Vampires! Do they exist?

Was watching "Interview with a Vampire" last nite that got me all think, does Vampire exsist or is it a sickness that the medical world claims?

I hear alot of stories about how Anne Rice having chats with Lestat (the vampire himself) tho.


[Edited on 4-7-2003 by damefool]

[Edited on 4-7-2003 by damefool]

I'm here aren't I.


I do believe they existed. Whether or not they still exist is beyond me. I'd like to think so. But I believe that a lot of the stuff about vampires is crap. Just made up. I believe they were a "race" of people at one time.


Nightwalker

Originally posted by Nightwalker
I'm here aren't I.

I do believe they existed. Whether or not they still exist is beyond me. I'd like to think so. But I believe that a lot of the stuff about vampires is crap. Just made up. I believe they were a "race" of people at one time.


Nightwalker

What about all the blood drinking and being able to live for hundreds of years?

I undestand their's a kind (race) of people who have craves for blood like-tomato taste, but being able to live
thur decents, thats something I have serious doubts.

I dont know about the "gothic" aspects of vampires (IE, living only at night, drinking blood, ect), however, the immortality part I believe is a possibility.

Telomeres are a genetic "defect" in the human DNA, that essentially serves to act as a time bomb... they tell your DNA when to stop dividing and reproducing, and once that happens, you live on what cells you have, which die off eventually never to be replaced, until you die of old age.

freedom.orlingrabbe.com...

I can believe that some individuals throughout history have been born with no telomeres, or some genetic mutation deactivates thier telomeres... if this were to happen, thier DNA would go on reproducing almost indeffinitely, which means at least a far extended lifespan, if not an endless one.

Also,

you might research Porphyria.

Porphyria: The Vampire Disease

This disease is actually a collective name for seven rare diseases that were first identified in the nineteenth century. The Porphyrias are metabolic disorders caused by an enzyme deficiency that inhibits the synthesis of heme. Heme is the iron containing pigment in hemoglobin. The more extreme forms of Porphyria are characterized by an extreme sensitivity to light. In addition, skin lesions may develop and the teeth become brown or reddish-brown in color. The gums recede and give the canine teeth a "fang-like" look. Certain chemicals, especially those found in garlic, can make the symptoms of Porphyria worsen. The name Porphyria comes from the Greek porphyros, meaning reddish-purple and refers to a substance found in the blood and urine of a person with the disease.

In 1964, L. Illis' article, "On Porphyria and the Aetiology of Werewolves" suggested that Porphyria could account for the reports of werewolves. In 1985, David Dolphin presented a paper to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and suggested the Porphyria might explain the reports of vampires. He noted that one treatment for the disease was the injection of heme. Dolphin further suggested that people suffering from Porphyria in past centuries attempted to drink the blood of others as a means of relieving their symptoms. This recessive genetic disorder was especially prevalent among nobleman in eastern Europe because royalty had a tendency to marry within the same family. Dolphin's ideas were widely publicized and were the subject of much debate.

Many critiqued Dolphin's theory and noted that there was no evidence that drinking blood would help the symptoms of Porphyria. The coverage Porphyria received from the media caused great distress to the patients suffering from the disease since the publicity connected them to vampirism. Their distress was further increased when several popular television shows were created with the idea of Porphyria patients exhibiting vampiric behavior.

The debate over the disease continued for several years, but Dolphin's ideas were eventually dismissed. Some Porphyria patients in recent years have felt embarrassed and inconvenienced as a result of the highly speculative theory that the disease and vampirism are somehow linked. It's important not to assume Porphyria patients are vampires.

Source: Melton, J. Gordon. The Vampire Book. Michigan: Visible Ink Press, 1999.
Smith, Kalila. Journey Into Darkeness-Ghosts and Vampires of New Orleans. Louisiana: De Simonin Publications, 1998.
Stevenson, Jay. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vampires. Indiana: Alpha Books, 2002

Originally posted by Valhall
Also,

you might research Porphyria.

