(Translated from German) From the Serbian вампир/vampiro, it is folklore and mythology, a nocturnal bloodsucker, and generally the reanimated human corpse, human or animal blood and supernatural forces’ lives has. Depending on the culture and the mythical forces, vampires are attributed various magical properties. Sometimes also non-human beings such as demons or animals (e.g., bats, dogs, spiders) are referred to.
Named after the legendary figure, the blood-sucking bat (Desmodontinae), the only group of mammals exclusively feeding on the blood of other animals.
Reality and Myth
Origin
The models for the widespread idea of vampires in Western Europe originate from Southeastern Europe and from Slavic folklore and Romanian mythology. The vampire spread from the Carpathian region through Romania (Transylvania), Hungary, eastern Austria, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, and Greece. These vampires are scientifically supported and, above all, understood as a social, anthropological phenomenon; first, the detriment of individuals or the community by illness, loss of crops, or as the cause of death. The blood-sucking by the "vampire" is not, in popular belief, the most important element, but rather the removal from their own grave. The village communities had to be traced and identified by the cause. Found in a suspected grave (Peter Kreuter called an oblique cross or a rat hole as a reference) was a decaying corpse, which was then disposed of in various ways, once killed and then burned, which in most films etc., is still at the end of a vampire.
In Orthodox Christian belief in Southeastern Europe, priests at the point of death, and the lack of a sacrament, could lead to a blurring of the line between the living and the dead.
The idea of vampires is not only spread in Southeastern Europe. Almost everywhere in the world, there are myths about vampires or beings that share important characteristics with them, for example:
- ASANBOSAM (Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast)
- ASWANG (Philippines)
- BAOBHAN-SITH (Scotland)
- GHOULS (Greece, since ancient times)
- WRUKOLAKAS (also Greece)
- CHIANG-SHIH (China)
- DHAMPIR (or vampire) (Albania)
- VAMPIR (Vampire), VUKODLAK (werewolf) (Serbia, Croatia, Dalmatia)
The most famous alleged first vampire was from Croatia, from the small village of Kringa (Istria), who died in 1652 and lived there in his later years. He was a farmer and was named Jure Grando. In 1672, his grave was opened, and he had often terrorized the village. In Vajkard Valvasor's literature, this vampire is mentioned for the first time in European literature. Johann Joseph Görres, in his several-volume work "Christian Mysticism," printed in Regensburg from 1836 to 1842, took on the background.
The founding fathers of the modern vampire myth can be considered John Polidori, J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1814–1873), and Bram Stoker. While the first awakened the general interest in the figure of the vampire, Bram Stoker coined the concrete image of the vampire.
The majority of international popular media vampire types and their names were determined by the British occultist Montague Summers (1880–1948). Summers was convinced of the existence of vampires and werewolves and declared every conceivable ghostly being as proof of his theory, if the folk tradition of the country somehow or similarly alluded to blood-sucking, even if the essence of the definition differed. Summers himself disagreed with the definition of an undead.
Similarly, the myth of the vampire is derived from vampirism dating back to superstition and the consumption of blood as the essence of life that gives life. Well-known in this context is the bloodthirsty "countess" Erzsébet Báthory (Elizabeth Bathory), from a Hungarian aristocratic family. After her husband's death, she allegedly bathed in the blood of over six hundred virgins in her castle to maintain her youth. This accusation was never proven or demonstrated. Likewise, the hustle and bustle of Countess Bathory in Eastern Europe contributed to the emergence of the vampire myth.
The most famous Romanian vampire in popular mythology is connected to Dracula (Vlad III. Dracula), also known as Vlad Tepes (in German: "the Impaler"). This appears to be a translation error by a Scottish writer from the 19th century who put the world together and provided writers in 20th-century non-fiction organizations with all sorts of fantastic characteristics, until he was established in vampire encyclopedias.
To this day, belief in vampires or vampire-like beings appears in different ethnic groups in Asia, Africa, and South America, as well as in Eastern Europe. In particular, the internet has emerged as a popular medium for dissemination.
The last internationally exciting event related to vampires in Europe dates back to 2005: in the Romanian village of Marotinu de Sus, the body of a resident who had died two years earlier was exhumed. This was suspected of being a local form of the vampire, a Strigoi—leading to evil. The family members cut out the heart, burned it, dissolved the ashes in water, and drank the solution.[1]
Upir
As an alternative to the term "vampire," the Polish and Ukrainian name "Upir" (Ukrainian: упир) became common in the early modern period. The suffix "pir" means "wing" or "suspended being," a sign of the supposed flight of the vampire. The term "Upir" is probably also distantly related to "vampire" because its origin is assumed to be in Southeastern Europe rather than in Poland.
The first mention of the name Upir dates back to 1047 AD, with Prince Upir Lichyi near Novgorod in northwestern Great Russia. In Western Russia, there are also places called Upiry and Upirow, whose inhabitants boast of being descendants of vampires.
Strigoi
Another variation of the vampire belief can be found in ancient Romanian folklore in the "Strigoi." Romanian is a Romance language, so the origin of the word is from Latin, where "strix" means "witch." "Strigoi," unlike "Upir" and the Greek "Wrukolakas," are only human and not demonic spirits, but the dead are returned from.
"Strigoi" are also divided into two categories: "Strigoi morti" and "Strigoi vii." The former are the living dead; the latter are people already cursed in their lives who, after their death, "must" become Strigoi.
Descent from a "Strigoi Mort" or, more rarely, from the heavy sins of the mother. Anatomical discrepancies, such as tail-like spinal protrusions or parts of the amniotic sac grown onto the head, are interpreted as signs of such a curse (in Romanian, "vernaculum," from Latin: "redes, "German: amniotic sac, see caul). Originally, Strigoi had nothing to do with vampirism. Bloodlust and a thirst for blood were later attached to them in horror films, books, etc. Strigoi visit the deceased relatives in the faith and want to take them with them. To build a border between the realm of the dead and the living, threads are attached to coffins at funerals and burned. Often mirrors, soap, razor blades, etc., are placed in the grave goods so that the deceased has no reason to return to the realm of the living and act as a Strigoi. This belief is widespread in Romania and Eastern European countries. Some iron is placed in the dead, a burning heart. This is to prevent the dead from becoming Strigoi. In rare cases, Strigoi search for relatives to make them ill or kill them.
Vampires in the German language
Especially in the 18th century, many cases of vampires were reported, mainly in villages in Southeastern Europe. After the end of the last Turkish War in 1718, parts of the country, such as northern Serbia and parts of Bosnia, fell to Austria. These lands were settled by Orthodox Christian refugees who were granted special status as armed farmers. They were thus responsible for agricultural development and border security, which is why vampire reports first appeared in the German language.
