#strigoi

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

Resurrection, Death, Rebirth and Reincarnation in "Nosferatu" (2024)

Is it possible that Robert Eggers sneakily pulled a “Coppola” in his “Nosferatu”? This sounds insane but stay with me, while I try to unravel Orlok’s backstory.

“Nosferatu” (2024) left me with some burning questions about Ellen and Orlok connection (outside of the occult meaning), because Robert Eggers is a director obsessed with detail:

Why does Orlok want to be spiritually united with Ellen, forever? To the point of obsession, really; he traveled from Romania to Germany, and he’s willingly to kill everyone and spread plague in order to achieve it. His entire goal is to have Ellen’s soul by his side for all eternity, he’s consumed by it;

How come she understands him speaking Dacian (an Balkan extinct language for centuries)? Does their connection come with a translator device? In “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” is unclear if Mina understands Dracula when he speaks Romanian, but she recognizes his voice as familiar (she’s the reincarnation of his wife);

Why is lilac their signature flower? Native to the Balkans and also connected to rebirth. Sure, the Victorian symbolism of this flower fits them, but so could others. And it’s clear Eggers really wanted this specific flower, even if it doesnt fit the setting: because it blooms in the Spring, and the events of the film are set in Winter. Winter represents death, closure, reflection, despair and sadness, and rest, as nature is dormant and will rebirth and renew in Spring time, which symbolizes the circles of life, promises of new life, new beginnings, growth and fertility. According to Lina Muir, the costume designer, lilacs remind Orlok of when he was alive;

Ellen and Orlok are connected with every facet of life and death: resurrection, death itself and rebirth. Is it possible that “reincarnation” also fits here?

The Curse of Nosferatu

According to Adrien Cremene, in his “La Mythologie du vampire en Roumanie”, the strigoi myth dates back to the Dacians. The strigoi are creatures of Dacian mythology, troubled or evil souls, the spirits of the dead whose actions made them unworthy of entering the kingdom of Zalmoxis (more on the Dacians and Zalmoxis later). Which appears to be Orlok’s case? He probably did some terrible things in life which caused him to be cursed to become Nosferatu?

A strigoi isn’t necessarily a vampire; but it’s not excluded because they can feed on blood. They rise from their grave at night, wandering and creating havoc. Strigoi haunt their relatives; bring plague with them; feed off the heart of the living, and their life force; and being bitten by a strigoi doesn’t turn the victim into one. There are strigoi-viu (living; sorcerer) and strigoi-mort (undead), with the last being Orlok’s case, obviously.

What is believed to be the cause for this curse is diverse, but according to the encyclopedist Dimitrie Cantemir and the folklorist Teodor Burada in their book “Datinile Poporului român la înmormântări” (1882), it can be one among several things:

Physical characteristics that doom the person in life: being the seventh of seven brothers; being a redhead; etc.

Lead a life of sin;

Die without being married;

Die by execution for perjury (false oath);

Suicide

Die by a witch’s curse.

Other causes in Romanian folklore can be: violent past; “bad death” (violent death; lack of closure; conflicts with relatives); sorcerers and witches; or someone who can’t leave the living world because they can’t forget their loved ones.

And this explains why Herr Knock wanted to be violently killed by Thomas, near the end of the film: he wanted to become a strigoi, Nosferatu like Orlok (“prince of rats”), and wanted a violent death to seal the deal. But his covenant with Orlok is not the same as Orlok and Ellen’s.

“I relinquished him my soul. I should have been the Prince of Rats – immortal... but he broke our covenant... for he cares only for his pretty bride [...] She is his! [...] Strike again. I am blasphemy!” 

Since Robert Eggers took the time to write a few pages on Orlok’s backstory, I doubt the explanation is something as simple as “he was a sorcerer” in life. Orlok having a violent past is also hardly surprising, since he was a warlord who most likely saw battle, violence is to be expected here. There’s no reason to be secretive about any of these options. Everyone is expecting Orlok to be evil incarnate when he was alive. The only reason for not letting us know about his past it’s because he’s probably a tragic character, and that would humanize him at the eyes of the audience, and break the horror theme.

And here is where it gets enigmatic; because Orlok was dead, and had been for centuries, until Ellen awoke him. It’s her crying prayer that rises him from his grave, and turns him into a strigoi. He didn’t enter Zalmoxis kingdom, though; because he says his soul was in “the darkest pit”.

We don’t know if Orlok died because of a witch’s curse; but he was risen from the dead by one (enchantress, witch).

In Romanian folklore, it’s said when strigoi raise from their grave the first time, they return to those they have loved the most, because they wish to relive their life together. The strigoi usually torment them until they are dead, too. Which is what we see in “Nosferatu” with Orlok and Ellen. But this can only be possible if Orlok had known Ellen in his human life; with her being the reincarnation of his wife or lover/bride he didn’t get the chance to marry.

In Romanian folklore, it’s said strigoi come at night, and appear at the window of their loved ones, asking for entrance

The theme of the strigoi lover is also a staple of Romanian Romanticism and stories of women and men being visited by their dead lovers were very popular, both in folklore and in high culture.

“Your passion is bound to me. […] I cannot be sated without you. Remember how once we were? A moment. Remember?”

The use of the term "sated" in this context is also curious, because, in Archaic English (which is what Orlok uses, being from the 16th century), it's connected to the verb "sit", which means rest or lie. "I cannot rest without you"; which makes sense with their whole deal being about them together ever-eternally in death. He can’t find peace in death without her spirit by his side.

Who is Count Orlok?

Eggers’ Orlok isn’t a random demon vampire; he was once a man.

