i know about vlad the impaler as the root for dracula, but what are the other origins as the myth, wat kinds out vampires are there supposed 2 be and what what cultures have them

p.s. also, i think that part of the myth came from some1 with obsessive compulsive disorder, due to the fact that if in the pressence of a vamp. if u spill something like marbles it must pick them all up and count them (a lesser known vamp. myth) wich sounds like something some1 with OCD would do.

The ancient Egyptians believed the souls of the dead could return as vampires. And a Chaldean epic of the third millennium B.C. portrays the goddess Ishtar, who goes to the underworld to find her son/lover Tammuz, declaring:

"I will cause the dead to arise and devour the living."

didn't the egyptians believe the sun was a god as well ?

vampires originated in myths, fiction and bed time stories

I believe the myth of the Vampire came from long ago during high magical times. There were those that "sucked the energy" out of people, psychic vampires....there were those that fed off of the energy of other and deliberately drained them....

I understand that some of the oldest vampire stories originated in the middle east. I also have heard of vampire stories from ancient China, but I have not specifically read any of those.

Somebody once posted a link with literally hundreds of Nation's FolkLore's equivalence of vampires... I’ll start looking for it now
Yeah, and about spilling marbles...I’ve never heard about marbles, but The Japanese version’s vampire needs to count every grain of spilt purified salt, whilst the European version's vampire cannot step over it.
Who here has seen Fanck's Noferatu? (i think it was Fanck...)
In the end the old guy who became a vampire...it cracks me up... he is surrounded by salt, and the sun is coming through the curtains, so he calls for the maid to sweep it up and the very second that the tiniest bit has been moved, he squeezes between the salt and the wall to get past...
Anyway...

Ummm.Just how does Vlad the Impaler turn into someone who can use magic,fly,turn into animals,hypnotise, and say he is one returned from the dead?
The Visitors have all of that,no human ever did. Watch the old Noserfatu movie and see their depiction of a vampire.Exaggerated of course.
The tooth fairy (medical) ,the Sandman (hypnosis),Santa Claus (nocturnal visitor) the boogeyman (Bugeye man) all are visitations,mostly concerned with the young,see?

Hmmm, well i think the origins of vampires goes farther back then most of the first civilizations........../ But w/e, May-be "Vampires" Are an alien Race that landed on earth?!?!?!?

Umm.. St George... No offence but i have no Idea what your talking about

The 'vampire' has been around for ages.
Some sites like to credit this or that without reading.Some like to combine and shuffle only to make it seem like 'bedtime stories' and the like.
The vampire has always been taken from one point upto the 'movie' vampire because of these writings.Making them mere fantasy.
Vampirism then became a medical condition to explain the properties of people that were seen with vampiric like abilities and features.
It then lead towards the movie vampire because of the goth scene and not taken as a serious and real thing.

I know I didnt say were the origin came from,instead I just put down a timeline of what is thought of them.
Do they exist?I believe so.Have I seen one.Yes I have.Many

SMR: Yeah, about that Disease your refering to, I dunno what its called but:
Its the lack of heamoglobin. (heamoglobin is the Iron in red blood cells used to collect and transport oxygen)

Due to the the lack of heamoglobin, the person cannot 'tan' their skin, so are pale, and if they do go in the sunlight they would burn easily, so tend to stay indoors.
Due to the lack of oxygen to burn as fuel, they have a lack of energy, so are generally very thin, and have receeded lips, constantly exposing their teeth.
The easiest way to 'cure' the symptoms (used to be) to drink blood high in iron, but there are suppliments people can take nowadays.

I have links somewhere discribing these medical conditions.I will look for them in the thousands I have and post some findings and acurate terms.
It looks like you have some knowledge on the subject and I thank you for backing up my small contrabution on the subject.

hehe, no probs...
I dunno how accurate this is, (let alone understand it) but:


Another medical condition attributed to vampires publicly aired by Professor David Dolphin in 1982 is that they could be suffering from a congenital blood disorder known as iron-deficiency porphyria now dubbed "Dracula Disease". The metabolism of sufferers is very inefficient in combining iron with complex compounds called porphyrins to yield haem, an much needed component of the blood pigment haemoglobin. The disease results in their skin becoming increasingly impregnated with iron-free porphyrins, which are stimulated by daylight to incite a chain of reactions causing skin lesions and other disfigurements. To avoid this sufferers tend to only come out at night - they also suffer from gum tightening which causes the teeth to protrude - giving them vampire-like appearance and habits. Even more fascinating is that garlic activates a killer enzyme which destroys that which is most valuable to them - the precious haem which their bodies is lacking -hence they are pretty much allergic to it!

If all of you are familiar to the coming of the the tale of Frankenstein bear with me but I will make a short summary. Mary Shelley, and her husband Percibal went and had a getaway at the famous poet Lord Byron's estate. And you know they were challenged to make a horror story. Percival made a cruddy ghost story i think it resembled Phantom of the Opera. Mary came up with Frankienstein. and the servant of Lord Byron came up with a Vampire story. I believe this was one of the first legends/poems about Vampires?

Please correct me if Im wrong

The Navajo Prophet

It is not a story,there were outbreaks of this phenomenna in Europe.Back then,it was quite primitive. You had thatched roofs and a fire going.Someone was always supposed to stay awake on watch. Starting a fire,especially if it was damp out,is very difficult and time consuming. You watch these vampire movies and they show these "mansions" with multi levels and glass windows! No,the windows did not open,they can go right through!
Stay up at nights and you will see some things. In my case,they will not let me sleep and wait until everything is quiet.

[edit on 23-8-2004 by stgeorge]

[edit on 23-8-2004 by stgeorge]

I guess you would have to narrow your criteria to get an answer. Are we talking undead that feed on the living or are we talking people with medical conditions. I bet you were talking about the undead that feed on the living.

mankinds original boogeymen were goblins and demons - a natural , agricultural culture with little to no technology , they had natural fears based in religion and passed on by word of mouth, 95% of the populaiton was illiterate

then came vampires and werewolves, the need for a new boogyman came from new belief systems, new cultures, new religions.


modern man has added a techno-boogieman, space aliens. its the same idea, only each culture puts a different spin on it.

Gear: Your very right. The disease is known as porphyria. Causes like you said, an aversion to sunlight, tightened gums and a garilc allergy. I cant remember the exact details but because they lack a certain enzyme their teeth are stained red too, which would explain why people thought they sucked blood. Thats where the myth of vampires as we know them today originated from, but the concept of "energy suckers" or "half humans" has been around much longer.