Between 1718 and 1732, real vampire epidemics were reported in villages in Eastern European countries. One of the earliest and most famous reports from 1724–1725 refers to the village of Kisolova in central-eastern Serbia. Frombald, a Kameralprovisor (administrator), was tasked with investigating the suspected vampire responsible for cases. His report[2] was published in the Austrian state newspaper on July 21, 1725. Frombald described his experiences in Kisolova. In this village, an increase in the mortality rate of residents became apparent; within eight days, nine people died, and others suffered from the illness. Peter Plogojowitz (also Plagojevic, actually Blagojevic) was blamed, who had died ten weeks earlier. On his deathbed, he allegedly told patients that those who had been strangled by Plogojowitz were now sleeping, which was interpreted as the act of a vampire. Plogojowitz's grave was opened, and the corpse was found in a state characteristic of a vampire: it was still quite incorruptible, had a fresh complexion, and a foul smell of decay emanated from it. Furthermore, the skin, hair, and nails had grown, after which the original skin and nails had been shed. Fresh blood was found in the holes, believed to be the blood of the victims. The villagers therefore decided to dismember the corpse and then burn it.
The report sparked great interest, and vampires from Eastern Europe became known in the German language, but were quickly forgotten. Most of the affected villages sent doctors or priests to investigate the vampire cases. These supposedly exhumed the vampires and wrote—often extensive—reports on the plague. They also ensured that all bodies were decapitated, burned, and appeared suspicious.
From 1732 onwards, vampire reports were viewed from a different perspective, especially by medical and scientific investigations. Numerous dissertations were written on the subject. In 1732, reports on the vampire myth also reached the French and Dutch public through the publication of reports from military villages in various newspapers. Doctors and theologians from the respective regions often wrote about the death of a previously unknown disease. If victims of this disease were buried too shallowly, they could transfer it, which was to explain the increase in deaths in the villages.
All "typical" vampire indicators can be explained by natural causes of the body, according to Michael Ranft, who responded to the 1725 report from Kisolova as the first. He wrote several treatises, such as "Dissertatio historico-critica de mortuorum in tumulis masticatione et creatione" (Historical-critical treatise on the chewing and sounds of the dead in their graves). He stated that all rational signs of vampires, such as chewing and knocking, were processes of decomposition and sounds from animal gnawing, incorruptibility depending on environmental influences and the deceased's constitution, as well as the fresh blood from the body openings tinged red from the alleged vampire's secretion. He attributed the characteristics supposedly identified by doctors and others to fear, superstition, and an exaggerated imagination.
Augustin Calmet, a French Benedictine scholar, explained in his work published in 1745, "Dictionarium historicum, criticum et chronologicum." (Scholarly discussions on the matter of ghost phenomena and vampires in Hungary and Moravia)[3], that reports of vampires, especially from Serbian and Slavic languages, already existed in 1680. He also attributed natural causes to the vampire's marks.
In 1755, Gerard van Swieten was sent from Moravia to investigate the vampire situation in the country. Van Swieten was the personal physician to Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. He carefully examined the alleged vampire cases and wrote a sober report in which—like Ranft[4]—he claimed natural causes as an explanation for the vampires.
Gerard van Swieten was thus probably one of the most important fighters against the so-called superstition of the "common" people. Because of his report, Maria Theresa issued a decree on the subject of vampires, prohibiting traditional measures such as staking, decapitation, and burning. She also ordered that references to so-called resurrected dead should no longer be reported to the church, but to the authorities who still obeyed superstition. They also sent the German surgeon Georg Tallar to the vampire-affected areas in Eastern Europe in 1756 to investigate the situation again and compose a new report. Eastern Europe was considered backward and in need of civilization at that time. It was therefore seen in the 18th century as the opposite of Western and Central Europe, which described itself as enlightened. The Enlightenment considered it scandalous how such superstition "could arise."
Jean-Jacques Rousseau aptly described the 18th-century vampire myth:
"S'il y a jamais une histoire au monde et qui soit garantie prouvée, c'est celle de vampires. Rien ne manque: rapports officiels, témoignages de personnes de qualité, de chirurgie, de prêtre, de juges: l'évidence est complète."
(Roughly translated: "If ever in the world there was a proven and tested story, it is that of vampires. Nothing is missing: official reports, testimonies from people of quality, from surgeons, from priests, from judges: the evidence is complete." )
The church, which supposedly still fueled superstition—as Maria Theresa believed—was at least partially resolved and largely opposed to the "measures" against vampires. Pope Benedict XIV thus wrote a letter in response to a Polish archbishop's question, only to later respond against the "vampire" action because he had previously relied on van Swieten's report. The Pope, considered a progressive and a clear patron of the Enlightenment, clearly stated in his letter that he considered the vampire myth absurd and intended for the archbishop to "eradicate this superstition." He also threatened priests who promoted superstition with stripping them of their office.
In Germany, the term "vampire" has been in use since around 1720, i.e., since the first reports of the so-called "Serbian vampires" (Kisolova, Medveca). Earlier evidence, such as the farewell speech "you call us vampires," of an alleged execution in Münster in 1643, or a French noble villain named Boaz, who circulated pseudopoetic falsifications, has been proven. Goethe's ballad "The Bride of Corinth" (1797) processed the vampire myth—at least in echoes—in literary form. His undead bride does not suck blood but leads her lover to her grave.
In German-speaking countries, the pure form of the vampire is not detected, although there are various references, such as parallel beliefs and actions that could be taken against an undead. After largely appearing in Germany, the undead continued in the grave, and as so-called Nachzehrer, they survived by draining life force from the dead. As early as the 14th to 17th centuries in Europe, there was a belief in so-called "Nachsterben" to kill ghosts and thus Nachzehrer. They were said to sit upright in the grave and chew their own limbs or shrouds, sucking the life energy that brought them to the grave. Death took so long until the shroud was consumed; during this time, a slap could be heard from the grave.
Furthermore, the "butcher bird" (Pomerania, East Prussia) and the "sucker" double (Wendland) are figures that come very close to the classic vampire figure, and their struggle is similar in detail to that of the vampires in Southeastern Europe.
As some vampire manuals report, there is an idea in South America that vampires can turn into bats. The specific source of proof that this transformation occurs is a widespread idea that will likely never be provided. If these reports of transformation from imagination correspond to reality, it would probably be due to the fact that in South America there is a group of bats (vampire bats) that feed exclusively on blood, but mainly on animal blood. Reports of attacks by blood-sucking bats on humans are partly speculative or sensationalist fantasies, but are indeed isolated instances. This shows the historical connection of the vampire subject with the belief in shapeshifters, also called lycanthropes ().
