What is a Vampire? Vampire roaming the earth tonight, both similar and different from what you might expect. Certainly, is better to start our discussion undead, as if they were separate species of living beings is superficially similar to humans, which once were, but representing a myriad of physiological and psychological differences. Largely vampires similar to the familiar monsters from the myths and cinema.

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Vampires - living dead and have to support themselves with the blood of the living.

's true. Vampire clinically dead - his heart is beating, he is not breathing, his skin is cold, he does not age - but he thinks and walking and plans, and speaks, and hunts and kills. Because to support his artificial immortality vampire should periodically to feed on blood - preferably with human blood. Some repentant vampire interrupted by the blood of animals, and the ancient vampires must hunt down and kill other vampires to feed themselves, but most do support themselves with the blood of his former compatriots.

Everyone who dies is bitten by a vampire, rises to become a vampire.

Not true. If this were true, the world would be full of vampires. Vampires really feed on human blood and sometimes kill their prey but most of the people who died from the attack of the vampire, just die. To return as undead, the victim should be completely devoid of blood and then obtain a drop of blood of a vampire. This process, called Release (Embrace), leads to mystical transformation of the person into the undead.


Vampires, monsters, demonic spirits embodied in the corpses.

And the truth, and no. Vampires are not the demons themselves, but the tragic combination of factors inevitably leads them to evil deeds. In the beginning, the newly created vampire thinks and acts in much the same way as in the life. It is not converted immediately into evil sadistic monster. However vampire soon learns its invincible thirst of blood and realizes that her life is dependent on their neighbors. In many ways the mind of the vampire is changed - it develops a number of biases, less consistent with "public omnivorous"more suited to lone predator. First, eating without hunting, the vampire, in the end, forced to do it by necessity - and the power is becoming easier and easier, as the years pass. Realizing that it itself is suspicious, it ceases to trust others. Realizing that he is not like others, he shuts the world of mortals. Realizing that its existence depends on the secrecy and control, it becomes a first class "puppeteer". AND the situation may get worse as the years turn into decades and centuries, and the vampire kills again and again, and sees that the people he loved, age and umirayuschaya life is so short and cheap compared with his, is becoming less and less valuable, while the death "flock" around it is nothing more than a cloud of pesky insects. Senior vampires are among the most jaded, insensitive, paranoid - in short, a monstrous - creatures that have ever known world. Maybe they are not demons literally - but now, who can tell the difference?

Vampires are burned by the sun light.

's true. Vampires must avoid the sun, or they will die, although some can tolerate sunlight for a very short period of time. Vampires - night creation, and for most it is very hard to stay awake during the day, even in shelters.

Vampires otpugivat garlic and running water.

Not true. This is a myth and nothing more.

Vampires otpugivat crosses and other sacred symbols.


In General, it is not true. However, if the owner of the symbol has great faith in the power of which he is a vampire can suffer from the painful effects caused by waving symbol.

Vampires die of a stake in the heart.

Not true. However, the wooden stake - or arrow etc. in the heart paralyzes the monster until it is removed.

Vampires have the strength of ten people, they harnessed the wolves and bats, hypnotic they live and treat the most terrible wounds.

Yes and no. The power of the vampire grows with time. Young, newly created vampires often slightly stronger people. But as a vampire is growing for years and understanding, he learns to use his blood for invoking the secret magic powers that vampires called Disciplines. Powerful senior vampires - often can compete with fictional Lactatom (*"Interview with the Vampire"*) or Dracula, but really ancient, Methusela (Methuselahs) and Antediluvian, who were hunting in the night of a thousand years, often have literally divine power.

So, the most fundamental difference between humans and vampires lies in their methods of supporting life. Vampires can't live on food mortals, they must support his immortal life through the use of blood - fresh human blood.

Vampires exercise power in different ways. Some cultivated "herd" mortals, submersible in ecstasy from the kiss of the vampire. Some sneak into the house at night, picking up from sleeping people. Some hunt games mortal - Nightclubs, bars and theatres luring mortals in a forbidden relationship and giving its predation for acts of passion. But other fed oldest method is pursuing, attacking and obediyya (or even killing) mortals who go too far on a lonely night alleys.

