar romantic vampires. The "ghost story competition" that spawned this piece was the same competition that motivated Mary Shelley to write her novel Frankenstein, another archetypal monster story.

Other examples of early vampire stories are Samuel Taylor Coleridge's unfinished poem Christabel and Sheridan Le Fanu's lesbian vampire story, Carmilla. However, it was undoubtedly Bram Stoker's Dracula, published in 1897, portraying Count Dracula from Transylvania as the "undead" villain, that has been the definitive version of the vampire in popular fiction. Its portrayal of vampirism as a disease (contagious demonic possession), with its undertones of sex, blood, and death, struck a chord in a Victorian Europe where tuberculosis and syphilis were common.

Vampires were among the first cinematic creations of the early twentieth century with the silent classic Nosferatu, followed by a string of Dracula inspired movies. Soon, vampires became staples of the horror genre, for both television and film, often depicted in similar representations to Stoker's. Television series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Konami's Castlevania and Crystal Dynamics' Legacy of Kain video game series, role-playing games such as Vampire: the Masquerade, and Kouta Hirano's Hellsing manga have been especially successful and influential.

Notes

↑ The Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford Press, 1971). ISBN 019861117X
↑ Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu, In Search of Dracula (Houghton Mifflin, 1994). ISBN 0395657830
↑ Isabel Burton and Richard F. Burton, Vikram and the Vampire or Tales of Hindu Devilry (Baital Pachisi) (South Asia Books, 1985). ISBN 8170690048
↑ Paul S. Sledzik and Nicholas Bellantoni, Bioarcheological and Biocultural Evidence for the New England Vampire Folk Belief in The American Journal of Physical Anthropology (1994). No. 94. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
↑ Lewis Spence, An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (University Books, Inc., 1960).
↑ Charles Jr. Dickens, A Cretan Tale of Vampires.
↑ John L. Tomkinson, Haunted Greece: Nymphs, vampires and other Exotika (Anagnosis, Athens, 2004). ISBN 9608808707
↑ Raphael Tenthani, 'Vampires' strike Malawi villages. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
↑ Matthew Schofield, "Romanian villagers decry police investigation into vampire slaying." Knight Ridder Newspapers (March 24 2004).
↑ Stuart Jefferies, Reality Bites. Retrieved May 20, 2007
↑ New Jersey Association of Real Vampires, FAQ. Retrieved May 20, 2007.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Barber, Paul. Vampires, Burial and Death: Folklore and Reality. Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0300048599
Bell, Michael E. Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England's Vampires. Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0786708999
Bunson, Matthew. The Vampire Encyclopedia. Crown Trade Paperbacks, 1993. ISBN 0517881004
Faivre, Tony. Les Vampires: Essai historique, critique et littéraire. [Préface de Robert Amadou.] Paris: Le Terrain Vague, 1962.
Frayling, Christopher. Vampyres, Lord Byron to Count Dracula. 1991. ISBN 0571167926
Introvigne, Massimo. La stirpe di Dracula. Indagine sul vampirismo dall'antichità ai nostri giorni. Milano: A. Mondadori, 1997.
Jaramillo Londoño, Agustín. Testamento del paisa. Medellín. Editorial Bedout, 1967. ISBN 958951250X
Jennings, Lee Byron. An Early German Vampire Tale: Wilhelm Waiblinger’s "Olura" in: Suevica. Beiträge zur schwäbischen Literatur- und Geistesgeschichte 9. Stuttgart: Verlag Hans-Dieter Heinz, Akademischer Verlag Stuttgart, 2002.. ISBN 3880994285
McNally, Raymond T. Dracula Was a Woman. McGraw Hill, 1983. ISBN 0070456712
McNally, Raymond T. and Radu Florescu. In Search of Dracula. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1994. ISBN 0395657830
Melton, J. Gordon. The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead Visible Ink Press, 1994. ISBN 0810322951
Nyarlathotep, Frater and Jesse Lindsay. Ardeth—The Made Vampire. Lulu Press, 2006. ISBN 1847285163
Summers, Montague. The Vampire: His Kith and Kin. 1928. ISBN 0486439968
Summers, Montague. The Vampire in Europe. 1929. ISBN 0486419428
Tomkinson, John L. Haunted Greece: Nymphs, Vampires and other Exotika. Anagnosis, Athens, 2004. ISBN 9608808707
Wright, Dudley. The Book of Vampires. 1914.

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[1] The Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford Press, 1971). ISBN 019861117X

[2] Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu, In Search of Dracula (Houghton Mifflin, 1994). ISBN 0395657830

[3] Isabel Burton and Richard F. Burton, Vikram and the Vampire or Tales of Hindu Devilry (Baital Pachisi) (South Asia Books, 1985). ISBN 8170690048

[4] Paul S. Sledzik and Nicholas Bellantoni, Bioarcheological and Biocultural Evidence for the New England Vampire Folk Belief in The American Journal of Physical Anthropology (1994). No. 94. Retrieved July 16, 2007.

[5] Lewis Spence, An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (University Books, Inc., 1960).

[6] Charles Jr. Dickens, A Cretan Tale of Vampires.

[7] John L. Tomkinson, Haunted Greece: Nymphs, vampires and other Exotika (Anagnosis, Athens, 2004). ISBN 9608808707

[8] Raphael Tenthani, 'Vampires' strike Malawi villages. Retrieved May 20, 2007.

[9] Matthew Schofield, "Romanian villagers decry police investigation into vampire slaying." Knight Ridder Newspapers (March 24 2004).