Attributes
The different traditions of the vampire myth describe various characteristics and properties that make up the modern idea of the vampire. Such characteristics have been passed down from different sources, which vary in detail. It is estimated that only a fraction of the myths from that time has survived, but this allows for a unified description of a vampire to some extent.
According to this, vampires are undead creatures in human form who live in their graves and sleep during the day in their coffins. They are characterized by their pale appearance and feed exclusively on blood. Probably for this reason, vampires have an abnormal bite, characterized by their sharp canine teeth, like the jaw, which are used to characterize all of this beforehand. In many older depictions, two, rarely four, canines are mentioned. These vampires inflict a bite wound on their victims, which are essentially human, located in the neck area of the artery. Then they drink the blood of their victims to quench their bloodlust. Other depictions show vampires having human form, but they can transform into bats or giant bat-like creatures. They can also climb walls.
A key feature of the vampire's immortality is attributed to their generally superhuman strength—combined with their hunger for blood—a large part of the terror of the vampire myth. Furthermore, vampires are said to have a pronounced sexual drive. Vampires exert a powerful attraction on their chosen sex and are seducers.
Those bitten by vampires become vampires themselves. In some legends, however, vampire bites are also documented in various ways. In some states, the vampire can decide whether their victim becomes a vampire or a vampire-like zombie. It is known that the ghoul has nothing to do with the vampire myth traditionally, as it originated in the Persian and Arab mythological circles as a corpse-eating demon. However, other stories say that a victim of a vampire could only become a vampire if they jumped over an impure animal, such as a cat, or an open grave. Another variation says that the victim became a vampire only when they drank blood that had flowed from the vampire's veins.
In some legends, vampires can transform into bats or (rarely) wolves, which has since proven that the transformation of the bat from Romanian popular mythology does not occur. Vampires are primarily seen as nocturnal beings that dissolve into powder or burn when exposed to sunlight. This appears to be primarily an invention of director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau for his film Nosferatu. In Abraham Stoker's presentation, this vulnerability is not present; rather, it is only a weakening of the vampire during the day. Often, this also means that they do not have a reflection. Furthermore, it is reported that vampires were unable to cross running water or generally feared water.
Even occupied buildings can only be entered by vampires if a resident has invited them. In addition, vampires are often attributed the ability to recover quickly from injuries.
More details about vampires are not common; vampire victim coins are placed in their mouths to prevent them from transforming into an undead.[5] Relevant examples from different myths can be found in the written work "Rational and Christian Thoughts on the Vampire" from 1733 by Johann Christoph Harenberg, and a much-cited report[7] by military doctor Johann Flückinger.
Defense
The legends provide passive protection against vampires, some of which were widely applied in the 18th century. Garlic and representations of a crucifix serve as deterrents. After an experimental study with blood, the effectiveness of garlic was questioned.[8] Furthermore, holy water damages vampires. The latter, in particular, emphasizes the idea of a "demonic nature" of a vampire. Forms of destroying a vampire included beheading and, above all, staking (driving a wooden peg through the heart). In some depictions, however, staking only leads to a kind of rigor mortis, after which the creature will eventually come back to life. A combination of these two practices (beheading and staking) is also said to prevent the vampire from returning as an undead. In this method, the vampire is impaled, and the creature's head is separated with a gravedigger's shovel. Then the mouth of the dead is filled with garlic.
In other regions, people place objects in the coffins of the dead to prevent them from rising from their graves again. This is done by placing "servants" such as fishing nets or poppy seeds in the graves as grave goods. The dead are supposed to open a knot or eat a poppy seed each year and remain occupied.
Vampires in media
The first vampires became famous for their romantic portrayal in literature[9]. Bram Stoker's first vampire novel, Dracula (1897), as well as earlier stories like Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu (1872) and John Polidori's The Vampyre (1819), laid the foundation and presented dangerous monsters with desires and souls. Stoker's vampire name, Dracula, became the epitome of the ur-vampire. The historical model for Stoker's Dracula, though limited, was the Romanian prince Vlad III. Dracula, also known as Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), who drew on Romanian tradition. The prince was never described as a vampire or undead, but it is said that he occasionally drank from collected shells filled with the blood of his enemies. In modern literature, the theme of The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight or Angela Sommer-Petersburg's children's book series The Little Vampire are processed.
Film and TV
→ Main article: List of vampire films and Dracula adaptations
In 1912, the first vampire feature film, Vampyrdanserinden, by August Blom, appeared in Denmark. Since Friedrich Murnau's film Nosferatu, numerous other literary and cinematic works on the theme of vampires have emerged, including Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931), Vampyr – The Vampire's Dream (by Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932), Plan 9 from Outer Space (Edward D. Wood, Jr., 1959), Nosferatu – Phantom of the Night (Werner Herzog, 1979), Roman Polanski's Dance of the Vampires, Dracula, Blade, Van Helsing, Underworld, Queen of the Damned, Interview with the Vampire, The Lost Boys, From Dusk Till Dawn, and TV series Buffy – The Vampire Slayer, Moonlight, Angel – Hunter of Darkness, and Blood Ties, as well as adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's novels Twilight – Bis(s) zum Morgengrauen and Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Mel Brooks' parody of Dracula in his film Dracula – Dead and Loving It. 30 Days of Night is a 2007 horror film with some different vampires. The Princess Vampire is a 2007 American documentary. Let the Right One In is a Swedish film, shot in 2008, based on the novel of the same title by John Ajvide Lindqvist.
Vampires in video games
Vampires are part of many games of various types. In card games, famous vampire films are the basis, vampires appear as army units (e.g., in the Heroes of Might and Magic series), playable characters (Legacy of Kain, Vampire: The Masquerade), or antagonists (Castlevania).
Vampires in other media
The theme of vampires is the subject of various stage productions, such as the RPG Buffy and Vampire. The latter describes Cain's father as the vampire, who God cursed with vampirism by the mark of Cain.
Half-Vampires
Modern horror and fantasy literature features, alongside the classic vampire, the fictional figure of the half-vampire or half-vampyr. This character is primarily used in literature and film for the struggle between "good and evil." As a hybrid between human and vampire, the half-vampire usually sides with the people and often fills the role of a vampire hunter. (See also Dhampir)
Real Vampires
→ Main article: Vampire (Lifestyle)
The term Real Vampires or Modern Vampires refers to people of all age groups who, presumably, pay homage to vampires in their lifestyle—mainly in terms of clothing, appearance, false teeth, etc.—but with extremes like blood consumption. This scenario should not be confused with Satanism, although there are overlaps. Often, adherents of this scene identify with the Goth scene, as the "Vampire Cult," as the scene is called, is also found in the Gothic scene. However, the Real Vampire cult is a separate culture that has existed for decades.
