Are there vampires in real life? Vampires in real life - evidence of existence

Probably, each of us, after watching numerous feature films, wondered: do vampires really exist or not? And, as a rule, we reassured ourselves with the answer that all these were inventions of the authors of science fiction works, and in real life vampires do not exist.

However, we are all deeply mistaken.

In real life, vampires exist, however, they do not wear black cloaks like Count Dracula, and they try in every possible way to keep silent about their existence. This is not surprising - who wants to be in the center of attention of modern society as an object of bullying or as a guinea pig.

Real vampires feed not only on blood, but also on the energy of living beings (usually human). They believe that this is simply vital for them. And often volunteer donors meet them halfway and supply blood if the vampires need it. This shocking diet, in the opinion of many, allows vampires to restore strength and improve their deteriorating health. True vampires may not actually be interested in the legends of their ancient relatives or vampirism in modern culture in order to somehow identify themselves. They are afraid of public opinion and do not want to be categorized as vampires with subsequent condemnation and witch hunts.

Real-life vampires may profess different religions, belong to different races or ethnic groups, have different gender or sexual orientations, professions and ages.

Why do real vampires hide from people?

Real vampires also fear that doctors classify them as people with obvious mental disorders, followed by forced treatment. Modern society simply will not accept vampirism as something normal and will accuse representatives of this social unit as vicious and incapable of raising or performing other social roles in society. Moreover, people can accuse vampires of any crimes that the latter did not commit, which will bring upon them the wrath of society and excessive attention from law enforcement officers and psychiatrists.

Many scientists today urge doctors, including psychiatrists, to treat real vampires in the same way as other people representing alternative identities. After all, most vampires are not able to make a choice regarding their alternative status, since, in their own opinion, they are born with it and try to integrate into society as comfortably as possible without causing harm to others.

Evidence that vampires exist

The incredible popularity of vampires in recent years (although books and films have been written about them before) is pushing scientists and doctors to more thoroughly study this phenomenon. Vampirism has its origins in Eastern Europe, largely in Poland, where there were often reports of people drinking human blood. But in order to distinguish truth from fiction, modern man needs evidence and facts.

The world-famous scientist Stefan Kaplan began searching for evidence of whether vampires exist in real life back in 1972, organizing a center for the study of vampires and searching for evidence of their existence in New York. And Kaplan very quickly found real vampires, who turned out to be ordinary-looking people, but with some peculiarities in behavior and nutrition. Here are the conclusions he came to:

vampires really don’t like sunlight, so they use sunglasses and special sun creams;

real vampires' nails do not turn into claws, but their fangs are of the most ordinary size;

Vampires are not able to transform into other people or animals;

real vampires actually drink blood, but to quench their thirst, one 50 mg shot three times a week is enough for them;

real vampires do not show aggression, being, as a rule, good parents and friends;

in the absence of human blood (which donors share with them voluntarily), vampires drink the blood of animals, although the taste of such blood is significantly inferior to human blood (all vampires who have been studied by scientists say this).

Vampires exist or not in real life - now you can answer this question yourself. Yes, they exist, but their appearance and behavior differ significantly from the stereotypes known in modern society. Real vampires are people with an unusual physiological (and not mental, as many believe) need to consume human blood. Scientists have proven the existence of vampires in real life, but have dispelled many myths that have haunted people who drink human blood from century to century. What do you think about vampires?

Today, the vampire is one of the most trendy characters. TV series and gothic subcultures contribute a lot to the popularization of these beautifully dangerous entities. Admit it, have you ever wanted to meet a vampire in real life? Nothing is impossible.

American researcher John Edgar Browning claims that thousands of people regularly consume human blood. He devoted a lot of time and effort to studying this topic and even agreed to become a donor to one of his “experimental subjects” - something you wouldn’t do for the sake of science.

As it turned out, in our time, drinking someone else's blood is not a tribute to a fashionable trend and not a satanic rite. People with such unusual eating habits call themselves “medical vampires.”. They are forced to take a couple of tablespoons of blood about every few weeks.

This is the only remedy that helps them avoid extremely unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening symptoms: acute attacks of headache, weakness, stomach cramps. During an attack, blood pressure approaches the lower critical level, and with the slightest physical activity, for example, trying to stand up or at least rise, the pulse increases to 160 beats per minute. Only a timely portion of blood can save you from another attack.

