Halloween Discussion Forums, Costumes, Horror!

VAMPIRE, according to superstition, is a ghost that comes from the grave at night to suck the blood of living persons, especially young persons. It is supposed to take the blood from the neck while the victim is sleeping. The person is said to waste away and die, and then become a vampire himself/herslef. Wizards, witches, suicides, and those cursed by the church or their parents were believed to become vampires at death.

The vampire was said to renew its life from the blood of the living. To keep the body in the grave, it was thought that a stake must be driven through its heart. The book "Dracula" (1897) was written by Bram Stoker, tells the story about a family of vampires.

I saw some show on Halloween that talked about these myths and their roots and on the subject of vampires it mentioned some type of natural bodily phenomena that can occur which leaves the traces of blood near the mouth. It just took one body to be dug back up and....whoops!!

It's a monster!!!!

Some vampire lore is surprisingly recent. The idea that vampires can't be seen in mirrors was invented by Bram Stoker for his novel; it doesn't appear in vampire lore before that. Likewise, the concept of sunlight destroying a vampire originated in the 1922 German movie Nosferatu.

Good research! Many people think they know the legend, and all they know is the movies. Can't say that to you! Not many people know is that Dracula, the most famous of the vampires, was a real person, Vlad Dracul's son, Vlad Dracula. Notice the similarity?

I never knew vampires not beeing seen in mirrors was made up for the book! I thought it was part of the legends! I NEVER EVER KNEW VAMPIRES DYING FROM SUNLIGHT WAS MADE UP FOR A MOVIE!!! I THOUGHT THAT WAS FROM THE LEGENDS!!!!! I knew Dracula was from a real persn though. I do not believe you. I am sure vampires dying from sunlight is part of the legends!

From Vampires: Myths and Metaphors of Enduring Evil (2006), by Peter Day, p. 202:

Evidence of a distinct change in the conceptualization of the vampire body is the introduction of death by daylight. Previously only sensitive to daylight, this quite recent development in vampire mythology adds a new dimension to the physical character of the vampire, making him/her into a creature of intense physical sensitivity, who like Poe's Byronic and hyper-fragile Roderick Usher, is doomed to reclusive and often intensely isolated existence. Significantly, it is not until the making of Nosferatu (1922) and the dawning of the cinematic age that daylight becomes completely fatal to the vampire.

Well that was a shock! One of the most well known things about vampires is that they die from sunlight. Anyways, I see you in a lot of older posts and it is nice to know you are still here.

Likewise, I always thought sunlight killed vampires too. It's actually a common belief that they were.
There are people who believe they really are vampires, but they're nothing like the folklore and legends. Sanguinarian vampires believe they actually need to drink blood. Psy vampires likewise, believe they need energy, which isn't exactly like the traditional thing.
They aren't immortal or undead or anything like that either. Some may have said to have had an intolerance of sunlight but I'm not sure.
I met some people on Gaia online regarding that.
Personally I think it's psychological, but who knows. Maybe vampires really are intolerant of sunlight and need to drink blood. o.o

Edit: Didn't realize the site was for older viewers, but if anyone's interested in looking at it, you can google it or pm me about it, or else I could post it with an admin's permission.

Folks, I hate like hell to say it, but the vast majority of what we know of vampire mythology was in fact, devised by Hollywood or by writers. The entire of a suave sophisticated, hansome man, charming his way into the life of a beautiful young laday and saducing her has absoultely no bases what so ever in genuine vampire lor of the days of old. Vampires, according to Romanian legend, are horrid, ugly creatures who are actualy rotting away as they walk around. The stink, have horrid breath, and there is nothing romantic about them at all. The "Barnabass Collins" vampire is totaly of modern culture.

Mike

I believe I read somewhere on the internet about 2 years ago... Scientists in Bulgaria say they have unearthed a 1,700-year-old vampire graveyard. The skeletons found in Bourgas had nails driven through their bones to stop them rising from the dead.

See http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_ob ... _page.html

Well, there's only a short paragraph concerning this vampire graveyard... I will see if I can find more information about this one - I will check with Google online and hope to find it.