#folkloric vampires

[adrianastrix]

Pre-Dracula vampire fiction (1)

Since Halloween is upon us, I decided, as a treat, to rescue my "live reading" tweets about the most important books of vampire fiction (according to Myself, of course) in the form of a reading log. (The things between [ ] are notes I'm interpolating now, for clarity.)

And, since Dracula Daily is coming quickly to a close, I'm inviting you all to a deep dive into the almost two centuries of vampire tradition that Stoker had behind him when he wrote Dracula.

We will start with Augustin Calmet's treatise on the undead (1749), then we will jump to a special edition I have of The Vampyre (the first vampire piece of prose, that we know of, from 1817) with some fanfic short stories based on it attached and then we will visit the Dracula's Brood anthology and a few similar ones (that you only find on Amazon BR). Depending on my ADHD, we may or may not have some highlights of books on folklore vampires (mainly my complaints about them, but there are positive highlights).

ANYWAY LET'S GOO

17/07/2002 - 12:35 am

"I'm reading the vampire reports analysed by Augustin Calmet (a monk that lived around the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th and OH MY GOD MY BRAIN IS SCREAMING. It's too much information in a huge tangle. But the reports he collected ARE the materials that most classical vampire writers read.

I've previously read summaries of his work, not the book itself. I'm reading this free version: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/29412 This log is my way of organizing all the info in a way that is useful to me.

17/07/2002 - 12:56 am

I'm reading a PT-BR version of the vampire reports, they start at page 243 of the Gutenberg ebook.

In case you don't know, Calmet's treatise is his way to give a Catholic Church perspective on what are essentially paranormal stories that were spread by magazines and newspapers as true. [It was written in 1745, a few years after the Vampiromania started in Europe (we will talk more about that later).]

He talks about ghosts, vampires, revenants, angels, demons and more. We will focus on the vampires.

17/07/2002 - 12:57 am

We start with the first (highly controversial) folk ethymology for "vampire" as a derivation of "oupire", both meaning "bloodsucker". They are classified here as a type of revenant, or "those who come back".

[You would THINK we know what the word "vampire" actually means and from which language it originally comes, by now, given how much interest there is on the topic, and you would be naïvely, DELICIOUSLY wrong.]

17/07/2002 - 12:58 am

Another cool fact he adds is that vampires only *sometimes* cause their victim's deaths. As for what causes the vampirism cases known at the time, he lists four possible things: 1 - nothing, it's just superstition; 2 - people buried alive [yikes]; 3 - dead people that God allowed to come back and haunt the living; 4 - Satan shenanigans

17/07/2002 - 12:59 am

I think cause 3 is cool, because when was it the last time you've read a story of a person that became a vampire because God Himself told them "no, no, they really screwed you over, go back and drink a couple liters of their blood to teach them a lesson"?

17/07/2002 - 1:05 am

Here Calmet enters a tangent about cases of actual ressurrections, Lazarus-style. I'm skipping that, it doesn't interest me. Let me get back to action on page 261, with M. Vassimont's case.

17/07/2002 - 1:13 am

Hahahahahaha oh my GOD this is my favourite case. So, the vampire is the ghost of a shepherd that sometimes appear as a man, sometimes, as a dog. He attacks people [not by drinking blood, but] by making them feel weak, and he also ties the tails of two or more cows together [because he is also a petty jerk, apparently].

So, when the peasants decide to stake him to pin him on the ground, he flat out LAUGHS at their faces. The corpse mocks them, saying that the stake is just a stick to shoo dogs, and keeps tormenting him until he is dragged out of the village and burned to ashes.

17/07/2002 - 1:22 am

I love so much the mental image of a group of peasants around the coffin, tired and soaked with blood after staking that jerk and he just keeps LAUGHING at their faces.

17/07/2002 - 1:28 am

Calmet keeps repeating the signals that a corpse is a vampire: its blood is still red and liquid, rosy faces and flesh that is soft, pliable and devoid of worms. And to illustrate it, he offers cases of people that didn't decomposed after death and how things around them sometimes move by themselves.

17/07/2002 - 1:29 am

It's interesting because the vampires in those reports are considered revenants, too, but they don't rise from their tombs and drink blood. Instead, they cause poltergeist phenomena in their former homes, throwing rocks and messing things around.

17/07/2002 - 1:37 am

Another case of vampirism. This time, the vampire appears to his son after his death and asks for dinner. The son feeds him and the old man disappear. The next day, he does the same. The next morning, the son dies. When they exhume the old man's corpse, it's *breathing*.