Night World Of The Vampire

Vampires also appreciate the power for its own sake and security that it provides - and vampires ridiculously easy to get wealth, wealth and influence. The hypnotic gaze and a few words give the treacherous vampire access the wealth, power and servants, only what he wants. Some powerful vampires are able to leave posthypnotic orders in the minds of the mortals, and then make you forget about the presence of a vampire. So vampires can get legions involuntary slaves. Many "servants of the people ' and financial barons secretly meet before the masters-vampires.

Although there are exceptions, vampires prefer to stay close to cities. The city offers countless opportunities for predation, love relations and open country often means danger for vampires. Nature - house Lupanov, werewolves, sworn enemies of the vampires who want no more or less how to kill vampires at all.

The Release ( The Embrace )

Vampires are created in a process called Release. It is similar to the usual "meal" vampire - vampire deprives its selected a blood sacrifice. However, along with full exsanguinate (deprivation of blood), the vampire returns drop my immortal blood emaciated mortal. Only a small SIP - drop or two is enough to turn death into the undead. This process can be carried out even at the dead man, if only the body is still warm.

When the blood is returned, mortal "awakens" and starts to drink the blood itself. But, although animated, death still dead - he is not breathing, heart beating. In the next week or two, the mortal body undergoes minor changes; he learns to use the Blood in his body, he is trained by the special abilities of his clanwar he's a Vampire.

Some clans Release with more stringent conditions than others, but Embrace almost never comes easily. In the end, the new vampire possible rival in the struggle for food and power. Potential "offspring" (childe) there is often for weeks or even years attentive Lord, scrupulously checking, whether death will be a good addition to the clan and family ...

Count Dracula

The word"vampire" comes from the Hungarian language, and most of the stories about them were born in Eastern Europe. The Irishman Bram Stoker, who wrote the famous "character", borrowed this story from legends about Vlad III (its generic title and the name is Earl of Dracul) - Transylvanian nobleman who lived in XV century and fought against the Turkish yoke. Vlad was also known for his sadistic tendencies - he enjoyed the torture of prisoners prisoners. The legend says that the count liked to organize feasts among the huge number sharpened wooden stake, which were planted body Turks captured in battle, so he went down in history under the nickname Tepes(the Impaler)("Planting a stake").

But not less horror inspired Tapes and on their compatriots. Around its castle disappeared people. Behind the high stone walls was being horrible and abominable things. In one of the stories about this castle of count was called"the vampire". His passion for blood was shared by many of the Carpathian nobles. In 1610 by decree of the Hungarian king was executed Countess Elizabeth Bathory.

She is well versed in the occult, learned that may prolong youth and beauty, if you will bathe in the blood of young girls. Many unsuspecting girls were lured to her castle, and then drained and buried there. But one of them managed to escape, and she told this terrible story. In punishment for the committed atrocities "bloody" the Countess was bricked up alive in her own bedroom. Such gloomy stories were born legends about the vampires. In 1897 Stoker in his novel created, based on historical facts and partially speculating history, the image of the count Dracula. Here is how the first occurrence count Jonathan Harker in the novel of Brimstoners:

"Inside stood a tall old man, pure vibreth, with long white moustache, dressed from head to toe in black, without a single colored spot. He moved forward smoothly. Squeezing my hand with such force that I grimaced in pain, even though his own hand was cold as ice, and would better fit the dead than the living man... his Face was power is very energetic - thin eagle bent nose and especially the flaring of the nostril, with magnificent high forehead. At the temples hair was liquid, but in other places the overgrown. Thick eyebrows almost merged on the nose... his Mouth was frozen in a sinister smile, opening extremely sharp teeth that even advocated lips, whose bright red testified about the amazing health of an old man, despite his age. Finally, pale ears on it borders were unusually pointed, and chin broad and massive, cheeks appeared tense and delicate. The first thing that caught the eye was his ghastly paleness...

