Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings renowned for subsisting on human blood
or life force, but in some cases may prey on animals. Though vampires
have widely varying characteristics, they are described for the most
part as reanimated corpses
who feed by draining and consuming the blood of living beings. Almost
all vampire lore comes from the southeastern region of Europe,
particularly the Balkans, with the term being popularised in the early 18th century.[1] Folkloric vampires were depicted as revenants
who visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the
neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were living. They wore shrouds,
did not bear fangs and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or darkened countenance, markedly different from today’s vampire.
The charismatic and sophisticated vampire of modern fiction was born in 1819 with the publication of The Vampyre (1819) by John Polidori; The story was highly successful and the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century.[2] However it is the 1897 novel Dracula which is best remembered as the quintessential vampire novel, providing many traits that have been incorporated into modern vampire legend. The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre, still popular in the 21st century with books, films such as Dracula and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Today, the vampire is generally held to be a fictitious entity, with
little actual belief in the creature surviving, although superstition
in vampiric creatures such as the chupacabra still persists in some cultures.
//
Etymology
The word vampire appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1734 as much mention on the subject had been made in German literature. After the 1718 Treaty of Passarowitz
where parts of Serbia and Wallachia came under Austrian control, the
Austrian officials noted the local practice of exhuming bodies and
"killing vampires". These reports prepared between 1725 and 1732
received widespread publicity.[3] Several theories of the word’s origin exist.[4] The English term was derived (possibly via French vampyre) from the German Vampir, in turn thought to be derived in the early 18th century[5] from Serbian вампир/vampir,[6][7][8][9] or Hungarian vámpír.[10][11] The Serbian and Hungarian forms have parallels in virtually all Slavic languages: Bulgarian вампир (vampir), Czech and Slovak upír, Polish wąpierz and (perhaps East Slavic-influenced) upiór, Russian упырь (upyr’), Belarusian упыр (upyr), Ukrainian упирь (upir’), from Old Russian упирь (upir’).
(Note that many of these languages have also borrowed forms such as
"vampir/wampir" subsequently from the West). Among the proposed proto-Slavic forms are *ǫpyrь and *ǫpirь.[12] The Slavic word might, like its possible cognate that means "bat" (Czech netopýr, Slovak netopier, Polish nietoperz, Russian нетопырь / netopyr’ - a species of bat), contain a Proto-Indo-European root for "to fly".[12]
The first recorded use of the Old Russian form Упирь (Upir’) is commonly believed to be in a document dated 6555 (1047 AD).[13] It is a colophon in a manuscript of the Book of Psalms written by a priest who transcribed the book from Glagolitic into Cyrillic for the Novgorodian Prince Vladimir Yaroslavovich.[14][15] The priest writes that his name is "Upir’ Likhyi " (Упирь Лихый), which would mean something like "Wicked Vampire"[16] or "Foul Vampire."[17] This apparently strange name has been cited as an example of surviving paganism and/or of the use of nicknames as personal names.[18]
However, in 1982, Swedish Slavicist Anders Sjöberg suggested that
"Upir’ likhyi" was in fact an Old Russian transcription and/or
translation of the name of 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.[17] Another early use of the Old Russian word is in the anti-pagan treatise "Word of Saint Grigoriy," dated variously to the 11th—13th centuries, where pagan worship of upyri is reported.[19][20]
Folk beliefs
The notion of vampirism has existed for millennia; cultures such as the Mesopotamians, Hebrews, Ancient Greeks, and Romans
had tales of demons and spirits which are considered precursors to
modern vampires. However, despite the occurrence of vampire-like
creatures in these ancient civilizations, the folklore for the entity
we know today as the vampire originates almost exclusively from
Southeastern Europe.[1] In most cases, vampires are revenants
of evil beings, suicide victims or witches, but can also be created by
a malevolent spirit possessing a corpse or by being bitten by a vampire
itself. Belief in such legends became so rife that in some areas it
caused mass hysteria and even public executions of people believed to
be vampires. Although the original lore has been distorted due to new
fictional references such as Dracula,
there are many ways to destroy a vampire; decapitation, a stake to the
heart, incineration and exposure to sunlight are commonly cited.[21]
Description and common attributes
It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the
