VAMPIRES!

Hello, Dear readers! As I promised yesterday, today's post is about vampires!   And boy, do i have a lot to talk about! Now, most of you know the basics: vampires supposedly slept in coffins, drank people's life essence, AKA blood. vampires were known in many cultures. In fact, vampire legends may even go back to prehistoric times! A vampire novelist, Brian Frost once said : " The belief in vampires and blood sucking demons is as old as man himself!". He is probably right! Honestly, who doesn't love a good
vampire story? I'll tell you who: the people who lived in the early 18th century.                                                
It wasn't until then that the term vampire was used. it was that time in Western Europe that that people started to get really freaked out by vampire myths. Where did this influx come from? the Balkans and Eastern Europe, where they had vampire superstitions coming out of their ears.With more vampire superstitions going around, mass hysteria was inevitable! And following mass hysteria, things got weird. People were actually being accused of being vampires! Even corpses were under suspicion. corpses suspected of being vampires were staked, mutilated, dismembered, and even had stones placed on the disembodies arms and legs to prevent the "vampires" from rising out of the grave and wreaking havoc with their heinous and evil deeds.  It makes one wonder: how did people tell whether or not a corpse was a vampire?  People who searched these grave said they heard a strange, smacking sound from the grave. Was this, true, or a figment of their imagination? Actually, this was true. These noises really did come from the grave! How? Often corpses will often have these noises as decomposition fluids are forced from the mouth and nose, and as gas bubbles in the digestive track and lungs rise, creating that disgusting, blubbery, smacking noise. Yuk!   People believed that Vampires were revenants of  evil beings, suicide victims, or witch's. There are a few ways to become a vampire, according to folklore:
1. be a corpse possessed by a mean spirit
2.  Get bitten by a vampire                                              
There were, occasionally, public executions held for the "vampires".  Man oh man do i feel sorry for those guys who were accused of vampirism! They probably didn't even look like the traditional vampire! It was thought that vampires were bloated, ruddy and purpilish/dark in color. when seen in the coffin  they had blood seeping from their mouth and nose, and kept the left eye open. Hmm. thats not how I remember Edward Cullen.  The fair people of Europe were not powerless, though! they had many ways of protecting themselves:
1. The ever so traditional garlic
2. A branch of a wild rose ( I guess the thorns act as weapons.)
3.Hawthorn ( what is that, anyway?)
4.Crucifix ( hmm. i guess the vampires were not church goers.)
5.Rosary ( They must not like jewelry)
6. Holy water ( I bet water makes them melt, like the witch from the Wizard of Oz)
            Sprinkling Mustard seeds on the roof was also believed to have acted as a repellent. I can see why. I hate mustard!
Oh my, I almost forgot to write about the most famous vampire of all: COUNT DRACULA!!!!!!!!!!!  who could forget him?  The  real life Dracula's actual name was Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia. He was the inspiration for the novel, " Dracula" by Bram Stoker in 1897.              
  I don't think he drank blood, but he was pretty gruesome! Dracula was also known as Dracula the Impaler. why was he called that? Because he impaled people! His opponents, to be exact. To impale, by the way, means to stick some one on a long, high stake. It was pretty painful, considering the stake went right through your body. yecccchhhhh!!! he had other methods of torture and execution, but that was his favorite. He was very strict when it came to justice. he had a special punishment just for thieves. If you stole something, no matter who you were or how old, he would skin you feet, put salt on them and let goats lick the salt off. What can I say? he was a regular do-gooder. Dracula's fame for cruelty spread through Europe in Pamphlets, though greatly exaggerated. Hard to believe all that horrible stuff he did could be exaggerated. But, you must admit, he only did it to criminals and his opponents. Dracula also had a sense of humor. One time, he was eating and his servant kept holding his nose. Dracula asked, " what are you doing that for?" the Servant stupidly replied " to keep away the stench". So, dracula had him put on a very high stake and said to him: "see if you can smell the stench from up there!". that would be funny if it wasn't all gruesome. Gosh, the must have been one STUPID servant.

               In short, this is the history of vampires. some people may ask, are vampires real? the answer is: NO, stupid! The only guy you will ever see who even looks like a vampire is an overweight guy who just got attacked by a bear ( getting hit repeatedly by bear claws can make you pretty purple-ish and bloody).
 and the only bloodsucking creatures in the world are the teeny tiny vampire bats, and they prefer goats and chickens. i hope you found my post interesting and informative. look at my next blog on Mutated and two-headed creatures!
                                      thanks for reading!
                                                          Avigail