It was impossible not to notice that they [his hands] had been quite strong, large, with a short, thick fingers. The strange thing is that on his palms grew hair. Long thin nails on the ends were pointed. When the count leaned over and touched me, I could not repress a shudder. All his face and in his voice was calm, but when I listened to it, from some distance away, from below, from the street I heard a wolf howling. Eye count gleamed, and he said: "Listen to them - children of the night. What a wonderful music!"

How to recognize a Vampire ?

The belief that between this world and the other has no clear boundaries, there was probably always. Even in the most ancient times almost all Nations arose beliefs, according to which the deceased can sometimes return to the world of the living, or at all, you stay close to family and friends regularly visit them, as a rule, causing some damage. Such "undead one" in national consciousness could merge with those members of the lower mythology, as water mermaid, goblins, Northern trolls. Moreover, according to some beliefs exorcised is "balochnye" (former) people who never have entered Another world. However attestati them not: water and wandering at night drowned is not quite the same.

Related to these two categories eternal neighbours person also different: if water, Goblin or house to be master of his domain and needed to honor and to appease (they could not only harm, but also to help), then from wandering at night dead man's nothing good was never waiting for. And rightly so.

Some people called wiederganger (from the German verb "return") are usually frightened people by their appearance or occasionally tried to lure the cemetery and to break apart or strangle. But others faced by night from the graves of the dead had a look horrendous and, besides the usual "jokes" and traditional damage by livestock and food stocks, sucked the blood of the people, and why they, of course, was dying. Such are the dead and was called vampires. Lying in the grave, they do not rot, kept pink complexion, they grew hair, but instead of the loose nails and teeth rose up long claws and fangs. Eating blood, vampires became stronger, and after some time began to appear during the day. Only at dusk and dawn, they were hiding in a secret place, usually in his own grave.

The names and behavior vampires

Different peoples of the name "return", as well as the manner of their conduct, varied. The ancient Greeks believed that young girls who died before marriage and those who did not love, become demons-Lamia and suck the blood of the young men. Dead, sucking the blood, were also known practical all Turkic and Volga region peoples. Kazan Tatars called them abirami, and the West Siberian Tatars - maccamy. Like the dead was called Cubana Supreme, Karachai - obure, and the Eastern Slavs - ghouls. These bloodsuckers abducted unborn babies from the mother's womb and even drank water from the clouds, what happened drought. Thus, in 1867, the newspaper "Odessa Herald" was told that in the village near Ackermann from the grave virile corpse recently buried the old man, which is thought to be a vampire. Believing that he is the cause of dearth, belonging to a local feudal abundantly watered corpse water.

The word "vampire" Serbian origin, although among those living in the Balkans, Slavs more rasprostranena name vulkodlak or varcolac: it was thought that vampires are those who in life had been a sorcerer and could privatise in wolf (the word "ghoul" invented Pushkin). Those places - the Balkans, the Carpathians, the Western Ukraine is rightfully considered to be the birthplace of vampires.

Vampire literature

XVIII century is a turning point in the development of European culture: she discovered all the charm of folk superstitions. Oral tradition began to write and publish. Stories about vampires appeared not only in the collections of folk tales, but in the newspaper the news, and official reports. For example, in 1732 among soldiers in the Austrian army, situated in the region of today's Serbia, issued a letter announcing the frequent cases of vampirism and recommendations were given on the security measures. At the same time the higher authorities received a report about Haiduk named Paul, who lived not far from Kosovo. Died suddenly, he began to appear near the house, where lived the widow, attacked people and cattle and sucked the blood. As written in the report, "when the body of the specified Paul removed from the ground in the third month after the burial, then the designated body was untouched by decay, the same person deceased differed unnatural beauty. By the decision of the village leader specified Paul was pierced Colom and his head was severed...". The woes are not over, because widow and Paul, and others of his relatives, and even those who happened to eat meat "spoiled" them cattle, became in turn the vampires. The objective of bringing in and was to receive from the authorities the permission to leave unsafe for Austrian soldiers village. It formed the image of a vampire literature, which is quite different from the vampire folklore.

