Lovers of Paranormal discussion

Vampires have existed in many cultures for thousands of years: in ancient Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, Israel, India, Africa and many European countries.

Initially vampires were not like we think of them today: tall, dark and handsome. Hundreds of years ago the word vampire didn't exist. Those that sucked human blood and often ate human flesh were evil demons or even the devil himself.

In the ancient Hebrew culture the most famous blood sucker was Lilith, the first wife of Adam who refused to have sex with him while lying underneath him and was kicked out of paradise for that; after that Eve replaced her. Lilith became a demon and sucked blood of newborn babies. That's why Jewish midwives until relatively recent times used amulets to repel Lilith when assisting a woman giving birth.

Such first "vampires" weren't actually undead like they are today. Many of them were combinations of what today we think of as zombies, incubi and succubi (sleep demons) and just plain monsters. They treated humans like their own meat department merchandise.

The vampire we know today has his roots in the 18th century Transylvania, a picturesque part of what is modern day Romania. It borders spectacular Carpathian Mountains to the east and south. There are many medieval castles in Transylvania still standing. When looking at photos of Transylvania, it is very easy to imagine how Bram Stoker found inspiration for his famous novel, "Dracula". Many people consider Castle Bran in Transylvania to have been used as the inspiration for Dracula's castle. However, there are historical doubts about that.

The idea that vampires need to drink blood to sustain them in their undead state came from an ancient belief that blood is the essence of life and so if a corpse drank blood, it can become alive again, although not completely. You would have to be a saint to be brought back from the dead by a divine miracle to come back as you were before death.

If you are one of these, you are at risk for becoming a vampire after death:
- You were born with an extra nipple, a tail, teeth or you are very hairy
- You were excommunicated from the church
- You committed a great crime
- You died alone
- Someone cursed you
- A black cat jumped over your grave
- A black cat crossed the path of your mother when she was pregnant with you
- You were born out of wedlock
- You mom didn't eat salt when she was pregnant with you
- You died before you were baptized
- You were born premature
- You tend to talk to yourself
- You have an unusually red face

So, cheer up, darlings. If you always dreamt of becoming a drop-dead-gorgeous vampire, you have many options of how to get there open to you. ;)

If there's anything I love, it's a vamp with that all-important extra nipple.

Sexy. ;)

Having some fantasies about that extra nipple, hey? *wink, wink* :)

Blessings!