Literature
Paul Barber: Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality. Yale University Press, New Haven CT 1988
Norbert Borrmann: Vampirism or the Desire for Immortality. 1999, ISBN 3-424-01351-X
Basil Copper: The Vampire in Legend, Art, and Reality. Leipzig, 2007, ISBN 978-3-86552-071-5.
Harald Gebhardt, Mario Ludwig: From Dragons, Vampires, and Yetis - Fabulous Animals on the Trail. VLB Verlag, Munich 2005. ISBN 3-405-16679-9.
Stefan Grothe: The Influence of Epidemics on the Development of the Vampire Myth as Mirrored in the Vampire Debate in Leipzig 1725–1734. Cologne 2001.
Dieter Harmening: The Genesis of Dracula. On the History of the Stories. Würzburg 1983
Markus Heitz: Vampires! Vampires! - Everything About Vampires. Piper Verlag, Munich, 2008, ISBN 978-3-492-29181-1.
Gerd H. Hövelmann: The Scientific Vampire Literature. A Bibliographic Survey. In: Journal of Anomalistics 7, 2007, pp. 205–235
Lee Byron Jennings: An Old German Vampire Tale: Waiblinger's "Wilhelm Olura" (first published in 1986). In: Stuttgarter Arbeiten zur Germanistik, No. 423, Hans-Heinz Dieter Verlag, Akademischer Verlag, Stuttgart 2004 [2005], pp. 295–306, ISBN 3-88099-428-5.
Stefan Keppler, Michael Will (eds.): The Vampire Film. Classics of the Genre in Individual Interpretations. Würzburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-8260-3157-1.
Peter Kremer: Dracula's Cousins. On the Trail of Vampire Belief in Germany. Düren 2006
Peter Mario Kreuter: The Vampires of Eastern Europe. Studies on the Genesis, Meaning, and Function. Romania and the Balkans, Berlin 2001, ISBN 978-3-89693-709-4
Florian Kührer: Vampires. Monster - Myth - Media Star, Butzon Bercker & Publisher, Kevelaer 2010 ISBN 978-3-7666-1396-7
Hagen Schaub: Traces of Blood: The History of Vampires. On the Trail of a Myth. Graz 2008, ISBN 978-3-7011-7628-1.
Montague Summers: The Vampire. His Friends and Relatives. London 1928
Montague Summers: The Vampire in Europe. Reprint London 1929 (UDT as The Vampire in Lore and Legend. New York, 2002).
Historical works (Ordered by date)
Whye: Acts and moderate complicated relationship of those vampires or people, suckers, that in this and previous years, in the kingdom of Serbia herfürgethan. Martini August, Leipzig 1732 (digitization, Wikisource).
Whye: Curieuse and very wonderful relation, of what new things can show bloodsuckers, or vampires, from authentic news mitgetheilet, and accompanied with philosophical and historical reflections Whye [Sl] 1732 (digitization, Wikisource).
Heinrich Gottlob Vogt: Kurtzer pause and consider Dos moderate Acts relationships due to those vampires, or human and cattle sucking-. Martini August, Leipzig 1732 (digitization, Wikisource, a contradiction to Whye's work, the so-called spirit world)
Johann Christoph Harenberg: Christian and Sensible Thoughts on the blood-sucking or dead vampires, Wolfenbüttel 1733 (digitization, Wikisource).
Michael Ranft: Treatise on the chewing and sounds of the dead in their graves, which the true nature of the Hungarian vampires and blood-suckers showed. This whole matter came to light. Arnstadt script also recensiret. Teubner bookstore, 1734 (digitization, Wikisource, revised edition: UBook-Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-86608-015-8)
Augustin Calmet: Dissertations sur les aparições des Anges, les démons et esprits. Et sur les vampires Revenans de Hongrie, de Bohème, de Moravie et de Silésie. 1746; dt Scholarly negotiate the question of ghost phenomena and vampires in Hungary and Moravia. 1749 (Webrepro, digitized, revised edition: Red Dragon Edition, 2007, ISBN 978-3-939459-03-3)
Compilations of historical texts
Klaus Hamberger: No Mortuus Murders. Documents of Vampirism 1689–1791. Vienna 1992. ISBN 978-3-85132-025-1
Klaus Hamberger: On Vampirism: Medical Records and Interpretations 1808–1899. Vienna, 1992. ISBN 978-3851320268
Dieter Sturm, Klaus Volker (eds.): Where Vampires and Suckers Come From. Documents and Seals. Hanser, Munich 1968
References
1. ↑ Report from the British newspaper The Observer
2. ↑ Frombald: Copy of a letter from the Gradisker District. in: eLib, Project eLibrary v. Hg, in: literature.at / elib (February 29, 2008).
3. ↑ [Augustin Calmet: Scholarly negotiate the question of ghost phenomena and vampires in Hungary and Moravia. Red Dragon Edition, 2007 (digitized).
4. ↑ Michael Ranft: Treatise on the chewing and sounds of the dead in their graves, which the true nature of the Hungarian vampires and blood-suckers demonstrated. This matter came to light. Arnstadt script also recensiret. 1734, Teubner bookstore.
5. ↑ Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer, Hanns Baechtold-Stäubli (eds.): Dictionary of German Superstition. Volume 6, revised edition. de Gruyter, Berlin 2002, p. 819 ISBN 3-11-006594-0
6. ↑ Johann Christoph Harenberg: Christian and Sensible Thoughts on the Vampire (1733)
7. ↑ Flückinger Johann: Christian and Sensible Thoughts on the Vampire. The Actenmäßige report on the vampire, as it should have been in Medvegia in Serbia on the Turkish borders. in: eLib, Project eLibrary v. Hg, in: literature.at / elib (February 29, 2008).
8. ↑ Sandvik, H. & Baerheim, A. (1994): (Does garlic protect against vampires? An experimental study). Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen., 114(30): 3583-3586. (Article in English, Norwegian abstract at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7825135?ordinalpos=4&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum)
9. ↑ See, for example: Prof. Christoph Augustynowicz: TRAG MICH NACH SÜDEN. in: eLib, Project eLibrary v. Hg, in: literature.at / elib (February 29, 2008).