How to become a vampire ?

So, who can become a vampire in Slavic people's views? It turns out, not very many. Vampires become children born "dressed in", the fifth of Sonova in families where only boys, and children born with teeth. The nature and way of life of a person, too, could lead to the fact that after death he was legales quietly in the grave: the vampires were people angry and irritable, something permanent concerned, not giving debts, and doeth not, is promised.

But the main danger was fraught circumstances of death and the conditions of burial. The vampire could become the one who died at night who self-immolated or frozen in the field. A vampire is often killed, as well as the murderer. And certainly he who died from the bite of a vampire. If the deceased was a good man and died peacefully in his bed, he still could become a vampire, if through his body jumped cat or flew chicken, if the coffin accidentally touched on the lintel of the door if the grave were drops of rain or hail. But even buried all the rules of the deceased could turn into a vampire, if relatives too mourning over him, called him by name, that is, his name was.

How to calculate a vampire?

So the question is, man may be a vampire after death or not, is not too complicated. The problem only arise when the village came a stranger. Vampire or not? Here will be useful in the following knowledge. First, the vampire always refuses food. Type of salt and smell of garlic cause him in disgust. Secondly, it is not ambrazeviciene and is not reflected in the mirror. Third, the vampire will not touch "sacred" subjects: crosses, icons and Holy books. In addition, people born on Saturday, immediately realize that they face a vampire.

Means of collective and individual protection

Measures against vampires can be divided into preventive and dramatically. The first is "scolding", then there is a reading of the Holy Scriptures near the tomb of the deceased for three nights after death. In addition, the heel of the deceased can be cut and put under the skin with a needle or other sharp object, so it was difficult to walk on land. The street from the cemetery to the house often sprinkled the poppy seed: vampire will begin to collect it, and here and roosters crowed. As a means of personal protection against vampires were used garlic, hawthorn, dogrose, the flame of the lamp, Iron knife, a bell and, of course, the cross and the Holy Scripture. But if this did not help, remained only to dig up the grave, and to cut to the heart of a vampire aspen stake and to cut off his head.

Scientists argue

Where did the people the belief in vampires? Probably, from the connection of these essentially different factors as "the energy vampirism" (note psychologists phenomenon ability of one person as if to pick up the energy of the other) and individual cases of mental disorders, when a serial killer really is drinking the blood of his sacrifice. On the other hand, the belief in vampires could cause fear of the darkness, insomnia, hallucinations. The belief that the propensity to vampirism is transmitted by the bite could lead to real cases of rabies of people and animals. However, all of these quite rational reasons not explain why the belief in vampires was rasprostranena it is in the Balkans and Carpathians. It remains to suppose that they are really why lived there.

The power of the vampire

The vampire was destined to wander the earth, every night looking for a new victim to satisfy agonizing thirst. It is known that they had a lot of mysterious abilities, helped in this.

The first of these should be mentioned the ability to change the shape of the body. Buried vampire didn't need, whenever he left the grave, dig, as a mole, exit to the surface in a six-foot the soil column. It was believed that it can seep up through the ground and, once on the surface, take the same form. Wish vampire could be a wolf, bat, cat, rat, and even a light mist. In this or that form he could climb any wall, climb in any window and even penetrate through the keyhole. If it was not taken special precautions, that no place was impossible to be in full safety.

And no place more dangerous than your own house. Vampires have tended to visit first of all the members of his family: the husbands, the wives, and wives husbands. Young women were looking for their former suitors. All, without exception, both men and women, gave preference to young, healthy and attractive to the victims. Theoretically, the young blood was more nutritious and healing.

Vampires could subdue different nocturnal creatures to perform his will. So Dracula was holding a pack of wolves, so they defended the castle and scared off intruders. In addition, he could hypnotise people, denying them the ability to resist and to remember about what happened to them.