Porphyria: The Vampire Disease

This disease is actually a collective name for seven rare diseases that were first identified in the nineteenth century. The Porphyrias are metabolic disorders caused by an enzyme deficiency that inhibits the synthesis of heme. Heme is the iron containing pigment in hemoglobin. The more extreme forms of Porphyria are characterized by an extreme sensitivity to light. In addition, skin lesions may develop and the teeth become brown or reddish-brown in color. The gums recede and give the canine teeth a "fang-like" look. Certain chemicals, especially those found in garlic, can make the symptoms of Porphyria worsen. The name Porphyria comes from the Greek porphyros, meaning reddish-purple and refers to a substance found in the blood and urine of a person with the disease.

In 1964, L. Illis' article, "On Porphyria and the Aetiology of Werewolves" suggested that Porphyria could account for the reports of werewolves. In 1985, David Dolphin presented a paper to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and suggested the Porphyria might explain the reports of vampires. He noted that one treatment for the disease was the injection of heme. Dolphin further suggested that people suffering from Porphyria in past centuries attempted to drink the blood of others as a means of relieving their symptoms. This recessive genetic disorder was especially prevalent among nobleman in eastern Europe because royalty had a tendency to marry within the same family. Dolphin's ideas were widely publicized and were the subject of much debate.

Many critiqued Dolphin's theory and noted that there was no evidence that drinking blood would help the symptoms of Porphyria. The coverage Porphyria received from the media caused great distress to the patients suffering from the disease since the publicity connected them to vampirism. Their distress was further increased when several popular television shows were created with the idea of Porphyria patients exhibiting vampiric behavior.

The debate over the disease continued for several years, but Dolphin's ideas were eventually dismissed. Some Porphyria patients in recent years have felt embarrassed and inconvenienced as a result of the highly speculative theory that the disease and vampirism are somehow linked. It's important not to assume Porphyria patients are vampires.

Source: Melton, J. Gordon. The Vampire Book. Michigan: Visible Ink Press, 1999.
Smith, Kalila. Journey Into Darkeness-Ghosts and Vampires of New Orleans. Louisiana: De Simonin Publications, 1998.
Stevenson, Jay. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vampires. Indiana: Alpha Books, 2002

Thanx Valhall, but what about the part where they livedthur centuries?

Little did u know, the word 'Vampire', until now unknown, became used as a term for the very first time in 1726, following thousands of reports of vampirism due to the plague. It was first coined in German as "Vanpir" in a report of one case of vampirism. This evolved into "vampyre" in 1732 (used in French) and finally into the English word "Vampire" later that same year.

I guess you would have to read more than one post

That is also addressed in this thread.

Originally posted by Valhall
I guess you would have to read more than one post

That is also addressed in this thread.

I did. Often the Vampires lived thur a few hundred years, and it's all because of some defected DNA?

Don't know what you want from me, Damefool. All I can tell you is that I have first hand knowledge of some one who suffers from porphyria cutanea tarda, and I have first hand knowledge of hearing a hemotologist explain that THIS disease (which will cause the "fanged look" and the teeth to turn red under ultraviolet light (hello, that's SUNLIGHT) was the origin of the "vampire legend" because it was found CENTURIES ago that phlebotomies would alleviate the symptoms. There is a good reason for this. Sufferers of this disease have "dirty blood"; blood that the porphyrins build up in.

In a normal person, the production of porphyrins are expelled through the urine, and the sweat glands...and no big deal. In a sufferer of porphyria, so many porphyrins build up in the blood stream that the urine cannot expell all of them (one symptom of a porphyric is that the urine looks like cherry kool-aid - that's the porphyrins) nor can the sweat glands. So what happens is the porphyrins "pool up" in the skin. Porphyrins cannot react well to ultraviolet light (the sun). So when these "pools" of porphyrins are subjected to the sun, great hideous lesions appear. And I do mean great hideous lesions...ones where you would AVOID DIRECT SUNLIGHT AT ALL COSTS.

REMEMBER, I AM SPEAKING FROM FIRST HAND KNOWLEGE.