Where do they get it? No, they do not roam the streets at night in search of victims; donation is carried out exclusively on a voluntary basis. Agree, you cannot ask the first person you meet to donate some blood; you need to find a person whom the vampire could trust.

The procedure for obtaining blood resembles a medical one: the skin is wiped with alcohol, a small incision is made with a scalpel, then the wound is treated and bandaged - no fangs or bites on the neck. Browning was even a little disappointed when he learned that the vampire found it “unpalatable”: he preferred a pronounced metallic taste, apparently, such blood contains more iron.

Medical vampires do not suffer from mental disorders and do not find anything romantic in their peculiarity. They would be glad to get rid of their need, the search for donors, the need to hide their illness and especially the recipe from the public, but it seems they have no choice. Official medicine is not aware of this disease, and, therefore, no cure is provided.

The fact that today only American scientists pay due attention to the problem of vampirism does not mean that the habitat of vampires is limited to North America. Most likely, a certain percentage of such people are present in every country, including Russia. Let's try to take a break from everyday life in the US, make allowances for close and familiar realities and imagine how a Russian vampire lives.

We will have to face the cruel truth: many of them are forced to kill. Almost everyone sooner or later finds themselves outside of society due to their nocturnal lifestyle: It is problematic for a vampire to have a permanent job and re-issue lost or expired documents on time. Thus, vampires should be looked for in asocial circles.

The criminal environment with its rigid hierarchy and strict norms of behavior is alien to the vampire. However, he can act as a loner and mayhem. There is a version that a vampire could be behind serial killers such as Chikatilo. Knowledge of psychology helped to identify a performer with the necessary inclinations, such as low self-esteem, thirst for greatness, unstable psyche, suggestibility.

It is easy to convince such a person that clearing the city of prostitutes is a sacred matter, and if caught, he will with great joy try on the laurels of Jack the Ripper and take upon himself all the unsolved murders committed in the area. The series of murders in that same region did not stop after the arrest of the maniacs. It is quite possible that the reason for this is not the aggravation of the followers, but the systematic work of the vampire on the new performer.

Youth parties are an equally attractive environment for a vampire. He will not attract unnecessary attention among colorful role players, and deviations in behavior will easily be forgiven. There are also drugs and fights here, and, as a result, accidents. It doesn’t have to be fatal, just damage to the skin is enough. Who will then believe an informal person, who has not been seen sober for a long time, that one of his comrades drank his blood?

A vampire likes the profession or image of a free artist, because this is a reason to invite pretty girls to the studio as models. Then it’s a matter of technique: to charm, hypnotize, intimidate, in order to force you to give up your blood until completely exhausted. A similar incident occurred in St. Petersburg: another victim was saved by a guy in love with her by killing a vampire.

A vampire can find refuge among the gypsies, where they do not ask for documents, do not delve into the details of the biography, and in some families the ancient cult of the bloody Indian goddess Kali is still alive.

Modern vampires unite in closed groups. Unlike medieval secret societies, they resolve much more mundane and pressing issues: from exchanging donor coordinates to conducting independent research work.

In everyday life, members of the group try not to differ from ordinary people: among them there are lawyers, waiters, teachers and doctors, many of them are very successful. Almost none of them are interested in films about vampires, since they do not identify themselves with fictional characters.

They have to keep their peculiarity secret: no one wants to be branded a pervert or a monster. Many fear more serious consequences if it becomes known that they drink blood, such as losing their jobs or parental rights.

However, they prefer to act rather than sit idly by: collecting and, if possible, analyzing as much data as possible about their disease, in order to then provide information to scientific and medical centers. In this case, there will be a chance that an alternative treatment for their disease will be developed. At least the problem will receive an official name, and it will not have to be hidden from others.

The vampire community has already managed to achieve some results in America: scientific institutions in different states have become interested in some of them, and the first studies of an unusual disease are being conducted. One of the first patients was a 37-year-old resident of Atlanta, who, having become a “bloodsucker,” overcame asthma and generally began to feel much better.

Over the past few years, there have been several publications about vampires in such reputable publications and major media outlets as Critical Social Work and BBC Future.

