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 Vampire Legends and Lore
Vampires are considered to be undead: they have risen from
the dead, yet they are in some ways alive. Some believe that
demons were possessing the corpses and reanimating them.
The common perception of vampires is this: they fear
garlic, sunlight, and crosses. They are generally thought to
sleep in their native soil. Anyone who dies from a vampire
bite will become a vampire and the basic way to kill a
vampire is stake it through the heart.
With this being said, John Michael Greer makes the point
that in original or authentic vampire lore, vampires
ignore anything religious and they have no need for their
native soil. Also, he states that most victims of vampires
die and stay dead. It is also noted that, traditionally,
vampires traveled in a ghostly form while the actual corpse
stays in the tomb.
Vampires are usually thought to drink their victim’s
blood. Traditionally, this was done by biting or
piercing the chest of the victim. Original vampire lore says
vampires used sharp pointy tongues to draw blood from the
chest. Vampires were also believed to strangle or smother
their victims and even spread sickness and disease with
their presence.
Vampires are considered to be hydrophobic. The
theory is that water is the most pure entity and therefore
vampires are unable to swim or even to cross the water
because of their demonic nature.
Some believe that vampires originated in the Nile
Region; however, Slavic vampires are the first well
documented vampires. Vampiric beings have been incorporated
in literature and legends since history has been documented.
Books mentioned in this
section:
Monsters: An
Investigator’s Guide to Magical Beings
by John Michael Greer
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