The earliest appearance of the word “vampire,” at least an etymological descendant of it, occurred in a 1047 letter to a Novgorodian prince (Novgorod being a province in Northwestern Russia, north of Moscow and seat of power in medieval Russia), addressing him as an “Upir Lichyj” (Wicked Vampire). In the strictest sense, the term “vampire” refers to the Eastern European legend of the undead coming back to life and sucking the blood of the living. This legend became so propagated in Europe, even during the Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment, that corpses were frequently decapitated before burial…just to make sure. Regardless, the reason why the walking dead fiend is so prevalent in our culture is undoubtedly Bram Stoker’s masterful reworking of the Eastern European legend, mixing it with real-life accounts of, most famously, Vlad Tepes/the Impaler (who called himself Vlad III Dracula), and Elizabeth Bathory, nicknamed The Blood Countess. Many of you know the crimes with which these figures have been accused of (I believe I’ve written about them as well). Lady Bathory was supposed to have killed as many as 600 young girls, using their blood (either by bathing or drinking) to keep her youth. Vlad Tepes has been charged with acts ranging from the murder of foreign dignitaries, to cannibalism, to mass executions and torture.
Each of these villainous historical figures are purported to have committed the greatest of cultural taboos: cannibalism, at least in some form. The historical Dracula was accused of dining on his victims amongst those he executed by means of impalement. Bathory was said to actively bathe in the blood of young virginal girls, as well as drinking the liquid, in order to preserve her beauty. Because of the already-present fear of vampires prevalent in Eastern Europe, these deeds undoubtedly struck a chord with the Transylvanian populace, who lived in fear of folk legends as if they were factual. The vampire is the apex of everything inhuman in our fears and imaginations. It defies death, the ultimate eventuality of life, which holds a special finality for the almost universally Christian Romania of medieval Europe. It is able to control our minds and thoughts as it seeks the supreme sin of cannibalism. It is not a mindless slave, uncontrollable beast, or malicious trickster like some other traditional folk villains; it is a cold, absolutely evil being beyond the bounds of life and death, and by implication, beyond the control of God. Whether one believes on Heaven and Hell or karma-driven reincarnation, if a being cannot die, it cannot be exposed to the divine justice of the afterlife. Combined with this, the act so sucking fluid through a bite to an erogenous zone had an inherent sexual connotation that became terrifying in the context of the vampire. This made a vampire attack akin to a rape, and what could be worse than being (song title coming up) raped by the undead? When actual humans began to show similarities in behavior to creatures who are able to defy natural laws in order to pursue malevolent ends, it surely struck a cord with the local populace. Bram Stoker recognized these innate fears and wrote them into his landmark novel. Granted, his Dracula bears little resemblance to the historical Vlad, but Stoker did spend many years studying vampire legends and probably incorporated the bloodthirst present in his vampires from Lady Bathory.
The Countess Bathory – Bathing in the blood of the innocent since 1585
There are those who believe that Vlad and Countess Bathory are the victims of not only propaganda by their contemporaries, but also the continuation of their exaggerated deeds by modern scholars and laymen alike, who perhaps wish to propagate the vampire myth with tales of their horrendous, blood-soaked sin. This is nonsense. To suggest that these murderers are victims in any way is a symptom of historical apologists and sanitation. Some have even suggested that Bathory was a victim of a cruel husband and a sexist society that manufactured her crimes in order to overthrow her. It is true that her husband, who died before the Countess’ reign of terror really began, was a sadistic nobleman who had a penchant for creative torture methods. However, to insinuate that Bathory was some kind of “modern woman” who fell to society’s ills borders on insanity. I find it disturbing that we are so willing to dismiss disturbing, outrageously violent events in history just because they are disturbing and outrageously violent. Accounts of Lady Bathory bathing in blood are far less outlandish than any version of Jeffery Dahmer’s sex-charge cannibalistic killing spree. In centuries to come, will we view the crimes of 20th century serial killers as the products of exaggeration and sensationalism? I hope not. The extent of Bathory’s crimes is mostly due to her status as a noble and the inability of local authorities to take any action against the then-untouchable aristocracy. If a peasant says that a noblewoman kidnapped and murdered her daughter, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Vlad III Dracula: Played by Sacha Baron Cohen in an upcoming biopic? Maybe that guy from Gogol Bordello?