{wiki.de}
(Translated from German) From the Serbian вампир/vampiro, it is folklore and mythology, a nocturnal bloodsucker, and generally the reanimated human corpse, human or animal blood and supernatural forces’ lives has. Depending on the culture and the mythical forces, vampires are attributed various magical properties. Sometimes also non-human beings such as demons or animals (e.g., bats, dogs, spiders) are referred to.
Named after the legendary figure, the blood-sucking bat (Desmodontinae), the only group of mammals exclusively feeding on the blood of other animals.
Reality and Myth
Origin
The models for the widespread idea of vampires in Western Europe originate from Southeastern Europe and from Slavic folklore and Romanian mythology. The vampire spread from the Carpathian region through Romania (Transylvania), Hungary, eastern Austria, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, and Greece. These vampires are scientifically supported and, above all, understood as a social, anthropological phenomenon; first, the detriment of individuals or the community by illness, loss of crops, or as the cause of death. The blood-sucking by the "vampire" is not, in popular belief, the most important element, but rather the removal from their own grave. The village communities had to be traced and identified by the cause. Found in a suspected grave (Peter Kreuter called an oblique cross or a rat hole as a reference) was a decaying corpse, which was then disposed of in various ways, once killed and then burned, which in most films etc., is still at the end of a vampire.
In Orthodox Christian belief in Southeastern Europe, priests at the point of death, and the lack of a sacrament, could lead to a blurring of the line between the living and the dead.
The idea of vampires is not only spread in Southeastern Europe. Almost everywhere in the world, there are myths about vampires or beings that share important characteristics with them, for example:
- ASANBOSAM (Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast)
- ASWANG (Philippines)
- BAOBHAN-SITH (Scotland)
- GHOULS (Greece, since ancient times)
- WRUKOLAKAS (also Greece)
- CHIANG-SHIH (China)
- DHAMPIR (or vampire) (Albania)
- VAMPIR (Vampire), VUKODLAK (werewolf) (Serbia, Croatia, Dalmatia)
The most famous alleged first vampire was from Croatia, from the small village of Kringa (Istria), who died in 1652 and lived there in his later years. He was a farmer and was named Jure Grando. In 1672, his grave was opened, and he had often terrorized the village. In Vajkard Valvasor's literature, this vampire is mentioned for the first time in European literature. Johann Joseph Görres, in his several-volume work "Christian Mysticism," printed in Regensburg from 1836 to 1842, took on the background.
The founding fathers of the modern vampire myth can be considered John Polidori, J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1814–1873), and Bram Stoker. While the first awakened the general interest in the figure of the vampire, Bram Stoker coined the concrete image of the vampire.
The majority of international popular media vampire types and their names were determined by the British occultist Montague Summers (1880–1948). Summers was convinced of the existence of vampires and werewolves and declared every conceivable ghostly being as proof of his theory, if the folk tradition of the country somehow or similarly alluded to blood-sucking, even if the essence of the definition differed. Summers himself disagreed with the definition of an undead.
Similarly, the myth of the vampire is derived from vampirism dating back to superstition and the consumption of blood as the essence of life that gives life. Well-known in this context is the bloodthirsty "countess" Erzsébet Báthory (Elizabeth Bathory), from a Hungarian aristocratic family. After her husband's death, she allegedly bathed in the blood of over six hundred virgins in her castle to maintain her youth. This accusation was never proven or demonstrated. Likewise, the hustle and bustle of Countess Bathory in Eastern Europe contributed to the emergence of the vampire myth.
The most famous Romanian vampire in popular mythology is connected to Dracula (Vlad III. Dracula), also known as Vlad Tepes (in German: "the Impaler"). This appears to be a translation error by a Scottish writer from the 19th century who put the world together and provided writers in 20th-century non-fiction organizations with all sorts of fantastic characteristics, until he was established in vampire encyclopedias.
To this day, belief in vampires or vampire-like beings appears in different ethnic groups in Asia, Africa, and South America, as well as in Eastern Europe. In particular, the internet has emerged as a popular medium for dissemination.
The last internationally exciting event related to vampires in Europe dates back to 2005: in the Romanian village of Marotinu de Sus, the body of a resident who had had died two years earlier was exhumed. This was suspected of being a local form of the vampire, a Strigoi—leading to evil. The family members cut out the heart, burned it, dissolved the ashes in water, and drank the solution.[1]
Upir
As an alternative to the term "vampire," the Polish and Ukrainian name "Upir" (Ukrainian: упир) became common in the early modern period. The suffix "pir" means "wing" or "suspended being," a sign of the supposed flight of the vampire. The term "Upir" is probably also distantly related to "vampire" because its origin is assumed to be in Southeastern Europe rather than in Poland.
The first mention of the name Upir dates back to 1047 AD, with Prince Upir Lichyi near Novgorod in northwestern Great Russia. In Western Russia, there are also places called Upiry and Upirow, whose inhabitants boast of being descendants of vampires.
Strigoi
Another variation of the vampire belief can be found in ancient Romanian folklore in the "Strigoi." Romanian is a Romance language, so the origin of the word is from Latin, where "strix" means "witch." "Strigoi," unlike "Upir" and the Greek "Wrukolakas," are only human and not demonic spirits, but the dead are returned from.
"Strigoi" are also divided into two categories: "Strigoi morti" and "Strigoi vii." The former are the living dead; the latter are people already cursed in their lives who, after their death, "must" become Strigoi.
Descent from a "Strigoi Mort" or, more rarely, from the heavy sins of the mother. Anatomical discrepancies, such as tail-like spinal protrusions or parts of the amniotic sac grown onto the head, are interpreted as signs of such a curse (in Romanian, "vernaculum," from Latin: "redes, "German: amniotic sac, see caul). Originally, Strigoi had nothing to do with vampirism. Bloodlust and a thirst for blood were later attached to them in horror films, books, etc. Strigoi visit the deceased relatives in the faith and want to take them with them. To build a border between the realm of the dead and the living, threads are attached to coffins at funerals and burned. Often mirrors, soap, razor blades, etc., are placed in the grave goods so that the deceased has no reason to return to the realm of the living and act as a Strigoi. This belief is widespread in Romania and Eastern European countries. Some iron is placed in the dead, a burning heart. This is to prevent the dead from becoming Strigoi. In rare cases, Strigoi search for relatives to make them ill or kill them.
Vampires in the German language
Especially in the 18th century, many cases of vampires were reported, mainly in villages in Southeastern Europe. After the end of the last Turkish War in 1718, parts of the country, such as northern Serbia and parts of Bosnia, fell to Austria. These lands were settled by Orthodox Christian refugees who were granted special status as armed farmers. They were thus responsible for agricultural development and border security, which is why vampire reports first appeared in the German language.