[10] Stuart Jefferies, Reality Bites. Retrieved May 20, 2007

[11] New Jersey Association of Real Vampires, FAQ. Retrieved May 20, 2007.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Claimed}}
+{{Submitted}}{{Images OK}}{{Approved}}{{Paid}}{{copyedited}}
 [[Category:Anthropology]]
 [[Category:Politics and social sciences]]
+[[Category:Mythical creatures]]
+[[Image:Burne-Jones-le-Vampire.jpg|thumb|200 px|''The Vampire'', Philip Burne-Jones, 1897]]
+The modern day term, '''Vampire''' (derivative of the [[German]] ''vampir''), usually refers to [[mythical creature|mythological]] or [[folklore|folkloric]] beings that subsist on the life force of a [[human being]] and/or [[animal]]. In most cases, vampires are represented as reanimated [[corpse]]s who feed by draining and consuming the [[blood]] of living beings. The word “vampire” is mentioned in [[Babylon]]ian [[demon]]ology, and the even more ancient bloodsucking [[Akhkharu]] is mentioned in [[Sumerian]] [[mythology]]. [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]'' arguably presents the definitive version of the vampire in popular fiction.
-{{Infobox Paranormalcreatures
+Ways purported to kill vampires range from putting sawdust in or around their coffins to carrying fresh rose bush sprigs. The most popular and well-known means of killing a vampire is driving a silver stake through its heart and presenting it with holy items, such as [[rosary|rosaries]], crosses, and holy water.
-|Creature_Name  = Vampire
+{{toc}}
-|Image_Name    = Burne-Jones-le-Vampire.jpg
+Linked to the restless [[soul]]s of the dead, the vampire may indeed represent the spirits of those who died unsatisfied with their time on earth and continue to seek fulfillment of their desires by sucking the blood of those who still have [[life]]. Without understanding the reality of the [[spiritual world]], the appearance of such beings could well be interpreted in the context of real creatures, such as [[bat]]s. However, the vampire is never satisfied in this way, but only torments those on earth until its "death," and the spirit can finally find its way to an [[afterlife]] existence.
-|Image_Caption  = ''The Vampire'', [[Philip Burne-Jones]], 1897
-|Grouping      = [[mythical]],[[supernatural]],<br>[[cryptid]]
-|Country        = [[World]]
-|Habitat        = Land
-|First_Reported = [[1300]]
-|Last_Sighted  = 1800
-|Status        = False
-}}
-'''Vampires''' are [[mythology|mythological]] or [[folklore|folkloric]] beings that [[hematophagy|subsist]] on human and/or animal lifeforce. In most cases, they are reanimated [[Dead body|corpses]] who feed by draining and consuming the [[blood]] of living beings. In folklore, the term usually refers to the blood-drinking humans of [[Eastern European]] legends, but the term is often applied to similar legendary creatures from other regions and cultures. The characteristics of vampires vary widely among these different traditions. Some cultures also have stories of non-human vampires, including real animals such as [[bat]]s, [[dog]]s, [[spider]]s, and mythical creatures such as the [[chupacabra]].
-Vampires are a frequent subject of [[fiction]]al [[book]]s and [[films]], although fictional vampires are often attributed [[Vampire fiction#Traits of vampires in fiction|traits]] distinct from those of folkloric vampires.
-'''Vampirism''' is the practice of drinking blood from a person or animal. In folklore and popular culture, the term refers to a belief that one can gain [[supernatural]] powers by drinking human blood. The historical practice of vampirism can generally be considered a more specific and less commonly occurring form of [[cannibalism]]. The consumption of another's blood (or flesh) has been used as a tactic of [[psychological warfare]] intended to terrorize the enemy, and can be used to reflect various spiritual beliefs.
-In [[zoology]] and [[botany]], the term vampirism is used in reference to [[leech]]es, [[mosquito]]s, [[mistletoe]], [[vampire bat]]s, and other [[organism]]s that subsist on the bodily fluids of others{{Fact|date=April 2007}}.
 ==Etymology==
-The English word 'vampire' was derived (perhaps via [[French language|French]] ''vampyre'') from the [[German language|German]] ''Vampir,'' in turn thought to be derived in the early 18th century<ref name=Grimm>{{cite web|url=http://germazope.uni-trier.de/Projects/WBB/woerterbuecher/dwb/wbgui?lemid=GV00025|title = Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm. 16 Bde. (in 32 Teilbänden). Leipzig: S. Hirzel 1854-1960.|accessdate=2006-06-13}} {{de icon}}</ref> from [[Serbian language|Serbian]] вампир/''vampir'',<ref name=MW>{{cite web|title=Vampire|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] Online Dictionary|url=http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/vampire|accessdate=2006-06-13}}</ref><ref name=Tresor>{{cite web|url=http://atilf.atilf.fr/dendien/scripts/fast.exe?mot=vampire|title = Trésor de la Langue Française informatisé|accessdate=2006-06-13}} {{fr icon}}</ref><ref>Dauzat, Albert, 1938. Dictionnaire étymologique. Librairie Larousse. {{fr icon}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Weibel|first=Peter|title = Phantom Painting - Reading Reed: Painting between Autopsy and Autoscopy|publisher=David Reed's Vampire Study Center|url=http://thegalleriesatmoore.org/publications/vampirestudy/weiben12.shtml|accessdate=2007-02-23}}</ref> or [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] ''vámpír''.<ref name=COD>The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English. 1955</ref><ref name=OED>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=v|title = Online Etymology Dictionary|accessdate=2006-06-13}}</ref> The Serbian and Hungarian forms have parallels in virtually all [[Slavic languages]]: [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] вампир (''vampir''), [[Czech language|Czech]] and [[Slovak language|Slovak]] ''upír'', [[Polish language|Polish]] ''wąpierz'' and (perhaps [[East Slavic languages|East Slavic]]-influenced) ''upiór'', [[Russian language|Russian]] упырь (''upyr' ''), [[Belarussian language|Belarussian]] упiр (''upyr''), [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] упирь (''upir' ''), from [[Old Russian language|Old Russian]] упирь (''upir' ''). (Note that many of these languages have also borrowed forms such as "vampir/wampir" secondarily from the West). The etymology is uncertain.<ref>Tokarev, S.A. et al. 1982. ''Mify narodov mira.'' ("Myths of the peoples of the world". A Russian encyclopedia of mythology) </ref> Among the proposed [[proto-Slavic language|proto-Slavic]] forms are *{{Unicode|ǫpyrь}} and *{{Unicode|ǫpirь}}.<ref name=Vasmer>{{cite web|url=http://vasmer.narod.ru/p752.htm|title = Russian Etymological Dictionary by [[Max Vasmer]] |accessdate=2006-06-13}} (Russian)</ref> The Slavic word might, like its possible Russian cognate ''netopyr''' ("bat"), come from the [[PIE|Proto-Indo-European]] root for "to fly".<ref name=Vasmer>{{cite web|url=http://vasmer.narod.ru/p752.htm|title = Russian Etymological Dictionary by [[Max Vasmer]] |accessdate=2006-06-13}} (Russian)</ref>
+The [[English language|English]] word '''vampire''' is a derivative of the [[German]] ''vampir,'' which became "vampire" when passed into [[French language|French]], and stayed the same when it was assimilated into English. The German form came from [[Slavic language|Slavic]] and [[Slovak language|Slovak]] variants, such as the [[Polish language|Polish]] ''upior,'' the [[Belarussian language|Belarussian]] ''upyr,'' [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Russian language|Russian]] ''upir'', and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] ''vapir.''<ref>''The Oxford English Dictionary'' (Oxford Press, 1971). ISBN 019861117X </ref> The first recorded use of the English variation "vampire" comes from a [[police]] report in [[Austria]]n controlled [[Serbia]] during the sixteenth century, in which the police were investigating vampire claims made by local [[peasant]]s.
-The first recorded use of the Old Russian form Упирь (''Upir' '') is commonly believed to be in a document dated 6555 (1047 C.E.).{{Fact|date=February 2007}} <!--Please note that the citation request is about this being the *first* occurrence of the word (not just about the fact that it is used there). The source should be a reliable scholarly publication, an etymological dictionary, or at least popular "vampire" non-fiction, rather than a vampire fan forum or something like that; . —~~~~ —> It is a [[Colophon (publishing)|colophon]] in a manuscript of [[the Book of Psalms]] written by a priest who transcribed the book from [[Glagolitic alphabet|Glagolitic]] into [[Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic]] for the [[Novgorod]]ian Prince [[Vladimir of Novgorod|Vladimir Yaroslavovich]].<ref name=Bible>{{Citation|first=A. I.|last=Sobolevskij|title = Slavjano-russkaja paleografija|year=|pages=|publisher=|url= http://www.textology.ru/drevnost/srp2.shtml}} {{ru icon}}</ref><ref>http://www.stsl.ru/manuscripts/book.php?col=1&manuscript=089 The original manuscript, Книги 16 Пророков толковыя</ref>The priest writes that his name is "''Upir' '' ''Likhyi'' " (Упирь Лихый), which would mean something like "Wicked Vampire"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slav.su.se/jubileum.html|title=Löfstrand, Elisabeth. V nacale bylo slovo - om språkhistorisk forskning vid Institutionen för slaviska och baltiska språk. Föreläsningar hållna vid Institutionens för slaviska och baltiska språk femtioårsjubileum 1994|accessdate=2007-02-28}}</ref> or "Foul Vampire."<ref name=Opir>{{cite journal|last = Lind|first = John H|title = Varangians in Europe’s Eastern and Northern Periphery|journal = ennen & nyt|issue = 4| date = 2004|url = http://www.ennenjanyt.net/4-04/lind.html|id = ISSN: 1458-1396|accessdate = 2007-02-20}}</ref> This apparently strange name has been cited as an example of surviving [[paganism]] and/or of the use of nicknames as personal names.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndce.ru/fulltext/pdf/1000292.pdf|title = Ванькова А.Б., Родионов О.А., Долотова И.А. История России. 6-7 кл : Учебник для основной школы: В 2-х частях. Ч. 1: С древнейших времен до конца XVI века.- М.: ЦГО, 2002.- 256 c. : ил.; 60х90/16 .- ISBN 5-7662-0149-4 (В пер.) , 1000 экз. (тир.) УДК 371.671.11:94(47).01/04.. ББК 63.3(2)4я721.|accessdate=2007-02-28}}</ref> However, in 1982<!--http://slav.su.se/jubileum.html (in Swedish)—>, Swedish Slavicist Anders Sjöberg suggested that "Upir' likhyi" was in fact an Old Russian transcription and/or translation of the name of [[Öpir|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.<ref name=Opir>{{cite journal|last = Lind|first = John H|title = Varangians in Europe’s Eastern and Northern Periphery|journal = ennen & nyt|issue = 4| date = 2004|url = http://www.ennenjanyt.net/4-04/lind.html|id = ISSN: 1458-1396|accessdate = 2007-02-20}}</ref> Another early use of the Old Russian word is in the anti-pagan treatise "Word of Saint Grigoriy," dated variously to the 11<sup>th</sup>-13<sup>th</sup> centuries, where pagan worship of ''upyri'' is reported.<ref>{{cite web|url =http://historic.ru/books/item/f00/s00/z0000031/index.shtml|title = Рыбаков Б.А. Язычество древних славян / М.: Издательство 'Наука', 1981 г.|accessdate=2007-02-28}}</ref><ref name=period>{{cite journal|last = Зубов|first = Н.И.|title = Загадка периодизации славянского язычества в древнерусских списках “Слова св. Григория … о том, како первое погани суще языци, кланялися идолом…”|journal = Живая старина|issue = 1(17)| date = 1998|url = http://kapija.narod.ru/Ethnoslavistics/zub_period.htm|accessdate=2007-02-28}}</ref>
