Is it possible for vampires to exist? Legends and real stories about vampires

Vampires or similar creatures are found in the myths of all peoples. In Russia, they are also called ghouls or ghouls. I wonder if there is even a fraction of truth in the legends about the blood-drinking evil spirits?

Theories on the origin of vampires

In Eastern Europe, vampires were called the revived dead, who drank the blood of living people at night. A suicide, a criminal or a sorcerer, as well as a person who suffered a violent death, could become a vampire. In addition, according to beliefs, the birth of a child in a “shirt” (fetal membrane), conception that took place on certain days, excommunication from the church, or improper performance of funeral rituals could lead to vampirism.

Those who were born with teeth or a tail were also considered potential vampires (sometimes such a pathology happens). And, of course, the bite of a vampire turned into a vampire and his victim ...

How were vampires "calculated" and what did they do with them?

Vampires have been said to not age, have supernatural physical strength, cast no shadows, and cannot be reflected in a mirror. They also believed that vampires were afraid of garlic and could not enter the house without an invitation.

Evidence of the presence of a vampire in the vicinity was considered the death of livestock and people, most often relatives of the alleged vampire. If vampirism was suspected, the grave was opened. If the dead man looked like he was alive, that is, his cheeks were ruddy, blood was visible near his mouth, and so on, then they tried to destroy him. To do this, it was necessary to cut off the head of the deceased, drive an aspen stake into his body or burn him ... Sometimes they managed with milder rites like a repeated funeral ritual, sprinkling with holy water or expelling evil spirits from a dead body (exorcism rite).

Natural science versions

Perhaps the first attempt to give a scientific explanation for the phenomenon of "vampirism" was made in 1725 by researcher Michael Ranft in his book"De masticatione mortuorum

in tumulis" . He wrote that deaths upon contact with a "vampire" could be due to the fact that "contactees" were infected with ptomaine or the disease that this person suffered during his lifetime. In addition, the impressionable relatives of the "vampire" who believe in his "resurrection" could start delirium, as a result of which it seemed to them that the deceased was coming out of the grave, communicating with them, and so on.

Only in the second half of the 20th century was a disease called porphyria discovered. It occurs in one in 100 thousand people, but it is hereditary. In porphyria, the body cannot produce red blood cells, which are the main component of blood. As a result, oxygen and iron deficiency occurs in the blood, pigment metabolism is disturbed, and under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, hemoglobin begins to decompose - hence the myth that vampires are afraid of sunlight ...

The skin of patients with porphyria acquires a brown tint, becomes thinner and covered with scars and ulcers in the sun. Due to the fact that the skin around the lips and gums dries out and becomes hard, the incisors are exposed, and the effect of a grin is created, which, in turn, gives rise to legends about "vampire fangs". Tooth enamel can become reddish or reddish brown. Finally, porphyrics cannot eat garlic, since the sulfonic acid contained in it aggravates the disease. In some cases, the disease is accompanied by mental disorders.

As for the "living" corpses that were observed during the exhumation, this can be explained by some features of decomposition. For example, a body can decompose at different rates, depending on conditions such as temperature, humidity, and so on. In the process of decomposition, the corpse swells with gases, and the skin becomes darker, blood can flow from the mouth and nose ... Under the influence of decomposition, the body can move, which gives the illusion that the dead person is moving ...

Finally, there is a mental disorder called "Renfield syndrome", in which the patient is drawn to drink the blood of people or animals. Some serial maniacs suffered from it, for example, Peter Kürten from Düsseldorf and Richard Trenton Chase from the USA. They killed their victims and drank their blood.

So the belief about ghouls rising from their graves at night is most likely nothing more than fiction. Vampirism as a phenomenon does exist, but it is a purely medical problem, in which there is nothing mystical.

Probably, each of us, after watching numerous feature films, wondered: do vampires really exist or not? And, as a rule, we reassured ourselves with the answer that all these are inventions of the authors of fantastic works, and in real life vampires do not exist.

