Vampires fascinate man around the world but how seriously can this all be taken? Vampires and vampirism were actually known in the United Kingdom long before Saxon times, although accounts are confused and incomplete.

 An incident in Buckinghamshire in 1196 was however quite thoroughly recorded, telling of a woman who was visited by her recently deceased husband. In an amorous mood, he pinned her to the bed and almost out of her mind with horror, she screamed to wake her neighbours and he fled. After this, her friends took turns guarding the house. Her dead husband returned on several consecutive nights; he was seen by many people and chased away.

Vampires in New York ~

And even in New York, perhaps the most unlikely hunting ground for vampires, there have been some strange cases reported. One was about a girl who called herself Lillith. She told two psychic researchers that she met a young man in a cemetery who tried to kiss her. It’s not quite clear what she was doing in the cemetery in the first place, but instead of consenting to the kiss, she plunged her teeth into the man’s neck with such a surge of strength that she drew blood. “I never thought myself as a vampire,” she said, “merely a very evil person who liked the taste of blood”.

Another report from New York was about a young man named Carl Johnson who crept into his sister’s bedroom while she slept, gently pricked her leg, and sucked her blood. This gave him a thirst, he said, and he could feel himself gaining in strength as he drained his victim.

The London Highgate Vampire ~ 

And then there was the London Highgate vampire! He struck several times in the late 1960s and early 70s.

This vampire’s exploits were recorded by national newspapers and reported on the television. The police closed the cemetery and, to this day, parts haunted by the vampire remain inaccessible to the public. Tales of this vampire actually started when two convent school girls saw bodies rising from graves. One of the girls was troubled by nightmares, seeing one of the white-faced corpses trying to get through her bedroom window.

Two years later, she again felt the presence of evil. She grew thin and pale. Two ugly bruises appeared at the side of her neck and specks of blood were found on her pillow. She felt drawn towards the place where she had seen the dead rising. The door and window of her bedroom were covered with garlic; a bag of salt and a crucifix were hung around her neck. At night, she was restrained by friends, during her determined attempts to rid herself of the crucifix and throw open her window. Slowly, she recovered.

Vampire Sightings ~

Another young lady was enticed to the same cemetery by a seductive voice and she was found to be suffering from anaemia. One night, while in a trance, she was followed to a closed tomb. Inside was an empty coffin. A crucifix was placed in the coffin; the tomb entrance was sealed and the area was closed off.

Cases such as the above, suggest that far from vampirism being a legend of the past, it still exists today, if only in people’s minds!

Sources ~

Glut D & Rogo D. True Vampires of History. Sense of Wonder 2004.

McNally, Raymond & Florescu R. In Search of Dracula: The Enthralling History of Dracula and Vampires. Robson Books Ltd. 1998.

Wright, Dudley. Vampires and Vampirism: Legends from Around the World. Lethe Press 2001.