Robert Eggers doesn’t want us to know the full backstory on his Count Orlok, but he wrote a novella on it and gave it to Bill Skarsgård. We know he’s a 16th century Transylvanian nobleman, from the 1580s (“lord” and “lordship”), he’s not Vlad the Impaler (he’s from the 15th century), he was a voivode (warlord), a sorcerer (Şolomanari) and he was married, and had a family.

Bill Skarsgård cited the Bulgarian epic “Time of Violence” as one of Eggers’ many inspirations for Orlok backstory. And, indeed, he lived during the Ottoman rule of the Balkans, but he wasn’t the prince. His castle is in Transylvania, which was a state under Ottoman supervision. Transylvania nobility led many rebellions against the Ottomans invaders (hence the legend of “Vlad the Impaler”, who’s considered a Romanian national hero).

Orlok costume design (interesting his face is blurred, because he doesn’t look like a rotten corpse here)

In Bram Stoker’s novel (which is also one of the main inspirations for this film), Dracula is very proud of his boyar heritage when he speaks to Jonathan. In 2024 adaptation, we also see Orlok demanding Thomas Hutter (Jonathan cinematic counterpart) to address him as “lord”: “Your Lord. I will be addressed as the honour of my blood demands it.” A Romanian boyar is pretty much a “lord”, a feudal nobleman with a castle, administrative responsibilities (political) and/or military power. A “boyar” title could be hereditary (which seems to be Orlok’s case), or earned.

Orlok signet ring: with his own sigil. The gemstone appears to be rumanite, also known as “Romanian amber” (which comes in various shades of black, red and/or brown).

On his sarcophagus and on the mysterious cyrillic contract Orlok makes Thomas sign, we have Orlok’s coat of arms, and Robert Eggers, being obsessed with detail, crafts his worlds very carefully. “Coats of arms” is heraldic design, and were used by nobility.

Each “coat of arms” is unique to the individual (nobleman) and speaks of achievements, heritage, etc. “Coats of Arms” are traditionally composed by a shield, supporters, a crest and a motto, but might not have all of these elements. Orlok coat of arms doesn’t have a motto.

The crest is a crown. Which it’s probably connected with his noble lineage, and his role as sovereign of a county (count);

As supporters (holding the shield) we have two Dacian dragons (Draco) with their tails intertwined. Here, it’s a mix of dragon and wolf, a balaur (sky demon or “heavenly dragon”), and it’s connected to Zalmoxis. This dragon with a wolf head, was the Dacian battle flag. Orlok’s sarcophagus also has many Dacian wolfs. A historical note on the supporters; they were chosen by the nobleman and could change throughout his life, so these Dacian dracos were being used by Orlok at the time of his death, but he might not have used them all of his life;

The figures on the top, inside the shield, are a Dacian dragon with a sun or star; and a wolf with a crescent moon. Usually this star and crescent moon motif represent the Székelys, an ancient Hungarian sub-group (said to descend from the Huns), and with seats of power within Transylvania, on the hills of the Eastern Carpathian Mountains. Castle Orlok is located beyond the Árnyék Pass (also known as Umbră Pass) in the Carpathians, but this is a fictional place. Both “Árnyék” and “Umbră” mean “shadow”, in Hungarian and Romanian;

At the center, the shield is a Barry of eight fesse (horizontal stripes) or three bars, on the left (symbolic or military rank and recognition) and one tower on the right (symbolic or strength, protection, resilience of a stronghold, guarding its inhabitants from adversity and external threats);

1 Seven Rays (bottom, right), a star standing alone, probably a reference to his personal sigil (heptagram)?

3 sabers which seem to be Hungarian szabla (bottom; left). These swords were symbols of nobility and aristocracy (szlachta) The węgiersko-polska saber was popularized among the aristocracy during the reign of the Transylvanian-Hungarian King of Poland Stephen Bathóry in the late 16th century. Swords in heraldry are usually used as a symbol for military honor.

Now we are getting somewhere because Stephen Bathóry was Prince of Transylvania between 1576 and 1586, which fits the dates we have for Orlok: 1580s-1590s, late 16th century. The Báthory family ruled Transylvania as princes under the Ottomans until 1602.

We don’t know the dates for Orlok birth and death, but since Robert Eggers mentioned the 1580s and Lina Muir talked about the 1590s, I’m assuming these decades were important in his life, and he was already an adult. And he probably died somewhere in the 1590s since that’s the reference Lina Muir has for his costume design (which he was buried with): “Robert, right from the beginning, knew that he wanted his Orlok to be a representation of a Transylvanian count from around 1590.” In a interview to “Art of Costume”, the costume designer said:

“For Orlok, our research focused on the look of a Transylvanian-slash-Hungarian count from around 1580. He’s a character who was young and vital 300 years before the events of the film […] Even his enormous kalpak hat—a piece that would have been worn differently by a younger man—is now part of his strategy to hide the grotesque reality of being 300 years old.”

Robert Eggers also mentioned Hungary several times in association with his Orlok, because Transylvania was a Hungarian politically dominated principality. Orlok is also a count, the sovereign of a county, and the Székely had several autonomous seats within Transylvania; these were self-governing, with their own administrative system, and existed as legal entities. Their autonomy was granted in return for the military services they provided to the Hungarian Kings. Orlok also has a Hungarian royal army 16th century hairstyle, and military heraldry on his coat of arms, so he saw battle and/or military service.

