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To become a vampire:
A baby born with teeth or a caul, or a stillborn
A bat flying over a corpse (Romania)
Being a wizard or witch
Being bitten by a vampire
Being excommunicated by the Greek Orthodox Church (Greece)
Being the seventh son of the seventh son
A cat jumping over a corpse (England)
A dead body that has been reflected in a mirror
It was generally assumed that if a cat was allowed near a corpse it would steal the soul and the dead person would become a vampire. (Vampire cats were common in Japan but were easily recognizable as they had two tails)
People with red hair (Greece)
People who commit suicide
People who die sudden and violent deaths
People who have eaten the meat of a sheep that has been killed by a wolf
People who do not receive a proper burial
A person becomes a revenant when an animal jumps over him (Eastern Europe and China)
Renouncing the Eastern Orthodox religion
To destroy a vampire:
BEHEADING
This commonly must be done with a gravedigger's shovel. The belief was that the brain was the second seat of life, ergo, if you cut off the vampire's head, you remove its life force.
BURNING
This is a common and universal method of disposing of a vampire.
BURYING FACE DOWNWARDS
If it was suspected that someone might become a vampire, burying them face downwards was believed to prevent the change occurring.
WOODEN STAKE
It was believed that the heart was the first seat of life therefore driving a stake through the heart would destroy that life force. According to some legends, the stake must be a special type of wood--generally ash, hawthorn, maple or aspen--and it must be driven through the heart with one blow.
Other ways are:
Cut off and burn the head
Pile stones on the grave
Put poppy seeds on the grave
Boil the head in vinegar
Chain to the grave with wild roses
Place a coin in the mouth and decapitate with an axe
Put a lemon in the mouth
Bury at a crossroads
Remove the heart and cut it in two. Put garlic in the mouth and a nail in the head
Drive a stake through the heart and a nail through the temple
Cut off the toes and drive a nail through the neck
Pour boiling oil on the body and drive a nail through the navel
Mythical vampire powers:
CHURCHES: The traditional vampire could not enter a church, though some of his modern counterparts do not share this restriction.
COFFINS: Vampires almost always have to sleep in their coffin during the hours of daylight. Some legends include native soil as part of this myth.
CRUCIFIXES: Traditionally a crucifix will hold off a vampire. If touched to the vampire's skin, it will burn and scar; though its use is usually not fatal to the vampire. Its efficiency depends upon the faith of its user.
EUCHARIST WAFER: This is another traditional weapon used to ward off vampires. Again, its efficiency depends upon the faith of its user.
FLYING: Traditionally this is done by turning into a bat. In more recent times, vampires can fly in human form.
GARLIC: This plant possesses magical powers, which will ward off vampires.
HOLY WATER: Another religious weapon, which burns and scars a vampire usually without being fatal. Once again, its efficiency depends on the faith of the user.
INVITE: Initially, a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited. But once invited inside, it can re-enter as often as it pleases.
MIND CONTROL: Traditional vampires had the ability to hypnotize their intended victims. They could also control some types of animals-usually those animals into which they could change. They could also exercise some control over elements such as wind and storm. Modern vampires generally seem to have lost this skill.
MIRRORS: Traditionally vampires cast no reflection and have a strong aversion to mirrors. On the whole, modern vampires seem to have dispensed with this idiosyncrasy.
SENSES: Typically, a vampire's senses are much sharper than those of humans.
STRENGTH: Vampires are possessed of great strength, far beyond human capabilities.
SUNLIGHT: Typically, you would expect sunlight to be the great enemy of vampires, but according to the myths it is not always fatal (e.g. Stoker's Dracula was only weakened by sunlight, not destroyed).
TRANSFORMATION: Traditionally vampires can change into bats, wolves, dogs and mist, though his modern successor seems to have generally lost this ability.
WATER: A vampire can only pass running water at the slack or flood of the tide (Van Helsing-Bram Stoker's Dracula).
Misc:
The destruction of a vampire by sunlight is an invention of movie makers.
Nathan Miller, in his book "Spying for America: The Hidden History of US Intelligence", tells of the 'dirty tricks' campaign used to defeat insurgent Communist Hukbalahap guerrillas in the Philippines in the 1950s. This campaign was launched by Air Force Col. Edward G Lansdale. One ingenious operation played upon the Filipinos' superstitious dread of vampires. Landsdale arranged for the body of a Huk killed in an ambush to be punctured on the neck in two places, drained of blood and left at a crossroads. The Huks, as frightened of vampires as anyone else, fled the area.
In folklore, the vampire's first victim would often be his wife. This is why, in some cultures, when a husband died, the wife would change her appearance, i.e. she would stop wearing make-up, would cut her hair, and would wear black for the entire period of mourning. These things were done with the intention of deceiving the vampire, should he return.