folkloric vampire though there are several elements common to many
European legends. It was usually reported as bloated in appearance and
ruddy, purplish or dark in colour, these characteristics being often
attributed to the recent drinking of blood. Indeed, blood was often
seen seeping from the mouth and nose when one was seen in its shroud or
coffin and its left eye was often open.[22]
Clothing often consisted of the linen shroud it was buried in and
teeth, hair and nails may have grown somewhat, though in general fangs
were not a feature.[23]
Other attributes may vary greatly from culture to culture; some
vampires, such as those found in Transylvanian tales, are gaunt, pale
and have long fingernails, while those from Bulgaria only had one nostril,[24] and Bavarian vampires slept with thumbs crossed and one eye open.[25] Moravian vampires only attacked victims naked and the vampires of Albanian folklore wore high heeled shoes.[25]
As stories of vampires spread throughout the globe to the Americas and
elsewhere, so did the varied and sometimes bizarre descriptions of
them; Mexican vampires had a bare skull instead of a head,[25] Brazilian vampires had furry feet and vampires from the Rocky Mountains only sucked blood with their noses from the victim’s ears.[25] Even broad descriptions were implemented, such as having red hair.[25] So from these various descriptions across time, works of literature such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the influences of historical figures such as Gilles de Rais and Vlad Tepes,
the vampire has developed into the stereotype we perceive today; over
time, a selection of more common reported attributes from a huge
variety of ancient and medieval stories have coalesced to form a
contemporary vampire profile as seen in modern literature and film.[25]
Creation beliefs
It is commonly accepted in modern cultural depictions that one is
likely to become a vampire if bitten by one. However the causes were
far more varied in original vampire folklore. In Slavic and Chinese
traditions, any corpse which was jumped over by an animal, particularly
a dog or cat, would become one of the undead.[26]
If a body had a wound which had not been treated with boiling water.
And in Russian folklore, vampires were said to have once been witches
while they were living, or people who rebelled against the church.[25]
Practices often arose that were intended to prevent a recently
deceased loved one turning into an undead revenant. Burying a corpse
upside-down was a common prevention method, as well as placing earthly
objects, such as scythes or sickles,[27]
near the grave to satisfy any demons entering the body or to appease
the dead so that it would not wish to arise from its coffin. This
method is similar to the ancient Greek practice of placing an obolus in the corpse’s mouth so that they may pay their way across the River Styx
in the underworld; it has been argued that instead, the obolus was
intended to ward off any evil spirits from entering the body and this
may have influenced later mythology surrounding the vampire. This Greek
tradition was continued on in regard to modern Greek folklore about the
vrykolakas,
the equivalent of a modern vampire, in which a wax cross and piece of
pottery with the inscription "Jesus Christ conquers" were placed on the
corpse to prevent the body becoming a vrykolakas.[28]
Other methods commonly practised in Europe included severing the
tendons at the knees or placing poppy seeds, millet or sand on the
ground at the gravesite of a presumed vampire; this was intended to
keep the vampire occupied all night by counting the fallen grains.[29]
In similar Chinese narratives about vampire-like beings, it is stated
that if one of these creatures comes across a sack of rice, he will
have to count all of the grains; this is a theme similar to myths
recorded on the Indian subcontinent as well as in South American tales
of witches and other sorts of evil or mischievous spirits or beings.[30]
Identifying vampires
The rituals behind identifying a vampire were in most cases
elaborate, with several methods arising throughout Eastern Europe and
other areas where vampire legends became prominent. In some Eastern
European instances, the method of finding a vampire’s grave involved
leading a virgin boy through a graveyard or church grounds on a virgin,
black stallion; the tomb which the horse stopped at first was said to
be that of the vampire’s.[25] Holes appearing in the earth over a grave were taken as a sign of vampirism.[31]
Corpses thought to be vampires were generally described as having a
healthier appearance than expected, plump and showing little or no
signs of decomposition.[32]
In some cases, when suspected graves were opened, villagers even
described the corpse as having fresh blood from a victim all over its
face.[33]
Evidence that a vampire was active in a given locality included death
of cattle, sheep, relatives or neighbours; folkloric vampires could
also make their presence felt by engaging in minor poltergeist-like activity and pressing on people in their sleep.[citation needed]
Protection