Orlok being of Székelys lineage is also aligned with the “Dracula” novel, where Count Dracula shares the same ethnicity: “We Szekelys have a right to be proud, for in our veins flows the blood of many brave races who fought as the lion fights, for lordship. . . . What devil or what witch was ever so great as Attila [the Hun] whose blood is in these veins?” The Székelys are said to be only true Transylvanians, because they guarded the land's borders long before the Magyar invasion and Hungarian rule. Their allegiance was only to the sacred soil of Transylvania, no matter who holds temporary political dominion over them, which also makes sense as to why Orlok/Dracula, on vampire form, needs to rest on their soil during daytime.

Men could become sovereigns really young in the event of their fathers deaths. Sigismund Báthory (we’ll talk about him in a minute) became prince of Transylvania at the age of six. And it’s the same with weddings; we have several cases of marriages at 14, 15, 16, and so on, throughout History. No idea what’s Orlok case.

Being a Count, Orlok was probably a hereditary member of the Union of Three Nations? Founded in 1438, and composed by Hungarian, Székelys, and Saxon noblemen of Transylvania. Their function was to provide mutual aid against Ottoman attacks and peasant revolts, and were successful for centuries. As a Count, Orlok wasn’t low in the aristocratic hierarchy; he was just two ranks below the Prince (Marquis and Duke).

Bill Skarsgård citing the Bulgarian epic “Time of Violence” as one of Eggers’ many inspirations for Orlok backstory, might indicate he probably was involved in the religious turmoil of Protestants vs. Catholics in Transylvania in the late 16th century. In the 15th century many Romanian noblemen converted to Catholicism; and in the second half of the 16th century, Transylvanian authorities forced their people to convert to Calvinism.

In the late 1550s, Protestantism began to spread in Székely villages due to Hungarian-speaking preachers, who promoted the theology of John Calvin (Calvinism). While the majority of the population remained Catholic, some Calvinist settlements joined the new Unitarian Church of Transylvania. In 1566, priests who didn’t convert to the “true faith” were expelled from the country.

However, when Stephen Báthory took power in Transylvania in 1576, restrictions began to arise, and Orthodox hierarchy was restored. Székely peasants demanded for their freedom, but were refused. As retaliation, hundreds of Székelys joined his opponent, Gáspár Bekes, who was defeated in 1575. As consequence, more than 60 Székelys were executed or mutilated, and Báthory's supporters received Székely serfs (slaves).

When Stephen’s sucessor, Sigismund Báthory, a Catholic, came to power in 1586, he wasn’t well-liked by the Union of Three Nations representatives, which tried to undermine his authority on several times, with plotting and conspiracies. The “Long War” (1591-1606) started; it began as a Christian alliance against the Turks, and became a four-sided conflict in Transylvania involving the Transylvanians, Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Romanian voivod of Wallachia led by Michael the Brave.

In 1593, Sigismund abdicated, and tasked his cousin Balthasar Báthory with the government of Transylvania, and he tried to seized the throne for himself, but was stopped by other leading officers who set up an aristocratic council. The commanders of the army, persuaded Sigismund to return, and arrest Balthasar and fourteen other noblemen for plotting. They were either executed (beheaded) or strangled in prison. Only one was Protestant, the others Unitarian. Many of their relatives converted to Catholicism to prevent the confiscation of their estates. Which side was Orlok?

In 1595, the persecution of radical Protestants began, and hundreds fled Transylvania. In that year, Sigismund married Maria Christina of Austria but was unable to consummate the marriage. He accused Margit Majláth (mother of his executed cousin, Balthasar Báthory) of witchcraft, causing his impotence.

Sigismund promised to restore the Székelys' liberties if they took up arms against the Ottomans, and more than 20,000 Székelys joined the royal army. They helped win the Battle of Giurgiu. However, their decisive warrior role during the war was ignored, and they were not only denied their freedom, but, in 1595, their leaders were massacred in the “Bloody Carnival” by István Bocskai, the commander-in-chief of the Transylvanian army.

In 1599, Andrew Báthory becomes prince of Transylvania, but the most influential noblemen didn’t support him. His main supporters are noblemen forced into exile in 1594, but they were impoverished young men, without influence. However, Andrew choose Catholic lords over them. Meanwhile, Michael the Brave invades Transylvania and the Székelys become his allies. Andrew tries to flee the country, but is ambushed by Székelys slaves and beheaded with a shepherd's axe.

We’ve arrived at the end of the 16th century, and we don’t know if Orlok lived to see the 17th century because we have no indication of that, since Robert Eggers only talks about 1580s and 1590s. Whoever Orlok was in life, clearly left a lasting impression because there were legends about him, as Thomas was made aware once he arrived, and several locals warned him about Orlok’s shadow. He was also connected with the Devil by the Christian Orthodox nuns.

From the movie, it’s clear he’s remembered more because of his “magical powers” (sort of speak) than for his military accomplishments. Which is the same case as Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula. In “Nosferatu” (2024), it’s Ellen who awakes Orlok in the 19th century, with him being dead for centuries at that point. Still, there appear to be legends about him in Transylvania, all the same.

If Orlok was involved in the Catholics vs. Protestants conflicts in Transylvania in the late 16th century, like everything seems to suggest (“Time of Violence” inspiration and historical context), he certainly wasn’t on the Catholic side of the conflict. We don’t have any Christian religious iconography on his coat of arms or personal sigil; and he used both during his life. Protestantism defended a more personal and private relationship with religion, than the performative and grandeur of Catholicism. A Protestant facade would allow Orlok to pursue and practice his true religion without raising suspicion to his county. Still, rumors about it certainly spread during his lifetime, until they became legend.

Hypothesis #1

Now, if we go with Orlok being 55 years old at the time of his death; let’s do some math. Both Robert Eggers and Lina Muir have said he’s 300 years old during the events of the movie, which is set in 1838. If we do the math (1838 minus 300), the date of Orlok’s birth would be 1538. And if we add 55 years to this date, we arrive at 1593 as the date of his death. Which would mean he was probably among Balthasar Báthory supporters, and was arrested for treason and strangled in prison (he obviously wasn’t beheaded).