Between 1718 and 1732, real vampire epidemics were reported in villages in Eastern European countries. One of the earliest and most famous reports from 1724–1725 refers to the village of Kisolova in central-eastern Serbia. Frombald, a Kameralprovisor (administrator), was tasked with investigating the suspected vampire responsible for cases. His report[2] was published in the Austrian state newspaper on July 21, 1725. Frombald described his experiences in Kisolova. In this village, an increase in the mortality rate of residents became apparent; within eight days, nine people died, and others suffered from the illness. Peter Plogojowitz (also Plagojevic, actually Blagojevic) was blamed, who had died ten weeks earlier. On his deathbed, he allegedly told patients that those who had been strangled by Plogojowitz were now sleeping, which was interpreted as the act of a vampire. Plogojowitz's grave was opened, and the corpse was found in a state characteristic of a vampire: it was still quite incorruptible, had a fresh complexion, and a foul smell of decay emanated from it. Furthermore, the skin, hair, and nails had grown, after which the original skin and nails had been shed. Fresh blood was found in the holes, believed to be the blood of the victims. The villagers therefore decided to dismember the corpse and then burn it.
The report sparked great interest, and vampires from Eastern Europe became known in the German language, but were quickly forgotten. Most of the affected villages sent doctors or priests to investigate the vampire cases. These supposedly exhumed the vampires and wrote—often extensive—reports on the plague. They also ensured that all bodies were decapitated, burned, and appeared suspicious.
From 1732 onwards, vampire reports were viewed from a different perspective, especially by medical and scientific investigations. Numerous dissertations were written on the subject. In 1732, reports on the vampire myth also reached the French and Dutch public through the publication of reports from military villages in various newspapers. Doctors and theologians from the respective regions often wrote about the death of a previously unknown disease. If victims of this disease were buried too shallowly, they could transfer it, which was to explain the increase in deaths in the villages.
All "typical" vampire indicators can be explained by natural causes of the body, according to Michael Ranft, who responded to the 1725 report from Kisolova as the first. He wrote several treatises, such as "Dissertatio historico-critica de mortuorum in tumulis masticatione et creatione" (Historical-critical treatise on the chewing and sounds of the dead in their graves). He stated that all rational signs of vampires, such as chewing and knocking, were processes of decomposition and sounds from animal gnawing, incorruptibility depending on environmental influences and the deceased's constitution, as well as the fresh blood from the body openings tinged red from the alleged vampire's secretion. He attributed the characteristics supposedly identified by doctors and others to fear, superstition, and an exaggerated imagination.
Augustin Calmet, a French Benedictine scholar, explained in his work published in 1745, "Dictionarium historicum, criticum et chronologicum." (Scholarly discussions on the matter of ghost phenomena and vampires in Hungary and Moravia)[3], that reports of vampires, especially from Serbian and Slavic languages, already existed in 1680. He also attributed natural causes to the vampire's marks.
In 1755, Gerard van Swieten was sent from Moravia to investigate the vampire situation in the country. Van Swieten was the personal physician to Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. He carefully examined the alleged vampire cases and wrote a sober report in which—like Ranft[4]—he claimed natural causes as an explanation for the vampires.
Gerard van Swieten was thus probably one of the most important fighters against the so-called superstition of the "common" people. Because of his report, Maria Theresa issued a decree on the subject of vampires, prohibiting traditional measures such as staking, decapitation, and burning. She also ordered that references to so-called resurrected dead should no longer be reported to the church, but to the authorities who still obeyed superstition. They also sent the German surgeon Georg Tallar to the vampire-affected areas in Eastern Europe in 1756 to investigate the situation again and compose a new report. Eastern Europe was considered backward and in need of civilization at that time. It was therefore seen in the 18th century as the opposite of Western and Central Europe, which described itself as enlightened. The Enlightenment considered it scandalous how such superstition "could arise."
Jean-Jacques Rousseau aptly described the 18th-century vampire myth:
"S'il y a jamais une histoire au monde et qui soit garantie prouvée, c'est celle de vampires. Rien ne manque: rapports officiels, témoignages de personnes de qualité, de chirurgie, de prêtre, de juges: l'évidence est complète."
(Roughly translated: "If ever in the world there was a proven and tested story, it is that of vampires. Nothing is missing: official reports, testimonies from people of quality, from surgeons, from priests, from judges: the evidence is complete." )
The church, which supposedly still fueled superstition—as Maria Theresa believed—was at least partially resolved and largely opposed to the "measures" against vampires. Pope Benedict XIV thus wrote a letter in response to a Polish archbishop's question, only to later respond against the "vampire" action because he had previously relied on van Swieten's report. The Pope, considered a progressive and a clear patron of the Enlightenment, clearly stated in his letter that he considered the vampire myth absurd and intended for the archbishop to "eradicate this superstition." He also threatened priests who promoted superstition with stripping them of their office.
In Germany, the term "vampire" has been in use since around 1720, i.e., since the first reports of the so-called "Serbian vampires" (Kisolova, Medveca). Earlier evidence, such as the farewell speech "you call us vampires," of an alleged execution in Münster in 1643, or a French noble villain named Boaz, who circulated pseudopoetic falsifications, has been proven. Goethe's ballad "The Bride of Corinth" (1797) processed the vampire myth—at least in echoes—in literary form. His undead bride does not suck blood but leads her lover to her grave.
In German-speaking countries, the pure form of the vampire is not detected, although there are various references, such as parallel beliefs and actions that could be taken against an undead. After largely appearing in Germany, the undead continued in the grave, and as so-called Nachzehrer, they survived by draining life force from the dead. As early as the 14th to 17th centuries in Europe, there was a belief in so-called "Nachsterben" to kill ghosts and thus Nachzehrer. They were said to sit upright in the grave and chew their own limbs or shrouds, sucking the life energy that brought them to the grave. Death took so long until the shroud was consumed; during this time, a slap could be heard from the grave.
Furthermore, the "butcher bird" (Pomerania, East Prussia) and the "sucker" double (Wendland) are figures that come very close to the classic vampire figure, and their struggle is similar in detail to that of the vampires in Southeastern Europe.
As some vampire manuals report, there is an idea in South America that vampires can turn into bats. The specific source of proof that this transformation occurs is a widespread idea that will likely never be provided. If these reports of transformation from imagination correspond to reality, it would probably be due to the fact that in South America there is a group of bats (vampire bats) that feed exclusively on blood, but mainly on animal blood. Reports of attacks by blood-sucking bats on humans are partly speculative or sensationalist fantasies, but are indeed isolated instances. This shows the historical connection of the vampire subject with the belief in shapeshifters, also called lycanthropes ().