+In [[zoology]] and [[botany]], the term "vampirism" is used in reference to [[leech]]es, [[mosquito]]s, [[mistletoe]], [[vampire bat]]s, and other [[organism]]s that subsist on the bodily fluids of others.
-The first well-documented use of the word ''Vampire'' in the West was from Austrian-controlled Serbia in reports prepared by Austrian police officials between 1725 and 1732 investigating reports of vampires arising from the dead to attack villagers (see [[Vampire#Eighteenth century vampire controversy|below]] for more details).
+==Ancient origins==
+Nearly every ancient [[culture]] considered [[blood]] to be [[sacred]]. It was often thought of as not only a physical requirement for [[life]], but also as the life-force of humankind. [[Ritual]]s involving both [[animal]] and human blood (although human blood was usually held in higher esteem than the blood of animals) were common in many societies. It is, therefore, not surprising that ideas of creatures which lived off blood were popular in ancient times.
-==Vampire analogies in ancient cultures==
+Vampire-like [[spiritual being|spirits]] called the [[Lilu]] are mentioned in early [[Babylonian mythology|Babylonian demonology]], and the even more ancient bloodsucking [[Akhkharu]] is discussed in [[Sumer]]ian mythology. These female [[demon]]s were said to roam during the hours of darkness, hunting and killing newborn babies and pregnant women. One of the demons, named Lilitu, was later adapted into [[Jewish demonology]] as [[Lilith]].<ref>Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu, ''In Search of Dracula'' (Houghton Mifflin, 1994). ISBN 0395657830</ref>
-Tales of the dead craving blood are found in nearly every culture around the world,<ref>{{cite book |last=McNally |first=Raymond T. |coauthors=Radu Florescu |title=In Search of Dracula |year=1994 |id=ISBN 0-395-65783-0 |pages= 117 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote = }}</ref> including some of the most ancient ones. Vampire-like [[spiritual being|spirits]] called the [[Lilu]] are mentioned in early [[Babylonian mythology|Babylonian demonology]], and the even more ancient bloodsucking [[Akhkharu]] in [[Sumer]]ian mythology. These female demons were said to roam during the hours of darkness, hunting and killing newborn babies and pregnant women. One of the demons, named Lilitu, was later adapted to [[Jewish demonology]] as [[Lilith]].
-In [[India]], tales of [[vetala]]s, ghoul-like beings that inhabit corpses, are found in old [[Sanskrit]] [[folklore]]. A prominent story tells of King [[Vikramāditya]] and his nightly quests to capture an elusive vetala. The vetala legends have been compiled in the book ''[[Baital Pachisi]]''. The vetala is an undead creature, who like the bat associated with modern day vampirism, hangs upside down on trees found in cremation grounds and cemeteries.
+In [[India]], tales of [[vetala]]s, ghoul-like beings that inhabited corpses, are found in old [[Sanskrit]] [[folklore]]. Like the [[bat]] associated with modern day vampirism, they were said to hang upside down on trees found in burial grounds and [[cemetery|cemeteries]]. A prominent story tells of King [[Vikramāditya]] and his nightly quests to capture an elusive vetala. The vetala legends have been compiled in the book ''Baital Pachisi.''<ref>Isabel Burton and Richard F. Burton, ''Vikram and the Vampire or Tales of Hindu Devilry (Baital Pachisi)'' (South Asia Books, 1985). ISBN 8170690048</ref>
-The [[hopping corpse]] is an equivalent of the vampire in [[China|Chinese]] tradition; however, it consumes the victim's life essence ([[qì]]) rather than blood.
+The "[[hopping corpse]]" may be considered the [[China|Chinese]] equivalent of the vampire. However, this creature fed on a person's [[qi]], or life force, which in China was understood as separate from the blood. In other respects it keeps within the tradition of vampiric behavior. The [[Ancient Egypt]]ian goddess [[Sekhmet]], in one [[Mythology|myth]], became full of bloodlust after slaughtering humans and was only sated after drinking [[alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] colored as blood.
-The [[Ancient Egypt]]ian goddess [[Sekhmet]] in one [[Mythology|myth]] became full of bloodlust after slaughtering humans and was only sated after drinking [[alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] colored as blood.
+These are but a few examples of the numerous traditions of creatures that practice vampirism. The [[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] and demonic version of the vampire did not emerge until centuries later, however, in [[Eastern Europe]] folklore.
-The [[strix (mythology)|strix]], a nocturnal bird that fed on human flesh and blood is mentioned in Roman tales. The [[Romania]]n word for vampires, [[strigoi]], is derived from the word, as is the name of the [[Albania]]n [[Shtriga]], but the myths about those creatures show primarily Slavic influence. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
+==Folk beliefs in vampires==
+The modern day representation of vampires owes itself directly to the [[folklore]] of [[Eastern Europe]]. It is probable that the ancient beliefs in creatures that fed off human life carried over into this area of the world and mixed with other beliefs, producing the human vampire. Some scholars have suggested this belief in vampires arose because of a series of deaths due to unidentifiable or mysterious illnesses, usually within the same family or the same small community. The rare blood disorder [[Porphyria]], which causes increased sensitivity of the skin to direct sunlight and makes teeth appear larger than normal, as well as [[rabies]], which can make a human act like a wild animal, have been cited by some as misunderstood disorders that helped spur the belief in vampires.<ref>Paul S. Sledzik and Nicholas Bellantoni, [http://users.net1plus.com/vyrdolak/tableone.htm Bioarcheological and Biocultural Evidence for the New England Vampire Folk Belief] in ''The American Journal of Physical Anthropology'' (1994). No. 94. Retrieved July 16, 2007. </ref>
-As an example of the prominence of similar legends in later times, it can be noted that [[1100s|12th century]] [[England|English]] historians and chroniclers [[Walter Map]] and [[William of Newburgh]] recorded [[Medieval revenant|accounts of revenants]] that arguably bear some resemblance to [[Vampire#Folk beliefs in vampires|East European vampires]].
+Beliefs regarding [[death]] and [[mortality]] may also have played an important role. Often in old folklore, those who committed [[suicide]] or were brutally [[murder]]ed were susceptible to becoming vampires, since the natural course of their life was interrupted.
-==Folk beliefs in vampires==
+It is difficult to make a single description of the folkloric vampire, because its properties vary widely between different cultures. However, here are some of the more common characteristics among vampire legends:
-The vampire myth as we know it is most strongly rooted in East European (particularly Slavic) folklore. Here, vampires are usually [[Medieval revenant|revenants]] of suicide victims, criminals or evil sorcerers, though in some cases a vampire could pass his vampirism onto his innocent victims. It was also thought that a victim of a cruel, untimely or violent death was susceptible to becoming a vampire. Vampires were accused of killing people, often by drinking blood, but also by throttling, or sitting on them to prevent breathing. In this folklore, a vampire could be destroyed by cutting off its head, by driving a wooden stake into its heart, or by burning the corpse.
-<!-- In medieval French mythology, there was a story that was told to give a vampire's reason to drink the blood of living things. There was once a vicious battle, that left only 8 soldiers alive. They vowed to stand together. A demon showed up and made them a proposition. He offered them eternal life, and all but one accepted. They killed the one that did not accept and drank his blood to seal the pact. Ashamed of what they had done, they stowed away in the shadows, never returning into the light. Another part of the deal was that they could not eat food. Only blood. Over the years, they raped women, and that spread the curse. It was a base for the movie, ''The Forsaken''. —>
+*The appearance of the European folkloric vampire mostly concerned features by which one was supposed to tell a vampiric corpse from a normal one, when the grave of a suspected vampire was opened. The vampire has a "healthy" appearance and ruddy skin, he is often plump, his nails and hair have grown and, above all, he or she is not in the least decomposed.
+*The most common ways to destroy the vampire are driving a wooden stake through the heart, decapitation, and incinerating the body completely. Ways to prevent a suspected vampire from rising from the grave in the first place include burying it upside-down, severing the tendons at the knees, or placing poppy seeds on the ground at the grave site of a presumed vampire in order to keep the vampire occupied all night counting.
+*[[Apotropaic]]s, objects intended to inhibit or ward off vampires (as well as other evil supernatural creatures), include [[garlic]] (confined mostly to European legends), sunlight, a branch of [[wild rose]], the [[Common hawthorn|hawthorn]] plant, and all things [[sacred]] (such as [[holy water]], a [[crucifix]], and a [[rosary]]).
+*Vampires are sometimes considered to be [[Shapeshifting|shape-shifters]], not limited to the common [[bat]] [[stereotype]] depicted in [[cartoon]]s and [[movie]]s. Rather, vampires are said to morph into a wide variety of animals such as [[wolf|wolves]], [[rat]]s, [[moth]]s, [[spider]]s, and so on.
+*Vampires in European folklore are said to cast no shadow and no reflection, perhaps arising from folklore regarding the vampire's lack of a [[soul]].<ref>Lewis Spence, ''An Encyclopaedia of Occultism'' (University Books, Inc., 1960).</ref>
+*Some traditions hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited, although after this they can come and go as they please without further permission.
+*[[Christian]] tradition holds that vampires cannot enter a church or holy place, as they are servants of the [[devil]].
-[[Image:Munch vampire.jpg|225px|thumb|''Vampyren'' "The Vampire", by [[Edvard Munch]]]]
 ===Slavic vampires===
-In Slavic lore, causes of vampirism include being born with a [[caul]], teeth or tail, being conceived on certain days, "unnatural" death, [[excommunication]], and improper burial rituals. Many Serbians believed that having red hair was a vampiric trait. Preventive measures included placing a [[crucifix]] in the coffin, placing blocks under the chin to prevent the body from eating the shroud, nailing clothes to coffin walls for the same reason, putting sawdust in the coffin (so that the vampire awakens in the evening and compelled to count every grain of sawdust, which occupies the entire evening, so he will die when at dawn) or piercing the body with thorns or stakes. In the case of stakes, the general idea was to pierce through the vampire and into the ground below, pinning the body down. Certain people would bury those believed to be potential vampires with scythes above their necks, so the dead would decapitate themselves as they rose.
