Sorry about the lack of facts today. I have been pretty busy all day and I still am. If I am up to it later I will try to post them...today's just been an awful day.

Sorry guys

It's ok. Hope your week goes better.

Sorry again about yesterday.

1. Salt: Sodium chloride, used in preserving and seasoning, also a symbol of purity and the holy influence of goodness in life. The ancient world associated it with mystical properties, and as a result salt was used in the preparation of Christian holy water and was ranked as a potent bane of witches, for anything evil cannot touch it. In some parts of Europe salt was thrown into coffins to prevent invasion by evil spirits. The antivampiric purposes of salt are obscure, the most attested connection found in Romania, where pregnant women were encouraged to eat salt lest their unborn children become vampires.

2. Mr. Myiciura: A tragic case of vampire hysteria in modern England and an example of how old-country traditions are not expunged by modern culture. The story appeared in the Times of London in January, 1973., detailing detailing the curious demise of a Polish immigrant named Myiciura, in an article entitled "Immigrants' Fears of Vampires Led to Death." Police were summoned to the Stoke-on-Trent apartment of a 68 year old retired pottery worker who had resided in England for 25 years. He was found dead, apparently the victim of accidentally choking on a clove of garlic. According to his landlady, the man was terrified of vampires, convinced that they were everywhere, especially in his neighborhood. He used pepper, salt and garlic to protect himself. His body was found surrounded by bags and containers of salt, which was sprinkled on his blankets. Garlic was placed outside his window in a bowl and had been smeared in his door keyhole. the man had placed a clove of garlic in his mouth for added protection. He fell asleep and choked to death.

3. Gayal: Also Ut, a kind of Indian vampire-ghost, the spirit of a man who dies unmarried or without a male heir, thereby depriving him of a person who can properly perform the funeral rites. When returning, the Gayal focuses his ire upon the sons of other individuals as well as his own relatives. These threats thus ensure that the dead man's distant kin or even his neighbors will complete all of the necessary funeral rituals. Among the Punjabis, the Gayal is given a small platform, with a hemispherical depression in which is poured milk and Ganges water as a kind of sacrifice. Lamps are placed around it. Mothers in the region hang a coin around the necks of their sons to protect them from attack.



Anyone that watches the show Supernatural knows already that salt is a big deal

1. Morgano: A ballet that debuted on May 25, 1857, in Berlin, described as a komische-zauber (comical-magical) ballet. It was written by Paul Taglioni with music by J. Hertzel and was set in Hungary. The ballet tells a tale of a woman, Elsa, who is taken by a group of vampires led by Morgano. After dancing with them in their castle, she is saved by her lover, Retzki, who destroys Morgano with a consecrated sword. Another ballet, Il Vampiro, opened in Milan in 1861, written by Rotta, with music by Paola Giorza.

2. Cat of Nabeshima: A terrible vampire demon of Japan that took the shape of a cat, murdering a courtesan and then focusing its attention on the prince of Hizen, a member of the Nabeshima family. The cat throttled the concubine O Toyo, assumed her shape and subsequently spent every night with the prince, who grew more and more ill with each passing day. Doctors were unable to find a medicine that would bring relief, but they did notice he worsened at night. Guards posted to keep watch fell asleep and the perplexed ministers went to the chief priest of a nearby temple. While praying over the prince, the prince discovered a lowly soldier, Ito Soda, who begged to stand guard. When the magical spell fell on him, he stabbed his thigh to keep himself awake and saw a beautiful young women enter the prince's chamber.
Soda's presence worked against her spells and she was unable to feed. She tried to induce sleep on Soda but failed and the prince began to recover. Soda, meanwhile, was convinced that O Toyo was a vampire and he went to her apartment, gaining entry by saying he had a message. As he neared the woman, he lunged with a dagger, but she flew across the room, seized a halberd and assaulted him. When it became clear she was not able to win, the woman turned into a cat, fled to the roof and escaped into the mountains. Local inhabitants were tormented until the prince led a great hunt. The vampire cat was slain, but ever after the people of Nabeshima have been alert for the monster, last reported seen in 1929.

