Legendary Vampire

Vampires cursed or enchanted undead culture of the night. Activity circle: from dusk till dawn Masters of Immortality The English word "vampire" is a combination of words from different languages; "vampir" from Hungary, "upior" from Poland, "wampira" from Russia The Romanian word "nosferatu" means "undead" and has become a synonym for vampires. Vampires were first found in old romanian legends. These stories were based in Transylvania (Siebenb�rgen), near the South Karpaths (mountains). The first story written about a vampires seems to be Bram Stokers (1847-1912) "Vampyr". Some years later he wrote the more famous "Dracula" (1897), an inspiration for many authors and films ("Nosferatu", hundreds of other "Dracula" films, "Interview with the Vampire", ...) and it is, after the bible, the best sold book ever. "Dracula" is the Romanian word for "Dragon" (some think for "Devil"). These legends grew by some species of bats, sucking blood of its victims. Some of these races can become very big and so some people thought of undead human beings. Thus the existence of vampires is declared to be a story, many people in Romania believe in them anyway, because of mysterious accidents of friends and relatives.

Of   all evil undead creatures roaming the land vampires are the most feared and dreadful. They are famous for their charm which nearly no human can resist when looking into an vampires eyes. Vampires are well known for their sharp teeth when striking their victims. These teeth are growing very quickly and used to bite two holes in the victims neck to suck its blood. Because vampires do not posses their own blood their skins are pale and cold.
Its not possible to destroy a vampire with bare hands, because of it physical powers. Vampires are able to climb like spiders and scale sheer surfaces to reach upper floors. They are often as strong as ten man, but must return to the coffins in which they pass the daylight hours.
If traveling over flowing water (ocean, rivers) or in distant lands, they need to fill their coffins with earth of their motherland and take their coffins with them to rest peacefully and renew their strength. If seriously damaged in combat they try to flee to their coffins, where they can regain their physical powers or turn into a gaseous cloud.
Vampires are also able to shape shift into creatures as big as themselves, a giant bat or a wolf for example. They have also the ability to summon giant swarms of bats or rats. Because of their lack of blood, they cannot be affected by poison.
One of the strangest limitations to vampires is the inability to enter a home without being first invited to do so by a resident of the dwelling. Once a vampire has been invited to enter, it may come and go freely afterward.
Physical contact with any religious symbol, will cause burns on a vampire. These burns heal at a normal human rate and if severe may cause scars that do not heal. For this reason, vampires may be warded off with an appropriate religious symbol.
The older the vampire gets, the more abilities it will gain and the more stronger it will gain!!!

The vampire has no place in the world of the living. It is a thing of darkness that exists only to bring about evil and death. The vampires are feared and hated by those, who live in the regions in which they choose to make their home. The vampires unnatural presence will cause dogs and similar animals to raise a cry of alarm at the presence of the creature... but... the vampire is a very social creature: The Vampire society is generaly human like, but with some differences: Vampires respect vampires! The elder one are very respected and feared: No juvenile will ever try to attack, or harm them in any way. A 500+ year old is called 'eminenz', a 1000+ year old is called 'patriarch' Victims of one vampire are immune to others: None will every try to steal a possibly victim, hurt or love it! Killing one of their kind leads to execution of the murderer!

Vampires are created by other Vampires, who bite into the victims neck and suck its blood. If the victim looses all the blood, it will die, if not all the blood is lost it will become a new vampire, who will hunt for blood to feed its curse too. The transformation takes place one day after the burial of the creature. A new vampire will serve its creator, until the creator is destroyed. Then it will become a self-willed creature. At this way a completely hierarchy of vampires can inherit big areas, even lands. Vampires are normally solitary creatures. When they are found in the company of others, the group will certainly consist of a single vampire lord and a small group of vampires which it has created to do its bidding. In this way, the vampires can exert its power over a greater range without running the risk of exposing itself to attack by would-be heroes. When a vampire creates another one, it considers the new creature a mere tool. The minion will be sent on missions which the vampire feels may be too dangerous or unimportant for its personal attention. They live in areas of death and desolation where they will not be reminded of the lives they have left behind. Ruined castles or chapels and large cemeteries are popular lairs for them. Vampires often feel a strong attachment to specific areas with some morbid significance, like the grave of a suicide or the site of a murder. A vampire can simply go into hiding for a few decades until the passing of the years brings down its enemies.