However, we are all deeply mistaken.

In real life, vampires exist, however, they do not wear black cloaks, like Count Dracula, and in every possible way try to remain silent about their existence. It is not surprising - who wants to be in the center of attention of modern society as an object of persecution or as a guinea pig.

Real vampires feed not only on blood, but also on the energy of living beings (usually human). They believe that it is simply vital for them. And often, volunteer donors go out of their way to supply blood if the vampires need it. Such a shocking diet, according to many, allows vampires to recuperate and improve declining health. Real vampires don't really need to be interested in the legends of their ancient kin or vampirism in modern culture in order to somehow identify themselves. They are afraid of public opinion and do not want to be classified as stereotypical images of vampires with subsequent condemnation and "witch hunt".

Real vampires can be of different religions, different races or ethnic groups, have different gender or sexual orientations, professions and ages.

Why real vampires hide from people

Real vampires are also afraid of being classified by doctors as people with obvious mental disorders with subsequent forced treatment. Modern society simply will not accept vampirism as something normal and will accuse the representatives of this social unit as vicious and incapable of educating or fulfilling other social roles in society. Moreover, people can accuse vampires of any crimes that the latter did not commit, which will attract the wrath of society and excessive attention from law enforcement officers and psychiatrists.

Many scientists today are calling on doctors, including psychiatrists, to treat real vampires the same way they treat other people who represent alternative identities. After all, most vampires are not able to make a choice regarding their alternative status, because, in their own opinion, they are born with this and try to integrate into society as comfortably as possible without harming others.

Evidence that vampires exist

The incredible popularity of vampires in recent years (although books and films have been written about them before) is pushing scientists and doctors to study this phenomenon more carefully. Vampirism takes its origins in Eastern Europe, by and large in Poland, where reports of people drinking human blood appeared very often. But in order to distinguish truth from fiction, modern man needs evidence, facts.

The search for evidence of whether vampires exist in real life was taken up by the world-famous scientist Stefan Kaplan back in 1972, when he organized a center for the study of vampires and the search for evidence of their existence in New York. And Kaplan very quickly found real vampires, who turned out to be ordinary-looking people, but with some peculiarities in behavior and nutrition. Here are the conclusions he came to:

vampires really do not like sunlight, so they use sunglasses and special sun creams;

in real vampires, the nails do not turn into claws, but fangs of the most ordinary sizes;

vampires are not able to turn into other people or animals;

real vampires actually drink blood, but one shot of 50 mg three times a week is enough to quench their thirst;

real vampires do not show aggression, being, as a rule, good parents and friends;

in the absence of human blood (which donors share with them voluntarily), vampires drink the blood of animals, although in terms of taste, such blood is significantly inferior to human blood (this is said by all vampires who have been studied by scientists).

Vampires exist or not in real life - now you can answer this question yourself. Yes, they exist, but their appearance and behavior differ significantly from the stereotypes known in modern society. Real vampires are people with an unusual physiological (and not mental, as many believe) need for the use of human blood. Scientists have proven the existence of vampires in real life, but dispelled many myths that have haunted people who drink human blood for centuries. What do you think of vampires?

As it turned out, the legends about the “children of the night”, so attractive to fans of the Gothic genre, have a very real basis. There really are people in the world whose teeth resemble animal fangs, their skin cannot stand the rays of the sun, their toenails and hands look like animal claws, and garlic can cause a severe allergic reaction. Only now these unfortunates live not at all as carefree and joyful as it seems in science fiction novels and films.

Vampires

Of course, we are not talking about young people who selflessly play vampires: they wear a sharpened “ankh” sign on their chests, follow the “wear only black” rule, implant fangs, put on appropriate makeup, and sometimes, being in a drug frenzy, they attack on harmless old women. By the way, there is an incident that took place in the Kaliningrad region, when a guy killed two old men for the sake of performing a vampire ritual. And the most terrible incident happened four years ago in the UK: in order to gain immortality, a teenager stabbed a neighbor, drank her blood and tore out her heart.