3. Masani: A terrible female demon vampire of India, the spirit of burial grounds. She is black in appearance, with a hideous countenance. her hunts are conducted at night, beginning with her emergence from ashes of a funeral pyre, Anyone passing the burial site is attacked.

1. Wine: A liquor used in Romania to prevent attacks by the strigoii, a species of vampire. A bottle of wine buried near the grave at the interment of a suspected undead is dug up six weeks later and shared by family members. Whoever partakes of that wine is protected from vampiric attacks. The Bulgarians boiled wine and threw it onto the remains of an exhumed and impaled corpse to drive out the infesting demon. In Serbia, the heart of the vampire was cut out, boiled in wine, and then placed back in the chest cavity.

2. Vrykolatios: A vampire species found on the island of Santorini. It is a combination of a vampire and a ghoul, mentioned in the 1900 Handbook for Travelers in Greece. With such creatures, described as creatures that "banquet on the living," active on the island, the inhabitants of Santorini became the foremost experts in the various methods of destroying vampires.

3. Sleepwalking: The phenomenon in which a person moves about while still in the grip of sleep. Sleepwalking can be party responsible for causing a relative, usually a brother, to become a vampire. Should a person die and have a brother who sleepwalks there is a strong likelihood that the deceased will return. This strange concept probably stems from the link between sleep and death, with the brother figure epitomizing the walking dead.

My brother screams sometimes in the night. Does that coiunt?

These are all really interesting. Please keep posting them.

Just to let you know, next weeks posts may be very late or they may not happen at all, sorry all but my hours at work doubled. I now work from 3am until 12:30 so I wont actually get home until about 1pm, which will make me veeeery very tired, too tired to look up and type all this stuff out. But I will try to post them on time, everyday, I just cant make any promises.

Anyway...


1. Kukudhi: An Albanian name for the final stage in the development or transformation of a vampire. According to custom in some regions of Albania, an undead takes time to grow fully into the shape and powers of a vampire, becoming stronger the longer it survives. The last period is called kukudhi in Albania, and upon reaching this stage the vampire is able to live at home during the day, no longer required to return to its grave and it is even able to travel to other lands, supposedly as a merchant.

2. Ignatius Day: A feast held in honor of St. Ignatius of Antioch, who perished in the Colosseum approximately a.d. 107, eaten by lions. the date of the festival varies, in the West it is October 17, previously February 1, while in the regions of the Eastern church it is usually December 20. Among the Wallachians the day was celebrated by the killing of a pig. The animal's lard was then smeared over certain body parts to prevent vampire attack and to ensure that a person would not become a vampire.

3. Horseshoes: A symbol of good luck found in numerous countries, from Scotland to India. In England it was widely held that a horseshoe in a house or on a door was a potent preventative against attack by witches or warlocks. A similar view was found in the Scottish countryside, while greater emphasis was placed in Italy and in Spain on material used, in this case coral replacing iron. From these anti-witch properties came the broad acceptance of horseshoes as devices of felicity. They can be used in an attempt to keep vampires at bay, the bane that they represent against evil extending even to the undead.

1. Stephen Hubner: The so called Vampire of Treutenau, a Slavic village, who killed several people sometime between 1730-1732. Hubner's case was remarkable in that he not only attacked human beings, but cattle as well, supposedly strangling them. The supreme court of the district investigated the murders and found sufficient cause to exhume the body of Hubner, even though he had been dead for 5 months. He was perfectly preserved as a corpse. Giving the body to the public executioner, the magistrates ordered in decapitated and cremate. As a precaution, the corpses buried near Hubner were also burned.

2. Iceland: The island nation that has had its share of warriors returned from beyond in the shape of spirits or revenants. This could be prevented by piercing the feet of a corpse before burial to keep the body from wandering. Someone who died while seated was taken out of the house still in the chair, a hole kicked in a wall to make sure the deceased had no way of remembering the door out of which he was taken. Icelandic revenants have the curious habit of climbing onto roofs to kick shingles. They can be quieted by decapitation, coupled with reburial. The head should be placed beneath the corpse. Iceland also had a belief in Sabbatarians (those born on Saturday), holding that such persons are aided by a fetch or natal spirit, called fylgja, in the shape of a dog.