Publications are devoted to the existence of completely adequate people suffering from this peculiarity of the body. The articles present the results of a few studies so far and comments from experts - researchers from the state universities of Texas and Idaho, who are not indifferent to the problem of vampirism.

For example, it was possible to establish that this disease has a slightly different nature than that well known to doctors porphyria - a rare pathology leading to a deficiency of red blood cells and the breakdown of hemoglobin. External manifestations have much in common with the description of mythical vampires; perhaps they served as the prototype for numerous legends.

The most common myths that vampires are afraid of ultraviolet radiation and cannot stand garlic are quite justified: direct sunlight burns thin skin, and garlic aggravates the symptoms. In its advanced form, porphyria leads to deformation of the joints - characteristic crooked fingers, darkening of the skin and hair, redness of the eyes from conjunctivitis, atrophy of the lips and gums, visual elongation of the incisors - vampire fangs, which also sometimes change color, acquiring a reddish tint.

Among the symptoms, mental abnormalities were recorded, which are not observed in medical vampires. Fatal cases account for 20% of the total number of patients. Fortunately, this is a fairly rare disease: one such diagnosis per 100-200 thousand people (data vary). There is an opinion that Count Dracula himself, or more precisely, his prototype Vlad Tepes, was one of the carriers of the disease.

With the help of Bram Stoker, Dracula became the most famous vampire of all time. His prototype, Vlad III the Impaler, is still highly revered in Romania today as a governor and ruler. However, this name evokes two feelings: he was also famous for his incredible cruelty.

Tepes translated means “impaled” - eloquent evidence that his enemies knew no mercy, a slow, painful death awaited them. According to some reports, the ruler loved to eat near dying victims.

The name Dracul - “son of the dragon” - was inherited from his father Vlad II along with the title and throne., the pronunciation Dracula became widespread during his reign in the 15th century.

There were other frightening facts in his biography: Dracula kept countless treasures in the ground and under water; none of those who delivered the treasures to the burial site survived. This is what the warlocks did when they entered into an alliance with the devil.

Due to circumstances, Dracula converted from Orthodoxy to Catholicism, in those days there was a belief that an apostate turns into a ghoul. The governor’s ominous reputation remained even after death: there were rumors that the body had disappeared from the grave without a trace.

Today it is difficult to say for sure where is the truth and where is fiction. It is known that incest - one of the causes of genetic pathology - was common among noble people. Dracula had virtually unlimited and uncontrolled access to blood, and it is possible that he also used it for magical rituals.

It should be noted that porphyria also remained unrecognized for a long time; only in the middle of the last century did scientists begin to take it seriously.

The scientific world calls on society to be tolerant of modern vampires and draws attention to the conscious and ethical behavior of representatives of groups. Mutual trust will help research efforts to find a cure for this little-studied disease.

how to turn into a vampire

Where can you meet them?

I don’t understand the current world... Time flies quickly... We call those who own strange things vampires, sorcerers, etc.... So what is the difference between a vampire and a person with a strange disease. Sorcerer or magician. And can it be called magic that everything you say comes true? Or those suffering from that disease, vampires?

How can you become a vampire

I want to be a vampire

If only vampires really existed, I want to see their reaction to “Twilight” and “The Vampire Diaries”

I had no interest in vampires, but I recently started watching films about them. So I thought for a very long time, we know that witches exist and shamans existed once upon a time, I don’t know, they are not particularly interesting to me, yet we believe that they exist, so why not believe in the existence of vampires? our world is full of secrets... I believe that vampires exist. Although I have never met them and at the same time it’s a pity that I have not met them)

how to meet a vampire, and possibly become one) Vampires respond if you think such a thing about yourself...

I can't understand people who are looking for ways to become a vampire. So where did you get the idea that when you meet him, he will certainly convert you? Why doesn't he drink you? What will stop him?

Question, do vampires exist, has been troubling people since ancient times. In the folklore of every nation there are mentions of these creatures, but there is no exact information about when they appeared and what role they played in the life of mankind. Currently, it is difficult to say which country became the birthplace of vampires, and where this bloodthirsty creature originated, but legends often point to eastern Europe. Despite the fact that humanity has reached certain heights and intellectual levels of development, it never ceases to remember vampires and very often uses this image in cinematography and literature. This fact testifies to the ongoing interest in evil spirits and the search for an answer to the question, do vampires exist.