+In [[Slavic]] lore, causes of vampirism include being born with a [[caul]] (the remnants of the [[amniotic sac]] seen as a shimmery coating of the head and face immediately after birth), teeth, or tail, being conceived on certain days, "unnatural" death, [[excommunication]], and improper [[burial]] rituals. Many [[Serbia]]ns believed that having red hair was a vampiric trait.
-Evidence that a vampire was active in a given locality included death of cattle, sheep, relatives or neighbours; an exhumed body being in a lifelike state with new growth of the fingernails or hair; a body swelled up like a drum; or blood on the mouth coupled with a ruddy complexion.
-Vampires, like other Slavic legendary monsters, were afraid of garlic and were compelled to count particles of grain, sawdust, and the like. Vampires could be destroyed by staking, [[decapitation]] (the [[Kashub]]s placed the head between the feet), [[execution by burning|burning]], repeating the funeral service, sprinkling [[holy water]] on the body, or [[exorcism]].
-The most famous Serbian vampire was [[Sava Savanovic]], famous from a folklore-inspired novel by [[Milovan Glišić]].<ref>[[Milovan Glišić|Glišić, Milovan]], "Posle devedeset godina" (''Ninety Years Later'')</ref>
+Preventive measures included placing a [[crucifix]] in the coffin, placing blocks under the chin to prevent the body from eating the shroud, nailing clothes to coffin walls for the same reason, putting sawdust in the coffin (so that when the vampire awakens in the evening he is compelled to count every grain of sawdust, which occupies the entire night, so that he will die at dawn) or piercing the body with thorns or stakes. In the case of stakes, the general idea was to pierce through the vampire and into the ground below, pinning the body down. Certain people would bury those believed to be potential vampires with scythes above their necks, so the dead would decapitate themselves as they rose.
-As mentioned above, the Old Russian anti-[[pagan]] work ''Word of Saint Grigoriy'' (written in the 11th or 12th century) claims that polytheistic Russians made [[sacrifice]]s to vampires.
+Evidence that a vampire was active in a given locality included death of [[cattle]], [[sheep]], relatives, or neighbors; an exhumed body being in a lifelike state with new growth of the fingernails or hair; a body swelled up like a drum; or blood on the mouth coupled with a ruddy complexion. Vampires, like other Slavic [[legendary creature]]s, were afraid of garlic and were compelled to count particles of grain, sawdust, and the like. The most famous Serbian vampire was [[Sava Savanovic]], from a folklore-inspired novel by [[Milovan Glišić]].
 ===Romanian vampires===
-Tales of vampiric entities were found among the [[ancient Rome|ancient Romans]] and the Romanized inhabitants of eastern Europe, [[Romanians]] (known as [[Vlachs]] in historical context). [[Romania]] is surrounded by Slavic countries, so it is not surprising that Romanian and Slavic vampires are similar. Romanian vampires are called [[Strigoi]], based on the ancient Greek term ''strix'' for [[screech owl]], which also came to mean [[demon]] or [[witch]].
+[[Romania]] is surrounded by Slavic countries, so it is not surprising that Romanian and Slavic vampires are similar. Romanian vampires are called ''Strigoi,'' based on the ancient Greek term ''strix,'' for [[screech owl]], which also came to mean [[demon]] or [[witch]].
-There are different types of ''Strigoi''. Live ''Strigoi'' are live witches who will become vampires after death. They have the ability to send out their souls at night to meet with other witches or with ''Strigoi'', which are reanimated bodies that return to suck the blood of family, livestock, and neighbours. Other types of vampires in [[Romanian folklore]] include [[Moroi]] and [[Pricolici]].
-Romanian tradition described a myriad of ways of bringing about a vampire. A person born with a [[caul]], an extra nipple, a tail, or extra hair was doomed to become a vampire. The same fate applied to someone born too early, someone whose mother encountered [[black cat]] cross her path, and someone who was born out of [[wedlock]]. Others who became vampires were those who died an unnatural death or before [[baptism]], the seventh child in any family (presuming all of his or her previous siblings were of the same sex), the child of a [[pregnant]] woman who avoided eating [[salt]], and a person who was looked upon by a vampire or a witch. Moreover, being bitten by a vampire meant certain condemnation to a vampiric existence after death.
+There are different types of ''Strigoi.'' Live ''Strigoi'' are live witches who will become vampires after death. They have the ability to send out their [[soul]]s at night to meet with other witches or with other ''Strigoi,'' which are reanimated bodies that return to suck the blood of family, livestock, and neighbors. Other types of vampires in [[Romanian folklore]] include ''Moroi'' and ''Pricolici.''
-The ''Vârcolac'', which is sometimes mentioned in Romanian folklore, was more closely related to a mythological wolf that could devour the sun and moon (similar to [[Skoll]] and [[Hati]] in [[Norse mythology]]), and  hence later became connected with werewolves rather than vampires. (A person afflicted with [[lycanthropy]] could turn into a dog, pig, or wolf.)
+Romanian tradition described a myriad of ways of bringing about a vampire. A person born with a [[caul]], an extra nipple, a tail, or extra hair was doomed to become a vampire. The same fate applied to someone born too early, someone whose mother encountered a [[black cat]] crossing her path, and someone who was born out of [[marriage|wedlock]]. Others who became vampires were those who died an unnatural death or before [[baptism]], the seventh child in any family (presuming all of his or her previous siblings were of the same gender), the child of a [[pregnancy|pregnant]] woman who avoided eating [[salt]], and a person who was looked upon by a vampire or a witch. Moreover, being bitten by a vampire meant certain condemnation to a vampiric existence after death.
-The vampire was usually first noticed when it attacked family and livestock, or threw things around in the house. Vampires, along with witches, were believed to be most active on the Eve of [[St George's Day]] ([[April 22]] on the [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]], and [[May 6]] on the  [[Julian calendar]]), the night when all forms of evil were supposed to be abroad. St George's Day is still celebrated in [[Europe]].
+The vampire was usually first noticed when it attacked family and livestock, or threw things around in the house. Vampires, along with witches, were believed to be most active on the Eve of [[St George's Day]] (April 22 on the [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]], and May 6 on the  [[Julian calendar]]), the night when all forms of evil were supposed to be abroad.
-A vampire in the grave could be discerned by holes in the earth, an [[Decomposition|undecomposed]] corpse with a red face, or with one foot in the corner of the coffin. Living vampires were identified by distributing garlic in church and observing who would refuse to eat it.
+A vampire in the grave could be discerned by holes in the earth, an [[Decomposition|un-decomposed]] corpse with a red face, or with one foot in the corner of the coffin. Living vampires were identified by distributing garlic in church and observing who would refuse to eat it. Graves were often opened three years after the death of a child, five years after the death of a young person, or seven years after the death of an adult to check for vampirism.
-Graves were often opened three years after the death of a child, five years after the death of a young person, or seven years after the death of an adult to check for vampirism.
+Measures to prevent a person from becoming a vampire included removing the caul from a newborn and destroying it before the baby could eat it, careful preparation of dead bodies, including preventing animals from passing over the corpse, placing a thorny branch of wild rose in the grave, and placing garlic on windows and rubbing it on cattle, especially on St George's and St Andrew's day. To destroy a vampire, a stake was driven through the body, followed by decapitation, and placing garlic in the mouth. By the nineteenth century, one would also shoot a bullet through the coffin. For resistant cases, the body was dismembered and the pieces burned, mixed with water, and administered to family members as a cure.
-Measures to prevent a person from becoming a vampire included removing the caul from a newborn and destroying it before the baby could eat it, careful preparation of dead bodies, including preventing animals from passing over the corpse, placing a thorny branch of wild rose in the grave, and placing garlic on windows and rubbing it on cattle, especially on [[St George's Day|St George's]] and St Andrew's day.
-To destroy a vampire, a stake was driven through the body, followed by decapitation and placing garlic in the mouth. By the 19th century, one would also shoot a bullet through the coffin. For resistant cases, the body was dismembered and the pieces burned, mixed with water, and administered to family members as a cure.
 ===Greek vampires===
-Belief in vampires was common in nineteenth century Greece.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Year Round - Vampires and Ghouls | author=Dickens, Charles Jr |  url=http://gogreece.about.com/od/weirdgreece/a/weirdcrete.htm | accessmonthday=18 March |accessyear=2007}}</ref> Greek customs may have propagated this belief, notably a ritual that entailed exhuming the deceased after three years of death,  and observing the extent of decay. If the body was fully decayed, the remaining bones were put in a box by relatives and wine poured over them, a priest would then read from scriptures. However, if the body had not sufficiently decayed, the corpse would be labelled a vampire.
+Belief in vampires was common in nineteenth century [[Greece]].<ref>Charles Jr. Dickens, A Cretan Tale of Vampires.</ref> Greek customs may have propagated this belief, notably a ritual that entailed exhuming the deceased three years after their death, and observing the extent of decay. If the body was fully decayed, the remaining bones were put in a box by relatives and wine poured over them, a priest would then read from scriptures. However, if the body had not sufficiently decayed, the corpse would be labeled a vampire.
-According to Greek beliefs, vampirism could occur through various means: excommunication or desecrating a religious day, committing a great crime, or dying alone. Other more superstitious causes include having a cat jump across the grave, eating meat from a sheep killed by a wolf or having been cursed. It was also believed in more remote regions of Greece that unbaptized people would be doomed to vampirism in the afterlife.
+According to Greek beliefs, vampirism could occur through various means: [[Excommunication]] or desecrating a religious day, committing a great [[crime]], or dying alone. Other more [[superstition|superstitious]] causes include having a [[cat]] jump across the grave, eating meat from a [[sheep]] killed by a [[wolf]], or having been cursed. It was also believed in more remote regions of Greece that unbaptized people would be doomed to vampirism in the [[afterlife]].