Apotropaics, namely mundane or sacred items or things such as garlic,[34] sunlight or holy water able to ward off revenants, feature commonly in vampire folklore. Items vary from region to region; a branch of wild rose is said to harm vampires as well as the hawthorn plant; in Europe, sprinkling mustard seeds on the roof of a house was said to keep vampires away.[35] Other apotropaics include sacred items, for example a crucifix, rosary beads
and the aforementioned holy water; vampires are said to be unable to
walk on consecrated ground, such as those of churches or temples or
cross running water.[36] In Asian legends, vampiric creatures are often warded by holy devices such as Shintō seals.[37] In South American superstition, Aloe vera hung backwards behind or near a door has the same function.[30]
Although not regarded as a vampire apotropaic, mirrors have been used
to ward off vampires when placed facing outwards on a door; it’s a well
known myth that vampires do not have a reflection and in some cultures,
do not cast shadows either, perhaps to express the vampire’s lack of a
soul.[37] This attribute, although not universal as the Greek vrykolakas/tympanios was capable of both reflection and shadow, was utilized by Bram Stoker in Dracula and has since remained popular with subsequent authors and filmmakers.[38]
In addition to apotropaics, some traditions hold that a vampire cannot
enter a house unless invited by the owner, although they only have to
be invited once as after this they can come and go as they please
without further permission.[37]
Traditional methods of destroying vampires were varied, with staking
the most commonly cited method, particularly in southern slavic
cultures.[39] The preferred wood is ash in Russia and the Baltic states,[40] or hawthorn in Serbia,[41] with a record of oak in Silesia.[42] Potential vampires were most often staked though the heart, though the mouth was targeted in Russia and northern Germany,[43][44] or the stomach in northeastern Serbia.[45]
Unlike today’s cloaked and suave vampires, the original revenants were
described as largely bloated. Thus the act of piercing the skin of the
chest was a way of "deflating" the vampire; this is similar to the act
of burying sharp objects, such as sickles, in with the corpse, so that
they may penetrate the skin if the body bloats sufficiently whilst
transforming into a revenant.[46] Decapitation
was the preferred method in German and western slavic areas, with the
head buried between the feet, behind the buttocks or away from the body.[47]
The act of cutting off the head was also seen as a way of hastening the
departure of the soul from the body, which in some cultures, was said
to linger in the corpse for a prolonged amount of time before
dispersing. Other than being decapitated, the vampire’s head, body or
clothes could be spiked and pinned to the earth to prevent rising.[48]
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 hawthorn in the corpse’s sock
or drove a hawthorn stake through the legs. Further measures included
pouring boiling water over the grave or complete incineration of the
body. In the Balkans a vampire could also be shot or drowned, as well
as having the funeral service repeated, or by the sprinkling holy water on the body, or exorcism.
In Romania garlic could be placed in the mouth, and as recently as the
19th century, the precaution of shooting a bullet through the coffin
was taken. For resistant cases, the body was dismembered and the pieces
burned, mixed with water, and administered to family members as a cure.
Even a lemon was placed in the mouth of suspected Saxon vampires in
Germany.[49]
Vampires are sometimes endowed with special abilities when described
in folklore; some are given great strength, while others the ability to
transform
not only into a bat, as is often depicted in modern cartoons and film,
but rather other familiars such as rats, dogs, wolves, spiders and even
moths. An attribute shared by the 19th century literary vampires Lord Ruthven and Varney the Vampire was the ability to be healed by moonlight, although no account of this is known in traditional folklore.[50]
Though folkloric vampires thought more active at night, they were not
generally considered vulnerable to sunlight. This vulnerability has
developed with subsequent vampire fiction.[51]
Ancient beliefs
Tales of the undead consuming the blood or flesh of living beings
have been found in nearly every culture around the world for many
centuries.[52]
Today we know these entities predominantly as vampires, but in ancient
times, the term vampire didn’t exist; blood drinking and such like was
referred to as the work of demons or spirits, such as the Empusa,[53] Lamia,[54] and Lilitu,[55] who would eat flesh and drink blood; even the devil was considered synonymous with the vampire in earlier times.[56]
Modern vampire mythology spread from Eastern Europe, however, early
vampiric creatures have been described throughout the world — from
Europe to Asia, from the Americas to the Pacific. Almost every nation
has associated blood drinking with some kind of revenant or demon.