Legends about spirits and the living dead, which, under the cover of night, absorb human blood, exist among many peoples. In the legends, vampires are presented as half-decomposed monsters: evil, soulless and not very smart. However, over time, this established image has undergone a serious transformation. Today, a vampire is a collective image of a mysterious seducer who has retained distinctive features: fangs, bloodlust, fear of the sun, rejection of garlic, cross and silver. For dozens of centuries, vampires remained only a legend that could neither be denied nor acknowledged. However, in 1963, British scientist Lee Illis presented unexpected results of his research. Doctor proved that werewolves and vampires exist! They are people who suffer from porphyria.

Werewolves

Incredibly, werewolves exist too! However, as in the first case, they exist far from the classical understanding of this phenomenon. It turns out that the transformation into a werewolf is caused by some mysterious disease that in ancient times affected entire settlements, turning people into wild animals. According to the records, these patients had all the symptoms of lycanthropy (a form of insanity in which a person feels like a wolf).

Werewolves have been known since the founding of Rome. During this time, they have acquired a mass of terrible legends and stories. It was believed that any person bitten by a werewolf could become infected with this strange disease. Symptoms of the disease worsened at night with the onset of the full moon. It was during this period that infected people allegedly turned into animals with wild bloodthirsty habits.

For centuries, philosophers and other learned minds have debated whether werewolves really exist. Many authorities are of the opinion that true werewolves who can actually turn from a person into a beast do not exist. Patients with lycanthropy suffer from psychological disorders, because of which they can feel like a beast, behave like a beast, but physiologically they are not a beast. However, despite these facts, many today believe in the existence of bloodsuckers and wild werewolves.

Vampires or similar creatures are found in the myths of all peoples. In Russia, they are also called ghouls or ghouls. I wonder if there is even a fraction of truth in the legends about the blood-drinking evil spirits?

Theories on the origin of vampires

In Eastern Europe, vampires were called the revived dead, who drank the blood of living people at night. A suicide, a criminal or a sorcerer, as well as a person who suffered a violent death, could become a vampire. In addition, according to beliefs, the birth of a child in a “shirt” (fetal membrane), conception that took place on certain days, excommunication from the church, or improper performance of funeral rituals could lead to vampirism.

Those who were born with teeth or a tail were also considered potential vampires (sometimes such a pathology happens). And, of course, the bite of a vampire turned into a vampire and his victim ...

How were vampires "calculated" and what did they do with them?

Vampires have been said to not age, have supernatural physical strength, cast no shadows, and cannot be reflected in a mirror. They also believed that vampires were afraid of garlic and could not enter the house without an invitation.

Evidence of the presence of a vampire in the vicinity was considered the death of livestock and people, most often relatives of the alleged vampire. If vampirism was suspected, the grave was opened. If the dead man looked like he was alive, that is, his cheeks were ruddy, blood was visible near his mouth, and so on, then they tried to destroy him. To do this, it was necessary to cut off the head of the deceased, drive an aspen stake into his body or burn him ... Sometimes they managed with milder rites like a repeated funeral ritual, sprinkling with holy water or expelling evil spirits from a dead body (exorcism rite).

Natural science versions

Perhaps the first attempt to give a scientific explanation for the phenomenon of "vampirism" was made in 1725 by researcher Michael Ranft in his book"De masticatione mortuorum

in tumulis" . He wrote that deaths upon contact with a "vampire" could be due to the fact that "contactees" were infected with ptomaine or the disease that this person suffered during his lifetime. In addition, the impressionable relatives of the "vampire" who believe in his "resurrection" could start delirium, as a result of which it seemed to them that the deceased was coming out of the grave, communicating with them, and so on.