-The appearance of vampires varied throughout Greece and were usually thought to be indistinguishable from living people, giving rise to many folk tales with this theme.<ref>[http://www.anagnosis.gr/index.php?pageID=119&la=eng Greek Vampires]</ref> However, this was not the case everywhere: on [[Mount Pelion]] vampires glowed in the dark, while on the Saronic islands vampires were thought to be hunchbacks with long nails; on the island of [[Lesbos]] vampires were thought to have long canine teeth much like wolves.
+The appearance of vampires varied throughout Greece and were usually thought to be indistinguishable from living people, giving rise to many folk tales with this theme.<ref>John L. Tomkinson, [http://www.anagnosis.gr/index.php?pageID=74&la=eng ''Haunted Greece: Nymphs, vampires and other Exotika''] (Anagnosis, Athens, 2004). ISBN 9608808707</ref> However, this was not the case everywhere: On [[Mount Pelion]] vampires glowed in the dark, while on the Saronic islands, vampires were thought to be hunchbacks with long nails; on the island of [[Lesbos]] vampires were thought to have long canine teeth much like wolves. Vampires could be harmless, sometimes returning to support their widows by their work. However, they were usually thought to be ravenous predators, killing their victims who would be condemned to become vampires. Vampires were so feared for their potential for great harm that a village or an island would occasionally be stricken by a mass panic if a vampire invasion were believed imminent. Nicholas Dragoumis records such a panic on [[Naxos]] in the 1930s, following a cholera epidemic.
-Vampires could be harmless, sometimes returning to support their widows by their work. However, they were usually thought to be ravenous predators, killing their victims who would be condemned to become vampires. Vampires were so feared for their potential for great harm, that a village or an island would occasionally be stricken by a mass panic if a vampire invasion were believed imminent. Nicholas Dragoumis records such a panic on [[Naxos]] in the 1930s, following a cholera epidemic.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
+Varieties of wards were employed for protection in different places, including blessed bread (antidoron) from the church, crosses, and black-handled knives. To prevent vampires from rising from the dead, their hearts were pierced with iron nails whilst resting in their graves, or their bodies burned and the ashes scattered. Because the Church opposed burning people who had been [[baptism|baptized]], [[cremation]] was considered a last resort.
-Varieties of wards were employed for protection in different places, including blessed bread (antidoron) from the church, crosses and black-handled knives.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}  To prevent vampires from rising from the dead, their hearts were pierced with iron nails whilst resting in their graves, or their bodies burned and the ashes scattered. Because the Church opposed burning people who had received the myron of [[chrismation]] in the baptism ritual, cremation was considered a last resort.<ref>Tomkinson, John L., [http://www.anagnosis.gr/index.php?pageID=74&la=eng ''Haunted Greece: Nymphs, vampires and other Exotika''], Anagnosis, Athens, 2004 ISBN 960-88087-0-7</ref>
+===Roma vampires===
+Traditional [[Romani]] beliefs claim that the dead [[soul]] enters a world similar to their own, except that there is no [[death]]. The soul lingers next to the body and sometimes wants to return to [[life]]. The Roma [[legend]]s of the "living dead" have indeed enriched the vampire legends of [[Hungary]], [[Romania]], and the [[Slavic]] world.
-===Roma vampire beliefs===
+The ancient home of the Roma, [[India]], describes many vampiric entities. The ''Bhut'' or ''Prét'' is the soul of a man who died an untimely death. It wanders around animating dead bodies at night, attacking the living much like a [[ghoul]]. In northern India, there is  the ''BrahmarākŞhasa,'' a vampire-like creature with a head encircled by [[intestine]]s and a skull from which it drank [[blood]]. [[Vetala]] and [[pishacha]] are other creatures who resemble vampires.
-Even today, [[Roma (people)|Roma]] frequently feature in vampire fiction and film, no doubt influenced by the [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]'', in which the Szgany Roma served Dracula, carrying his boxes of earth and guarding him.
-Traditional Romani beliefs claim that the dead soul enters a world similar to ours except that there is no death. The soul lingers next to the body and sometimes wants to return to life. The Roma legends of the living dead have indeed enriched the vampire legends of Hungary, Romania and the Slavic world.
+The most famous Indian deity associated with drinking blood is [[Kali]], who has fangs, wears a garland of corpses or skulls, and has four arms. Her temples are located near [[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 him. Sara, or the Black Goddess, is the form in which Kali survived among Roma. Some Roma believe that the three Marys from the New Testament went to [[France]] and baptized a Gypsy called Sara. They still hold a ceremony every May 24, in the French village where this is supposed to have occurred. Some refer to this Black Goddess as "Black Cally" or "Black Kali."
-The ancient home of the Roma, India describe many vampire entities. The [[Bhut]] or '''Prét''' is the soul of a man who died an untimely death. It wanders around animating dead bodies at night, attacking the living much like a [[ghoul]]. In northern India, there is  the '''BrahmarākŞhasa''', a vampire-like creature with a head encircled by intestines and a skull from which it drank blood. [[Vetala]] and [[pishacha]] are other creatures who resemble vampires to an extent. Since Hinduism believes in [[reincarnation]] of the soul, it is supposed that leading an unholy or immoral life, sin or suicide, will lead the soul to reincarnate into such evil spirits. This kind of reincarnation does not arise out of birth from a womb, but is achieved directly, and such evil spirits' fate is predetermined as to how they shall achieve liberation from that '''[[yoni]]''', and re-enter the world of mortal flesh in the next incarnation.
+One form of vampire in Romani folklore is called a ''mullo'' (one who is dead). This vampire is believed to return and do malicious things and/or suck the blood of a person (usually a relative who had caused their death, or did not properly observe the burial ceremonies, or who kept their possessions instead of destroying them, as was proper). Female vampires could return, lead a normal life, and even marry, but would eventually exhaust the husband. Anyone who had a horrible appearance, was missing a finger, or had appendages similar to those of an animal, was believed to be a vampire. If a person died unseen, he would become a vampire, likewise if a corpse swelled before burial. Dogs, cats, plants, or even agricultural tools could become vampires. [[Pumpkin]]s or [[melon]]s kept in the house too long would start to move, make noises or show blood.
-The most famous Indian deity associated with drinking blood is [[Kali]], who has fangs, wears a garland of corpses or skulls and has four arms. Her temples are located near 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 him.
+To get rid of a vampire, one could hire a ''Dhampir'' (the son of a vampire and his widow) or a ''Moroi'' to detect the vampire. To ward off vampires, gypsies drove [[steel]] or [[iron]] needles into a corpse's heart and placed pieces of steel in the mouth, over the eyes, ears, and between the fingers at the time of burial. They also placed [[Common hawthorn|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, as well as decapitating or burning the corpse.
-Sara, or the Black Goddess, is the form in which Kali survived among Roma. Some Roma believe that the three Marys from the New Testament went to [[France]] and baptised a Gypsy called Sara. They still hold a ceremony every [[May 24]] in the French village where this is supposed to have occurred.  Some refer to their Black Goddess as "Black Cally" or "Black Kali".
+Even today, Roma frequently feature in vampire fiction and film, no doubt influenced by [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]],'' in which the Szgany Roma served Dracula, carrying his boxes of earth and guarding him.
-One form of vampire in Romani folklore is called a [[mullo (vampire)|mullo]] (one who is dead). This vampire is believed to return and do malicious things and/or suck the blood of a person (usually a relative who had caused their death, or did not properly observe 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 eventually exhaust the husband.<ref name=EoOc>Spence, Lewis. "An Encyclopaedia of Occultism". Published by University Books, Inc., 1960.</ref>
-Anyone who had a horrible appearance, was missing a finger, or had appendages similar to those of an animal, was believed to be a vampire. If a person died unseen, he would become a vampire, likewise if a corpse swelled before burial. Dogs, cats, plants or even agricultural tools could become vampires. Pumpkins or melons kept in the house too long would start to move, make noises or show blood. ''(See the article on [[vampire watermelon]]s.)''
-To get rid of a vampire, one could hire a [[Dhampir]] (the son of a vampire and his widow) or a [[Moroi]] 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 [[Common hawthorn|hawthorn]] in the corpse's sock or drove a [[Common hawthorn|hawthorn]] stake through the legs. Further measures included driving stakes into the grave, pouring boiling water over it, as well as decapitating or burning the corpse.
-According to the late Serbian ethnologist [[Tatomir Vukanović]], Roma people in [[Kosovo]] believed that vampires were invisible to most people, but could be seen "by a twin brother and sister born on a Saturday who wear their drawers and shirts inside out." Likewise, a settlement could be protected from a vampire "by finding a twin brother and sister born on a Saturday and making them wear their shirts and drawers inside out...This pair could see the vampire out of doors at night, but immediately after it saw them it would have to flee, head over heels."
-Also, some believe that vampires may have the attributes of aliens thus some think they are not of Earth at all. They would rather be considered demons as the 13th century folklore may have suggested.
-===Some common traits of vampires in folklore===
-It is difficult to make a single description of the folkloric vampire, because its properties vary widely between different cultures.
-*The appearance of the European folkloric vampire contained mostly features by which one was supposed to tell a vampiric corpse from a normal one, when the grave of a suspected vampire was opened. The vampire has a "healthy" appearance and ruddy skin, he is often plump, his nails and hair have grown and, above all, he/she is not in the least decomposed.