Indeed, some of these legends could have given rise to the Eastern
European folklore, though they are not strictly considered vampires by
historians when using today’s definitions.[57][58]
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia was an area rampant with superstition of blood-drinking demons. The Persians
were one of the first civilizations thought to have tales of
blood-drinking demons; creatures attempting to drink blood from men
were depicted on excavated pottery shards.[57] Ancient Babylonia had tales of the mythical Lilitu, synonymous with Lilith (Hebrew לילית) and her daughters the Lilu from Hebrew demonology
who were derived from their Babylonian counterparts. Lilitu was
considered a demon and was often depicted as subsisting on the blood of
babies. However, the Jewish Lilu and their mother Lilith, were said to
feast on both men and women, as well as newborns.[55] The legend of Lilith was originally included in some traditional Jewish texts, she was considered to be Adam’s first wife before Eve according to the medieval folk traditions.[59][60] In the these texts, Lilith left Adam to become the queen of the demons and much like the Greek striges,
would prey on young babies and their mothers at night, as well as
males. This practice of blood drinking performed by Lilith was
considered exceptionally evil in Jewish tradition due to the Hebrew law which absolutely forbade the eating of human flesh or the drinking of any type of blood. To ward off attacks from Lilith, parents used to hang amulets from their child’s cradle.[60] An alternate version states the legend of Lilith/Lilitu (and a type of spirit of the same name) originally arose from Sumer,
where she was a described as an infertile "beautiful maiden" and was
believed to be a harlot and vampire who, after having chosen a lover,
would never let him go.[61] Lilitu or the Lilitu spirits were considered to be anthropomorphic
bird-footed, wind or night demons and were often described as
subsisting on the blood of babies, their mothers, and being highly
sexually predatory to men.[60] Other Mesopotamian demons such as Babylonian goddess Lamashtu, (Sumerian Dimme) and Gallu of the Uttuke group are mentioned as having vampiric natures.[62][63]
Lamashtu is a historically older image that left an mark on the figure of Lilith.[64] Many incantations invoke her as a malicious "Daughter of Heaven" or Anu and she is often depicted as a terrifying blood-sucking creature with a lion’s head and the body of a donkey.[65] Akin to Lilitu, Lamashtu primarily preyed on newborns and their mothers.[66]
She was said to watch pregnant women vigilantly, particularly when they
went into labor. Afterwards, she snatched the newborn from the mother
to drink its blood and eat its flesh. In the Labartu texts she
is described; "Wherever she comes, wherever she appears, she brings
evil and destruction. Men, beasts, trees, rivers, roads, buildings, she
brings harm to them all. A flesh-eating, bloodsucking monster is she."[67]
Gallu was a demon closely associated with Lilith, though the word (like
Utukku) is also used as a general term for demons, and these are "evil
Uttuke" or "evil Galli".[68]
One incantation tells of them as spirits that threaten every house,
rage at people, eat their flesh, and as they let their blood flow like
rain, they never stop drinking blood. Lamashtu, Lilitu, and Gallu are
invoked in different amulet texts, the last-mentioned inherited into
Graeco-Byzantine myth as Gello, Gylo, or Gyllo. There she appears as an
child-stealing and child-killing female demon,[69] in the manner of Lamia and Lilith.
Ancient Egypt
Wall relief depicting Sekhmet, shown wearing a sun disk and cobra crown
The Ancient Egyptian goddess Sekhmet was closely associated with bloodlust, death and vampiric behaviour, derived from her role in an older legend known as The Revenge of Ra.