Only in the second half of the 20th century was a disease called porphyria discovered. It occurs in one in 100 thousand people, but it is hereditary. In porphyria, the body cannot produce red blood cells, which are the main component of blood. As a result, oxygen and iron deficiency occurs in the blood, pigment metabolism is disturbed, and under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, hemoglobin begins to decompose - hence the myth that vampires are afraid of sunlight ...

The skin of patients with porphyria acquires a brown tint, becomes thinner and covered with scars and ulcers in the sun. Due to the fact that the skin around the lips and gums dries out and becomes hard, the incisors are exposed, and the effect of a grin is created, which, in turn, gives rise to legends about "vampire fangs". Tooth enamel can become reddish or reddish brown. Finally, porphyrics cannot eat garlic, since the sulfonic acid contained in it aggravates the disease. In some cases, the disease is accompanied by mental disorders.

As for the "living" corpses that were observed during the exhumation, this can be explained by some features of decomposition. For example, a body can decompose at different rates, depending on conditions such as temperature, humidity, and so on. In the process of decomposition, the corpse swells with gases, and the skin becomes darker, blood can flow from the mouth and nose ... Under the influence of decomposition, the body can move, which gives the illusion that the dead person is moving ...

Finally, there is a mental disorder called "Renfield syndrome", in which the patient is drawn to drink the blood of people or animals. Some serial maniacs suffered from it, for example, Peter Kürten from Düsseldorf and Richard Trenton Chase from the USA. They killed their victims and drank their blood.

So the belief about ghouls rising from their graves at night is most likely nothing more than fiction. Vampirism as a phenomenon does exist, but it is a purely medical problem, in which there is nothing mystical.

According to ancient legends, vampires can be found in different countries, including in their homeland - in Transylvania and Romania. They are perpetually hungry creatures. Without the taste of blood, their "life" simply does not make any sense. Despite such an encouraging title of the article, at present no one has been able to provide genuine evidence of the real existence of vampires. So far, it remains only to assume and be based on various ancient evidence that has come down to the present.

For example, the famous German occultist and philosopher Georg Konrad Horst, in all seriousness, claimed that he was personally acquainted with several vampires. He even gave them his: “Vampires are dead bodies that live in graves and leave them at night in search of food. They suck blood from living people. They feed on this blood. Without the taste of blood, their existence would be meaningless. Vampires are not affected by decay."

History knows other evidence. For example, in the early culture of the Native Americans (Indians) who once inhabited Central America, there were such terms as "bloodsuckers" and "vampirism". Unlike Georg Horst's formulations, their idea of ​​vampires was more real. The fact is that the Indians called living people vampires, and not dead bodies, supposedly coming to life at night.

The so-called "vampires" did not attack people, as real ghouls do, described in world folklore, but simply fed on the blood of animals. However, from the foregoing, it would be premature to draw any conclusions regarding the real existence of vampires, even at the present time. Such evidence is just vague conjecture. To call them facts - the language does not turn.

The most famous vampire is Dracula

Perhaps the most famous vampire in the world is Vlad the Impaler. This is the same Count Dracula, the film about which was filmed by director Francis Ford Coppola based on the novel of the same name by writer Bram Stoker. Tepes - Romanian governor, and later - the ruler of Romania. It is known that Count Dracula loved to kill people, torturing them in every possible way before his death.

One of his favorite tortures was the so-called "bloody game": the cruel ruler of Romania dug his teeth into the carotid artery of the martyr and literally sucked blood from his victim. By the way, this is where the so-called “fashion” for vampire fangs came from. Of course, there is no question of true vampirism here, but it was Tepes who became the permanent “dracula” of all times and peoples.

The secret behind seven seals

If we consider "vampirism" not as a medical disease, but as a mystical aspect of human existence, then at the present time no one has been able to present genuine evidence of the existence of vampires to the public. Until humanity does this, no true vampires, “sleeping” in coffins during the day and leaving them at night, should not excite anyone and, moreover, frighten! They simply have nowhere to come from. This means that the answer to the question posed in the article will be negative.