Category: Supernatural Lore
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The powerful properties of vampire blood
Though I read and enjoy a lot of vampire fiction, one trope that has become common enough to be accepted as fact managed to elude me for several weeks… and that was vampire blood as having special properties. That drinking a vampire’s blood could turn a person into a vampire… Read the rest…
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The Search for Castle Dracula
Despite Castle Dracula being a fictional place, the question of which castle inspired Castle Dracula holds a surprising amount of contention. While Bran Castle claims to be the inspiration for the site and markets itself as such, it’s hard to say which castle is the closest contender for the title.… Read the rest…
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The short history of the sleeping dead
Though vampires are commonly linked to coffins, that wasn’t always the case. The association of vampires and coffins is actually a more recent addition to folklore; simply put, it was born out of the fact that vampires are dead, and by the time vampires became a media staple and not… Read the rest…
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5 reasons vampires are repelled by garlic
Though challenged by storytellers in recent years, garlic has long been perceived as a way to ward off vampires. It’s actually been a part of vampire mythology for so long that when you stop to think about it, you might wonder what actually brought the two to be linked in… Read the rest…
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Why we use stakes to kill vampires
The most popular and well-known method of killing a vampire is a stake through the heart, though depending on lore, a stake through the stomach may be enough. Although popularized by its use in Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, the stake’s use as a weapon against the undead originated through burials… Read the rest…
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Why don’t vampires have reflections?
Mirrors are much older than vampires. Early mirrors have been dated back as far as 6,000 BC, and the modern idea of a vampire is quite young by comparison, most heavily influenced by the advent of Dracula. Mirrors themselves carry a great deal of superstition, the most common myth… Read the rest…
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Vampires, daywalkers, and the sun: A history of shadows in light
Among the few weaknesses of vampires, the sun is probably best known. Though vampires have often been portrayed as nocturnal, sunlight causing harm to them is a fairly recent addition. In fact, most vampires prior to 1900 were relatively unhindered by the sun; Carmilla, Geraldine, Lord Ruthven and even Dracula… Read the rest…
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