Vampires And Vampirism - Myth Explained

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Vampires – Explanation of the Myth

The World Book encyclopedia defines a vampire as "a corpse that supposedly
returns to life at night to suck people's blood".

The powers associated to vampires include turning into mist and shape- shifting, invisibility, mesmerism, superhuman strength, immortality and, of course, a murderous blood thirst.
Many questions have been asked about the origin and the definition of the vampire. Doctors and scientists have even discussed actual medical conditions that may have lead to the belief in vampires.
Among all the creatures and monsters in literature and folklore, the vampire seems to be the most mysterious. It has evolved in folklore during its journey through time.
During the 20th century people have become fascinated with the idea of vampires.

Throughout history the legend of the vampire has been used to "explain" other natural phenomena that primitive people who lacked scientific knowledge could not otherwise explain. Possibly the most astonishing belief which people associated vampires with was the Black Death during the Middle Ages in Europe.

The Black Death was actually Bubonic plague spread by fleas and rats. The plague may have killed as much as a third of the population of Europe in the 1300s. Some people of the day, however, associated the multitude of deaths with vampires. Somehow they believed that the deaths were the workings of these monsters.

Corpses were sometimes buried facedown. If the corpse became a vampire it would actually dig deeper into the ground in an attempt to escape the grave, if it was facing the wrong direction -- or so it was thought. Wooden stakes were sometimes planted in the ground above the grave, so if the body raised it would stab itself on the stake -- hopefully through the heart.

The natural process of bodily decomposition after death sometimes convinced people that corpses were actually transforming into vampires: the hair and nails co...