3. Strigoii: The most common species of vampire found in Romania, known as a "dead vampire" as compared with the "living" variety, the moroii. The strigoii (feminine strigoica) will consort with the moroii, who join the ranks of their undead cousins upon death. The ways of becoming a strigoii are traditionally numerous: suicide, witchcraft, criminal activities, perjury, death at the hand of a vampire, being the 7th son, being born with caul, having a cat jump over one's corpse, being stared at in the womb by a vampire, or dying unmarried with an unrequited love. Additionally, the ropes used in burial must be placed near the body and should not fall into the hands of a practitioner of black magic who might use them to turn a relative into a vampire. A body that is transforming into a strigoii will have its left left eye open and staring. The recommended preventative against such a change include a sickle stabbed through the heart of the corpse and the sticking of 9 spindles into the ground to pierce the creature as it rises. The strigoii's distinguishing features include red hair, blue eyes and the presence of 2 hearts.

Anyone else thinking Doctor Who here?

1. Alp: A German vampire-like spirit associated with the bogeyman and the incubus, normally tormenting the nights and dreams of women, although men and children are also victims. The creature's physical manifestations can be very dangerous. Long connected with the nightmare, the alp is considered male, sometimes the spirit of a recently deceased relative, and most often an actual demon. Children can become an alp when a mother uses a horse's collar to ease childbirth, obviously a local custom.
During the Middle Ages the alp was said to appear as a cat, pig, bird or other animal, including a lecherous demon dog seen in Cologne, thus linking the werewolf in with this legend as well. In all its manifestations the alp is known to wear a kind of hat. The spirit can fly like a bird, can ride like a horse and is credited with a certain gallant attitude, rarely forcing itself violently upon its prey. Entry is made through the victim's mouth, with the alp using its tongue, becoming a mist that enters or turning into a snake. Misery generally follows such occupation, as sexual relations with the monster are said to be terrible The alp drinks blood from the nipples of men and children but especially loves the taste of women's milk and that of cows.
Because it is so involved in terrors of the mind and sleep, the alp is virtually impossible to destroy. There are however, a number of methods available for protection and control. Women are told to sleep with their shoes at the side of their beds with the toes pointing towards the door. The alp is also protective of its own hat and if it is lost loses must of its power, especially its invisibility and strength. It thus rewards generously anyone who returns the hat. The alp must also safeguard its eye, for in that orb resides the means to torment the sleep of a victim, an attribute steeped in the traditions of the "evil eye."

2. Strix: A kind of screech owl known to the Romans, who attributed to it the ability to drink blood of young children. Over time, the name strix became associated more directly with vampirism, evolving probably into striges, a kind of witch vampire that was mentioned in various medieval laws and edicts. The striges supposedly could transform itself into the night bird.

3. Swawmx: A vampire deity long worshiped in Burma.
(yes, thats all the book says about the Swawmx, you got one really long entry and one really short one today )

Bad news, I no longer have internet at my apartment, so my posts depend on whether or not I can get to the bookstore with the free wifi. I am going to order net today but it will take some time before the setup stuff come in the mail :( sorry. Not having net makes me want to cry, annnd I nearly did last night. I did manage to get today's posts up, so here you go



1. Highgate Vampire: The modern case of hysteria, in which was widely reported that a vampire was living in Highgate Cemetery, London. An example of continuing public fascination with the undead, the Highgate Vampire first came to the public’s attention in March 1970, when the London Evening News reported that around one hundred people had taken part in a hunt the previous night for a vampire within the dark, moody confines of the cemetery. The focus of the media attention turned to David Farrant and Allan Blood, vampire experts who led the search. Both were convinced that a vampire was sleeping in one of the vaults and were determined to find it and kill it. While blamed for the desecration of tombs and arrested for trespass, Farrant was acquitted on the grounds that the cemetery was open to the public. As it is typical of such incidents, stories based on rumor and on unconfirmed sightings soon spread, and the tabloids and newspapers ran exploitive reports. No vampire was ever publicly discovered. One witness reported seeing a gaunt man in black leave the cemetery at night, and a nearby woman was supposedly a victim of the Highgate Vampire. Another expert, Sean Manchester, conducted own investigation of the affair.