We also have a woman and accusations of witchcraft as retaliation for the death of these noblemen. Someone also commissioned Orlok’s sarcophagus, not only expensive-looking (fit for his ranking), but also filled with symbols and sigils of immortality and rebirth. Who had this sarcophagus made? Himself or someone from his family?

On his castle catacombs, there are more sarcophagus, which obviously belong to Orlok’s family, who’s also buried down there. He was also placed in a prestige location within the cryptic; someone respected his role as Count, which suggests someone either cared or respected him, in life. Unless he was the last one to die, and ordered for his sarcophagus to be placed there.

Did his wife, the Countess, survive him, and ordered his sarcophagus to be made? If so, she clearly wanted him to return to life. Maybe she was also involved in sorcery as he was. We also have countless examples of wives taking over their husbands estates/titles after their deaths (even as rulers of Transylvania). Maybe his wife was one of those who reluctantly converted to Catholicism in order to keep the family estate?

“I [was inspired by] a 15th-century sarcophagus from Poland. Orlok is Dacian so I started looking at Dacian dragons. Trajan's Column in Rome shows the battle of the Romans defeating the Dacians and you see their Dacian dragon, which has a wolf’s head, so I started adding wolves’ heads. The feet of the casket are actually Dacian dragons. We came up with a coat of arms for Orlok to put on and added Solomonic symbols. The idea is that the more you stack up the details, the more you’re creating the world.” Production designer Craig Lathrop

Now, we do have “strangling” associated with Orlok and Ellen, right in the prologue, when he reveals himself to her, under the lilac trees:

This is a horror movie, yes, but Robert Eggers is very intentional with his stories and he doesn’t do cheap jump scares. Why did Orlok do this to Ellen? Especially when he just asked her to be one with him ever-eternally. This act does have a meaning we aren’t aware of.

And his first words to her are “You”, and then he says “you wakened me from a eternity of darkness”, and he repeats “you… you”, and says she’s not for the living. This somehow suggest a recognition from his part. He knows not only what she is, but who she is.

Orlok also calls Ellen “enchantress”, and it was her sadness (grief? Heartbreak?) which powered her prayer. She did it unconsciously, and due to her supernatural abilities, but maybe her soul has tried to achieve this in the past? But didn’t succeed then?

Orlok’s “asmatic” speech can also indicate his vocal chords are damaged? Sure, he’s been dead for centuries and has to inhale and exhale in order to be able to speak, because he doesn’t need to breathe (obviously, he’s a walking corpse).

The flaw with this theory is that Orlok doesn’t seem to have neck injuries compatible with death by strangulation.

Hypothesis #2

Another likely option, is that Orlok might have died from the plague, the “Black Death”, during the second plague pandemic in Europe (1346-1844), which known several outbursts throughout these centuries. Which would explain why he returned as the “plague carrier” and his association with rats (since the Black Plague was believed to be caused by the fleas of certain rats).

The plague hit Transylvania particularly harshly during the 15th and 16th centuries, more deathly than before; especially between the years 1550 and 1587. The towns and villages in the Carpathians suffered deeply with the plague in 1553-1554, with countless deaths. Between 1552 and 1554, many aristocrats died, and some territories were even depopulated due to the plague.

The Catholics saw this outbreak as God punishment of His enemies, as divine justice against the heretics (Protestants). Protestants, on the other hand, refused the “plague” Catholic saints (like St. Sebastian) and saw hardship as a path to salvation but also as punishment for pride and other sins, advising against attachment to the “riches of the world”.

Being a Count, in the face of a plague epidemic, Orlok had to work alongside religious and medical authorities to deal with the situation. However, when epidemics got out of control, physicians (doctors) could have full power of decision over the people. Several restrictions to gatherings of every kind were made during this period. Burials on churchs were forbidden. Mentions of rotten corpses and maggots were popular in religious speech to force citizens to keep the plague graveyards clean, and avoid the spread of disease. In “Nosferatu” we have allusions to all of this and even the “Death and the Maiden” motif at the end of the film.

If we take 1538 as Orlok’s birth, these dates (between 1552 and 1554) can’t possibly be his dates of death because he would be a teenager during these years, between 14 and 16 years old. They can, however, be when he became Count? Maybe his father and/or mother also died from the plague? Or even his wife?

The plague epidemic could also be the reason why he became so interested in conquer immortality, tapping everywhere to achieve it: alchemy (“elixir of immortality” and “panacea” to cure all diseases), Zalmoxis cult, and Şolomonari magic. Him dying of the plague anyway would be one of those wicked ironies which would fit his character. His corpse certainly exhibits plague wounds, like the ones on his victims.

However, this would make Orlok younger than Robert Eggers claims he is; but Eggers being so secretive about Orlok background, he can also be concealing his true age, after all. Orlok dying during the Transylvania plague epidemics would make him 49 years old tops or even on his 30s, at the time of his death. Which would fit Lina Muir comments on his hat design being worn by younger men.

Hypothesis #3

If we go with the strigoi folklore, Orlok might have died with “unfinished business”, which is a staple of ghost legends everywhere in the world. The cause of his death, or even the date, is not exactly relevant here.

Connecting with Ellen being a reincarnation of his past lover; she might not have been his wife, at all. The majority of aristocratic weddings were motivated by politics. The wife Bill Skarsgård talks about, might have been chosen for political reasons, and alliances. She might have died, too, and Orlok wanted to remarry (which was the usual practice), this time for love. But, his bride died before the wedding, or he did.