Lilith-vampire biblical times

According to legend, it was Lilith. LILITH "For up to eve was Lilith", reads the Hebrew text. Legend has inspired the English poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) on the poem "Eden Bower". Lilith was a snake, she was the first wife of Adam and gave him "glittering sons and radiant daughters" ("sparkling sons and shining daughter-Rey")Eva God made then; to avenge the earthly Adam's wife, Lilith ugovori-La her to eat the forbidden fruit, and to conceive of Cain, his brother and murderer of Abel. This is the per-original form of the myth, which was followed by Rossetti. During the middle ages it has changed under the influence of the word "Liel", which in Hebrew means "night"Lilit was not a snake, but a spirit of the night, a Vampire. Sometimes she is an angel in charge of birth of people, sometimes commanded the demons that attack the sleeping alone or wandering on the roads travelers. In people's imagination, not only tra-NII she appears in the form of high silent woman with black raspushennoy-mi hair. Lilith - the evil spirit, Queen of the succubus, usually female in judiciously demonology. Its name goes back to the names of the three Sumerian daemons: Lila (Incubus, i.e. daemon male), will carry out (succubus, i.e. the demon female), ardat Lily. Known as the seducer of men to give birth to children with them (this is why the Talmud does not recommend men to sleep one), harms childbearing women. It not only brings damage to infants and torturing them, but also steals (drink the blood of newborns and suck marrow from your bones) and substitutes them. According to the Talmud it is hairy, cruise, she is the mother of Ahriman (Angra Mainyu) (Iranian God of Evil). It is believed that HP Is the First Wife of Adam, but quarreled with him, claiming that they are absolutely equal in everything, and flew away. In the Red sea, it overtook three angels-Sanvi, Savansi, Semangelof. However, HP has refused to return, and said that was created to harm newborns. The angels took her oath that she will not enter the house in which you see them or their names. She took on himself the punishment: daily will die 100 of her children. According to the Zohar L. became the wife of Samael, the mother of demons. Some of the names L. :Batna (Hebrew-Aramaic - the womb ), Adam ( redness ), Amorfa (gr. formless ). Liliana - children of Lilith from Demons.

Lamia

Lilith was not the only representative of devils-women hunting at night and attacking children. Equal to her was Lamia-vampire, has long lived in a cave. The first mention of Lamia appeared in Greek mythology. Once Lamia was the Queen of the Libya, a wonderful woman who has had children from Zeus. But when Hera, wife of Zeus, learned about it, that made the Queen to absorb them. And Lamia had to obey, because it is not easy to resist the onslaught of the goddess. Since then, however, Lamia beginning at night to take away from mothers to their babies. Before suck the blood, she tore them look like claws naugtyamerica-sweetheart Queen was a terrible beast, who wish to change the appearance. Lamia was known for his unusual sensitivity: even when asleep, he took out his eyes, so that they are always on the alert. Over time, this name was called witches, stolen children, and women demonic that turned beauties, captivated by the ardor of random men. And only after they splashed passion, Lamia sucked their blood, and then life.

The taste of blood

Vampire - the person, who has risen from the grave, and the werewolf - man or woman who has turned into a wolf. These two notions have much in common. For starters, both from mortal flesh. They are not disgraced angels, but have not sent by Satan and demons (except two or three known cases). Yes, they are evil, but his own.

The vampires and werewolves have a common physical traits - hairy palms and almost heavy eyebrows. They are also equally possess superhuman powers. Both can change shape. Vampires, and werewolves, themselves often go in wolf form. They strongly developed front teeth, especially canines, eager ruby warm human blood.

Vampires drink blood of their victims, to support eternal life. Man-wolf werewolf, like any predator hunter by nature. He gets pleasure from meat and blood of their prey. Werewolves - cannibals and highly carnivorous. Vampires compared with them, have a more refined taste. But they're cursed by God for their wild instincts. If you believe the occult Sciences, the werewolf after death becomes a vampire. Is a strange ceremony of the transition to a new level.

These accomplices killer United evil one purpose - to spread death and destruction. Vampires and werewolves exist side by side with humans for centuries, and their bloody footprints stretching through the ages.