-*The most common ways to destroy the vampire are driving a wooden stake through the heart, decapitation, and incinerating the body completely. Ways to prevent a suspected vampire from rising from the grave in the first place include burying it upside-down, severing the tendons at the knees, or placing poppy seeds on the ground at the gravesite of a presumed vampire in order to keep the vampire occupied all night counting. Chinese narratives about vampires also state that if a vampire comes across a sack of rice, s/he will have to count all of the grains. There are similar myths recorded on the Indian Subcontinent. South American tales of witches and other sorts of evil or mischievous spirits or beings have a similar aspect to it.<ref name=Jaramillo>Jaramillo Londoño, Agustín: ''Testamento del paisa''. Medellín. Editorial Bedout, 1967.</ref>
-* [[Apotropaic]]s, i.e. objects intended to inhibit or ward off vampires (as well as other evil supernatural creatures), include [[garlic]] (confined mostly to European legends), sunlight, a branch of [[wild rose]], the [[Common hawthorn|hawthorn]] plant, and all things sacred (e.g., [[holy water]], a [[crucifix]], a [[rosary]]) or an [[Aloe vera]] plant hung backwards behind the door or near it, in South American superstition.<ref name=Jaramillo>Jaramillo Londoño, Agustín: ''Testamento del paisa''. Medellín. Editorial Bedout, 1967.</ref> This weakness on the part of the vampire varies depending on the tale. In stories of other regions, other plants of holy or mystical properties sometimes have similar effects. In Eastern legends, vampiric creatures are often similarly warded by holy devices such as Shintō seals.<ref name=EoOc>Spence, Lewis. "An Encyclopaedia of Occultism". Published by University Books, Inc., 1960.</ref>
-*Vampires are sometimes considered to be [[Shapeshifting|shape-shifters]] not limited to the common bat stereotype depicted in cartoons and movies. (Rather, vampires are said to morph into a wide variety of animals such as wolves, rats, moths, spiders, and so on).
-*Vampires in European folklore are said to cast no shadow and no reflection, perhaps arising from folklore regarding the vampire's lack of a soul.<ref name=EoOc>Spence, Lewis. "An Encyclopaedia of Occultism". Published by University Books, Inc., 1960.</ref>
-*Some traditions hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited, although they only have to be invited once after this they can come and go as they please without further permission.<ref name=EoOc>Spence, Lewis. "An Encyclopaedia of Occultism". Published by University Books, Inc., 1960.</ref>
-*Christian tradition holds that vampires cannot enter a church or holy place, as they are servants of the devil.
-==Eighteenth century vampire controversy==
-During the 18th century, there was a major vampire scare in Eastern Europe. Even government officials frequently got dragged into the hunting and staking of vampires.
-The panic began with an outbreak of alleged "vampire" attacks in [[East Prussia]] in 1721 and in the [[Habsburg Monarchy]] from 1725 to 1734. Two famous vampire cases (which were the first to be officially recorded) involved [[Peter Plogojowitz]] and [[Arnold Paole]] from [[Serbia]]. As the story goes, Plogojowitz died at the age of 62, but came back a couple of times after his death asking his son for food. When the son refused, he was found dead the next day. Plogojowitz soon returned and attacked some neighbours who died from loss of blood.
-In the other famous case, Arnold Paole, an ex-soldier turned farmer who allegedly was attacked by a vampire years before, died while [[haying]]. After his death, people began to die, and it was widely believed that Paole had returned to prey on the neighbours.
-These two incidents were extremely well documented. Government officials examined (and wrote reports of) the cases and the bodies, and books were published afterwards of the Paole case and distributed around Europe. The controversy raged for a generation. The problem was exacerbated by rural epidemics of so-claimed vampire attacks, with locals digging up bodies. Many scholars said vampires did not exist, and attributed reports to premature burial, or [[rabies]].  Nonetheless, [[Antoine Augustine Calmet|Dom Augustine Calmet]], a well-respected French [[theologian]] and scholar, put together a carefully thought out treatise in 1746, which was at least ambiguous concerning the existence of vampires, if not admitting it explicitly. He amassed reports of vampire incidents and numerous readers, including both a critical [[Voltaire]] and supportive [[demonologist]]s, interpreted the treatise as claiming that vampires exist. In his ''Philosophical Dictionary'', Voltaire wrote on the vampires:
-''These vampires were corpses, who went out of their graves at night to suck the blood of the living, either at their throats or stomachs, after which they returned to their cemeteries. The persons so sucked waned, grew pale, and fell into consumption; while the sucking corpses grew fat, got rosy, and enjoyed an excellent appetite. It was in Poland, Hungary, Silesia, Moravia, Austria, and Lorraine, that the dead made this good cheer''.
-According to some recent research, and judging from the second edition of the work in 1751, Calmet was actually somewhat sceptical towards the vampire concept as a whole. He did acknowledge that parts of the reports, such as the preservation of corpses, might be true.<ref name=Introvigne>{{cite web|url=http://www.cesnur.org/testi/vampires_wdc.htm|title = Introvigne, Massimo. 1997. ''Satanism Scares and Vampirism from the 18th Century to the Contemporary Anti-Cult Movement''. A paper presented at the World Dracula Congress, Los Angeles 1997.|accessdate=2006-06-17}} </ref> Whatever his personal convictions were, Calmet's apparent support for vampire belief had considerable influence on other scholars at the time.
-Eventually, Empress [[Maria Theresa of Austria]] sent her personal physician, Gerhard van Swieten, to investigate. He concluded that vampires do not exist, and the Empress passed laws prohibiting the opening of graves and desecration of bodies. This was the end of the vampire epidemics. By then, though, many knew about vampires, and soon authors would adopt and adapt the concept of vampire, making it known to the general public.
-==New England==
-During the late 18th and 19th centuries the belief in vampires was widespread in parts of New England, particularly in [[Rhode Island]] and Eastern [[Connecticut]]. In this region there are many documented cases of families disinterring loved ones and removing their hearts in the belief that the deceased was a vampire who was responsible for sickness and death in the family (although the word "vampire" was never used to describe him/her). The deadly [[tuberculosis]], or "consumption" as it was known at the time, was believed to be caused by nightly visitations on the part of a dead family member (who had died of consumption him/herself<ref name=Table>{{cite web|url=http://users.net1plus.com/vyrdolak/tableone.htm|title = Sledzik, Paul S. and Nicholas Bellantoni. 1994. Bioarcheological and Biocultural Evidence for the New England Vampire Folk Belief. In ''The American Journal of Physical Anthropology No. 94''. (A table of historic vampire accounts)|accessdate=2006-06-14}} </ref>). The most famous (and latest recorded) case is that of nineteen year old [[Mercy Brown vampire incident|Mercy Brown]] who died in Exeter, Rhode Island in 1892. Her father, assisted by the family physician, removed her from her tomb two months after her death. Her heart was cut out then burnt to ashes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seacoastnh.com/Places_&_Events/The_Grave_Site/Real_Vampires_in_New_England?/|title = Interview with a REAL Vampire Stalker|author= Bell, Michael E.|publisher=SeacoastNH.com    |accessdate=2006-06-14}} </ref> An account of this incident was found among the papers of Bram Stoker and the story closely resembles the events in his classic novel, Dracula.
 ==Modern belief in vampires==
-Belief in vampires persists to this day. While some cultures preserve their original traditions about the immortal, most modern-day believers are more influenced by the [[vampire fiction#traits of vampires in fiction|fictional image of the vampire]] as it occurs in films and literature.
+Beliefs in vampires persist to this day. While some cultures preserve their original traditions about the immortal, most modern-day believers are more influenced by the fictional image of the vampire as it occurs in [[film]]s and [[literature]].
-In the 1970s, there were rumours (spread by the local press) that a vampire haunted [[Highgate Cemetery]] in [[London]]. Amateur vampire hunters flocked in large numbers in 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 [[exorcise]]d and destroyed a whole nest of vampires in the area.
-In the modern folklore of [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Mexico]], the [[chupacabra]] (''goat-sucker'') is said to be a creature that feeds upon the flesh or drinks the blood of [[domesticated animal]]s, leading some to consider it a kind of vampire. The "chupacabra hysteria" was frequently associated with deep economic and political crises, particularly during the mid-1990s.
-During late 2002 and early 2003, [[hysteria]] about alleged attacks of vampires swept through the [[Africa]]n country of [[Malawi]]. Mobs stoned one individual to death and attacked at least four others, including Governor [[Eric Chiwaya]], based on the belief that the government was colluding with vampires.<ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2602461.stm 'Vampires' strike Malawi villages]", [[BBC News]], [[December 23]] [[2002]]</ref>
-In [[Romania]] during February of 2004, several relatives of the late 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.<ref>"Romanian villagers decry police investigation into vampire slaying", Matthew Schofield, [[Knight Ridder]] Newspapers, [[March 24]] [[2004]]</ref>
-In January 2005, rumours began to circulate that an attacker had bitten a number of people in [[Birmingham]], [[England]], fueling concerns about a vampire roaming the streets. However, local police stated that no such crime had been reported.  This case appears to be an [[urban legend]].<ref>"[http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1392607,00.html Reality Bites]", Stuart Jeffries, ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[January 18]] [[2005]], accessed online [[August 17]] [[2005]]</ref>
-In 2006, Costas Efthimiou and Sohang Gandhi published a piece that uses [[geometric progression]] to attempt to disprove the feeding habits of vampires, stating that, if each vampire's nourishment depended on making even one other person a vampire, it would only be a matter of years before the Earth's entire population was among the undead<ref>"[http://www.arxiv.org/abs/physics/0608059], Gandhi, accessed online Oct. 30, 2006]</ref> or vampires died out ''(compare [[matrix scheme]])''. However, the notion that a vampire's victims must themselves become vampires does not appear in all vampire folklore, and is not universally accepted by modern vampire believers. This theory also assumes that a single bite turns the victim into a vampire, which is not generally the case in most vampire lore. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