Vlad is a more complicated subject. Much of what we know about his atrocities comes from pamphlets published by the Holy Roman Empire; his enemies. The pamphlets were published for the purpose of propaganda and intended to inspire fear and hatred for the prince. These documents describe Vlad’s supposed cannibalistic tendencies, as well as a host of other inhuman traits. However, he remains a lauded folk hero in Romania for his strength and his ability to fend off the Ottoman Empire, a nation who also viewed Vlad with contempt. His “strength” as a ruler is perhaps derived from his cruelty, but that is speculation. Did he impale as many as 10,000 people at a time? Doubtful. Did he “dine” amongst those he executed? Probably not. Did he drink the blood and devour the flesh of his victims in a mockery of the Christian sacrament of communion? Again, unlikely. However, did he leave bodies impaled on stakes for months on end? This seems equally morbid and unlikely, but consider the actions of other European powers when using execution as punishment. Romans left the dead on crucifixes until they fell off from decay and medieval European nations left corpses hung in the gallows in a similar fashion (unless they were particularly reviled, in which case their bodies were dismembered and the parts sent to various highly populated areas for maximum viewing potential). It is far more likely that Vlad, like his medieval and classical counterparts, kept the executed bodies unburied as a warning. Vlad, having so many enemies and living in a region surrounded by hostile armies, probably knew the benefit of propaganda himself. Hell, he might have promoted the stories about him in order to incite fear in the very people those pamphlets were intended to reach. In my opinion, convincing a group of people that your enemy is a ruthless tyrant with not only the will, but the ability to execute tens of thousands of people on his whim is not the most effective method of brining others to your side.
The propaganda concerning these figures surely led to the continuation of their legend in both folktale and traditional fiction. It is also probable that, because these fictions and folktales exist, we are less likely to believe in the real-life atrocities that are associated with them. It is ironic that while many legends are based on fact, we have come to view these legends in such a skeptical light that we refuse to believe that factual events have taken place. Am I suggesting that the undead have, in fact, risen from the grave to stalk the living? No, I just wish people would not be so quick to discount the extraordinary just because it defies convention. Quite a tall order, I realize.
Still, there are numerous factual causes, beyond the historical, for the propagation of the vampire myth. For one, several diseases have been proposed to be the source of the myth, or at least some elements of it. Rabies, for example, can cause inhuman, violent behavior and the frothing at the mouth occasionally appears red, as if the infected has been drinking blood. A victim of the disease may even avoid sunlight and his or her own reflection. However, these observations are anecdotal and there is little to no evidence to suggest that rabies is the source for certain characteristics of vampires. There is also a rare psychological disorder called clinical vampirism (also known as Renfield Syndrome) where the victim has a pathological need to drink blood, either human or animal. However, I am not sure whether this disorder goes back to before the time when vampire fiction and legend were universal, or, as the name suggests, a product of the inundation of vampire lore in our culture, especially Stoker’s tale.
One of the main sources behind the continuation of vampire stories is various reports of people finding “vampires” in graves. This is mostly due to the lack of understanding of the decomposition process that people had during the time when digging up a person’s grave to check if he or she was a vampire was common. Corpses decay at a variety of rates due to a variety of factors and internal decomposition was probably not apparent to villagers in medieval Europe. For one, corpses are likely to expand due to the buildup of gases, especially around the belly. People who had dug up supposed vampires described the alleged undead to appear more “plump” and well-fed than the person had been in life, giving the appearance that the deceased had, in fact, been feasting from beyond the grave. Now, a standard way to kill or at least subdue a vampire is to drive a stake through its heart; imagine what a wooden stake would do to a carcass that is bloated from decomposition. The body would not only burst forth with a plethora of fluid, again giving the impression that the deceased had “fed,” but would also produce a variety of gastronomic reactions. These range from gases escaping the throat and anus (resulting in what one vampire investigator called “wild signs which I pass by out of high respect") to actual movement of the body itself. Decomposition could have caused the body to contort before the casket was even opened, which probably spooked those exhuming the grave. Gas build up can also cause blood to exit from the nose and mouth, giving more evidence to the “corpse has fed” belief. Finally, the loss of moisture due to decay can cause the gums, hair follicles, and cuticles to recede, giving the impression of hair, nail, and teeth growth. Morbid.
I’ve jabbered long enough. I will get to the folk traditions of European vampires and their undead corollaries in other cultures in the next entry.
On a side note, this is my hundredth blog entry. Granted, some were rather short and many more were rather worthless, but it is a centennial event all the same. In celebration, I think I’ll go eat and listen to some metal.
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