In some cultures, it was believed that those who were denied a formal burial would return as vampires. Strangely enough, among those denied a formal burial was alcoholics, criminals and anyone deemed to be a great sinner. Therefore, or so it seems, if you were "morally weak", you could expect to live forever.
For hundreds of years, gravediggers and those working in hospitals and morgues have reported corpses suddenly sitting up. This is caused by certain chemicals and fluids in the throat and trachea, which continue to function after death, helping prepare the body for decomposition. "Among these fluids there are some that, after the rest of the fluids have dried up, contract at a later point, drawing the other organs into this 'dance' of contraction. In effect, the muscles and tissues within the stomach and lower digestive tracts are reduced and in this process the body arches forwards into the sitting position".
Gravestones were erected at the head of the plot to prevent the deceased from sitting up.
Although it is particularly associated with Europe, vampire hunting was also a regular practice in America.
The word "vampire" did not appear in English until 1734, when it was used in an Anglo-Saxon poem titled "The Vampyre of the Fens".
Vampire bats were named after vampires, not vice versa.
The idea of a vampire being able to turn itself into a bat is a fairly recent and, apparently, literary development
Information from the Vampire Society
Source Courtsy of: Vampire Council of Maryland State.
Vampire Council of Maryland State
6/21/2002
TYPE: Research Report
Authorization of Report Release: Valid
Notice: This Document was released to the "Vampire Research Socity" (USA)
To the people the the Vampire Research Socity, the following page is what we know of Vampire Hunters and there goals/unrealistic perspective of the Vamproid community, there are three different types of hunters in this world they are the follow as listed below:
1. Religious Hunter
2. Recreational Hunter
3. Revenge Seeking Hunter
What they believe:
1 Religous Hunter: Believe they are doing gods work, and all vampires are the spawn of all that is evil, They use the basic tools of the trade: crosses, holy water, stakes, daggers.... which two of those items do not even work on some types of Vamproids.
2. Recreational Hunter: They are in it merly for the chase the thrill of the stalk. They will use what ever means nessary to catch there prey: shot gun, knives, stakes...whatever it takes, they are very dangerous individuals.
3.Revenge Seeking Hunter: These types of hunter are the only ones to have an parcially valid reason to hunt vamproids particalary just one in general, the reason is they did the hunter some sort of wrong in the past they like the Recreational Hunter will destroy be any means possable.
There is one other type of Hunter in the world but for the most part do not pose as a threat to the vamproid community they are called "Seekers" they are the people that will track down vamproids merly just to experiance there world and how they live and possably become romantically involved in some cases.
These follow Hunters are known of ( note: the VCMDS has no proof these are real hunters and not role players we merly gather information and put things together and if the evidence points in that direction the we believe they are.)
1. Goes by the name of "Rex" for the most part he seems like your basic Revenge Seeker but some information has gotten to us that he merly stalks your typical gothic life style females.
2. "Samantha": Lives in the city of Toronto in Canada not much info on her but all directions point yes for Recreational Hunter.
3. "Elizabeth": Known to help out Samantha in hunts
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Vampire is a corpse that supposedly returns to life at night to suck people's blood. According to many folk stories, a vampire must have a constant supply of fresh blood obtained by biting the neck of sleeping victims. The victims lose strength, die, and become vampires themselves.
Stories of vampirelike creatures have come from many parts of the world. But most vampire tales originated in Eastern European and Balkan countries, such as Albania, Greece, Hungary, and Romania. There are many superstitions about vampires. People who commit suicide, die violently, or are condemned by their church supposedly become vampires. According to folklore, a vampire can be destroyed by driving a wooden stake through its heart. In Europe, from the late 1600's to the early 1800's, people dug up graves looking for vampires.
The horror novel Dracula (1897), by the English author Bram Stoker, is the most famous vampire story. The character of Dracula is based on Vlad Tepes, a cruel prince from Walachia (now part of Romania). Vlad was nicknamed Dracula, which in Romanian means son of the devil or son of a dragon. A number of motion pictures have been made about Dracula.
2) Dracula as in the World BookŪ Encyclopedia...
Dracula, a novel by the English author Bram Stoker, is the most famous vampire story of all time. The main character is a wicked nobleman, Count Dracula of Transylvania, a region of Romania. Dracula is a vampire a corpse that returns to life at night, attacks innocent people, and sucks their blood.
In the novel, Dracula's search for new victims leads him to England. There, he pursues two young women, Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray. He, in turn, is hunted by Mina's fiance, Jonathan Harker, and by Abraham Van Helsing, an authority on vampires. The two men finally destroy Dracula. Dracula was based on vampire legends that probably arose from hundreds of savage murders committed in the 1400's by Vlad Tepes, a prince from Walachia, a region south of Transylvania.
Stoker's novel, published in 1897, is probably best known as a motion picture. Film versions include Nosferatu (1922) and Dracula (1931).
