Our History

Since ancient times myths and legends have circulated our stories. Many doubt the existence of vampires, claiming that the lore is fictitious and without real roots. Well, you are free to believe as you wish, but you should explore our archives and research a little on your own.

A Little Disclaimer

Just like yours, our exact origins are a mystery. None of us has met the first of our kind, nor can we tell you about our creator. Maybe we evolved to fit a niche that humankind left unfulfilled. Or perhaps, the great deity formed us in the same manner that he formed humans. It even is possible that some sinister being unleashed us to plague humanity.

I cannot verify a creation story, but I can tell you of our oldest histories. These tales remind us of the reality of our nature.

The Word 'Vampire'

The term "vampire" is a comparatively modern invention when you consider the creature of ancient folklore, which it describes. I don't know its most primitive origins, but no one can deny the derivation from the Slavic term vampyr. This harsh name echoed through the cemeteries as hunters of the undead searched for fresh graves to defile.

Yet, the term far outdates the first vampire hunter. Hints of this word first emerged at the end of the first millennium Anno Domini. A Russian priest scribed Упирь Лихый ( Upir Likhyi ) into a translated document in 1047 Anno Domini. He may have been the first to coin the phrase. This priest referred to a Novgorodian prince as the "wicked vampire" (Dundes 54). And we are a bit wicked, aren't we?

Certainly, the word upir is a long way from "vampire". Etymology is loose discipline, and I've never paid much attention to fading languages.

Ancient authors often referred to specific individuals with personal names. Lilitu (also called Lilith) and Lamia (Queen of Libya) are some of these. Various stories collided, confusing the legends of these famous creatures and giving birth to muddled myths of wolfs, bats, and the undead.

Through the ages, terms for vampires have surfaced and circulated. Do not believe for a second that the creature of the night is tied to his grave. Vampires are the ancient travelers. How else can you explain the proliferation of reports of vampiric kind throughout the world?

Source for further research: Dundes, Alan. The Vampire. 1998. (Pg. 54)

 

Some Ancient Stories

Babylonia & Assyria

From the Ancient Prayer Against Evil Spirits (Summers 196)

They rage against mankind;
They spill their blood like rain,
Devouring their flesh & sucking their veins.

The Sumerians, ancient inhabitants of Babylonia, maintained three classes of evil spirits. They had ghosts who were unable to rest, entities that were half-demon and half-human, and devils who plagued mankind with pestilence. The names associated with these creatures are Utukku: the phantom or ghost of the dead. Ekimmu: the spirit of the departed person that lurked in places with ill-omen and drained the life out of households. Lilîtu: the evil night spirit--also considered to be Lilith.

Source for further research: The Vampire, His Kith and Kin, by Montague Summers, [1928]

 

Greece

"So I drew back, and sheathed my sword, whereon when he had drank of the blood he began with his prophecy" (Homer 87).

Tales of blood drinkers and conniving spirits bespeckle the myths of ancient Greece. The empusae, known to be servants of the dark goddess Hecate, devoured travelers on the roadsides. Over the years, empusas merged into a single demi-goddess, who seduced men by taking the form of a beautiful lady. After seducing her prey, she drained them of their blood.

Other creatures worth mentioning are the tympanios, spirits of the returning dead, and the vrykólakas, monsters that consume human flesh and blood. Vrykólakas are associated with vampires, but are widely understood to be more like werewolves.

Lamia, a famous vampire, is associated with the Queen of Libya. After Hera killed her child, she reportedly traveled the earth drinking blood and snatching babies.

Polycrites transformed from a respected governor into a monster when the town rose up against his hermaphroditic child. He consumed the body of his baby, and the head of his child then prophesied evil. Polycrites is said to roam the world feeding on children.

Sources for further research:
The Odyssey, by Homer [c. 850] Translated by Samuel Butler.
Vampire in Europe, by Summers.