Possessing the head of a lion, Sekhmet was considered the greatest
hunter known to the Egyptians and was originally the warrior goddess of
Upper Egypt, who devoured humans and drank blood after battle. In Egyptian mythology Sekhmet was closely related with the warrior goddess Bast, although was often depicted as the fiercer of the two with names such as Lady of Slaughter, Mistress of Dread, Avenger of Wrongs and the Scarlet Lady,
references to her bloodlust. Sekhmet was usually shown in red to
represent blood and she was seen as a special goddess for women as well
as a patron god of menstruation. In The Revenge of Ra,
Sekhmet was created by Ra in order to take vengeance on mankind after
he found them to be plotting against him. Sekhmet soon destroyed most
of mankind, devouring humans and drinking blood. However, Ra soon
relented and ordered Sekhmet to cease destroying the land; Sekhmet
refused, now thirsty for more blood, and no longer wished to listen to
Ra. Fearing the worst, Ra decided to trick Sekhmet by turing the Nile
red as if it was blood. Sekhmet went to drink the river, but when she
did so Ra turned the red water into beer, intoxicating the goddess;
Sekhmet soon fell asleep and awoke much later, having forgotten why she
was on earth. Sekhmet soon returned to Ra[70] and turned into a more benign god named Hathor.[71]
There are many variations on this legend; one is that Sekhmet drank
the Nile in order to save the world from its overflowing waters.
Another is that it was the humans, not Ra, that turned the Nile River
red, with beer mixed with pomegranate,
in order to stop her bloodlust. Whatever the case, the legend is
closely linked to the Nile River’s own flood cycle; at the beginning of
each calendar year during the river’s inundation, the Nile is often
laden with sand and silt from the lands upstream, giving the water a
red, blood-like appearance due to the Arabian sand’s red properties.
This depiction gave rise to Sekhmet’s portrayal as a vampiric being in
later mythology.[70]
In order to appease the goddess, a special festival was held by the
Ancient Egyptians each year during the Nile’s inundation, with records
of thousands attending. At the festival, all the alcohol was coloured red in honour of Sekhmet.[71]
Ancient Greece
The Ancient Greeks had several precursors of modern vampires, though none were considered undead; these included the Lamia, Empusa and striges (strix
in Ancient Roman mythology). Over time the first two terms became
general words to describe witches and demons respectively. Empusa was
the daughter of the goddess Hecate
and was described as a demonic, bronze-footed creature. She would feast
on blood by transforming into a young woman and seducing men as they
slept before drinking their blood.[53] Lamia was the daughter of King Belus and secret lover of the Greek god Zeus. However Zeus’ wife Hera
discovered this infidelity and killed all Lamia’s offspring; Lamia
swore vengeance and preyed on young children in their beds at night,
sucking their blood.[54] Like Lamia, the striges,
feasted on children, but also preyed on young men. They were described
as having the bodies of crows or birds and were later incorporated into
Roman mythology as strix, a kind of nocturnal bird that fed on human flesh and blood.[72] The Romanian vampire breed Strigoï has no direct relation to the Greek striges, but was derived from the Roman term strix, as is the name of the Albanian Shtriga and the Slavic Strzyga, though myths about these creatures are more similar to their Slavic equivalents.[73][58]
India
In India, tales of vetalas, 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.[74] 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.
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 (Sanskrit: Blood Seed)
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.
Medieval and later European folklore
Le Vampire,
lithograph by R. de Moraine
Les Tribunaux secrets (1864)
The legends of vampires were rife throughout the medieval period and
many of the myths surrounding them spawned from this time. The 12th century English historians and chroniclers Walter Map and William of Newburgh recorded accounts of revenants,[75] though records in English legends of vampiric beings after this date are scant.[76]
These tales are similar to the later folklore widely reported from
Eastern Europe in the 18th century, and it was from these that the
vampire legend entered Germany and England, where it was subsequently
embellished and greatly popularised into the modern fictional vampire.