This option would fit this story better, because Orlok and Knock talk about Ellen as “bride”. Even when asking Thomas about his “maiden token”, Orlok calls Ellen “your bride”. It would also give a deeper meaning as to why Ellen put on her wedding dress to marry Orlok at the end.

In this option, Orlok’s bride wasn’t buried next to him in his castle crypt, and death separated them. Which would explain why Orlok is so obsessed in pursuing Ellen’s soul and have her by his side for all eternity.

Şolomonari and Zalmoxis

Orlok sigil: an heptagram surrounded by a Draco ouroboros (death; rebirth; reincarnation); the letters are cyrillic for “Zalmoxis”; the center is the alchemist symbol for blood; the symbols appear to be Vinča; with archeological findings in Romania with these symbols being over 8,000 and 6,500 years old, and consider by many as the oldest form of human writing, but their meaning is still unknown. They are here either to show Orlok comes from an ancient bloodline; or he has known reincarnations throughout the ages?

Heptagrams are connected to the seven elements of Alchemy but aren’t represented like this. Heptagrams are also connected to divine feminine goddesses, like Babalon and Isis.

We also see Ellen’s beauty being compared to a sylph by Herr Knock (probably due to his own deal with Orlok), which makes her connection to the 16th century, because “sylphs” were created by Paracelsus, a Swiss alchemist, in 1566 (Orlok would be 28 years old when this book was released). Sylphs are beings of the air element, a sort of fairy or nymph.

The genetics of historical Vlad III, “The Impaler”, “Dracula” can be traced much farther back than the Szekelys and the Huns: he was descendent from the Dacian warriors. And this seems to be the same case with Eggers’ Orlok; or he developed a fascination with them. Aside from his sigil and coat of arms, the audience knows there’s a connection between Orlok and the Dacian civilization, because he speaks Dacian in the film (a language which was already extinct in the 16th century).

The Dacians were a Indo-European people from Ancient times (6th century) which inhabited modern-day Romania (as well as parts of the surrounding countries) and were eventually conquered by the Romans. Their cult was a deity called Zalmoxis, God of life and death, who granted eternal life and knowledge to the worthy, ensuring their place in the afterlife. Sacrifical rites and shamanism were practiced in his honor. Zalmoxis was considered a prophet, represented as a handsome man, a priest who controls the forces of nature, with power over wild animals.

Zalmoxis is kind of a mysterious figure, he’s a man who became a God to his people, and in some legends he was a king, in others a slave of the Greeks who freed himself, while in others he’s the high priest of the actual God of the Dacian people. He’s often compared to Jesus Christ because he, too, was resurrected after being three years underground. According to Herodotus, Zalmoxis learned the secrets of immortality when he traveled to Egypt: we already have a link here with Ellen, because she was compared to a “priestess of Isis” (Isis, the Queen of the Underworld).

Ancient greek historian Herodotus wrote about several Dacian legends and rituals; as the priests of Zalmoxis who kept the secret of incantations that could make human beings immortal, and the ritual practice of wrapping a young man who wished to become a warrior in the skin of a wolf (some men were said to be able to change themselves each year for several days into the form of a wolf). There are some theories among historians that hallucinogenic mushrooms were used in the wolf-pelt ceremony, allowing the men to experience a complete psychological transformation into wolves.

Dacian warrior

Once psychologically transformed into a wolf and thereby initiated into the Brotherhood of the Wolf, the Dacian warrior would enter fearlessly and ferociously into battle under the banner of the Draco, the wolf-dragon. This appeared to be Orlok’s case because he has the Draco on his coat of arms, which he would wear in battle.

Draco: the Dacian battle flag; Brad (Romania)

We are told this book is Şolomonari by Von Franz, and obviously belonged to Orlok, and it was in Herr Knock’s office:

However the language it is written is Latin-based, so I’m guessing it’s Dacian (instead of the cyrillic Orlok used before in written material). My mother language is Latin-based, I can understand some of the Dacian spoke by Orlok, and I’m recognizing some words here, too. This book is probably from a Zalmoxis cult, which isn’t surprising because this leads us to another question: scholars in recent years have been disputing long-lasting ideas about who the folkloric Şolomonari truly were, which seems to be the approach Robert Eggers is taking with his adaptation of “Nosferatu”.

In the “Dracula” novel, Van Helsing says Dracula attended the school Scholomance. In Romanian folklore, it’s located in the Carpathian mountains where the Devil was the lead instructor of 10 or 13 students. One of each class was either kept by the Devil or given permission to ride a dragon. In “Nosferatu”, the old abbess tells Thomas, Orlok was selected to have his soul kept by the Devil, and, possibly, cursed to vampirism as a result: “A black enchanter he was in life. Şolomonari. The Devil preserved his soul that his corpse may walk again in blaspheme.”

Xenoarcheologist Jason Colavito is one of the pioneers of these kind of studies, exploring science, pseudoscience and speculative fiction, and has done research on the Scholomance and the Şolomonari. He made the connection between Dacian priest-shamans and the folkloric Şolomonari (named after King Solomon and alchemy) and how they were perceived as benevolent forces until the Christians defamed them as “devil worshippers”. This association between Paganism and the Devil wasn’t exclusive to Romania, it happened throughout Europe when European kings and leaders converted to Christianity and forced their populations to forsake their old Pagan beliefs.

