Were-Wolf and Vampire in Romania by Harry A. Senn

They could change into a bat or wolf, which were also considered “evil” creatures. Vampires were vile, evil, sometimes thought to be a creature of the devil.

They were “as pale as death.” The clothes were those they wore when buried, and often became tattered rags by the time the vampire was disposed of for good. Nighttime was the appointed hour of the vampire, the sunlight, or light in general, being a great aversion. Not that I’ve ever had a conversation with a dead person, mind you, but I can imagine that they were not the brightest of folks. The vampire had fangs, if not a whole mouth of unusually sharp teeth (easier to rip you apart, my dear) and has the intelligence of…well…a dead person. The vampire was almost always a person who has died, and for one reason or another, has returned from the dead…usually to haunt the people they knew in life. The image of the vampire has changed in more recent beliefs. Only two answered that the vampire (bat) does exist, or that it ever did! I was surprised to learn that the bat was named after the vampire of folklore, not the other way around! I have included their answers in statistics, as vampires bats are a kind of vampire, they do drink (or rather lap up) their victims blood! Of these three, all answered that vampires do indeed fly, and that they have an interest in vampires. Of the 64 informants, only three of them answered that the only kind of vampire was the Vampire Bat of Central and South America. Most also had fangs, in order to draw out the blood. Most of the creatures were of the night, sunlight being harmful or fatal. The reasons for this partaking varied, such as needing the blood to remain animated to blood drinking just being a really bad habit.

I studied characteristics, creation, and what approaches people took when faced with the vampire.īasically, of all the vampire forms I studied, they all in some way fed on the life-force of their victims, usually the victim’s blood. I researched the lore throughout history, finding that most cultures have some form of vampire. I surveyed sixty-four people, ages 6 to sixty-three, of many ethnic backgrounds. I wondered what people thought of them now compared to yesteryear. In researching the vampire lore, I attempted to find out just how different they are. The vampire of today is, for the most part, quite different from the one of ancient times. The vampire has held its place in superstition as long as any other creature.

Were-Wolf and Vampire in Romania by Harry A. Senn