Superstition of vampires grew to such a height during the 18th
century that a frenzy of vampire sightings was seen in Eastern Europe,
with frequent stakings and grave diggings taking place during this
period in order to identitify and kill the potential vampires; Even
government officials were compelled by associates into the hunting and
staking of vampires. Despite being the so-called Age of Enlightenment
where most folkloric legends were quelled, the amount of following in
vampires increased dramatically resulting in what could only be called
a mass hysteria throughout most of Europe. The panic began with an
outbreak of alleged vampire attacks in East Prussia in 1721 and in the Habsburg Monarchy
from 1725 to 1734, which spread to other localities. Two famous vampire
cases, which were the first to be officially recorded, involved Peter Plogojowitz and Arnold Paole from Serbia;
Plogojowitz was reported to have died at the age of 62, but allegedly
returned after his death asking his son for food. When he refused, the
son was found dead the following day. Plogojowitz soon returned and
attacked some neighbours who died from loss of blood.[77] In the second 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 in the surrounding area and it was
widely believed that Paole had returned to prey on the neighbours.
The two incidents were extremely well documented; Government
officials examined (and wrote reports of) the cases and the bodies and
books were published soon afterwards of the Paole case and distributed
around Europe.[78] The hysteria, which is commonly referred to as the 18th Century Vampire Controversy,
raged for a generation. The problem was exacerbated by rural epidemics
of so-claimed vampire attacks, undoubtedly caused by the higher amount
of superstition that was present in village communities, with locals
digging up bodies and in some cases, staking them. Although many
scholars reported that vampires did not exist during this period, and
attributed reports to premature burial or rabies, superstition in the vampire continued to increase. 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 demonologists, 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.
The controversy only ceased when Empress Maria Theresa of Austria sent her personal physician, Gerhard van Swieten,
to investigate the claims of vampiric entities. He concluded that
vampires did not exist and the Empress passed laws prohibiting the
opening of graves and desecration of bodies, sounding the end of the
vampire epidemics. Despite this conviction, the vampire continued still
in artistic works and in local superstition which lasts even today.
Slavic
Some of the more common causes of vampirism in slavic folklore include being a magician or an immoral person; suffering an "unnatural" or untimely death such as suicide; excommunication; improper burial rituals; an animal jumping or a bird flying over the corpse or the empty grave (in South Slavic folk belief); and even being born with a caul,[79]
teeth or tail, or being conceived on certain days. In southern Russia,
people who were known to talk to themselves were believed to be at risk
of becoming vampires.[80] Slavic vampires were able to appear as butterflies,[81] echoing an earlier belief of them symbolizing departed souls.[82] Some traditions spoke of "living vampires" or "people with two souls", a kind of witches capable of leaving their body and engaging in harmful and vampiric activity while sleeping.[83]
A feature of West Slavic beliefs, according to ethnologist
E. Levkievskaya, is that they emphasize that becoming a vampire is
determined by fate and can be predicted on the basis of physical
traits. Among the beliefs of the East Slavs, those of the northern regions (i.e. most of Russia)
are unique in that their undead, while having many of the features of
the vampires of other Slavic peoples, don’t drink blood and don’t bear
a name derived from the common Slavic root for "vampire". Ukrainian and Belarusian legends are more "conventional", although in Ukraine the vampires may sometimes not be described as dead at all,[84] or may be seen as engaging in vampirism long before death. During cholera epidemics in the 19th century, there were cases of people being burned alive by their neighbours on charges of being vampires.[83][85]
In South Slavic folklore, a vampire was believed to pass through
several distinct stages in its development. The first 40 days were
considered decisive for the making of a vampire. It started out as an
invisible shadow and then gradually gained strength from the blood it
had sucked, forming a (typically also invisible) jelly-like, boneless
mass, and eventually building up a human-like body nearly identical to
the one the person had had in life. This development allowed the
creature to ultimately leave its grave and begin a new life as a human.
The vampire (who was usually male) was also sexually active and could
have children, either with his widow or a new wife. These could become
vampires themselves, but could also have a special ability to see and
kill vampires, allowing them to become vampire hunters. The same talent was believed to be found in persons born on Saturday.[83]
Twin brothers would yoke twin oxen to a plow, and made a furrow with
it around the village to ward off vampires and diseases. One Serbian
ritual is as follows; after the deceased was taken out of the house, a
nail was driven into the floor beneath the bier, and an egg was broken.