The Devil’s School of Scholomance is, then, a distortion of Dacian Pagan beliefs; where Zalmoxis had a underground chamber, a great hall, where he taught the secrets of immortality, and of life and death to his followers. In “Nosferatu”, it’s the Orthodox nuns who first make the association between Orlok, the Şolomonari, and the Devil; and then the alchemist Von Franz does the same. But none of these characters have first-hand knowledge of what the Şolomonari truly are, and Von Franz admits he never encountered a Nosferatu before. And, indeed, there’s no “satanic” symbols on Orlok’s sigil and coat of arms. He’s Pagan, a follower of Zalmoxis.

The question here is: how did Orlok had access to this knowledge? Was there an actual “school” or a Zalmoxis cult in the 16th century, in this story?

[marabow]

(the drawing on the header made my Oana Befort)

୨⎯ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐃 ⎯୧

Yandere Male Vampire/Strigoi x Gn! Human! Reader

𑁍 Cw; depictions of death (animal(mentioned) and human), manipulation, gaslighting, threats

𑁍 Woah, first story on this blog (sorry if it's short)! I haven't seen any stories on writing websites involving vampires who aren't necessarily these rich charming siren-like creatures with huge castles, so I decided to be (probably) the first person to write about vampires without inspiration from the story of Bram Stoker. (I'll write a more detailed book with this plot and characters, so this is kind of like a little teaser) (I'll also change most of the things in the book, so don't expect everything to be like in this oneshot)

The morning sun began setting softly, leaving the simple dirt road towards the village of Nectarari, a simple and ignoble village miles away from Bucharest. Yet another day at work on the field, yet another painful day for the simple son/daughter of the farmer Dragos Spiridon, a very well respected man in the village for his ability to read the newsprint, even if he was just as simple and poor as everybody else in the small village. (Y/N) was walking beside their father, who was riding their family horse, Tinca. They could almost see their vision blur as they were walking, but they had to stay determined and keep walking.

"Diii, Tinca! we need to hurry home!" The much older man shouted. He seemed to ignore that their child was feeling quite tired. It must've been from all the work they did. 

"Tata, why couldn't Filoftea come to help us? Or even Lizuca." (Y/N) asked their father about their two sisters, yet he didn't answer, just busy making the old mare continue trotting. Seeing as the man didn't answer, the (h/c) haired boy/girl sighed, continuing to walk, even if their legs felt like giving up.

"My dear (Y/N), you know that your older brothers are in Bucharest selling the fleece of our sheep and that your sister Lizuca needs to learn for school, right?"

"Well, why can't Filoftea help us too? She's the same age as me, and she has the same strength."

"Filoftea caught the eye of Liviu Popa. She needs to remain home in the village so that she won't become any less beautiful to that young lad." (Y/N) hated that their father obviously loved their siblings more than them. It was as clear as day that they were just going to always help him with trading, as they were basically a nobody. They never went to school as their father could afford only for Lizuca and little Arsenie, they weren't as strong and charismatic as their brothers, Nectarie and Radu, who were now in Bucharest, probably never returning to the village, and they weren't as beautiful as their twin sister Filoftea, who caught sweet eyes from the priest's son, Liviu. In short, they didn't have such a bright future.

But even so, (Y/N) was strong… or at least, they tried their hardest. Right now, they felt as if the sun was burning them up, even if it was still dark out as the sun hasn’t hit them yet, as if Dracu was punishing them. They couldn’t carry the weight anymore, their arms like gelatin, and the crops they were holding on their back being the only reason they kept going without falling. (Y/N) looked to their left, where they saw a flock of sheep following a man in a wooly coat, a man they’ve never seen before, a man with whitish-blond hair from what they could see. He kept walking with the sheep, and slowly disappeared as the sun appeared, as if he was never there. The young man/girl dismissed it, knowing it was just a traveler.

Once they entered the village, a herd of people gathered around the village center to see Baba Ilinca, weeping as the people tried to interrogate her. "Azorel... he had no more blood in his small canine body..." she was stuttering. The old wise widow was shouting about how she saw an ugly humanoid, with eyes as dark as the devil's, but nobody believed her, except for of course, Priest Popa, Liviu's father.

(Y/N) didn't believe it either. Maybe another animal attacked the dog during the night. The dog's body was nowhere in sight, so they couldn't exactly speculate what killed him, but they did think another animal killed the dog, since what heartless human would kill a poor old dog?

The father and his child walked back to their small humble abode, a house like every other in the village. Before they could enter, they found a flock of sheep surrounding the house, and a young man on the porch of the house, hiding under the shadows of the roof, where baskets of flowers were dangling, the only thing differentiating the house from the others in the village. Little Arsenie seemed to have been on his way to school but stopped, as he was looking at the man who was sprawled on the floor, in a deep sleep of some sort, meaning that he didn't appear too early.

"Arsenie, go to school." The father said, dismissing his son. Arsenie obeyed his father and started running to the village center for school. (Y/N) remained with their father, as their father picked up the young man from their porch, and proceeded to take him inside. (Y/N) knew their father cared deeply about the village people, but they knew this man was not from the village. He looked like a transylvanian saxon, from how pale his features were, and from his attire which looked a little different from the clothing they had here in Wallachia. Their father laid him on one of the two beds they had in the whole house, and let him rest. "(Y/N)! Go make some soup for this boy. He looks like a traveler who isn't in good shape."

(Y/N) obeyed their father and went to make some soup, which they then brought to the unconscious man. Their father left them alone, so they sat next to the blond. They knew they saw this man before, earlier on the field, but they wonder... what happened?

Almost an hour later, he woke up, looking around with his tired brown eyes. "Where am I...?" He muttered, in an accent (Y/N) understood was hungarian.

"You're in the county of Ilfov. You must've wanted to go to Bucharest, right?" (Y/N) asked, as they picked up a wooden spoon, presenting it to him, which he politely declined.

