Misc. Vampire Facts

Research done by Jenn Gilbert

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

3. "Elizabeth": Known to help out Samantha in hunts

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