Welcome one and all to the second part of the Monthly Guide to Monsters! The talented @downwithwritersblock and I have teamed up to bring you some quick and easy guides to some of the world’s most infamous creatures.
The guide will include: basic background, historical information, abilities, how to defeat them, and portrayals in media. They’ll probably also come with some short stories or prompts!
For this week, I’ve been tasked with probably one of my favourite mythological beings: vampires. These will be posted on Mondays and Thursdays, excluding this week (since I’ve been busy with stuff). We hope you enjoy!
Monster Guide #2: The Vampire
Definition: A vampire is an undead or immortal being from folklore that subsists by feeding off the vital force (usually blood) of the living. Vampires are typically creatures that bring about mischief or death. For a long time, vampires were synonymous with demons. Many cultures actually classified vampires as being corpses that were possessed and animated by a demon.
Description: Many early tales described vampires to be bloated; with ruddy, dark, or purple skin, and almost always wearing some kind of dark shroud to hide themselves in (that they usually bring with them from their own grave). It wasn’t until the 19th century, with our more modern day lore that we started to see the classic frail, or gaunt and pale vampires that we have grown used to seeing in the media.
Abilities: These change from culture to culture, although many of them were birthed by Bram Stoker’s Novel “Dracula” (which were, btw, super OP). Included are some of the most common abilities associated with vampires (you’ll notice that “glittering in sunlight” is absent because of this).
Usually immortal, or with at least a very prolonged life span
Increased abilities such as strength, speed, sight, hearing and smell.
Some hypnosis, telepathy, illusionary magic.
Shapeshifting (typically into a bat)
Vampire’s Baptism: the act of healing one with a vampires blood, or turning one into a vampire through mutual biting
Immune or really unaffected by conventional or normal means of attack (like being punched, stabbed or shot)
Preventing Vampirism: Vampires eventually caused a bit of hysteria in some cultures, so we see many examples throughout the world of people trying to prevent the rise of the undead.
Some ways found to prevent the rise of a vampire were:
Buried upside down or flipped over.
Some cultures places scythes or sickles beside graves to satisfy the demons they thought would possess the dead. Why? Don’t know but that’s sick.
Religious symbols, like wax crosses or pieces of pottery with biblical messages like “Jesus Christ Conquers” were commonly placed on corpses to prevent vampirism.
Some took the practical route and decided that separating or destroying the tendons in the legs of the deceased would also keep the dead from rising.
Shooting a bullet through the casket right before burial was also common
Some would put pieces of steel or silver over the corpse’s eyes, in their mouth, in their ears, or in between their fingers.
Pushing Iron needles through the heart was also said to stop a vampire from rising.
Decapitating after death.
Garlic was said to keep away vampires
Crucifixes and rosaries were typically said to keep a vampire away.
They could not cross onto sacred or consecrated ground (like a church)
It’s also said they could not cross over running water (no bridges for vampires)
Some folklore says that they lacked shadows and would not show up in a mirror or a photograph (some folklore states that this is a reflection of their lack of a soul, although it could be due to the use of silver in these things)
Sprinkling mustard seeds along the roof of your house was said to keep vampires away, but if it didn’t, you’d be alright becauseeee
Vampires, in many myths, could not enter a home without first being invited in. Be careful though, they only need the one invite. After that they might just be able to come and go from your house as they please.
Wild rose stems or hawthorn branches could potentially harm them
In many legends, vampires are warded off, and sometimes even harmed by silver. (Old mirrors were commonly backed with silver, and old photography also used silver specks, which might be the reason they’re not seen in them)
Holy Water or other items blessed by a priest were said to keep them away, and possibly even hurt them.
Vampires were said to be nocturnal, and were very vulnerable or damaged in sunlight. It might have even been able to kill them.
Being set on fire can kill just about everything, and vampires were no exception.
@downwithwritersblock‘s favourite way to stop a vampire: Arithmomania. An expression or type of OCD in which the person who suffers from it feels compelled to count either their actions or the objects around them. In many cultures around the world, especially in Eastern Europe and in Asia, it’s said that if you place small seeds (usually poppy seeds), sand or a type of grain like rice beside the grave, or in front of the vampire, they would compulsively have to count it, and that would keep them busy until either you kill them, or until the sunrises and the light kills them for you.