"Not quite. I just ran away from home with my sheep... where are they?"

"Don't worry, they're outside, waiting for you. But please stay here, you aren't in great health to continue your journey."

The young man nodded, as he continued resting on the pillow. (Y/N) got up to walk away, but the man kept his grip on their hand, even if it felt weak at the moment. "Please... stay by my side..."

(Y/N) was a little surprised, but obliged nonetheless, as she knew he didn't feel quite right at the moment.

(Y/N) soon learned his name was Vasile. Vasile Eliade. He was a young man from Transylvania, more specifically Cluj Napoca, who ran away from home after a fight with his adoptive parents. He lived a pretty wealthy life in the big city, but he remained with nothing to his name. A few months prior he lived in Sibiu, where he became a shepherd, and was supposed to take them to Bucharest next so they can be sold for their fleece.

Vasile and (Y/N) became friends quickly, which managed to convince (Y/N)'s father to let Vasile live with them, with the condition that he took care of the animals, not only his sheep, but also the Spiridon family's pigs, cows, horse and chickens.

Life was going smoothly for the family, as Filoftea married Liviu, Arsenie and Lizuca finished the school year, Arsenie being top student of the village's younglings, meanwhile Lizuca was just average in school activities. Even (Y/N) started learning how to read and write from their new blond friend

Though, Filoftea wasn't quite happy with her life as Liviu's wife, which made her try to pursue a secret relationship with Vasile, as he was 'more fun'.

(Y/N) didn't pay much attention to it, but Vasile, even if he was polite and 'loyal' to the family, didn't like it one bit. He was starting to grow feelings for the hardworking man/woman with the name of (Y/N). What once was just prey to him, another flesh to be eaten, became his equal slowly... or something more.

It has been a year since Vasile arrived to the village and became sort of like a part of the family. The family business was growing quite better since last year, which made the family quite happy. In the backyard laid (Y/N) and Vasile on the grass, as the autumn leaves started falling, and the gentle breeze of the wind was fanning their faces.

"(Y/N), can you promise me something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

Vasile looked nonchalantly at the sky, sighing softly. "Promise me that we'll be together even if one of us does a 'horrible' thing."

(Y/N) was confused. " what do you mean? Of course I'll be by your side." The young man/girl didn't think much. They only thought he meant something like accidentally ruining the family business or something like that, which was horrible enough, but not something to leave him.

"Thank you very much..." He muttered. As he kept staring at the stars. "I think it's very late. Go to sleep with Filoftea. I'll follow you in shortly."

"Alright..." (Y/N) yawned as they got up. "Well, good night."

"Goodnight." was all Vasile said, as (Y/N) walked back inside. "I love you."

(Y/N) was met with Filoftea, sleeping in the bed their father usually slept in, as he was away with Liviu to visit Radu, (Y/N)'s older brother, in Bucharest so that Liviu can 'take a break' from Filoftea's neediness, as she became very needy after getting pregnant.

(Y/N) slept on the opposite bed, the one where their younger siblings slept in right at the moment. 'Poor Filly..." (Y/N) thought, thinking about how Filoftea was alone and pregnant, with a husband who always ran away from his responsibilities. Soon, their eyes closed, falling asleep.

They woke up to the smell of blood hitting their nose. Opening their eyes, they saw everyone was asleep... except of Vasile who... was next to Filoftea. (Y/N) didn't think much, due to their sleepy state making them think he was only pecking her neck with kisses. But they realised that Filoftea was asleep, meaning that this was breaking her boundary. They quickly got up to scold Vasile, only to see... a pool of blood on the bed. Filoftea's eyes were frozen in a contorted face of fright, pale like a blind person's.

"Filly...?" was all (Y/N) muttered as Vasile looked at them with a look of hunger. That's when (Y/N) realized. Those dark eyes... the blood on his lips... Baba Ilinca was right about her dog being sucked dry by a strigoi... as the strigoi was right in the village, right in the Spiridon residence, right in front of somebody who didn't believe in them.

"(Y/N)... Iubirea mea!" Vasile got up and smiled insanely, his teeth sharp and coated full of blood. (Y/N) then realised why he never shown his teeth, or talked in mutters. Not because he was tired, or from another reason that wasn't the fact he was a blood sucker! "Don't be frightened. I love you so much, it'd pain me for you to be scared. Come now. Help me put your pesky harlot sister outside so the soil will become stronger!"

"I can't help you... you're not human... you're not man at all..." The twin of Filoftea muttered, as they began backing away. Vasile didn't take this too kindly, as he ran to them, and held their wrists with his tight grip.

"YOU WILL HELP ME. I AM YOUR ONE TRUE LOVE! YOU PROMISED YOU'D HELP ME! YOU'RE JUST AS MUCH OF A MONSTER LIKE I AM IF YOU'D RATHER HELP SOMETHING THAT IS NO LONGER BREATHING THAN YOUR TRUE LOVE!"

(Y/N) wanted to kick him off them, but they couldn't. "If you do anything rash, the young children will meet the same fate, and it'd all be your fault!"

"Now, choose wisely. Will you become like me, or will your family meet the same fate. Nobody will blame me, they'll only blame you, as it is your fault. I wouldn't want my one true love to feel the pain of having their head cut off, and neither would you like that fate..."

"Right?"

A/N: Sorry if this was short and rushed, I wrote all of this in one day, and I don't want to spoil my book in any way. Hope you guys enjoyed this story, and make sure to give me more ideas for stories in my inbox! Have a swell day everyone!

© PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR EDIT ANY OF MY WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION. THANK YOU!

[amberkendslacy]

[marsinthecorner]

The ending I think we all wanted!🤣😅

Uncensored below.

