VAMPIRES ? ..
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It is a fascinating and interesting phenomena in literature ancient and modern, themes for films, children's programmes
television series, and some strange cultures. Stories both good and evil being the theme
and increasingly popular!
This last week I saw at least a dozen new books dealing with stories about vampires by various authors, and was amazed when my grandchildren watched animated vampire stories for the little ones, and another series for older children!.
Then there are a number of more adult vampire movies doing the rounds.
The question is Why do people believe in vampires? Where did it originate?
One of the explanations is that in the past centuries in Central and Eastern en Europe vampire hysteria on various occasions and at various times became rampant...Often coinciding with outbreaks and many deaths from tubervcuosis and plagues. reaching epidemic status.
The Peasants being very basic minded had their own explanation why the people were dropping dead, it was either witchcraft, or the Vampires!
As late as the nineteenth century , New England, tuberculosis wiped out entire families, one after the other died in the same family. Superstition had it that the first to die in a family fed on his surviving family members, and that they in turn became vampires!
Between the 18th and 19th century little was known about after death life, and what happens to the body.
During the many epidemics where many people died, mass graves were used to bury the dead, the graves were often r opened to bury more dead.
Medical scientists often exhumed the bodies to find a cure for the diseases, leading to many speculations among the people.Stories relate that bodies were exhumed weeks and even months after burial.
One interesting real fact is that in the decomposition of a body a body fluid is released that looks like blood....causing the people to maintain the existence of Vampires...They usually believe that by burning the body, the vampire will cease to exist!
Another story is that a Vampire can turn into a butterfly and fly away during daytime, or turn into a bat, or a wolf, or a dog. Vampires cannot stand light and only appear after dark. They can only be killed by the head been chopped off or a Stake driven while they are sleep ,through the heart!.
Garlic would ward of a Vampire, as well as all evil Spirits, and a bunch of garlic was often sen hanging by the font door!
In another area burnt turmeric also worked, when garlic did not!
As previously said, the ancient stories said that Vampires was bloated corpses with blood round their mouths,and was part of the vampire culture in the Middle ages and as long as into the 19th century
Man has always feared the unknown, specially of the dead, referring to living dead, and ghosts.
So the believe that a vampire was a dead body brought to life, by the devil, and thus is an evil spirit ever to roam at night and feed off the living
It seems as if the legends of Vampires originated in India, where the belief is sill that Vampires are real. They believe Vampires originated in India, and then traveled fro India to Romania, Russia and other countries. (on such is Vladimir from Russia) From there to Tibet and China, onto Western countries.
Many people supposedly have seen the vampires (I think due to the strong folklore and mythology).
I am going to talk about three of the oldest Vampires in India...there are more.
the first two are Pay, and Paymaks.
Paymaks devours flesh of the dying and dead, and Pay drinks their blood!
Paymaks is a deadly fearsome creature, who dances after his bloody feast.
The Vetala is a female Vampire (Hindu mythology) She is able to enter the bodies of humans and animals who are dead, and then reanimates them.They can also enter the bodies of living beings and then manipulate them.
The other one is Pishache , another female with red swollen eyes and bulging veins. Dwelling in burial grounds and can change form. If a human looks upon them they will die within nine months! (from there the fear of burial or cremations grounds)
Vampires cannot see their image in a mirror, fear sunlight, and only come awake after out of their day sleep, and at night.
In Russia and Romania Vampires are incarnations of the Noble aristocracy, who still own their secret castles, are beautiful to humans and do their evil deeds to all who dare to be out after late night.
So Vampires bat, demons wolves, all part of interesting topic to many authors.