Attributes
The different traditions of the vampire myth describe various characteristics and properties that make up the modern idea of the vampire. Such characteristics have been passed down from different sources, which vary in detail. It is estimated that only a fraction of the myths from that time has survived, but this allows for a unified description of a vampire to some extent.
According to this, vampires are undead creatures in human form who live in their graves and sleep during the day in their coffins. They are characterized by their pale appearance and feed exclusively on blood. Probably for this reason, vampires have an abnormal bite, characterized by their sharp canine teeth, like the jaw, which are used to characterize all of this beforehand. In many older depictions, two, rarely four, canines are mentioned. These vampires inflict a bite wound on their victims, which are essentially human, located in the neck area of the artery. Then they drink the blood of their victims to quench their bloodlust. Other depictions show vampires having human form, but they can transform into bats or giant bat-like creatures. They can also climb walls.
A key feature of the vampire's immortality is attributed to their generally superhuman strength—combined with their hunger for blood—a large part of the terror of the vampire myth. Furthermore, vampires are said to have a pronounced sexual drive. Vampires exert a powerful attraction on their chosen sex and are seducers.
Those bitten by vampires become vampires themselves. In some legends, however, vampire bites are also documented in various ways. In some states, the vampire can decide whether their victim becomes a vampire or a vampire-like zombie. It is known that the ghoul has nothing to do with the vampire myth traditionally, as it originated in the Persian and Arab mythological circles as a corpse-eating demon. However, other stories say that a victim of a vampire could only become a vampire if they jumped over an impure animal, such as a cat, or an open grave. Another variation says that the victim became a vampire only when they drank blood that had flowed from the vampire's veins.
In some legends, vampires can transform into bats or (rarely) wolves, which has since proven that the transformation of the bat from Romanian popular mythology does not occur. Vampires are primarily seen as nocturnal beings that dissolve into powder or burn when exposed to sunlight. This appears to be primarily an invention of director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau for his film Nosferatu. In Abraham Stoker's presentation, this vulnerability is not present; rather, it is only a weakening of the vampire during the day. Often, this also means that they do not have a reflection. Furthermore, it is reported that vampires were unable to cross running water or generally feared water.
Even occupied buildings can only be entered by vampires if a resident has invited them. In addition, vampires are often attributed the ability to recover quickly from injuries.
More details about vampires are not common; vampire victim coins are placed in their mouths to prevent them from transforming into an undead.[5] Relevant examples from different myths can be found in the written work "Rational and Christian Thoughts on the Vampire" from 1733 by Johann Christoph Harenberg, and a much-cited report[7] by military doctor Johann Flückinger.
Defense
The legends provide passive protection against vampires, some of which were widely applied in the 18th century. Garlic and representations of a crucifix serve as deterrents. After an experimental study with blood, the effectiveness of garlic was questioned.[8] Furthermore, holy water damages vampires. The latter, in particular, emphasizes the idea of a "demonic nature" of a vampire. Forms of destroying a vampire included beheading and, above all, staking (driving a wooden peg through the heart). In some depictions, however, staking only leads to a kind of rigor mortis, after which the creature will eventually come back to life. A combination of these two practices (beheading and staking) is also said to prevent the vampire from returning as an undead. In this method, the vampire is impaled, and the creature's head is separated with a gravedigger's shovel. Then the mouth of the dead is filled with garlic.
In other regions, people place objects in the coffins of the dead to prevent them from rising from their graves again. This is done by placing "servants" such as fishing nets or poppy seeds in the graves as grave goods. The dead are supposed to open a knot or eat a poppy seed each year and remain occupied.
Vampires in media
The first vampires became famous for their romantic portrayal in literature[9]. Bram Stoker's first vampire novel, Dracula (1897), as well as earlier stories like Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu (1872) and John Polidori's The Vampyre (1819), laid the foundation and presented dangerous monsters with desires and souls. Stoker's vampire name, Dracula, became the epitome of the ur-vampire. The historical model for Stoker's Dracula, though limited, was the Romanian prince Vlad III. Dracula, also known as Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), who drew on Romanian tradition. The prince was never described as a vampire or undead, but it is said that he occasionally drank from collected shells filled with the blood of his enemies. In modern literature, the theme of The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight or Angela Sommer-Petersburg's children's book series The Little Vampire are processed.
Film and TV
→ Main article: List of vampire films and Dracula adaptations
In 1912, the first vampire feature film, Vampyrdanserinden, by August Blom, appeared in Denmark. Since Friedrich Murnau's film Nosferatu, numerous other literary and cinematic works on the theme of vampires have emerged, including Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931), Vampyr – The Vampire's Dream (by Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932), Plan 9 from Outer Space (Edward D. Wood, Jr., 1959), Nosferatu – Phantom of the Night (Werner Herzog, 1979), Roman Polanski's Dance of the Vampires, Dracula, Blade, Van Helsing, Underworld, Queen of the Damned, Interview with the Vampire, The Lost Boys, From Dusk Till Dawn, and TV series Buffy – The Vampire Slayer, Moonlight, Angel – Hunter of Darkness, and Blood Ties, as well as adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's novels Twilight – Bis(s) zum Morgengrauen and Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Mel Brooks' parody of Dracula in his film Dracula – Dead and Loving It. 30 Days of Night is a 2007 horror film with some different vampires. The Princess Vampire is a 2007 American documentary. Let the Right One In is a Swedish film, shot in 2008, based on the novel of the same title by John Ajvide Lindqvist.
Vampires in video games
Vampires are part of many games of various types. In card games, famous vampire films are the basis, vampires appear as army units (e.g., in the Heroes of Might and Magic series), playable characters (Legacy of Kain, Vampire: The Masquerade), or antagonists (Castlevania).
Vampires in other media
The theme of vampires is the subject of various stage productions, such as the RPG Buffy and Vampire. The latter describes Cain's father as the vampire, who God cursed with vampirism by the mark of Cain.
Half-Vampires
Modern horror and fantasy literature features, alongside the classic vampire, the fictional figure of the half-vampire or half-vampyr. This character is primarily used in literature and film for the struggle between "good and evil." As a hybrid between human and vampire, the half-vampire usually sides with the people and often fills the role of a vampire hunter. (See also Dhampir)
Real Vampires
→ Main article: Vampire (Lifestyle)
The term Real Vampires or Modern Vampires refers to people of all age groups who, presumably, pay homage to vampires in their lifestyle—mainly in terms of clothing, appearance, false teeth, etc.—but with extremes like blood consumption. This scenario should not be confused with Satanism, although there are overlaps. Often, adherents of this scene identify with the Goth scene, as the "Vampire Cult," as the scene is called, is also found in the Gothic scene. However, the Real Vampire cult is a separate culture that has existed for decades.