Apparently, according to the hemotologist, it was found (around the time of the Count of Transylvania - who is alledged to have suffered from this genetic disease) that therapeutic phlebotomies help.

The reason being that it is a cyclically degenerative condition. The porphyrins are basically poisonous to the liver (it can't metabolize them). As the porphyrin concentration increases, liver damages occurs, and so the cycle degenerates. The only thing that has been found to alleviate symptoms (temporarily) is a therapeutic phlebotomy (drain blood out of the body).

FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE - TO THIS DAY, THE BEST TREATMENT TO ALLEVIATE SYMPTOMS OF THIS DISEASE IS THERAPEUTIC PHLEBOTOMIES. Sufferers of this disease go in about every 3 months have blood (quite a bit, like when you are giving blood) taken out. That causes the liver to produce new non-gimped-up-blood, which helps until the body poisons it with porphyrins again.

THE FANGS, THE RED TEETH, THE LESIONS CAUSED BY THE SON, AND THE INTAKING OF BLOOD (the hemotologist stated that at first it was believed the DRINKING of blood) all led this disorder to be called the "vampire disease".

THAT's what I know.

Thanx for the insight Valhall.

Here's some legend old myth I came across about the history of Vampires.

The history of the vampire begins In ancient Persia, where a vase was discovered depicting a man struggling with a huge creature which is trying to suck his blood. Then, in Babylonian myth a deity known for drinking the blood of babies, Lilitu or "Lilith", was discovered. She was reputedly the first wife of Adam according to old Hebrew texts removed from the Old Testament, and left her husband due to his sexual ineptitude, becoming the Queen of Demons and Evil spirits. In China during the 6th century BC, traces of the "Living Dead", or revenants as they are known, were also found. More legends continued throughout all the world, including India, Malaysia, Polynesia and the lands of the Aztecs and Eskimos. According to the Aztecs, the offering of a young victims blood to the Gods ensured the fertilization of the earth. But truly, the vampire proper originates from European civillization...ancient Greece to begin with. There were numerous bloodthirsty Goddesses in both Roman ang Greek mythology, known as Lamiae, Empusae and Striges. These names eventually evolved into the general terms for Witches,Demons and Vampires. But these Vampires, though they do drink blood, were only Goddesses...not "living Dead", but disembodied divinities capable of taking on human appearances so that they might seduce their victims. As time passed on, and Christianity grew in popularity, the redemptive value of blood became apparant. Holy Communion, which includes drinking wine symbolizing Christ's blood and Bread symbolizing his flesh was at times taken quite literally. Some people, confusing pagan beliefs with transubstantiation (the actualy presence of Christ's flesh and blood during Communion) took part in feasting on human flesh and drinking human blood. During the 11th Century, witches and doctors alike prescribed virgin blood to cure all illnesses. Also during this time, some corpses found intact all over Europe began a huge vampire scare. The belief came about that people who died without a chance to receive last rites,or those who had commited suicide or had been excommunicated were destined to return to the earth as revenants. Various accounts of the discovery of Vampires can be read in books such as The Diabolical Dictionary (Dictionnaire Infernal) by the Bishop of Cahors; the Courtiers Triflings(De Nugis Curialium) by Walter Map, and the History of England(Historia Rerum Anglicarum) written by William of Newburgh. The phenomenon of Vampirism continued through the Renaissance era only sporadically, but again grew to epidemic proportions in the 14th Century, mainly in central European Regions of Prussia, Silesia and Bohemia. The bubonic plague was thought to be the work of Vampires and panic of infection led people to bury their dead without completely verifying that they were truly deceased. It was then no wonder that so many encounters of Vampires rising from their graves during this time were noted. A person, buried alive, would try to claw his way out of the grave and would be discovered covered in blood from the wounds he had inflicted upon himself by doing so. This, of course, would label him as a vampire.

Wow.

That's pretty interesting research damefool.

You Always Learn something new here.

It seems Cannabalism and Vampirism are pretty closely related. They both have the intent of consuming the internal content of a humanbeing.