In modern perception, bloodsuckers are not those terrible monsters that come out of the coffin at night and terrorize the human race. In many films and TV series, an image appears of a lover or a brave creature who protects his loved ones and even people. Why have there been such changes in the perception of vampires? Perhaps their appearances in real life have become so rare that people have ceased to be afraid.

Do vampires exist in real life?

All the legends and secrets that are associated with vampires have interested many people and turned the bloody image into a cult. Now there are a lot of followers of vampirism who imitate the image and behavior of their “idols”. As a result of this, interest in the movement not only does not subside, but, on the contrary, flares up with renewed vigor. At the same time, many questions arise. ? Who saw them? Is it possible to meet a vampire in real life? Do they live among people or form a separate community?

Who are the Sanguinaries?

Speaking of vampires, one cannot fail to mention the sanguinarians. Their existence indicates the presence of unusual people in society. Sanguinars call themselves vampires, but this is not true. To live a full life, they must consume blood. Otherwise, the sanguinaries become sick and weak. These people cannot be called vampires. Most likely, we are talking about a mental or physiological illness.
Perhaps they are born vampires, or perhaps it is a desire to stand out. The urge to drink blood usually begins during adolescence and develops over time. “Awakening” is coming, and there can be no turning back. If we talk about appearance, then such vampires are no different from an ordinary person. They live in society and do not kill everyone around them in order to get enough and satisfy their needs.

Sanguinaries do not feed on blood every day. This may be once every two days or even less often. At the same time, they take their food not by means of murder, but by completely legal means. Sanguinarians have slaughterhouses where they buy animal blood. A human product can also be obtained, but by mutual agreement and after medical examinations. There is no need to talk about supernatural possibilities in this case. Sanguinarians completely lack them, and the only thing they have in common with vampires is their thirst for blood.

Do vampires exist or is it incredible?

We can say that all the information about vampires is very contradictory and varied. Their real perception was formed on the basis of romanticized images from films and literature. There is no need to say that the authors saw vampires with their own eyes and painted portraits from the original. All heroes of science fiction films are endowed with moral principles, emotions and human life stereotypes. In fact, vampires are not people, but supernatural creatures who do not have the traits attributed to them.

Vampirism can be called a means of subsistence and an opportunity to survive. In this regard, we can conclude that in the world of evil spirits, vampires are not the most numerous and powerful creatures. A person can only guess what role these bloodthirsty creatures play in the world of the supernatural, and why they so capture the minds of people. To the question do vampires exist, we can confidently answer, yes, but the format of their life is very far from the understanding of the average person. Even geniuses will not be able to comprehend everything related to otherworldly forces and their manifestations in human life.

Do vampires exist: an excursion into history

At a time when people did not have the opportunity to communicate with each other, since the distance between cities and countries was insurmountable, myths and legends appeared about the presence of strange humanoid organisms in the world. They are all described the same way, but have different names. These names convey horror and disgust for these creatures. The Chinese and Aztecs, Persians and Europeans describe vampires with equal persistence, identifying their common features.

It is surprising that during excavations of vampire burials in different parts of the world, exactly the same signs of their killing were discovered. This can only be associated with conditions that are directly related to vital necessity. Evidence of this fact is found by archaeologists. In most cases, all facts about these excavations are classified. This happens due to the fact that everything unknown and difficult to explain should not disturb the minds of ordinary people. Nevertheless, such finds exist, and this must be taken for granted.

People wondering if vampires exist often come to a negative answer. Nevertheless, many firmly believe in the magical power of psychics, clairvoyants and palmists. The question arises, why and how did the bloodsuckers deserve such injustice?

Modern researchers put forward the version that creatures with porphyria could be mistaken for vampires. At the same time, the existence of such a disease is called into question. It is possible that it appeared not so long ago and is a consequence of poor ecology and GMOs. Moreover, vampirism is not a disease. Rather, this is a different form of existence, which a person only guesses about and knows nothing for sure.

Question do vampires exist, asked the famous thinker and philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. At the same time, he argued that their story is the most real of all existing ones. What prompted him to such an opinion, we can only guess.

