If you happened to travel back in time to 18th century Enlightenment Europe, starvation, poverty, and lacklustre sanitation should be matters you consciously took into account. But pesky vampires infesting your village? No one prepared you for that! Fear not, as this article shall provide you with a beginner’s guide to the phenomenon of vampirism. Learn theoretical knowledge and practical tips on how to recognise, neutralise and capitalise on bloodsuckers.
Depiction of a Vampire. Source: "The Vampire Museum in Paris (Musée des Vampires)", worldinparis.com.
“Nothing was spoken of but vampires, from 1730 to 1735; they were laid in wait for, their hearts torn out and burned. They resembled the ancient martyrs -the more they were burned, the more they abounded.” -Voltaire (1764)
To ensure your protection, it is best to firstly familiarise with vampiric lore. In Europe, vampire folklore’s roots stem from Ancient Greek-Roman mythology. In particular, the human flesh-eating bird strix initially inspired the predecessors of modern vampires, the Slavic strzyga, which retained bird features, and the Romanian strigoi, which took human form. During the Middle Ages, stories of other nocturnal, blood-drinking monsters like dhampir, moroi, and nosferat also emerged in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. These regions played a significant role in the popularisation of vampires, as they represented the epicentre of 18th century “vampire craze”. In Serbia, the cases of villagers Peter Plogojowitz and Arnold Paole, whose bodies were exhumed, staked, and cremated post mortem for having traits associated with vampirism, caused what had been described as mass hysteria. People started digging graves and staking bodies, fearing they would rise from the dead. Soonly, the commotion spread towards Western Europe, where it then shaped the mainstream vampire imagery by laying the groundwork for European Gothic literature. The influence of novels such as "The Vampyre" (1819) by John Polidori, "Carmilla" (1872) by Sheridan Le Fanu, and "Dracula" (1897) by Bram Stoker defined what a vampire is: an undead creature that consumes human blood, often associated with the advent of death and illnesses, but also mystique and lust.
Therefore,one could think that vampirism is inherently a European cultural phenomenon. Yet, throughout history, different civilisations from all over the globe have described monstrous entities bearing equivalent characteristics to vampires. In the Middle East, the oldest testimonies can be traced to the Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonese mythologies, in which the demoness of the wind Lilitu roamed in the night, bringing diseases, seducing young men, and preying upon them. Lilitu directly inspired Lilith, the first wife of Adam and the mother of demons in Hebrew folklore. In the 13th century, further depictions of vampire-like creatures appeared in the Jewish book “Sefer Hasidim” by rabbi Judah Ben Samuel. Worthy of note are Alukah, a shapeshifting, blood-sucking leech-like being, and the estries, female shapeshifting witches who drank blood from living flesh.
In Qing dynasty China, the so-called “hopping vampires” jiangshi were described by scholar Ji Xiaolan as the consequence of a soul failing to leave its dead human body. They had a greenish complexion and long nails. Sorcerers evoked them through placing a spell-paper on corpses’ faces, but if freed from the spell they would kill people to absorb their life essence. In Southern East Asia, many tales involved creatures with the appearance of beautiful women, who either had bat-like features or could detach their heads to fly. They feasted on blood, organs, or foetuses, therefore most had a preference towards pregnant women. Similarly, in Latin America vampire-like beings were also mostly female, such as the Columbian shapeshifting Patasola, which lured male hunters into the jungle. While in West Africa, the asanbosam resembled humanoid bats and abducted people who ventured too far.
Jiangshi Portrayed in the Movie "Mr. Vampire" (1985). Source: Golden Harvest.
“If you find an estries buried in the grave with her mouth open, there is no remedy—she will attack the living.” -Judah Ben Samuel (n.d.)
Having established that you are not safe anywhere, it is a matter of how to fend those evil creatures off. Even though garlic and holy water can protect against vampires according to European folklore, examples of more drastic solutions against vampirism have been documented in history. In 2006, a 16th century woman, nicknamed “the Vampire of Venice”, was found with a brick in her mouth in a mass burial ground for victims of plague. Researchers hypothesised that she might have been mistaken as a vampire by gravediggers, who, for a lack of available space, were tasked with burying fresh corpses in older graves during waves of epidemics. Signs of the process of decomposition may resemble vampiric traits. Purge fluid caused by the decay of the stomach can inflate the corpse’s belly and flow from the mouth and the nose, giving the impression that it just fed on blood. If it enters in contact with the burial shroud, it creates tears in the fabric as if the corpse chewed on it. Hair and nails can also appear to be growing longer due to the skin shrinking. The complexion is pale due to the lack of circulation, or greenish due to mould forming.
Since scientific knowledge was not as common at the time, the gruesome sight probably instigated the Venetian gravediggers to act. Placing a heavy object in the vampire’s mouth was seen as an effective way to prevent it from rising during the night. A passage in “Sefer Hasidim” suggested hammering a spike through the mouth, the skull, and the ground or filling the mouth with stones for effective results. Staking, impaling, burning, or chopping the corpse’s head were also adopted to get rid of supposed European vampires during the 18th century craze. Instead, vampire-like creatures in other continents required type-specific solutions; for example, even if the jiangshi could not per se be killed, vinegar, mirrors, a rooster’s call, and other miscellaneous objects would theoretically chase it away. Furthermore, in certain cultures there were also rituals and recipes to prevent vampirism from spreading, albeit with scarce results. An infamous case was the one of Edwin Brown from New England, USA, who was fed his “vampire” sister’s heart’s ashes as a cure in 1892. He still died months later because he was actually battling tuberculosis.
The Skull of the "Vampire of Venice". Source: National Geographic Television.
“There was one great tomb more lordly than all the rest; huge it was, and nobly proportioned. On it was but one word, DRACULA.” -Bram Stoker (1897)
You gained the basic understanding on how to harm a vampire, yet perhaps the idea of disfiguring corpses is not appealing to you. Surrendered to cohabitation with these bloody neighbours, your entrepreneurial mind can still make the best out of a dire situation. Instead of living in terror, humans eventually chose to economically exploit the figure of the vampire. Themes of Gothic novels saw a revival in the 20th century thanks to the cinematic successes of “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” (1922) and “Dracula” (1931). Vampires began being closely tied with the horror genre – they were transformed from a deadly everyday threat into consumeristic products for Halloween that can be placed in one’s front lawn for decoration. In the early 21st century, their aspect of seduction was further transposed into romance/erotica books and media. The cultural impact over the young adult genre achieved by “Twilight” (2005) helped popularise the less frightening and more alluring image of the vampire, which is primarily marketed towards teenage girls.
The business opportunities surrounding vampires even caught the interest of the Romanian government. For context, Stoker’s “Dracula” is set in the Romanian region Transylvania and the main character is loosely based on “Romanian” ruler Vlad III Drăculea. Starting from the 1990s, multiple attempts were made to promote local tourism by association. This sparked controversies because Stoker’s novel is said to misrepresent certain aspects of Romania’s historical heritage. Furthermore, despite Count Dracula being an iconic and beloved intellectual property, to date we do not actually know whether he brings in enough money to significantly impact the country’s economy. For what it is worth, it convinced me to visit these beautiful lands and I highly encourage you to do the same. And if you happen to encounter a vampire on your trip, at least now you know what to do!
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