Two or three elderly women would come to the grave the evening after
the funeral, and stick five hawthorn pegs or old knives into the grave:
one at the position of the chest of the deceased, and the other four at
the positions of his arms and legs. Alternately, they may surround the
grave with a red woolen thread, ignite the thread, and wait until it
was burnt up.[86]
If a noise was heard during night, suspected to be made by a vampire
sneaking around someone’s house, it was shouted, "Come tomorrow, and I
will give you some salt," or "Go, pal, get some fish, and come back."[87]
Romanian
Romanian vampires were known as moroi and strigoi, with the latter classified as either living or dead. Live strigoi were described as living witches with two hearts and/or two souls.[88] Strigoi were said to have the ability to send out their souls at night to meet with other strigoi and suck the blood of livestock and neighbours. Similarly, dead strigoi were described as reanimated corpses that also sucked blood and attacked their living family. Live strigoi became revenants after their death, but there were also many other ways of a person becoming a vampire. A person born with a caul,[89] an extra nipple,[90] a tail,[90] or extra hair[90]
was doomed to become a vampire. The same fate applied to the seventh
child in any family if all of his or her previous siblings were of the
same sex, as well as someone born too early and someone whose mother
had encountered a black cat crossing her path. If a pregnant woman did not eat salt or was looked upon by a vampire or a witch, her child would also become a vampire. So would a child born out of wedlock.
Many of these supserstitions rose from the clergy in order to keep
their subjects compliant. Others who became vampires were those who
died an unnatural death or before baptism. Finally a person with red hair and blue eyes was seen as a potential strigoi.[90]
Romanian vampires were said to bite their victims over the heart or between the eyes, never on the neck.[91]
It would attack family members and livestock. Sudden deaths could be a
sign that a vampire was around. They would also indulge in poltergeist-like
activity such as throwing things around in the house. 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.
Vampires were believed to be especially active in the winter, and
more specifically on the eve of two religious holidays, the Feast of St. George and the Feast of St. Andrew. Bram Stoker makes reference to this in his novel Dracula
(1897) when Jonathan Harker is warned that at midnight "all the evil
things in the world will have full sway." During these nights, the
people kept their houses lit and used apotropaics such as thorns, crosses and garlic to prevent the vampires from entering their homes.
Roma
The mullo
(one who is dead) is believed to return and do malicious things and/or
suck the blood of a person. It was often a relative who had caused
their relative’s death, or who did not properly observe the burial
ceremonies, or 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.[37] Male vampires could father children, known as Dhampirs, who could be hired to detect and get rid of vampires.[92]
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.
A person who died alone and unseen would become a vampire,[93] likewise if a corpse swelled or turned black before burial.[93] 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.[94] 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."
Greek
-
Although not related to ancient Greek, blood-drinking beings such as Lamia, the modern Greek equivalent of a vampire is known as the vrykolakas, similar in many ways to the European vampire. Belief in vampires (usually called βρυκόλακας, vrykolakas, though reportedly referred to as καταχανάδες, katakhanades, on Crete)[95]
had persisted throughout Greek history and became so widespread in the
18th and 19th centuries, that many practices were enforced to both
prevent and combat vampirism. Many rituals were carried out, but most,
if not all, have now fallen into decline. The deceased were often
exhumed from the grave after three years of death. The remains were
placed in a box by relatives and wine poured over them while a priest
would read from scriptures. However, if the body had not sufficiently
decayed, the corpse would be labeled a vampire and treated
appropriately.[96]
In Greek folklore, 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 that
unbaptized people would be doomed to vampirism in the afterlife. They
were usually thought to be indistinguishable from living people, giving
rise to many folk tales with this theme.[97] However, this was not the case everywhere: on Mount Pelion vampires glowed in the dark, while those on the Saronic Islands were described as hunchbacks with long nails, and vampires on the island of Lesbos were reported to have long wolf-like canine teeth.
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,[citation needed]
though blood-drinking in particular was not a prominent part of the
legends. 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.[citation needed]
Varieties of wards were employed for protection in different places, including antidoron (blessed bread) from the church, crosses and black-handled knives.[citation needed]
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.[98]
Western Europe
The Baobhan sith from the Scottish Highlands,[99] and the
1 Comments