[TO BE CONTINUED...]

This was an eventful early morning. It was 5 months after the beginning of the quarantine and I my home office work didn't have official hours, so my sleep patterns had already gone to space at that point.

At this point, I think it's important to notice how vampires bring signs of life to the corpses they inhabit, and sometimes these signs not necessarily include the corpse moving around. I mean, for all his laughing around, the jerkish vampire shepherd above never did anyting to stop the stake or his own burning.

You will see so much more that sadly never made its way into fiction tomorrow. At the end, I'll make a summary of what was a vampire at that point, before the Germans muddled it all (yeah, the Germans, bet you didn expect it - although the French also had a hand on it). Stay tuned!

[pjclausenart909]

[oliviarampaige]

“Carpathia”

Day 3 - Vampire

Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make.

[vyvilha]

happy pride!

what is better than vampire x werewolf lesbians? only ukrainian opyrica x vovkulaka lesbians

[vampiresheart]

Dark Christmas

(Source)

[faeriesandfolklore]

A vampire lord whose entire clan was killed by humans, the rivers near his castle bathed in blood. Ever since that day, he has lurked in the darkness outside of the human kingdom, seeking revenge. He takes a mortal every year, during the Blood Moon- and they never return. 

But this time, it is you. The people of your village lock their doors, rub salt into the windowsills, place crosses over their doorways to ward off the beast. It is a terrifying notion, being taken by the vampire. Having your children whisked away into the night for him to feed. 

But while you are deep in slumber, your window twitches open. A long shadow, almost a tendril of darkness, fills the room aside from the pale moonlight. And then you see the eyes, white as the clouds above, peering down at you. Sharp teeth, long golden hair. He snarls, pinning you down. 

And then you are dragged away from your home, into the darkness of the woods. You beg and plead for your life- the slaughter happened centuries ago, so far back your ancestors do not even recall the dark night. But now you are in his grasp. 

He hisses under his breath as you squirm, his voice rich like wine. “Stop moving like that, human. It is driving me mad.”

You let out a tiny wail, unable to stop from fighting back as the lights of the town fade. You hear an agitated grunt, and then the prick of teeth on your neck. Then, darkness. 

When you wake, you are on a blush sofa, colored a deep red. You wear robes you have never felt the like of before, velvet and fur, soft against your skin. And the decor around you is haunting- black pillars holding up a marble ceiling, statues of maidens and gods lining the hall. And there, across from you, is him. 

“I would not try to run,” he comments a bit darkly. “It did not end well for the others.”

Your heart pounds so quickly you know he can hear it, can sense the blood rushing through your veins. “The others?”

“The others I took,” he says. “All tiny things, weak mortals. Barely worth the effort.” His piercing eyes linger on you, dark and sure. “Barely worth the vengeance I sought.” 

You sit back in your chair, throat dry. “You killed them?”

“I feasted on them,” he murmurs, as if it is common sense. You can picture it- the sweetness of the blood, his shining eyes illuminating the night. He stands, looming over you, as if waiting. “I would feast on you as well,” he whispers. “That was the plan.” He looks irritated, almost. 

You stammer for words. He should? So why has he not?

You feel his cold hand move to your neck, fingers brushing your throat. You are surprised by how calming the action is- this being is a predator, meant to bring a mortal like you to their knees. But you almost wish to turn your face into his palm. To inhale his scent. “Because you have captivated me,” he whispers. “And I seek to keep you.”

[candela888]

After much research I have decided that vampiric entities in the Americas come in three different types, based on region. If u have any questions feel free to ask.

Vampiric entities of Mexico & Southwest USA:

Ojai vampire

Chupacabra (dog-like variety)

Tlahuelpuchi

Lechuza

Vampiro de Belen

Cihuateteo

Witch-like or animalistic. Tend to feed on defenseless children or animals. Many can shapeshift, usually into animals like wolves or owls.

Vampiric entities of South America:

Pishtaco

Abchanchu

Peuchen

Chonchon

Capelobo

Patasola

Tunda

Boraro

Animalistic and monstrous, many of these are barely even humanoid, usually horiffic to look at. Tend to go after adults, and are usually malicious. Many have backwards feet.

Vampiric entities of the Atlantic Coast:

New England Vampire panic

NYC vampire sightings

Hag, Ole-Higue, & Boo Hag

Chupacabra (alien variety)

Vampiro de Moca

Loogaroo/Rougarou

Soucouyant

Asema

New Orleans vampire sightings

Jacques St. Germain

Almost always humanoid, usually undead, sometimes witch-like, tend to attack people of all ages.