Decapitation was also a very common method in both preventing, and killing vampires.
And of course the most famous of all; A wooden stake through the heart. Many cultures will also tell you that the stake has to be made out of the same kind of wood as the cross that Jesus was crucified on.
History: Here we’ve included two of the most famous “real life vampires” in history! Up first we have…
Vlad Tepes (or as he’s more commonly known: Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Dracula).
Born between 1428 and 1431 and died in either 1476 or 1477.
He was Prince of Walachia 3 times between 1448 and his death
The second son of Vlad Dracul, who ruled Walachia
Imprisoned in Transylvania, held in Visegrad from 1463 to 1475.
Vlad II got the name ‘Dracul’ when he joined ‘The Order of the Dragon’, a ‘monarchical chivalric order for selected nobility’ in middle Eastern Europe (aka it was mainly Germanic states).
Dracul(a) means ‘Dragon’, and in more modern Romanian it means ‘The Devil’
Vlad III’s prefered method of execution was impalement. Hence the nickname ‘Vlad the Impaler’
Rumours and stories of Vlad spread fast, in fact, books about his cruel acts were best sellers in the German speaking territories.
However, to his own people, Vlad was usually seen as a warrior and a hero.
Bram Stoker was the one to turn Vlad into the legendary vampire with his well known book “Dracula,” published in 1897. It relied on many of the ancient myths of blood suckers found in Romanian folklore. The novel was very loosely based on Vlad, considering Bram Stoker didn’t actually know a whole lot about Vlad and Walachia.
Bram Stoker is also among the first to change the traditional vampire into what we know today. His book is, or at least part of the reason that the image of vampires shift into one that is pale and thin, the lack of a reflection or shadow probably starts with his novel as well.
Secondly, we have my favourite: Elizabeth Bathory, aka “The Blood Countess.”
Considered to be the first female serial killer.
The accusations change a bit depending on the story, but, Elizabeth was a Countess who was accused of taking, torturing and killing hundreds of young girls. She was accused of some pretty gnarly torture methods like covering people in honey and ants, or burning and then dunking people in freezing water, not to mention mutilation. She was accused of cannibalism. She was also said to drink the blood of her victims, earning her the nickname ‘Countess Dracula’. Some also say that as a regular part of her beauty regimen she would drain the blood of young virgin girls, and bathe in it to help keep her young and beautiful. Sometimes I like to call her the inventor of the first bath bomb.
The highest number of victims she was accused of was 650; however, this, like many parts of her story are questionable, and from unreliable or iffy sources.
Vampires in Media: This list is absolutely massive, so I’ve included twelve titles. This includes books, tv shows, and movies, but excludes video games.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (TV show, movie, comics)
The Vampire Chronicles/Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice (movie and book)
Carmilla (1871 novel, cute lesbian 2014 youtube series, movie)
The Vampire Diaries (TV Show)
True Blood (Book series, TV show)
Van Helsing (Movie, TV show)
Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897 Novel)
Twilight (Book series, movie)
And my personal favourite, which doesn’t fall under any specific monster, is the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong. Would highly recommend. It’s 13 books in the main series, and features all sorts of awesome and well-known supernatural entities such as (but not limited to): werewolves, vampires, half-demons, witches, sorcerers, demons, angels, and necromancers. Fun 18+ supernatural mystery read (with triggers for violence, gore, and explicit sexual content however. Reader discretion is advised.)
1. “You’re so coldblooded!”
“Uh, yeah? I literally don’t have any blood?”
2. “The worst part about being a vampire is not being able to take selfies. Do you know how much I miss looking at my own beautiful face?”
3. “I suppose the best part of this whole ordeal is not having to spend so much time in the vanity.”
4. “I’m scared to do my eyeliner.”
5. “Werewolves have it so easy! What’s the big deal with turning into a wolf every once in a while? I’d slaughter a country if it meant I could go outside and enjoy the sun. Even as a four-legged mutt.”