-In March 2007, self-proclaimed vampire hunters broke into the tomb of [[Slobodan Milošević]], former president of [[Serbia]] and [[Yugoslavia]], and staked his body through the heart into the ground. Although the group involved claimed this act was to prevent Milošević 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Slobodan Milosevic's heart staked | year=2007 | url=http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2229686.html?menu=news.quirkies page=fullpage}}</ref>
-==Natural phenomena that propagate the belief in vampires==
-===Pathology and vampirism===
-Folkloric vampirism has typically been associated with a series of deaths due to unindentifiable or mysterious illnesses, usually within the same family or the same small community.<ref name=NEF>{{cite web|url=http://users.net1plus.com/vyrdolak/tableone.htm|title = Sledzik, Paul S. and Nicholas Bellantoni. 1994. Bioarcheological and Biocultural Evidence for the New England Vampire Folk Belief. In ''The American Journal of Physical Anthropology No. 94''.|accessdate=2006-06-14}} </ref> The "[[epidemic]] pattern" is obvious in the classical cases of [[Peter Plogojowitz]] and [[Arnold Paole]], and even more so in the case of [[Mercy Brown vampire incident|Mercy Brown]] and in the vampire beliefs of New England generally, where a specific disease, tuberculosis, was associated with outbreaks of vampirism (see [[vampire#New England|above]]).
-In his book, ''De masticatione mortuorum in tumulis'' (1725), Michaël Ranft makes a first attempt to explain folk's belief in vampires in a natural way. He says that, in the event of the death of every villager, some other person or people - much probably a person related to the first dead - who saw or touched the corpse, would eventually die either of some disease related to exposure to the corpse or of a frenetic delirium caused by the panic of only seeing the corpse. These dying people would say that the dead man had appeared to them and tortured them in many ways. The other people in the village would exhume the corpse to see what it had been doing. He gives the following explanation when talking about the case of [[Peter Plogojowitz]]:
-''"This brave man perished by a sudden or violent death. This death, whatever it is, can provoke in the survivors the visions they had after his death. Sudden death gives rise to inquietude in the familiar circle. Inquietude has sorrow as a companion. Sorrow brings melancholy. Melancholy engenders restless nights and tormenting dreams. These dreams enfeeble body and spirit until illness overcomes and, eventually, death."''
-Some modern scholars have argued that vampire stories may have been influenced by a rare illness called [[porphyria]]. The disease is a blood disorder that disrupts the production of [[haem]]. Porphyria was thought to be more common than elsewhere in small Transylvanian villages (roughly 1000 years ago) where inbreeding probably occurred. The haem group, found in every blood cell in the human body, is excited by electrons, but in a controlled fashion. However, the haem groups in porphyria sufferers causes uncontrollable tissue, bone and skin damage, made worse when the person comes into contact with sunlight.{{clarifyme}} This would have given the porphyria sufferer a very pallid skin colour, with teeth that appear larger than normal, due to the porphyria damaging the gum tissue and causing it to recede. These people would have been very anemic, and drinking (animal) blood was a traditional treatment for anemia.{{Fact|date=April 2007}}
-Certain forms of [[porphyria]] are also associated with neurological symptoms, which can create [[psychiatric disorders]]. However, suggestions that porphyria sufferers crave the heme in human blood, or that the consumption of blood might ease the symptoms of porphyria, are based on a severe misunderstanding of the disease.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}
+In the 1970s, there were rumors (spread by the local press) 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 [[exorcism|exorcised]] and destroyed an entire nest of vampires in the area.
-Another disease that has been linked with vampire folklore is [[rabies]].  Dr Juan Gomez-Alonso, a neurologist at Xeral Hospital in Vigo, Spain, examined this in a report in the journal ''Neurology''. The susceptibility to garlic and light could be due to hypersensitivity, which is a symptom of rabies. The disease can also affect portions of the brain that could lead to disturbance of normal sleep patterns (i.e., becoming nocturnal) and hypersexuality.  Legend once said a man was not rabid if he could look at his own reflection, which relates to the legend of a vampire not having a reflection. Wolves and bats, which are often associated with vampires, can be carriers of rabies.  The disease can also lead to a drive to bite others, and to a bloody frothing at the mouth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/178623.stm| title=BBC—Rabies-The Vampire's Kiss| accessdate=2007-03-18}}</ref>
+In the modern folklore of [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Mexico]], the [[chupacabra]] ''(goat-sucker)'' is said to be a creature that feeds upon the flesh or drinks the blood of [[domesticated animal]]s, leading some to consider it a kind of vampire. The "chupacabra hysteria" was frequently associated with deep economic and political crises, particularly during the mid-1990s.
-Some psychologists in modern times recognize a disorder called ''clinical vampirism'' (or ''[[Renfield Syndrome]]'', from [[Dracula]]'s insect-eating henchman, [[Renfield]], in the novel by [[Bram Stoker]]) in which the victim is obsessed with drinking blood, either from animals or humans.
+During late 2002 and early 2003, [[hysteria]] about alleged attacks of vampires swept through the [[Africa]]n country of [[Malawi]]. Mobs stoned one individual to death and attacked at least four others, including Governor [[Eric Chiwaya]], based on the belief that the government was colluding with vampires.<ref>Raphael Tenthani, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2602461.stm 'Vampires' strike Malawi villages.] Retrieved May 20, 2007.</ref>
-There have been a number of murderers who performed seemingly vampiric rituals upon their victims. [[Serial killer]]s [[Peter Kurten]] and [[Richard Trenton Chase]] were both called "vampires" in the [[tabloid]]s 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 "[[Atlas Vampire|Vampire murder]]", due to the circumstances of the victim’s death.<ref>Linnell, Stig. ''Stockholms spökhus och andra ruskiga ställen.'' ISBN 978-91-518-2738-4</ref>
+In [[Romania]] during February of 2004, several relatives of the late 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.<ref>Matthew Schofield, "Romanian villagers decry police investigation into vampire slaying." ''Knight Ridder Newspapers'' (March 24 2004).</ref>
-===Finding "vampires" in graves===
+In January 2005, rumors began to circulate that an attacker had bitten a number of people in [[Birmingham]], [[England]], fueling concerns about a vampire roaming the streets. However, local [[police]] stated that no such [[crime]] had been reported. This case appears to be an [[Folklore#Urban Legend|urban legend]].<ref>Stuart Jefferies, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1392607,00.html Reality Bites.] Retrieved May 20, 2007 </ref>
-When the coffin of an alleged vampire was opened, people sometimes found that the cadaver did not look as they thought a normal corpse should. This was often taken to be evidence of vampirism.  However, corpses decompose at different speeds depending on temperature and soil composition, and some of the signs of decomposition are not widely known. This has led vampire hunters to mistakenly conclude that a dead body had not decomposed at all, or, ironically, to interpret signs of decomposition as signs of continued life.<ref>{{cite web | last =Barber | first = Paul | title = Staking claims: the vampires of folklore and fiction | work = Skeptical Inquirer | date = [[1996-03-01]]| url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_n2_v20/ai_18158446/pg_1| accessdate = 2006-04-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last =Benecke | first = Mark, and David Pescod-Taylor | title = The Restless Dead: Vampires & Decomposition|work = Bizarre Magazine, May-June 1997| url =http://www.benecke.com/vampires_bizmag.html| accessdate = 2006-10-23}}</ref>
-Corpses swell as gases from decomposition accumulate in the torso and blood tries to escape the body. This causes the body to look "plump", "well-fed" and "ruddy" - changes that are all the more striking if the person was pale or thin in life. In the [[Arnold Paole|Arnold Paole case]], an old woman's exhumed corpse was judged by her neighbours to look more plump and healthy than she had ever looked in life. It should be noted that folkloric accounts almost universally represent the alleged vampire as having ruddy or dark skin, not the pale skin of vampires in literature and film.  Darkening of the skin is also caused by decomposition.
+Vampire style groups have developed where vampire behavior is practiced, such as a preference for night time and darkness, and the drinking of blood.<ref>New Jersey Association of Real Vampires, [http://www.angelfire.com/nj/njarv/faq.html FAQ.] Retrieved May 20, 2007.</ref> However, it should be noted that a majority of these people do not believe they are vampires in the folkloric sense. Rather, they believe that drinking blood is a sacred ritual, and will often drink small amounts of their own or other members' blood. Mainstream culture frowns on such behavior, and it is often seen as a perverse sub-culture and [[Satan]]ic or [[evil]] in nature, even though many who practice such culture disavow any malicious intentions.
-Blood can often be seen emanating from nose and mouth of a decomposing corpse, which could give the impression that the corpse was a vampire who had recently been drinking blood. The staking of a swollen, decomposing body could cause the body to bleed and also force the accumulated gases to escape the body.  This could produce a groan when the gases moved past the vocal chords, or a sound reminiscent of [[flatulence|flatus]] when they passed through the anus.  The official reporting on the [[Peter Plogojowitz]] case speaks of "other wild signs which I pass by out of high respect".
-After death, the skin and gums lose fluids and contract, exposing the roots of the hair, nails, and teeth, even teeth that were concealed in the jaw. This can produce the illusion that the hair, nails, and teeth have grown. At a certain stage, the nails fall off and the skin peels away, as reported in the Plogojowitz case - the [[dermis]] and [[nail#Parts of the human nail|nail bed]]s emerging underneath were interpreted as "new skin" and "new nails". Finally, decomposition also causes the body to shift or contort itself, adding to the illusion that the corpse has been active after death.
-It has also been hypothesized {{Fact|date=February 2007}} that vampire legends were influenced by individuals being literally buried alive, due to primitive knowledge in medicine. In some cases where people reported sounds emanating from a specific coffin, it was later dug up and fingernail marks were discovered on the inside from the victim trying to escape.  In other cases the person would hit their heads/noses/faces and it would appear that they had been "feeding".
-===Vampire bats===
