Universal Vampirism

This post will be less focused than usual. I'm writing a collection of short stories about nightmares and for one of them I decided to research in depth certain practices associated with 'vampirism' in the cultures of men through the ages - these are some interesting, though briefly elaborated upon finds.

Cultures from every corner of the world speak of entities - whether demons, ghosts, or even deities - that drink blood and eat human flesh. It is easily observable that many practices commonly associated with witchcraft also appear in the fictional and ''real'' stories of vampires: human sacrifice (or even animal); the ingestion of blood as a means of acquiring vitality or power (the Aztecs ate the hearts of enemy warriors to steal their courage, their souls); nocturnal modus operandi under the influence of the moon and darkness; the shamanic and pagan connection of transformation into a bat or wolf; ritualistic corruption of innocence, etc. The figure of the “vampire” was mystified and turned into a caricature, into a character from pop culture; and thus became something absurd in the collective imagination. But, in reality, those myths likely originated from exagerated accounts of real incidents; of stories of bizarre cultures which the mythmakers interacted with. The first historian, Herodotus, recorded on page 45 of the second volume of his Histories: “The Hebrews sacrificed humans to their god, Moloch.”

It is widely known that the inspiration for the figure of Count Dracula, invented by Bram Stoker, was Vlad III, known as Vlad Dracula (which means Vlad, son of the Dragon) or Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), a ruler of a Romanian province who lived in the 15th century. His nickname Dracula derives from his father, Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Dragon), who acquired his epithet by joining a prominent secret military society and monarchic chivalric order among his circle of elites (titled Order of the Dragon).

The order's main symbol was a draconic Ouroboros.

Though the order was superficially Christian, in reality, it's possible that, just like the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (also known as the order of the Knights Templar), it was internally satanic - thus, its name, which alludes to Satan (just as the order of the Knights Templar alludes to Solomon, an Antichrist figure).

The Order of the Dragon employed ceremonial swords depicting a golden serpent in its rituals.

Dracula's infamy stemmed primarily from his fixation on the practice of impalement. Upon assuming power, Vlad summoned five hundred of the nobles whom he deemed to be opponents, as well as the architects of his father's assassination, to his main castle; he ambushed them with his guards and impaled them all on enormous wooden stakes, displaying their bodies throughout his courtyard. Some died quickly from internal hemorrhage; others, who were impaled through the anus, died slowly as they were pulled downward by their own weight, with the stakes shredding their entrails. There is a story set in a brief period of peace, during which an Ottoman sultan ordered Vlad to pay him tribute; in response, Vlad captured and impaled all the emissaries he received. Other stories recount that Vlad would arrange the impaled victims in a circle around him to banquet amid infernal agony - dipping his bread in the blood of the men, who were sometimes still alive, suffering from the torture. It is estimated that tens of thousands were killed during his reign; some view him as a savior for his campaigns against the Ottomans.

It is alleged that Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian countess born in the 16th century, murdered more than 650 women, mostly young virgins - she believed that bathing in the blood of her victims, as well as eating them, would allow her to absorb their vigor and youth. She was the niece of a king of Poland, Stephen Bathory, and related to many other kings, cardinals, judges, and knights; her noble lineage was among the most important in Europe. From her childhood, she was surrounded by cruelty, torture, and witchcraft. Her aunt, her husband, and even her nanny supposedly practiced black magic, under the tutelage of alchemists and sorceresses.

Elizabeth hid her nefarious practices behind acts of charity, but the disappearance of peasant maidens became noticeable, until the king of Hungary ordered her arrest. The invasion of her castle gave rise to grim reports of half-dead people who had been flogged and pale corpses drained of blood; and she was captured in the midst of an orgy. Even more bizarre were the accounts from witnesses, victims, and accomplices at her trial, which took place in a remote city in Slovakia and was conducted in secrecy - the records of which were sealed by her family immediately after its conclusion. Despite the monumental evidence against the countess, she was only sentenced to lifelong house arrest, and, four years later, was found dead in her castle.

Bizarrely enough, the coat of arms of Bathory is inspired by the symbols of the Order of the Dragon - and the Dragon's tail features a triple six.

Peter Kurten, known as “The Vampire of Düsseldorf,” would capture swans - symbols of purity - from public parks to extract and drink their blood. Joshua Rudiger believed himself to be a vampire who needed blood to maintain his immortal vitality. Jeffrey Dahmer captured his victims, used them as sacrifices in rituals, and cannibalized them to extract their energy, planning to build a demonic altar in his apartment using their bones (he had drawn a sketch of the project). He had connections with high-ranking figures in the American government and possibly belonged to a snuff film trafficking network. Sean Sellers, “The Teenage Vampire,” claimed to be possessed by a demon that drank his own blood and that of his victims directly from their severed wrists. Richard Chase, Andrei Chikatilo, Tsutomu Miyazaki, Marcelo de Andrade, James Riva, Fritz Haarmann, the couple Daniel and Manuela Ruda, Philip Oyancha, Mauricio López, Nico Claux - these are just some of the names of those who were discovered. Many of these cases are interconnected with the activities of satanic sects and secret societies.

There are also the controversial blood libels, accusations particularly prevalent during the medieval period by Christians who claimed that Jews used gentile blood in rituals. The last significant case of blood libel, however, occurred in the 20th century. On a Sunday morning in November 1911, a group of children playing in the caves scattered throughout the Lukianovka district in Kiev - a hilly suburb overlooking the city - found the blood-soaked body of a partially clothed boy. Leaning against the wall of a cave, seated, the corpse was riddled with about four dozen stab wounds to the head, neck, and torso; the body was practically drained of blood. Whether the murder was the work of Jews or mere generic ''gangsters'' (as was alleged), it is evident that it was part of a macabre ritual involving the consumption or at least the draining of his blood.

There's also the Metzitzah b’peh (literally meaning blood sucking) which... well, I'd rather not talk about this one.

And this is the end of this post. Thank you for your continued support!