2. Hiadam Vampires: Also Haidam, several vampires found in a village near the Hungarian border, who in 1720 were investigated by the officials of the Holy Roman Empire. The result was one of the best documented cases of vampirism of the time. It began one night at dinnertime when a soldier, billeted with a farming family, watched a stranger come into the house and take a place at the table - to the horror of the silent hosts. The following morning the farmer was found dead. Finally the family told the soldier that stranger had been the farmer’s father, dead for ten years. The trooper naturally reported this incident to his friends, and word reached the local general, Count de Cadreras, who undertook the formal investigation. Depositions were gathered, and the father exhumed, his corpse discovered perfectly preserved. Soon others came forward to report on other vampires: one had been dead for 30 years and had killed three family members; another, dead 16 years, had sucked the blood and life out of two of his sons. It was decided that each of these creatures had to be destroyed. The farmer’s father was decapitated, the second had a nail driven into his skull, and the third was cremated. A full account of these events were sent to Emperor Charles VI. Shocked, he ordered another investigation, this time by lawyers, surgeons and theologians. The count later described the case to a member of the faculty at the University of Fribourg.

3. Flies: Insects long associated with disease, filth and demonry that are often controlled by more powerful members of the undead. There is also a belief is some areas that vampires can transform themselves into flies, an idea stressing the diabolical nature of the vampire and its obvious ties to Satan, or Beelzebub, lord of the flies. The Russians made certain that when cremating a revenant all insects that flew out of the fire were captured and burned, to avoid the start of a new vampire cycle.

heyy this is awesome!
i've got this little obbsession with vampires && i was just looking up the origins of the legend for fun, im trying to pinpoint exactly where the first vampire myth started...so far ive come up with ancient greece but ive only just started my research on this particular topic. hopefully i'll be able to come up with an exact location && check it out in person one day. It would make my life if i manage to find a real life vamp hahah ill keep dreamin about it anyway....

you just made my day with this stuff. its all really fascinating.

Unfortunately there wont be any posts today. I don't have any of my books on me so I cant do one right now. I am really sorry, I just cant afford to drive to a wifi spot everyday. I called the net people and I get the internet hooked up at my place on the 5th, so until then the "everyday" posts will have to be cut down to the every few days posts. I'll post if I can, but money is pretty tight right now and gas is expensive, plus work is hell. Raawr...

*sigh* I hate not having the internet.

1. Yama: Yama, the god of death, was a Hindu vampiric deity who also appeared in the mythology of Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia. People were thought to become subject to Yuma because of the performance of evil deeds during their earthly life. Following death, the soul of such a person passed out of the body with the excreta rather than through the top of the head as it should. The soul, called pret, then spent a year wandering about in a state of unhappy restlessness while awaiting the final judgment of Yama. It was always thirsty because the god of water watched to keep it from drinking. During this period Yama attacked the pret, and living relatives would offer invocations to keep it free from beating and bruising. In Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia, Yuma was pictured as vampiric, complete with fangs and blood.

2. African American Vampires: The most definable vampire figure reported among African Americans was the fifollet, known to the residents of Louisiana. The fifollet, the traditional will-o-the-wisp (light seen at night over swamps areas), derived from the French incubus/succubus figure, was the soul of a dead person that had been sent back to earth by God to do penance, but instead attacked people. Most of the attacks were mere mischief, but on occasion, the fifollet became a vampire who sucked the blood of people, especially children. Some believed that the fifollet was the soul of a child that died before baptism.

3. Fleas: One of the insects or animals believed by many cultures, particularly the Slavs, to be a form into which a vampire could change itself. Part of the reason for this belief stemmed from the bloodsucking activities of fleas and their connection with filth. Ironically, the flea was a dangerous carrier of disease in many cultures, especially the plagues that were so crucial in nurturing the vampire hysteria over the centuries. The Russians held that when burning the corpse of a vampire, care should be taken not to allow any animals to escape from the body, including the flea, as such an escape would allow the vampire to be reborn.