[e3rt]

I forgot to post the finished version of this oops

[dwollsadventures]

Strix (Ancient)

Habitat: The depths of Tartarus, large cities

Slayer Tips: Garlic is foul to striges, so smearing some oil or pungent cloves can repulse the birds. Physically they are quite weak as they only prey on the helpless.

--

It's been a while since I've drawn one of these guys! Striges are originally Greco-Roman birds that spread and evolved into Italy and Eastern Europe as a whole. They go on to become even the strigoi, what many consider the "true" vampire (even though they're more like witches).

I decided to go with a plucked owl for their visual inspiration this time around. That's right, those bumps aren't floof, they're skin, bone, and pin feathers. How do they fly? Idk they're monsters they just can.

[cryptidcha0s]

Nosferatu (2024) fanart!!! It wuz such a great movie. I loved the counts more folklore accurate design.

Screenshots I used as reference for the drawings of Ellen & Thomas below cut

[pastellich]

Strigoi

[ajramseyart]

The Hunt

I just noticed that I never shared this painting on here. Oops.

This is a painting I created for the Carpe Noctem vampire zine.

I have been thinking about this painting for a little bit and how I think I might make a little comic story about this painting. I already made a mini comic about this vampires origin, but this is something I would love to expand on here and there when I have down time.

created with watercolor and white gouache.

[massgrav]

Can we not stay together a little while longer, my lovely man?

[mylifeisjustafeverdream]

Rose Hathaway has the will power of God, cause if you put me in a room with my sexy undead vampire boyfriend who told me he wanted to spend eternity with me, I would have folded immediately

[theic-manic]

Some rough notes for my Vampiric Grimoire (planning stage) feel free to use and/or contribute your own perspectives.

"Energy vampire" is a misused term since all feeding in energy feeding, just in different forms.

So I've made some brief notes on Vampire subgroups I've made for a grimoire I'm planning.

🩸Sanguine vampires

Your blood suckers, these vampires need plasma (in small amounts) to access energy.

Since there's an abundance of literature on Sanguines, I won't reinvent the wheel here, however I'll remind everyone of the importance of consent & safety.

🍆🍑Tantric Vampires

Aka Succubi & Incubi.

Similar to Sanguines, however they feed via different bodily fluids.

The main difference between Tantrics & Psi Vampires (to be covered below) is their need for erotic contact & fluids.

Again, remember consent & safety.

Unawakened tantrics may engage in hypersexual or sex-addict like behaviours.

💔 Emotional Vampires aka Emphatic Vampires

These are usually mixed up with Psi/Psychic vampires as the latter can feed via emotions, in a limited capacity.

The best metaphor for these guys is the movie Monster's Inc. & how the factory converts screams (& later, laughter) into energy.

Emotional Vampires may feed by deliberately triggering people however many discover pleasant ways to feed such has becoming comedians or musicians.

Also typically found in Political & public speaking careers.

They also make great trauma counsellors.

They can feed in a similar way to Tantrics, however they end up getting really hurt and/or manipulating others when hungry...

🔮 Psi Vampires aka Psychic vampires, Pranic Vampires, Strigoi

We're the energy omnivores in that we can feed in the same ways as other vampires however these other methods aren't as effective.

The downside of this is it can take us longer to awaken as Vampires, we may get caught up in the "fluffy bunny" (the love & light toxic positivity) community and/or end up going through hypersexual stages like our Tantric kin.

Unlike Tantric Vampires, we can feed via online interactions & be fairly satisfied.

We best feed when close to someone we can establish a link with, physical touch can also enhance this.

Unlike others, we can distance feed either astrally or via meditation though this takes discipline.

Similar to emotional Vampires we can feed from crowds, though we send out our "tendrils" to nibble from the crowd's auras.

This isn't as effective as "deep feeding".

We can benefit from learning Reiki & other energy work however we must be careful to avoid unawakened vampires who work in those fields.

Feng Shui is critical for our living spaces & we benefit from learning what our Ayurveda Doshas & Humors (Greek medicine concept) are, adjusting our physical food diets according to those.

Unfortunately we are probably why it's believed that vampires burn in sunlight since we are especially sensitive & weakened by the sun & sensitive to other weather events due to the type of energy involved.

That said, due to our relationship with energy we are especially good at Weather Manipulation, witchcraft & energy healing.

While we may be drawn to careers in healing, we're often found in toxic workplaces due to our ability to feed from & transmute negative energy.

While we CAN feed via emotions like our Emphatic kin, we can become really unwell if force fed large amounts of negative emotional energy, e.g. people in crisis.

📝 Note on naming conventions;

I'll eventually expand upon these in my personal grimoire, and once digitised I can make it available either as a Google doc or even a Tumblr post.

I plan on updating the naming conventions to be more accessible to wider audiences

ie each "type" will be given a plain English name, an "old country" name inspired by old myths & a spiritual name for those more accustomed to spirituality.

E.g.

Psychic vampire naming conventions might resemble

Psi Vampire (Plain English)

Strigoi (Old country/mythos)

Prana Vampires (Spiritual)

The fun challenge will be creating a 3-name system for Sanguines 🩸🧛‍♀️

Art by Justin O'Neal.

[nofatclips]

Engraved into Darkness by THY RITES from the album Nekrolatreia

[reno-matagot]

Sinister Vanity

[marsinthecorner]

Guys, maybe he just REALLY likes rats???😅

[e3rt]

Can we get a monster Jeff, similar to how you draw EJ 👀

Strigoi! Jeff

The Jeff who died in that fire and clawed his way out of his grave with an insatiable hunger for blood