Truly, Madly, Deadly_ The Unofficial True Blood Companion - Becca Wilcott [4]
If the term for vampires pre-dates our fictional accounts of them, is it possible they actually exist? Or is it more likely that we’ve embellished stories over time to create one of the most pervasive myths ever? And, if so, why? Alexander Skarsgård has a theory. “[V]ampires symbolize consistency and something that’s permanent in a world where everything is constantly changing,” he says. “Humans, animals, nature, and even mountains will change over time. To have something that will stand the test of time is attractive.”
While there are many theories that attempt to explain the origin of belief in vampires, there’s little room for debate when it comes to the ongoing appeal of vampires. What is it about vampires that popular fiction can’t seem to get enough of them? They’ve even been invited past the tightly guarded gates of educational children’s television. Did you know that the Muppet vampire, Count von Count from Sesame Street, complete with his obsessive counting, seems to have been based on actual vampire myth? One way to supposedly deter a vampire is to throw seeds (usually mustard) outside a door, or place a fishing net outside a window. Vampires are compelled to count the seeds or the holes in the net, delaying them until the sun comes up! And how can we forget one of the most popular vampires in children’s fiction, Bunnicula, the cute little rabbit and vegetarian vampire?
Fangtastic Folkloric Facts About Vampires
1. Many scholars argue the word “vampire” is either from the Hungarian vampir or from the Turkish upior, upper, or upyr meaning “witch.” Other scholars argue the term derived from the Greek word “to drink” or from the Greek nosophoros meaning “plague carrier.” It may also derive from the Serbian Bamiiup or the Serbo-Crotian pirati. There are many terms for “vampire” found across cultures, suggesting that vampires are embedded in human consciousness.
2. Probably the most famous vampire of all time, Count Dracula, quoted Deuteronomy 12:23: “The blood is the life.”
3. Prehistoric stone monuments called dolmens have been found over the graves of the dead in northwest Europe. Anthropologists speculate they have been placed over graves to keep vampires from rising.
4. A rare disease called porphyria (also called the “vampire” or “Dracula” disease) causes vampire-like symptoms, such as an extreme sensitivity to sunlight and sometimes hairiness. In extreme cases, teeth might be stained reddish brown, and eventually the patient may go mad.
5. Documented medical disorders that people accused of being a vampire may have suffered from include haematodipsia, which is a sexual thirst for blood, and hemeralopia or day blindness. Anemia (“bloodlessness”) was often mistaken for a symptom of a vampire attack.
6. One of the most famous “true vampires” was Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560–1614), who was accused of biting the flesh of girls while torturing them and bathing in their blood to retain her youthful beauty. She was by all accounts a very attractive woman.
7. One of the earliest accounts of vampires is found in an ancient Sumerian and Babylonian myth dating to 4,000 BC, which describes ekimmu or edimmu (one who is snatched away). The ekimmu is a type of uruku or utukku (a spirit or demon) who was not buried properly and has returned as a vengeful spirit to suck the life out of the living.
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