BBC Focus Magazine

[MikeG]

Vampires have been making the headlines recently, with the unearthing in Venice and Bulgaria of what appears to have been vampire burials. These beliefs are still held today in some Balkan countries as you can see from these extracts.

In November 2003, Stephenie Meyer signed the contract for Twilight. A few weeks after this, in January 2004, the Romanian villagers of Marotinul-de-Sus smelt a vampire when a woman fell ill. The culprit was identified as the recently deceased Petre Toma. Around midnight, six men disinterred his body, split open the ribcage, and removed his heart. This was burned, and the ashes were given to the sick woman to drink in water (to escape a vampire, it's sometimes necessary to turn cannibal).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... s-bulgaria

I'd always wondered why cremations were so much in vogue in these countries

[M Paul Lloyd]

Given the recent growth in popularity upon variations on the theme of Bram Stokers invention 'Dracula' published in 1897, I do rather wonder if these vampire burials do not have a little bit of a retro-respective inventiveness spun about them, and that really they only serve to publicise a growing film driven tourist industry?
After all it seems highly unlikely that Mr. Stoker ever travelled to Romania, the Carpathian Mountains or indeed the region encompassing the border with Poland that the mythical homeland of Count Dracula is supposed to have occupied and he just made it all up, even the supposed connection with Vlad the impaler seems rather tenuous at best.
So any apparent evidence of vampires that predates his novels publication by hundreds if not thousands of years, be that in Venice, Bulgaria or wherever seems rather unlikely to me.

[Shadowwolf]

Well I don't know whether Mr Stoker traveled there or not but much of the foundational elements for his story were already in existence. Vampiric myths have a long and global history which, like other traditional superstitions, can survive in isolated rural places off the beaten track.

[M Paul Lloyd]

I stand corrected Mr.S, I had always taken it all to be a retrospective invention of the Victorians.

[MikeG]

Both vampires and werewolves predate Christianity. Herodotus wrote of a village in Asia(I can check on the name if anybody is interested), where all males transformed into a wolf for a year, and then back to a human and rejoined his people. There is also the legend of Lycaon, who ate human flesh and was transformed into a wolf for 9 years.

No specific legend comes to me about vampires right now, but it's certainly not a recent phenomenon. Bram Stoker used these legends to write her novel. It's not a legend she gave birth to herself.

[M Paul Lloyd]

The earliest 'Vampiric' image I can find any reference too at all dates back to a supposed ancient Persian vase (date and provenance of same as yet undetermined, indeed I have yet to track down any image of said vase at all, anyone care to oblige please?? ) that is said to depict some sort of giant blood sucking monster?
Then we have an old Babylonian myth about some deity known as Lilith who was believed to have drunk the blood of babies but which totally lacks any credibility beyond the concept of a 'myth'. And although I will accept that numerous 'legends' allude to cults of the 'living dead' and blood sucking demons, witches etc that extend back into ancient times I find no actual account of a creature that can transmute its form from Bat to Dog to Humanoid which also feasts on human blood and calls itself Dracula........ But maybe I'm being too specific?

One thing that is certain is that Dr. Oliedo y Valdez and M. Giroalme Benzoni, were the first to bring word of the real life vampire bat to their homelands in the 16th century.
(Apologies for using Wiki as a reference)
And I rather suspect that any so called 'legends' of Vampires may have grown out of tales of such 'beasts'??
More here
http://www.answers.com/topic/vampire-ba ... z1xi9H1x90

[MikeG]

[quote="M Paul Lloyd"... Ifind no actual account of a creature that can transmute its form from Bat to Dog to Humanoid which also feasts on human blood and calls itself Dracula........ But maybe I'm being too specific? [/quote]

Dracula himself was a fictitious character based on an actual bloodthirsty count. His shape shifting abilities were probably Bram Stokers original ideas. Although ancient legends existed of shape shifting people (as described to Herodotus in his Histories), this was a once off thing, not done at will by the creature concerned. Vampire legends, as far as I know, are limited to the dead rising and feeding off the blood of the living. They avoided daylight, and hated garlic. Wih the advent of Christianity, the were said to fear the sign of the cross as well. That's the extent of their common characteristics with the "modern" idea of a vampire.

Vampirism, as a word, is quite recent, dating back only a few hundred years. The concept behind it, of the dead drinking blood to regain some form of consciousness is quite ancient though. Some might recall Odysseus' trip to Hades, where he was instructed to allow the shades to drink the blood of his sacrifices, to enable them to answer his questions.

[M Paul Lloyd]

Vampirism, as a word, is quite recent, dating back only a few hundred years.

That's probably whats getting me confused. Thanks MikeG.

[MikeG]

275px-Burney_Relief_Babylon_-1800-1750.jpg (30.35 KiB) Viewed 974 times

Credit: Aiwok, Wiki-Commons

The earliest 'Vampiric' image I can find any reference too at all dates back to a supposed ancient Persian vase (date and provenance of same as yet undetermined...

This is probably what you have in mind MPL. The image is of Lilith. Hebrew mythology states that she was Adams first wife, born of the mud, together with Adam. When Adam wanted to make her subservient to him, she fled. God sent three angels to return her to Eden at Adams request. When she refused, God created Eve in her stead from Adams rib. The Angels that were sent to bring her back threatened to kill 100 of her children if she refused (she gave birth to a hundred children a day). Muslims believe these were the first djin. She reportedly became a demon herself, and would kill pregnant mothers and drink their blood as revenge for the children she lost.

Lilith was a common deity amongst the Persians, Babylonians, and Jews.