I FINALLY got the internet! Finally! *mumbles* Stupid internet provider.
Anyway, the posts will resume tomorrow. Sorry about the huge lame delay :(

And I am back with the vampire posts. Yay! I did get a new vampire book, I got the revised edition of J. Gordon Melton's The Vampire Book. The other book I was using is much smaller and a lot of the entries left in it were about movies or books and no one really wants me to post that. This new book is HUGE, just about 1000 pages, but it also has a lot on movies and such, but I have been digging through it for new vampire facts. I will try to make this thread as long as I can. This new book is much more detailed and it is kind of tempting to redo some entries buut I probably wont.
This vampire book has an internet section with vampire links, but vampires.com isn't in it (Sire owns that as well) and its kinda sad. Oh well...onward!

1. Chiang-shih : (also called 'Kiang-shi') This terrifying vampire creature is said to be caused by either the demonic possession of a recently deceased corpse or by suicide or some other violent death. It has been documented in two forms: In one form it is a tall and murderous, walking corpse with green or white hair all over its body. This vampire has long, sharp claws, serrated teeth, glowering red eyes and foul breath which will knock you dead at twenty paces. In this form it will leap out of graves to attack people traveling at night and can also learn to fly if it survives long enough to mature properly. In its more usual form it can appear human and will not be recognized as a vampire until it does something that will give it away. For example, like the Slavic vampire, it is unable to cross running water, has the ability to transform into a wolf and is allergic to garlic.

2. Kali: A formidable goddess of India (the evil aspect of the supreme goddess Devi), who is the destructive, yet nurturing black earth mother, presiding over violent death, plagues, and all forms of annihilation. Kali is depicted most often as a blood drenched creature with dark hair, protruding tongue and 4 hands, each holding either a sword, shield, severed hand, strangling noose, severed head or nothing. Her arms upraised to give reassurance to her followers and except for a garland of skulls and girdle of hands, she is naked. The goddess is closely associated with blood for her battle with the demon Raktavija. In fighting him, she faced one thousand new versions of the demon every time a drop his blood struck the ground. To defeat Raktavija, she gored him with a spear and drank his blood. Thus some of her statues show her holding a demon's head. The followers of Kali sacrifice goats at her temple, particularly in the famed temple of Kalighat in Calcutta. Others, more extreme, were the Thugs of Thugees, who murdered as many as 30 thousand people. They garroted and strangled their victims as ritual sacrifices, breaking their bones for easier burial. While purged in the 19th century by the British, the Thugees made death and blood a lasting aspect of Kali worship.

3. Temple of the Vampire: The Temple of the Vampire is a religious organization that practices the religion of Vampirism. According to the temple, its faith is an ancient religion that has, through the centuries, been known by many names including the Order of the Dragon, the Temple of the Dragon, and the Temple of the Vampire Dragon Goddess Tiamat (ancient Sumeria). The modern public temple has attempted to locate those people who might be of the Blood - those who have realized their difference from the mass of humanity, who resonate with the Dark of the Night, who recognize themselves as predators, who know there is something more to life, and who wish to possess it.
According to the Temple, vampires exist as the predators of humans. Vampires emerge out of humanity and represent the next stage in evolution. Theirs is the religoin of the elite - the rulers. They believe that vampires created the religions of the world to ensure humanity's basic docility. The basic perspective of the temple is summarized in "The Vampire Creed":


____________________________________________________

Ooook...I think that like most religions this Vampire Temple is crazy. But it is in fact real and there are people that believe in it and believe they are vampires. The entry in the book is much longer, but sorry, I am not typing out information on an entire religion, its long and complicated. You can go to their website if you want to learn more, it is here. You should check out the faq...its...um, different. Now I try not to judge people based on their religion, personally I don't understand how anyone believes in any religion, it just doesn't make sense to me (I need real proof and such), but this is just... really high on my crazy meter.