What do vampires and humans have in common?

Touching on the topic of vampires, we can say that humanity has been quite cruel to them. It is worth remembering the times of the Middle Ages and the courts of the Inquisition. During this period, more than a dozen witches, sorcerers and, not surprisingly, vampires were burned at the stake. At the same time, the word “bonfire” is rather a figurative expression. Completely different methods were used against vampires. They were shot with silver bullets, their hearts were pierced with aspen stakes, their heads were cut off and their bodies were dismembered. There was no question then whether vampires existed. People invented various communities and joined secret organizations that waged a constant struggle against these peculiar creatures.

In response to this attitude, vampires became increasingly sophisticated in their cunning and tricks. They learned to disguise themselves as people so as not to be tried by the Inquisition and not pay with their eternal lives for human fears.

From all of the above, the conclusion follows: humans and vampires are only related by the same shell, which for some is a given, and for others a means of disguise. Vampires are completely different creatures that cannot be characterized as good or bad. They are simply completely different from humans in terms of conditions and way of life, in nutrition and moral values, in abilities and perception of reality.

What is known about vampires?

What vampires can do to a person and what danger they pose, humanity can only guess, but it has an image that has been preserved from ancient legends. First of all, all vampires have a particularly pale complexion and fear of sunlight, an insane thirst for blood that pushes them to kill, and life under the cover of darkness. In addition, the main objects of human envy are the eternal life of these creatures, their supernatural abilities and, in most cases, external beauty. These three properties haunt many mortals. It is not for nothing that alchemists developed the secret of eternal youth and beauty. Perhaps they took vampires as an example and envied their incredible qualities.

Do vampires exist: searching for evidence.

Since for a vampire the main condition of existence is blood, then the attitude towards a person is corresponding. It is primarily a source of food. It is also extremely rare for a person to feel sorry for a cow that has fallen into his food.

Vegetarian vampires do not exist, since this fact denies them as a species. To answer the question, do vampires exist, the following arguments can be made: every year about two million people go missing in the world. In Russia alone this figure is one hundred and twenty thousand. What's going on with these people? Are they the victims of bloodthirsty creatures?

Comparing all the facts, we can say that we are not talking about the total extermination of humanity, and the number of vampires is not that great, but they certainly exist and receive their food in the required quantity.
Despite all the indirect evidence of the existence of vampires, which doctors and philosophers, scientists and historians have worked on, there cannot be an accurate and fully reasoned solution. But perhaps the hour is not far when people will be able to say with complete confidence that vampires really live next to us. The only mystery is what reaction this knowledge will cause in humanity, and what it will begin to do to protect itself.

As it turns out, the legends about the “children of the night” that are so attractive to fans of the gothic genre have a very real basis. There really are people in the world whose teeth resemble animal fangs, their skin cannot stand the rays of the sun, their toenails and fingernails resemble animal claws, and garlic can cause a severe allergic reaction. Only these unfortunate people do not live as carefree and joyfully as they seem in science fiction novels and films.

Vampires

Of course, we are not talking about young people who selflessly play at being vampires: they wear a sharpened “ank” sign on their chests, follow the “wear only black” rule, implant fangs into themselves, apply appropriate makeup, and sometimes, while in a narcotic stupor, attack on harmless old women. By the way, there is a known incident that occurred in the Kaliningrad region, when a guy killed two old men for the sake of conducting a vampire ritual. And the most terrible incident occurred four years ago in the UK: in order to gain immortality, a teenager stabbed his neighbor, drank her blood and tore out her heart.

Tales about spirits and the living dead who absorb human blood under the cover of darkness exist among many peoples. In legends, vampires are presented as half-decayed monsters: evil, soulless and not very smart. However, over time, this established image underwent a serious transformation. Today, a vampire is a collective image of a mysterious seducer who has retained its distinctive features: fangs, thirst for blood, fear of the sun, aversion to garlic, the cross and silver. For tens of centuries, vampires remained only a legend that could neither be refuted nor recognized. However, in 1963, British scientist Lee Illis presented unexpected results of his research. The doctor proved that werewolves and vampires exist! These are people who suffer from porphyria.