3) Bela Lugosi as in the World BookŪ Encyclopedia...
Bela Lugosi, (1882-1956), was a Hungarian-born actor famous for his roles in horror movies. His sinister appearance and thick accent gave him a chilling presence on the screen. Lugosi became best known as the vampire Count Dracula in the motion-picture Dracula (1931).
Lugosi was born in Lugos, Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania). His real name was Bela Ferenc Blasko. He was a leading stage actor in Hungary beginning in 1902 and a star in Hungarian films starting in 1917. He moved to Germany in 1919 and appeared in several films there before settling in the United States in 1921. He became a U.S. citizen in 1931. Lugosi played character roles in movies and on the stage until he got his big break in the title role of the stage version of Dracula in 1927. He performed the role on Broadway and on tour for three years. During the 1930's, Lugosi and English-born movie star Boris Karloff dominated horror films in Hollywood.
Lugosi made many inferior horror and mystery films during the 1930's and 1940's. His best films include The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), White Zombie (1932), Chandu the Magician (1932), The Black Cat (1934), The Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Wolf Man (1941), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). His last motion picture was Plan 9 from Outer Space (1956).
4) Anne Rice as in the World BookŪ Encyclopedia...
Anne Rice, (1941-...), is an American author known for her popular novels about the supernatural. Rice is best known for her "Vampire Chronicles" series, which includes Interview with the Vampire (1976), The Vampire Lestat (1985), The Queen of the Damned (1988), Tale of the Body Thief (1992), Memnoch the Devil (1995), The Vampire Armand (1998), and Blood and Gold (2001). She has been praised for the convincing blend of atmosphere and sexuality in her fiction and her skill at making supernatural characters and events seem real and believable.
Rice was born in New Orleans. Her real name was Howard Allen O'Brien. She changed her first name to Anne as a child and married Stan Rice in 1961. Interview with a Vampire, her first novel, was partly inspired by the death of their daughter from leukemia at the age of 5. Rice also wrote the screenplay for the 1994 motion-picture version of the work.
Rice's other novels of the supernatural include The Mummy: Or Ramses the Damned (1989), The Witching Hour (1990), Lasher (1993), Taltos (1994), A Servant of the Bones (1996), Violin (1997), Vittorio, the Vampire (1999), and Merrick (2000). She wrote the historical novels The Feast of All Saints (1979), set in New Orleans, and Cry to Heaven (1982), set in Italy. Rice also writes novels under the names Anne Rampling and A. N. Roquelaure.
5) Transylvania as in the World BookŪ Encyclopedia...
Transylvania, is a geographical region of Romania near the Hungarian border. It covers about 39,000 square miles (101,000 square kilometers). The majority of its people are Romanians. But about a quarter of the population are Magyars. Magyars make up the largest ethnic group in Hungary. Transylvania also has a sizeable Gypsy minority. The Carpathian Mountains and Transylvanian Alps separate the region from the rest of Romania.
Transylvania has rich deposits of iron, lead, lignite, manganese, natural gas, and sulfur. The surrounding mountains are covered with beech and oak trees. Transylvania's high plains make good grazing grounds for cattle and sheep. Its valleys produce large bean, corn, potato, tobacco, rice, and wheat crops. The region's largest city is Cluj-Napoca.
For years, Romanians and Hungarians quarreled over Transylvania. Magyars conquered the region in the 900's. From 1526 to 1699, Transylvania was part of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. It was under Hungarian control from 1699 to 1867, when it once again became part of Hungary. During World War I (1914-1918), Romania joined the Allies after being promised Transylvania. After the war, Transylvania became part of Romania. In August 1940, Germany and Italy forced Romania to give northern Transylvania to Hungary. After World War II (1939-1945), Transylvania was returned to Romania and lost its political identity.
Transylvania is the main site of the legend about the vampire Dracula. The character of Dracula is based on Vlad Tepes, a cruel prince of the 1400's who lived in Walachia, a region south of Transylvania. Vlad executed many of his enemies by driving a stake through their bodies. A belief in vampires once held by many Romanian peasants added details to the legend. Dracula (1897), a novel by the English author Bram Stoker, made the legend famous. This immensely popular book has inspired numerous plays and motion pictures.
6) Bram Stoker as in the World BookŪ Encyclopedia...
Bram Stoker, (1847-1912), a British author, wrote Dracula (1897), one of the most famous horror stories of all time. Count Dracula, the book's main character, is a nobleman who is really a vampire. He lives in Transylvania (now part of Romania) and is several hundred years old. At night, he changes into a huge bat, and flies about the countryside drawing blood from the necks of sleeping victims. Dracula moves to England and terrorizes the people there. He is finally caught during the day and killed. Stoker wrote other novels and some nonfiction, but none of his other books approached the success of Dracula. (See Dracula)
Abraham Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was theater manager for actor Sir Henry Irving and wrote Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (1906).
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