1. Yara-ma-yha-who: An Aborigine vampire like creature. It was described as a little red man, approximately 4 feet tall, with an exceptionally large head and mouth. It had no teeth, it simple swallowed its food whole. Its most distinguishing features, however, were its hands and feet. The tips of the fingers and toes were shaped like the suckers of an octopus.
The Yara-ma-yha-who lived in the tops of wild fig trees. It did not hunt for food, but waited until unsuspecting victims sought shelter under the tree and then dropped on them. The story of the Yara-ma-yha-who was told to young children who might wander from the tribe, and naughty children were warned that it might come and take them away.
When a person camped under a fig tree, a Yara-ma-yha-who might jump down and place its hands and feet on the body. It would then drain the blood from the victim to the point that the person was left weak and helpless, but rarely enough, at least initially, to cause the victim to die. The creature would later return and consume its meal. It then drank water and took a nap. When it awoke, the undigested portion of its meal would be regurgitated. According to the story, the person regurgitated was still alive, and children were advised to offer no resistance should it be their misfortune to meet a Yara-ma-yha-who. Their chances of survival were better if they let the creature swallow them.
People might be captured on several occasions. Each time, they would grow a little shorter until they were the same size as the Yara-ma-yha-who. Their skin would first become very smooth and then they would begin to grow hair all over their body. Gradually they were changed into one of the mythical little furry creatures of the forest.

2. Vampidzhija: Also called djadadjii. Bulgarian vampire hunters. They tended to operate in a more traditional fashion. Their main task seemed to have been to locate the particular grave that held a resting vampire's body. In this task they used an icon, a holy picture in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. After locating the vampire, the villagers would impale it or burn it.

3. Vampire Research Society: The Vampire Research Society was founded February 2, 1970 by Sean Manchester to investigate all aspects of supernatural vampire phenomena. At the time of its founding, Manchester was the director of an occult investigation bureau, now defunct. During the first 2 decades of its existence, the society was an open membership group that claimed approximately 300 members. However, in 1990 (by which time there were several other vampire interest groups functioning in England) the society decided to restrict membership and to concentrate on practical research. It confines itself to investigating possible paranormal manifestations, and does not have ties to the larger vampire subculture, the society in unconcerned with medical disorders, individuals wanting to become vampires, and non conventional behavior (such as blood drinking) associated with vampires.
The Vampire Research Society is the official United Kingdom advisory service on all matters pertaining to vampires and vampirism. Membership is by invitation only. Interested persons are welcome to correspond (overseas correspondents should include and International Reply Coupon). The Vampire Research Society may be reached at PO Box 524, Highgate, London N6 6BG, United Kingdom.

As sad as it is to say, I am running out of new entries. Most of what is left in the books I am getting these facts from are entries on movies and books. There are about 509830958398509380 different vampire movies and books and I wont be posting any of that since most of us already know about many of those. I assume everyone knows Bram Stoker's Dracula, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Anne Rice, Lost Boys...etc. so there really isn't any point going into extreme detail with those. Sorry, but this thread may be dead now. On my next day off I will give my books a good going through and try to pick up some new interesting facts I may have missed. If I cant find any good ones then this may be the last post in this thread.

all very informative and thankyou for posting :)

Its interestign how things change over the years. For example. My paternal grandmother was VERY supersticious. But a horse shoe over her door was simply to bring good luck into the house. If it was hung upside down it was a bad omen as all the good luck would 'fall out'.

Im a practicing witch, yet I have worked closely with horses and would still use a horse shoe as a good luck symbol.

If you PM me moonlight I can recommend some further books if you are interested or if you havent already had them :)

this was very informative, thanks for posting this!!

All interesting, thank you very much. :) Hope you find more to post!

Wonderful info. Thanks for sharing.

You are very smart and interesting....

Sorry guys, the facts will have to wait until tonight. I have been busy alllllllllllllllllllllllllll day and this is the first time I have sat down all day. I have to run off to the store soon so I cant type out the facts right now. Sorry.

And just wondering, who reads this? Just curious.
[/quote]

She's reading from a book.

Are you saying I am stupid and boring Kidding.

He is right though, as i've said a few times before, I am copying all this straight from books.

Shit, I didn't think of it being taken that way when I posted that. I merely meant that you were relaying the information, not coming up with it.

Sorry about that.

Haha. No problem, I know what you meant. I was just teasing a bit Sorry.