Dracula 3

Research on Vampire Mythology

Vampires date back to the Dark Ages when, in the absence of science, people turned to religion and superstition to explain the world around them. In fact, at one point in Europe superstition surrounding vampires was so rife there were actually public executions of those thought to be vampires, much like the witch burnings. However this was during the 18th century, mainly thanks to European superstition and Bram Stoker himself that the term "Vampire" was coined, it is said that "Vampire" translated is "Dragon". Elizabeth Barthory (1560 - 1614) who was a Countess in Hungary was thought to have bathed in virgin's blood and feasted on human flesh, thinking it would make her look younger and retain her beauty. 

However, it's thought that these superstitions were brought over to Europe from afar, as there are legends of blood feasting demons in other cultures from long before these times. For example the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet had a part of her soul called Ka which was said to emerge from her tomb and drink the blood of mortals if she felt she had not received adequate offerings. There are also stories in the Greek Mythology of the first vampire being born from a mixture of blessings and curses from various Greek Gods. Christians believed that vampires were demons - not the devil however - and therefor enemies of God. The earliest accounts of such beast in stories related to the Bible come from Hebrew texts that told of Lilith. She was supposedly the first wife of Adam, before Eve, however she was banished from the Garden of Eden by God. She then became the Queen of the Demons and would feast on the blood of babies and mothers. Parents would hang amulets and crosses over their baby's cradles to ward her off - perhaps this is the root of the myth about crosses being able to repel vampires. She was thought to be bird footed and a sexual predator, and "Lilith" translated from Hebrew means "night hag", "screech owl", "night monster" etc. Many ancient stories of vampires depict them as women, harlots or infertile who drink the blood of babies and are sexual predators.