This very rare genetic pathology manifests itself in the fact that the human body simply refuses to produce red blood cells. As a result, a deficiency of iron and oxygen occurs in the blood, and under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, hemoglobin disintegrates. In other words, if the victim of the disease is exposed to direct sunlight, she begins to have a severe allergic reaction: ulcers, blisters appear, and even death is possible. In the final stages of porphyria, a person experiences deformation of tendons and cartilage. The patient's skin becomes very dry, fingers curl, gums become exposed, and psychological abnormalities are observed. If in a healthy person garlic stimulates the production of blood cells, then in a porphyritic it causes an exacerbation of symptoms. Putting all this together, we get a classic portrait of a vampire. And if we add here the information that previously they tried to treat people suffering from porphyria with fresh blood, the portrait will be completely completed.

Werewolves

Incredibly, werewolves also exist! However, as in the first case, they do not exist in the classical understanding of this phenomenon. It turns out that the transformation into a werewolf is caused by some mysterious disease, which in ancient times affected entire settlements, turning people into wild animals. According to the records, these patients had all the symptoms of lycanthropy (a form of insanity in which a person feels like a wolf).

Werewolves have been known since the founding of Rome. During this time, they acquired a mass of terrible legends and stories. It was believed that any person bitten by a werewolf could become infected with this strange disease. Symptoms of the disease worsened at night with the onset of the full moon. It was during this period that infected people allegedly turned into animals with wild, bloodthirsty habits.

For centuries, philosophers and other scientific minds have debated whether werewolves really exist. Many reputable experts are of the opinion that true werewolves, capable of actually transforming from a person into a beast, do not exist. Patients with lycanthropy suffer from psychological disorders, which is why they may feel like a beast and behave like a beast, but physiologically they are not a beast. However, despite these facts, many today still believe in the existence of bloodsuckers and wild werewolves.

In the culture of every nation you can find references to blood-sucking monsters. However, in order to understand whether vampires exist in real life, or whether they are just a figment of people's imagination, it is necessary to understand the very essence of these creatures.

Basic characteristics of vampires

A vampire in the mythology of the peoples of Europe is a lower creature that came to life after death and fed on the blood of a person or his life energy.

Various legends attribute to them many supernatural skills. Among them:

• the ability to transform into animals;
• the ability to send damage and disease;
• superhuman strength;
• regeneration;
• immortality.

Appeal

In the Middle Ages, people believed that such a bloodthirsty monster could not only be born, but also become. Therefore, they are conventionally divided into categories:

1. Firstborn.
2. Killed by a violent death.
3. People who have made a contract with the Devil.

Firstborn

All creatures of Darkness, whose diet becomes human life force, belong to this category. It includes deities and their minions, demons and monsters generated by otherworldly forces.

Examples of such creatures are:

1. Amam is a demon in ancient Greek mythology who punished sinners. He drank their life force, and the body itself was torn into pieces.
2. Kali is an Indian goddess, a symbol of destruction. Considered one of the most bloodthirsty deities in Hinduism.
3. Chivatateo - in Aztec mythology, servants of the Moon Deities. They kidnapped children at night and drank their blood.
4. Sakhmet is the consort of God Ptah in Egyptian mythology. She was the patroness of battles. It was believed that she, tormented by thirst, forced people to carry out massacres in order to get enough.
5. Empus are ancient Greek creatures, assistants of Hecate. They lured children whose parents had angered the goddess into caves and drank their blood there.
6. Akshar - demons of Sumerian mythology. They mainly hunted children and pregnant women.

Killed

Usually these were adults who had unfinished business. However, children, especially unbaptized ones, could also become vampires.

Typical representatives of this group:

1. Striga - in Moldavian and Romanian mythology, a hanged man who turned into a vampire.
2. A ghoul is a living dead person who was buried incorrectly in the mythology of the Slavic peoples. Every night he crawls out of his grave and harms people and livestock. According to legends, he has primitive animal habits, he feels nothing but hunger, and does not remember who he was during his life.
3. Mora is an unbaptized girl who killed herself. According to Slavic mythology, she persecuted unfaithful husbands and negligent wives. Maura took revenge on them for not appreciating what she would never have.
4. Ubor is a reborn man who was unjustly killed. In Bulgarian mythology, this is a spirit that burns with a thirst for revenge on its offenders.