Cannibalism is probably thousands of years older than Vampirism though.
I read in an article recently that scientists think that some Neanderthal Man may have been cannibals. And even in the News, we here about Cannibalism in Africa, especialy in the Congo where Rebels have been documented to Fry Pygmies over Open Harth. (No Joke).
Read this Link!: www.stevequayle.com...

Vampires...

Is it all just a disease, or is it all simply true?

If itis a disease, then why hasn;t anything been done to cure this disease or to bring those afflicted with it into the public "spotlight"? Surely, an illness of this magnitude would bring alarm to any health organization as being something that would/could cause world-wide epidemics. Think about it: if a person contracts this 'virus' and then goes through some kind of 'mutation', wether on the cellular, molecular, physical, or spiritual level - or any combination of the aforementioned, which causes the afflicted to suffer the affects of requiring blood to survive, severe physical consequences to the exposure of sunlight or UV light, a 'dead-like' appearance, and/or loss in normal body temperature, wouldn't this draw the attention of world-wide media, screaming for help and a cure? Wouldn't millions of people at least want to control the spread of such a 'virus' by any means necessary? And wouldn't those afflicted want some kind of help?

Now, suppose that 'vampirism' isn't just a condition brought on by a 'virus' - suppose that vampires really do exist but have become selective in who they choose as 'prey', selecting only those that are either willing to 'forfiet' some of thier blood through sterile conditions so as not to become 'infected', or those that would make suitable 'members' of their 'race'. It is extremely possible, and plausable that vampires have been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years. It could be assumed that if such a 'race' has survived they would have some sort of collective 'treasury' to which would have grown well in advance of the national debt - thus making it possible for a vampire 'race', 'nation' to co-exist with modern government solely on the mutual financial gains that could be attained. This would also explain any secrecy or 'mis-information' that has been prevailant for so long.

But, of course, this is all speculation...

My post was not about a virus. My post was about a congenital blood disorder that is not communicable.

I think modern day vampires exist because people believe themselves into being one. Just like succubus and incubus, people actually believe they are and so they do the things that would fall under those catagories.

There are criminals I've read about that have modern day vampire type tendencies. Very creepy and very alarming, but no different then certain criminals who eat the people they kill. Or store their body parts in the freezer. Or do other horrific things! It's an illness, a mental one. If you believe yourself to be something long enough, then you will..pretty scarey. Or maybe there's something more to it that we just don't know??
Magestica

Ha ha, there are vampires out there but obviously not the Hollywood kind. Read Lucifer Dethroned by William and Sharon Schnoebelen for further details.............

There are vampires, to a point.

Some people are allergic to sunlight. They die if go out into the sun. Vampire part one.

A type of blood disease that back in the old days was thought to be cured by drinking healthy human blood. vampire part two.

Bat into human and vice versa. Magicians can turn into hot women, so why not a bat? Vampire part three.

Pale skin. Well, first one and second one explain that, for if sun kills or are sick, don't really want to go out among the masses during the day, and so less contact with sun, pale skin. Also albinos. Sorry, pigment impaired.

Anyways, vampires could also be aliens. They spread across the universe for new blood and victims.

Though all these instances would explain the origins of the myth of vampires they do not explain the phenomenon it's self. I find it very unlikely that a separate race or a sub-race of mutants could exist for so long without ever being found out. And if vampires were Aliens why would they need the blood of humans? They would have evolved on their own planet and therefor would not have come in contact with human blood till they arrived here. So how would they have survived until that point? Perhaps it was simply a group of crazies back in the middle ages and the myth just snow balled form their.

That leads to one of my many qusestions.

Would you like to turn in to a vampire??

I think I would like the idea of being one since all vampires got some sort of a special charisma!

Originally posted by damefool


Would you like to turn in to a vampire??

hell, no. I'm rather obnoxious enough as a human
and Valhall, your posts on this subject are facinating. thank you for sharing your first hand knowledge and experiences!
and, I ran across this website a while back: www.drinkdeeplyanddream.com.... I'm not sure if it's facinating, scary, or just nuts. probably a bit of all of the above