What is your favorite Vampire movie? Twilight? Interview with the Vampire? What We Do in the Shadows? (I completely recommend, What We Do in the Shadows?, if you have not seen it). Watching movies got me thinking about real vampires. So, I did some research to see if there are real vampires.
As you know a Vampire, also spelled vampyre, in popular legend, is a creature, often fanged, that preys upon humans, generally by consuming their blood. This legend may became intertwined with a blood disorder called porphyria, which has has been with us for millennia and became prevalent among the nobility and royalty of Eastern Europe. Porphyria is an inherited blood disorder that causes the body to produce less heme — a critical component of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues. Porphyria is sometimes referred to as the “vampyre disease.”
Symptoms of patients with porphyria:
- Sensitivity to sunlight, leading to facial disfigurement, blackened skin and hair growth.
- Gums will eventually recede, exposing the teeth, which then look like fangs.
- Because the urine of persons with porphyria is dark red, folklore surmised that they were drinking blood. In fact, some physicians had recommended that these patients drink blood to compensate for the defect in their red blood cells — but this recommendation was for animal blood.
- The sulfur content of garlic could lead to an attack of porphyria, leading to very acute pain.
Unfortunately, even today, there is not a cure for porphyria, certain medications and therapies may eliminate the symptoms.
My research also lead me to discovering that there are also New-Age Vampires. Surveys conducted by the Atlanta Vampire Alliance have found that there are at least five thousand people in the U.S. who identify as real vampires. These communities have largely kept to themselves, knowing enough about public perception to not want to attract prying eyes. According Joseph Laycock, Ph.D., an assistant professor of religious studies at the Texas State University, and author of Vampires Today: The Truth about Modern Vampires, they drink blood because they believe their health depends on it. They feel vulnerable to symptoms like headaches, lethargy, pain, depression, and general weakness, if the go to long without it.
I hope you enjoyed the article and the real lives behind the Vampire legend.