Converts

There are also many legends according to which people deliberately made deals with demons and other monsters, exchanging their lives and blood for their help. Such deals usually had dire consequences for people. They became silent slaves of the entities they tried to summon and were forced to carry out all their instructions.

It was also believed that witches and magicians became such vampires after their death.

Protection

Depending on the type and characteristics of the vampire, methods of fighting it differed in different beliefs. However, there are a few that are almost always mentioned.

These include:

1. Garlic. People believed that these creatures did not tolerate its scent well, and therefore it was often used in funeral rituals. Usually, garlic beads were hung around the neck of the deceased or placed in the mouth.
2. Aspen stake. It was believed that aspen had magical properties, and therefore a stake from this tree could put to rest the resurrected evil spirits.
3. Silver. Nails, stakes, chains and other things made of silver were also often used in burials. People believed that, like aspen, it had magical properties and would not allow the dead to escape from the grave.

In various literary sources you can also find references to the fact that sickles, scythes, or simply stones were placed in coffins. All this was done in order to prevent the vampire from leaving his coffin.

Human vampirism

Scientists were able to accurately answer the question about the existence of vampires in real life only in the middle of the 20th century. Until then, the opinions of even the most prominent scientists differed.

First mention

In the 18th century The first attempts were made to scientifically determine vampirism in humans.

According to the records found, landowner Peter Blagojevich was buried in 1725. However, less than a month later, his fellow villagers began to die one after another. Each of them said that they saw Peter's corpse, and a few days later, they themselves died. To establish the truth, local residents called a priest and the military. Having dug up the coffin with his calving, they discovered that traces of decomposition had hardly affected him, but his hair and fingernails had grown back significantly. There were also dried streaks of blood around the mouth.

The priest's report on the case was delivered to higher authorities and then published in major newspapers.

From then on, people, and especially rural residents, began to dig up graves and pierce the hearts of the dead with stakes. Many burial rituals also emerged to avoid turning a dead person into a vampire.

Scientific background

Only after the transition of medicine to a higher level, scientists found that the vampire as a mythical monster does not exist, and all mystical manifestations of human vampirism can be explained from a scientific point of view.

Physical illnesses

A number of human diseases can cause symptoms that make them look like a vampire. In the Middle Ages, medicine was not so developed, and therefore it was impossible to determine that this was a physical deviation and not a manifestation of mystical power. Such people were not treated, but were immediately exterminated out of ignorance.

Thus, due to coma or narcolepsy, a person could fall into a vegetative state. In this case, the characteristic features of this condition are:

• low pressure;
• weak shallow breathing;
• lack of response to external stimuli.

Medicine at that time could not determine that he was still alive and he was buried. Due to the vegetative state and air reserves in the coffin, death occurred within a few hours, or even days. Because of this, the expected degree of decomposition differed from the actual one.

It is easy to explain the “growth” of nails and hair. After death, the human body stops producing glucose, which makes the process of cell division unrealistic. However, along with this, moisture also leaves the body. This exposes more hair and makes your nails appear longer.

Psychological diseases

Sometimes the need to drink blood can be seen in psychologically unbalanced people. They also do not belong to dark creatures, but are simply sick.

Actions dictated by faith

Often ritual sacrifices, in particular the exchange of blood, were of a religious nature. When performing the ritual, believers used the blood and bodies of animals, and sometimes people. Outsiders could also find places for such ceremonies. The uninitiated could not explain their findings and attributed them to mythical forces.

Classification of types of human vampirism

Clinical cases of a person manifesting a desire for blood or acquiring characteristic external signs can be divided into the following groups:

1. Physiological disease.
2. Psychological deviation.
3. The need for emotional saturation.

Physiological diseases

Diseases in this group include the following:

1. Porphyria.
2. Coma.
3. Narcolepsy.
4. Rabies.

Porphyria

A hereditary genetic disease leading to disruption of pigment metabolism and an increase in the content of porphyrins in the blood and tissues. This disease affects internal organs and affects a person’s appearance.