[prokopetz]

Hi! In your post about vampires you mentioned that Stoker's vampires can't be drawn or otherwise depicted. I haven't been able to find anything online that mentions this, do you recall where in the book this is mentioned?

(With reference to this post here.)

The idea that vampires can't be drawn or painted appears only in Dracula's early drafts; the novel's cast of characters originally included a subplot involving a painter named Francis Aytown, but the character (and associated subplot) were eventually dropped from the published text. I brought it up to illustrate that the oft-cited "well, mirrors are silver and photos are prepared with a silver emulsion" explanation probably isn't what Stoker had in mind regarding the business with the mirrors – entirely apart from the fact that the novel's text never mentions silver being particularly baneful to vampires in the first place!

[guardcanine]

[r-aindr0p]

Can I ask where is Ace at in this Vampire au? Is he just a random family born baker that hates his job and glares secret daggers at Deuce when he sees him on his walks or something?? 😭😭🥺

At this point I feel like doing a lil something for everyone remaining :") Just in case yknow

Vamp lilia was far too easy of an option so i went for something else that can bestow blessings jut like faes do ! Unicorn, he isn't on any particular side, just frolicking around. Lucky be the one who sets their gaze on such a rarity. pun intended

The other horses are... hiding as well yes but not as distant if you are their next meal. Kelpie Jade and floyd, wanted to keep them aquatic and creechur. They bite, they can shapeshift, good luck.

Lil Ortho vamp is looking around for his brother, very polite, will absolutely bite in defense do not be fooled by his tiny victorian child build.

Ace is the church's errand boy, janitor, altar boy, cook helper etc... He enrolled to be part of the hunter squad but wasn't deemed efficien enough. Stays just in case maybe just maybe Rollo changes his mind and takes him as a hunter. Hey he's got plenty of wits ! He will eventually succeed. (but he's so salty about it so jealous of deuce and epel)

Trey bakes the breads for the church, he can live off of refular food and just tries to live normally without being too tempted about the other kind of snacks he could have. Surely no one would dare just barge in the bakery call him out on his double nature, noo no one in the cast would think of that everyone is so polite !

Finally, Cater as a Rusalko (Rusalka but guy) He is sunbathing, chilling near another pond near fleur city. He might call you to come closer and keep you around to have a lightheatted chit chat ! Oh what happened to him ? sometimes he tells he drowned accidentally, sometimes he got drowned. No one really knows the truth.

[ladyvictoriart]

The Guaxa, also called the Guajona, has often been seen wandering the forests of northern Spain, where she has made her home. She appears mostly human but can be distinguished by her bird feet and single long tooth with which she punctures the veins of her victims so as to feast on their blood.

[ex0skeletal-undead]

Suicidal Vampire by Jesús Bey

[marzipanandminutiae]

Being Spooky Season, it's a good time to remind everyone that those "vampire hunting kits" were not a thing in the 19th century and that they're all fakes made by assembling various real antiques in fancy boxes, which sellers started doing sometime in the late 20th century!

Important reminder thank you!

In many places in the 19th century, “vampire hunting“ worked more like “there has been a tuberculosis outbreak; let’s dig some corpse up, burn their heart, and feed the ashes to a sick family member to see if that helps.” Google Mercy Lena Brown, for one notable case much later than you might expect to see it

Or the truly fascinating story of people in Eastern Europe who claimed to be half – vampires (dhampir) and went around “fighting vampires“ for money or just food, in small villages. I’m told this would sometimes involve pretending to wrestle with invisible vampires for the benefit of people watching, and that the last known instance of it was in the 1950s.

[weirdlookindog]

Jaroslav Panuška (1872–1958) - Lipnitskaya Jackdaw and a Vampire, 1910-1911

[victusinveritas]

[collinsportmaine]

Vampire Identification Guide

The Vourdalak is French film is based on a Russia novella that predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 58 years. It tells the tell of a family waiting for Gorcha (their patriarch) to return from fighting the Turks. Before leaving he warned them, if he returned after 6 day - do not let him enter the house. But he returns on the 7th day!

Vourdalaks are from Balkan and Slavic folklore - vampires that return from the grave to feed on their family, decimating their bloodline and feasting on the blood of all those they hold dear.

A unique element of this French film is the Gorcha is depicted as a life size puppet, voiced by the director Adrien Beau.