Myths Linked with Vampires and Vampirism throughout the Ages

The idea of Vampires goes as far back to the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians.

Even a prehistoric Persian bowl shows a man being seduced before being attacked by a voluptuous female vampire.

The idea of female vampires is not new either. One of the earliest written references to vampire seduction comes from Greece in 200AD.

The story goes that a good looking young man called Menippus was stopped on his way home one night by a beautiful woman. He fell helplessly in love with her and after a number of secret meetings he proposed.

Fortunately for him, a friend of his suspected that the woman was non-human and during a dramatic confrontation, forced her to admit that she was one of the living dead, intent upon drinking the blood of her lover, Menippus!

Vampires in Roman Times

It seems that even back in Roman times those brave warriors actually lived in fear of Vampires. In 1963, an archaeological excavation of a Roman Fort in a Hungarian town uncovered the stone coffin of a Roman soldier. Inside was a 1,700 year old body in perfect condition.

Medical examination suggested that the internal organs were capable of functioning. The finders were terrified of the unnaturally long, pointed teeth and the corpse - possible evidence of a vampire perhaps? - was hurriedly cremated.

Vampires and Vikings

The Vikings who were said to fear no living person, cremated the corpses of their loved-ones. The idea was to stop them from returning with super-human strength to drain the life-force of the living by sucking their blood and leaving them worse than dead. Or leaving them “undead”.

What are Vampires?

According to those who believe in Vampires, they are corpses. They’re neither dead nor alive and they are said to rise from their graves at night to suck the blood of the living. Slowly, they drain the blood of their victims who must then become vampires in turn.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

It was the legendary home of the vampires, Romania, where Bram Stoker set his famous story of Dracula. His “Count Dracula”, with arched nostrils, blood red lips and long sharp teeth, now seems to typify our image of a vampire. But like the legendary vampires, Dracula could readily change into an animal such as a wolf or a bat.

Then once they’ve devoured the blood of their victims, the vampire crawls back into his coffin where he can easily be recognized by the excellent state of preservation to his body. And no matter how long vampires have been buried, they look as if they’re still alive.

Protecting Against Vampires

So how do people protect themselves from these terrifying creatures? - Garlic, salt or a crucifix might drive them off, but the only way to truly destroy them is to plunge a stake through their heart - at which time they’re supposed to give a horrible death shriek. They may need to be beheaded and burned as well.