Symptoms include:

1. Pale skin due to lack of hemoglobin.
2. Photophobia. Under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, the skin is destroyed, causing suffering to the patient.
3. The structure of the cartilage tissue is destroyed: the fingers become crooked, the ears and nose become pointed.
4. The lips become thinner, exposing the incisors, and the gums bleed.
5. Teeth may take on a pinkish tint.

Porphyria can only be treated with a bone marrow transplant. However, even this does not give a 100% guarantee.

Coma

A life-threatening condition that is characterized by a sudden loss of consciousness, lack of response to external stimuli, shallow breathing and a slow pulse. The causes can be either injury or infection.

Patients experience a decrease in hemoglobin levels and, as a result, acquire a characteristic vampire appearance.

Narcolepsy

A physiological condition that manifests itself in slowness, lethargy, and fatigue. Patients experience irresistible daytime sleepiness and suffer from insomnia at night. Sometimes hallucinations occur immediately after waking up or falling asleep.

Our body is not able to withstand disruption of the life cycle for long. Due to chronic fatigue, outbursts of aggression begin to appear, which are sharply replaced by apathy.

This disease is also characterized by a lack of appetite. As a result, hemoglobin levels decrease, which leads to changes in appearance.

Rabies

This is another disease that can result in the appearance of a vampire.

Symptoms include:

1. Depressed state, insomnia.
2. Increased sensitivity to external stimuli: bright light, loud sounds.
3. There is a fear of water, hallucinations, and obsessions.
4. Salivation increases. Sometimes the liquid turns from white to pinkish. This indicates the presence of blood in saliva.
5. An unhealthy appetite appears. The desire to consume something inedible or dangerous. Patients have a thirst for blood and increased aggressiveness.
6. Paralysis of the facial muscles and musculoskeletal system.

This disease is fatal.

Psychological abnormalities

The emergence of a tendency towards vampirism can also be explained from a psychological point of view. In 1992, Richard Noll first described a case of human vampirism, the cause of which was the mental disorder of his patient. This disease was later called Renfield syndrome.

It consists of the following stages:

1. A “chief incident” is a random action or circumstance that results in the patient tasting his own blood and finding it intriguing.
2. Autovampirism. A person inflicts wounds on himself in order to observe the bleeding process and again feel that unique taste. He learns how to properly open the major veins and arteries to gain more direct access.
3. In parallel with this, zoophagy develops - eating living beings or drinking their blood.
4. The next stage in the development of the syndrome is the emergence of an obsession to drink the blood of another person.

According to statistics, predominantly men are affected by this disease.

Energy vampirism

Usually, the donor person himself loses some of his energy and, after communicating with this type of vampire, experiences fatigue and apathy.

People who tend to absorb another person's energy are sociable and easily strike up conversations with strangers. In the absence of the necessary nourishment, they fall into apathy and depression.

Vampires in the animal kingdom

Annelids

Among this species, leeches are hematophagous. They feed on the blood of vertebrates, mollusks, worms, etc. They are often used in folk medicine to cleanse wounds and thin the blood.

Nematodes

Arthropods

This type has several subtypes, which are also hematophagous.

Crustaceans

Arachnids

Many families of mites belong to the hematophagous species. In addition to the discomfort they cause when feeding, ticks are also carriers of various serious diseases.

Of the spiders, it is worth highlighting the species of jumping spiders. They prefer to feed on hematophagous insects.

Insects

This is the largest group of real vampires in nature. These include:

1. Diptera insects. Female mosquitoes, horseflies, midges.
2. Bedbugs. Bed bugs and the Predator family.
3. Fleas.
4. Some representatives of the order Lepidoptera and adults.

Vertebrates

This type has three subtypes, where representatives of hematophages can be found.

Fish

Birds

Mammals

Among mammals, hematophagous bats include vampire bats. There are 3 types in total:

• ordinary vampire;
• white-winged vampire;
• hairy vampire.

They all live in Central and South America. They feed only on fresh blood of mammals, and sometimes attack people. Their saliva has an anesthetic property and the victim does not feel anything during the bite.

Conclusion

The existence of the mythical monster vampire was first described in the mid-18th century, and at the beginning of the 19th century. scientists have refuted its mystical existence. In the modern world, human vampirism can be found as one of the symptoms of a physical or psychological illness. This phenomenon is also common in the animal world.