Literature
Paul Barber: Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality. Yale University Press, New Haven CT 1988
Norbert Borrmann: Vampirism or the Desire for Immortality. 1999, ISBN 3-424-01351-X
Basil Copper: The Vampire in Legend, Art, and Reality. Leipzig, 2007, ISBN 978-3-86552-071-5.
Harald Gebhardt, Mario Ludwig: From Dragons, Vampires, and Yetis - Fabulous Animals on the Trail. VLB Verlag, Munich 2005. ISBN 3-405-16679-9.
Stefan Grothe: The Influence of Epidemics on the Development of the Vampire Myth as Mirrored in the Vampire Debate in Leipzig 1725–1734. Cologne 2001.
Dieter Harmening: The Genesis of Dracula. On the History of the Stories. Würzburg 1983
Markus Heitz: Vampires! Vampires! - Everything About Vampires. Piper Verlag, Munich, 2008, ISBN 978-3-492-29181-1.
Gerd H. Hövelmann: The Scientific Vampire Literature. A Bibliographic Survey. In: Journal of Anomalistics 7, 2007, pp. 205–235
Lee Byron Jennings: An Old German Vampire Tale: Waiblinger's "Wilhelm Olura" (first published in 1986). In: Stuttgarter Arbeiten zur Germanistik, No. 423, Hans-Heinz Dieter Verlag, Akademischer Verlag, Stuttgart 2004 [2005], pp. 295–306, ISBN 3-88099-428-5.
Stefan Keppler, Michael Will (eds.): The Vampire Film. Classics of the Genre in Individual Interpretations. Würzburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-8260-3157-1.
Peter Kremer: Dracula's Cousins. On the Trail of Vampire Belief in Germany. Düren 2006
Peter Mario Kreuter: The Vampires of Eastern Europe. Studies on the Genesis, Meaning, and Function. Romania and the Balkans, Berlin 2001, ISBN 978-3-89693-709-4
Florian Kührer: Vampires. Monster - Myth - Media Star, Butzon Bercker & Publisher, Kevelaer 2010 ISBN 978-3-7666-1396-7
Hagen Schaub: Traces of Blood: The History of Vampires. On the Trail of a Myth. Graz 2008, ISBN 978-3-7011-7628-1.
Montague Summers: The Vampire. His Friends and Relatives. London 1928
Montague Summers: The Vampire in Europe. Reprint London 1929 (UDT as The Vampire in Lore and Legend. New York, 2002).
Historical works (Ordered by date)
Whye: Acts and moderate complicated relationship of those vampires or people, suckers, that in this and previous years, in the kingdom of Serbia herfürgethan. Martini August, Leipzig 1732 (digitization, Wikisource).
Whye: Curieuse and very wonderful relation, of what new things can show bloodsuckers, or vampires, from authentic news mitgetheilet, and accompanied with philosophical and historical reflections Whye [Sl] 1732 (digitization, Wikisource).
Heinrich Gottlob Vogt: Kurtzer pause and consider Dos moderate Acts relationships due to those vampires, or human and cattle sucking-. Martini August, Leipzig 1732 (digitization, Wikisource, a contradiction to Whye's work, the so-called spirit world)
Johann Christoph Harenberg: Christian and Sensible Thoughts on the blood-sucking or dead vampires, Wolfenbüttel 1733 (digitization, Wikisource).
Michael Ranft: Treatise on the chewing and sounds of the dead in their graves, which the true nature of the Hungarian vampires and blood-suckers showed. This whole matter came to light. Arnstadt script also recensiret. Teubner bookstore, 1734 (digitization, Wikisource, revised edition: UBook-Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-86608-015-8)
Augustin Calmet: Dissertations sur les aparições des Anges, les démons et esprits. Et sur les vampires Revenans de Hongrie, de Bohème, de Moravie et de Silésie. 1746; dt Scholarly negotiate the question of ghost phenomena and vampires in Hungary and Moravia. 1749 (Webrepro, digitized, revised edition: Red Dragon Edition, 2007, ISBN 978-3-939459-03-3)
Compilations of historical texts
Klaus Hamberger: No Mortuus Murders. Documents of Vampirism 1689–1791. Vienna 1992. ISBN 978-3-85132-025-1
Klaus Hamberger: On Vampirism: Medical Records and Interpretations 1808–1899. Vienna, 1992. ISBN 978-3851320268
Dieter Sturm, Klaus Volker (eds.): Where Vampires and Suckers Come From. Documents and Seals. Hanser, Munich 1968
References
1. ↑ Report from the British newspaper The Observer
2. ↑ Frombald: Copy of a letter from the Gradisker District. in: eLib, Project eLibrary v. Hg, in: literature.at / elib (February 29, 2008).
3. ↑ [Augustin Calmet: Scholarly negotiate the question of ghost phenomena and vampires in Hungary and Moravia. Red Dragon Edition, 2007 (digitized).
4. ↑ Michael Ranft: Treatise on the chewing and sounds of the dead in their graves, which the true nature of the Hungarian vampires and blood-suckers demonstrated. This matter came to light. Arnstadt script also recensiret. 1734, Teubner bookstore.
5. ↑ Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer, Hanns Baechtold-Stäubli (eds.): Dictionary of German Superstition. Volume 6, revised edition. de Gruyter, Berlin 2002, p. 819 ISBN 3-11-006594-0
6. ↑ Johann Christoph Harenberg: Christian and Sensible Thoughts on the Vampire (1733)
7. ↑ Flückinger Johann: Christian and Sensible Thoughts on the Vampire. The Actenmäßige report on the vampire, as it should have been in Medvegia in Serbia on the Turkish borders. in: eLib, Project eLibrary v. Hg, in: literature.at / elib (February 29, 2008).
8. ↑ Sandvik, H. & Baerheim, A. (1994): (Does garlic protect against vampires? An experimental study). Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen., 114(30): 3583-3586. (Article in English, Norwegian abstract at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7825135?ordinalpos=4&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum)
9. ↑ See, for example: Prof. Christoph Augustynowicz: TRAG MICH NACH SÜDEN. in: eLib, Project eLibrary v. Hg, in: literature.at / elib (February 29, 2008).
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