-[[Bat]]s have become an integral part of the traditional vampire only recently, although many cultures have stories about them. In Europe, bats and owls were long associated with the supernatural, mainly because they were night creatures. Conversely, the Gypsies thought them lucky and wore charms made of bat bones. In English [[heraldry|heraldic]] tradition, a bat means "Awareness of the powers of darkness and chaos".<ref>{{cite web | last =  | first =  | title = HERALDIC "MEANINGS"  | work = American College of Heraldry|url = http://www.americancollegeofheraldry.org/achsymbols.html|accessdate = 2006-04-30 }}</ref> In [[South America]], [[Camazotz]] was a bat god of the caves living in the Bathouse of the Underworld. The three species of actual [[vampire bat]]s are all [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to [[Latin America]], and there is no evidence to suggest that they had any [[Old World]] relatives within human memory.  It is therefore extremely unlikely that the folkloric vampire represents a distorted presentation or memory of the bat. During the 16th century the [[Spain|Spanish]] conquistadors first came into contact with vampire bats and recognized the similarity between the feeding habits of the bats and those of their legendary vampires.  The bats were named after the folkloric vampire rather than vice versa; the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' records the folkloric use in English from 1734 and the zoological not until 1774. It wasn't long before vampire bats were adapted into fictional tales, and they have become one of the more important vampire associations in popular culture.
 ==Vampires in fiction and popular culture==
-<!—
+[[Lord Byron]] arguably introduced the vampire theme to Western literature in his [[epic poem]] ''[[The Giaour]]'' (1813), but it was [[John Polidori]] who authored the first "true" vampire story, called ''The Vampyre.'' Polidori was the personal physician of Byron and the vampire of the story, [[Lord Ruthven (vampire)|Lord Ruthven]], is based partly on him—making the character the first of the now familiar [[Romantic love|romantic]] vampires. The "ghost story competition" that spawned this piece was the same competition that motivated [[Mary Shelley]] to write her novel ''[[Frankenstein]],'' another archetypal monster story.
-This is a summary of the article "Vampire fiction". Do NOT add information about vampires in fiction to this section, unless it is really important and/or necessary, and don't forget to insert the same information in the main article.
+Other examples of early vampire stories are [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]'s unfinished poem ''Christabel'' and [[Sheridan Le Fanu]]'s [[homosexuality|lesbian]] vampire story, ''Carmilla''. However, it was undoubtedly [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]],'' published in 1897, portraying Count Dracula from [[Transylvania]] as the "undead" villain, that has been the definitive version of the vampire in [[popular fiction]]. Its portrayal of vampirism as a [[disease]] (contagious demonic possession), with its undertones of [[human sexuality|sex]], [[blood]], and [[death]], struck a chord in a [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[Europe]] where [[tuberculosis]] and [[syphilis]] were common.
-—>
+Vampires were among the first [[cinema]]tic creations of the early twentieth century with the silent classic ''[[Nosferatu]],'' followed by a string of Dracula inspired movies. Soon, vampires became staples of the horror genre, for both [[television]] and film, often depicted in similar representations to Stoker's. Television series such as ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Angel (TV series)|Angel]]'', [[Konami]]'s ''[[Castlevania]]'' and [[Crystal Dynamics]]' ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' [[video game]] series, [[role-playing game]]s such as ''[[Vampire: the Masquerade]],'' and [[Kouta Hirano]]'s ''[[Hellsing (manga)|Hellsing]]'' [[manga]] have been especially successful and influential.
-:''Main articles: [[Vampire fiction]] and [[Vampire films]]''
-[[Image:Orlock.jpg|thumb|right|Count Orlock, a well-known example of vampire fiction, from the [[1922]] film ''[[Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens|Nosferatu]]''.]]
-[[Lord Byron]] arguably introduced the vampire theme to Western literature in his [[epic poem]] ''[[The Giaour]]'' (1813), but it was [[John Polidori]] who authored the first "true" vampire story called "[[The Vampyre]]". Polidori was the personal physician of Byron and the vampire of the story, [[Lord Ruthven (vampire)|Lord Ruthven]], is based partly on him &mdash; making the character the first of our now familiar [[Romantic love|romantic]] vampires. The "ghost story competition" that spawned this piece was the same competition that motivated [[Mary Shelley]] to write her novel [[Frankenstein]], another archetypal monster story.
-Other examples of early vampire stories are [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]'s unfinished poem [[Christabel (poem)|Christabel]] and [[Sheridan Le Fanu]]'s [[lesbian]] vampire story, [[Carmilla]].
-Bram Stoker's ''[[Dracula]]'' has been the definitive version of the vampire in [[popular fiction]] for the last century. Its portrayal of vampirism as a disease (contagious demonic possession), with its undertones of sex, blood and death, struck a chord in a [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[Europe]] where [[tuberculosis]] and [[syphilis]] were common. Stoker's writings are also adapted in many later works. In modern popular culture, [[Anne Rice]]'s book series, [[Laurell K. Hamilton]]'s book series and many other popular novels feature vampires.
-Vampires have also proved to be a rich subject for the film and gaming industries. Television series such as ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Angel (TV series)|Angel]]'', [[Konami]]'s [[Castlevania]] and [[Crystal Dynamics]]' [[Legacy of Kain]] video game series, [[role-playing game]]s such as [[Vampire: the Masquerade]], and [[Kouta Hirano]]'s [[Hellsing (manga)|Hellsing]] [[manga]] have been especially successful and influential.
 ==Notes==
-<div class="references-small">
 <references/>
-</div>
 ==References==
-{{col-begin}}
+* Barber, Paul. ''Vampires, Burial and Death: Folklore and Reality''. Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0300048599
-{{col-2}}
+* Bell, Michael E. ''Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England's Vampires''. Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0786708999
-<div class="references-small">
+* Bunson, Matthew. ''The Vampire Encyclopedia''. Crown Trade Paperbacks, 1993. ISBN 0517881004
-* Barber, Paul : ''Vampires, Burial and Death : Folklore and Reality''. Yale University Press.1988. ISBN 0-300-04859-9
+* Faivre, Tony. ''Les Vampires: Essai historique, critique et littéraire''. [Préface de Robert Amadou.] Paris: Le Terrain Vague, 1962.
-* Bell, Michael E.: ''Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England's Vampires''. Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0-7867-0899-9
+* Frayling, Christopher. ''Vampyres, Lord Byron to Count Dracula''. 1991. ISBN 0571167926
-* Bunson, Matthew: ''The Vampire Encyclopedia''. Crown Trade Paperbacks, 1993. ISBN 0-517-88100-4
+* Introvigne, Massimo. ''La stirpe di Dracula. Indagine sul vampirismo dall'antichità ai nostri giorni.'' Milano: A. Mondadori, 1997.
-* Faivre, Tony [i. e. Faivre, Antoine]: Les Vampires. Essai historique, critique et littéraire. [Préface de Robert Amadou.] Paris: Le Terrain Vague - Eric Losfeld, 1962.
+* Jaramillo Londoño, Agustín. ''Testamento del paisa''. Medellín. Editorial Bedout, 1967. ISBN 958951250X
-* Frayling, Christopher: ''Vampyres, Lord Byron to Count Dracula''. 1991. ISBN 0-571-16792-6
+* Jennings, Lee Byron. An Early German Vampire Tale: Wilhelm Waiblinger’s "Olura" in: ''Suevica. Beiträge zur schwäbischen Literatur- und Geistesgeschichte 9''. Stuttgart: Verlag Hans-Dieter Heinz, Akademischer Verlag Stuttgart, 2002.. ISBN 3880994285
-* Introvigne, Massimo: La stirpe di Dracula. Indagine sul vampirismo dall'antichità ai nostri giorni. Milano: A. Mondadori, 1997 (Antropologia).
+* McNally, Raymond T. ''Dracula Was a Woman''. McGraw Hill, 1983. ISBN 0070456712
-* Jaramillo Londoño, Agustín: ''Testamento del paisa''. Medellín. Editorial Bedout, 1967. ISBN 958-95125-0-X
+* McNally, Raymond T. and Radu Florescu. ''In Search of Dracula''. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1994. ISBN 0395657830
-* Jennings, Lee Byron: An Early German Vampire [[Tale]]: Wilhelm Waiblinger’s “Olura" (first-published in 1986), in: Suevica. Beiträge zur [[Swabia|schwäbischen]] Literatur- und Geistesgeschichte 9 (2001/2002), Stuttgart: Verlag Hans-Dieter Heinz, Akademischer Verlag Stuttgart 2004 [2005], S. 295–306 ISBN 3-88099-428-5
+* Melton, J. Gordon. ''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'' Visible Ink Press, 1994. ISBN 0810322951
-* McNally, Raymond T.: ''Dracula Was a Woman''. McGraw Hill, 1983. ISBN 0-07-045671-2
+* Nyarlathotep, Frater and Jesse Lindsay. ''Ardeth--The Made Vampire''. Lulu Press, 2006. ISBN 1847285163
-* McNally, Raymond T. & Florescu, Radu. ''In Search of Dracula''. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. ISBN 0-395-65783-0
+* Summers, Montague. ''The Vampire: His Kith and Kin''. 1928. ISBN 0486439968
-* Melton, J. Gordon.: ''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'' Visible Ink Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
+* Summers, Montague. ''The Vampire in Europe''. 1929. ISBN 0486419428
-* Nyarlathotep, Frater & Jesse Lindsay : ''Ardeth - The Made Vampire''. Lulu Press. 2006. ISBN 1-84728-516-3
+* Tomkinson, John L. [http://www.anagnosis.gr/index.php?pageID=74&la=eng ''Haunted Greece: Nymphs, Vampires and other Exotika.''] Anagnosis, Athens, 2004. ISBN 9608808707
-*[[Montague Summers]]: ''The Vampire: His Kith and Kin'', 1928 (reprinted with alternate title: ''Vampires and Vampirism'' ISBN 0-486-43996-8), ''The Vampire in Europe'', 1929 (reprinted ISBN 0-517-14989-3) (reprinted with alternate title: ''The Vampire in Lore and Legend'' ISBN 0-486-41942-8)
+* Wright, Dudley. ''The Book of Vampires''.  1914.
-* Tomkinson, John L., [http://www.anagnosis.gr/index.php?pageID=74&la=eng ''Haunted Greece: Nymphs, Vampires and other Exotika], Anagnosis, Athens 2004 ISBN 960-88087-0-7
-* Wright, Dudley: ''The Book of Vampires''. 1914 (available in various reprints)
-</div>
-==See also==
-{{Commons|vampire}}
-===Related legendary creatures===
-* [[Alp (folklore)]]
-* [[Aswang]]
-* [[Civatateo]]
-* [[Hopping corpse]]
-* [[Kitsune]]
-* [[Lamia (monster)]]
-* [[Manananggal]]
-* [[Oni (Japanese folklore)]]
-* [[Patasola]]
-* [[Pontianak (folklore)]]
-* [[Rakshasa]]
-* [[Sayona]]
-* [[Tunda]]
-* [[Vetala]]
-* [[Vrykolakas]]
-* [[Werewolf]]
-* [[Yakshi]]
-* [[Zombie]]
-===See also===
-* [[Adeliza de Borgomanero]]
-* [[Arnold Paole]]
-* [[Count Estruc]]
-* [[Cryptozoology]]
-* [[Dracula]]
-* [[Elizabeth Bathory]]
-* [[Energy vampire]]
-* [[Halloween traditions]]
-* [[Jure Grando]]
-* [[Maschalismos]]
-* [[Medieval revenant]]
-* [[Mercy Brown vampire incident]]
-* [[Peter Plogojowitz]]
-* [[Vampire bat]]
-* [[Vampire hunter]]
-* [[Vampire lifestyle]]
-* [[Vampire pumpkins and watermelons]]
-==External link==
-* [http://www.blooferland.com/drc/index.php?title=Journal_of_Dracula_Studies ''Journal of Dracula Studies'']
 {{Credits|Vampire|126294633|}}