Dracula the Lagend

  Vlad Tepes (Dracula)      The name Dracula conjures up a myriad of dark images in our mind; late night horror movies of vampires and vampire hunters, dark forests in Romania, and tyranical leaders capable of all sorts of evil acts. Here is some background information on the Dracula from which Bram Stoker -- and Jeanne Kalogridis -- were inspired: Prince Vlad Tepes, born 1431, died 1476, ruler of the lands now known as Romania.     Vlad Tepes (which Kalogridis spells phonetically in English as Tsepesh) was born in the town of Sighisoara in Transylvania (now known as northern Romania) in 1431 and later came to rule that area of southern Romania known as Wallachia. The word "tepes" in Romanian means "impaler" -- and Vlad was so-named because of his penchant for impalement as a means of punishing his enemies. Impalement was a particularly gruesome form of execution, wherein the victim was impaled between the legs -- to put it politely -- upon a large, sharpened stake the width of a burly man's arm. Vlad especially enjoyed mass executions, where several victims were impaled at once, and their stakes hoisted upright. As they hung   suspended above the ground, the weight of their bodies would slowly drag them downwards, causing the sharpened end of the stake to pierce their internal organs. In order to better enjoy these mass spectacles, Vlad routinely ordered a banquet table set up in front of his victims, and would enjoy a leisurely supper amid the pitiful sights and sounds of the dying.     In addition to his title of "Impaler," Vlad was also known as "Dracula," which means "son of the  Dragon." Originally, this title came about because his father (also named Vlad) belonged to the Order of the Dragon, an order formed by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund for the purpose of defeating the Turks. The elder Vlad used the dragon symbol on his coins and went by the name "Dracul" ("dragon" or "devil"). Hence the diminutive "-a" on his son's name, Dracula. As the younger Vlad's talent for torture  became known, however, the name Dracula came to be interpreted more and more as the sinister "son of the devil."    At the same time that Vlad became notorious for his sadism, he was also respected by his subjects because of his fierce campaigns against the Turks. He was a respected as a warrior and stern ruler who tolerated no crime against his people, and during his reign erected several monasteries.  However, despite Vlad's political ambition, the turbulent political atmosphere of the times took its toll on his reign. He was overthrown twice (he ruled for a brief period in 1448, again from 1456-1462, and for only a matter of weeks in the year of his death, 1476.) Ultimately, Dracula died violently (according to rumor, at the hands of one of his men who was actually a Turkish spy). He was buried at one of the monasteries he patronized, on the island at Snagov.     Thanx to Lyllith     Countess Bathory Elizabeth tortured and murdered numerous young women, this lead to her being known as one of the "true vampires" in history. She was the daughter of George and Anna Bathory born in 1560 she grew up in the Slovak Republic, then part of the Hungarian Empire. Most of her adult life was spent at Castle Cachtice, near the town of Vishine, northeast of present day Bratislava. This is where Austria, Hungary and the Slovak Republic came together. Much of Hungary was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. This area was also split by religion. Elizabeths family sided with the wave of Protestantism. While she was a child she was subject to seizures and intense rage. Her cousin Steven in 1571 became Prince of Transylvania and about a decade later assumed the throne of Poland. In 1574 Elizabeth became pregnant due to an affair with a peasant man. She was also engaged to Count Ferene Nadasdy at the same time. This marriage took place in May 1575. Her husband was away from home allot due to him being being a soldier. This left Elizabeth to manage the affairs of the Castle Sarvar, the Nadasdy family estate. This was a period of cruel behavior toward those who were servants, Elizabeth's level of cruelty was noteworthy. She went out of her way to find reasons to torture and murder her victims. She would stick pins in various parts of their bodies. In the winter she executed her victims by having them striped naked and led out to the snow, and had water poured on them until they were frozen. Her husband also joined in this sport and taught her new ways to torture. For example he had a women striped naked and then covered in honey, then left outside to be bitten by thousands of insects. Elizabeth's husband died in 1604, she then moved to Vienna after he was buried. Also she lived at her estate at Beclov and the manor house at Cachtice, located in present day Slovakia. She committed her most infamous crimes here. One of her cohorts that helped lead her to her ruin was Erzsi Majorova, she encouraged Elizabeth to include a few noble women as her victims. At some point in 1609, she killed a young noble woman and covered it by charges of suicide. In 1610 a inquiry was started to investigate Elizabeth by 1611 she was sentenced to life imprisonment in her room at castle Cachtice. Food was passed through an opening and she got her air via a few slits in the walls. The evidence used was a list kept by Elizabeth in her handwriting noting the names of 650 of her victims. Her accomplices were sentenced to death. Testimony during her trial claimed she bit the flesh of the girls while torturing them. This is the reason for her being linked to werewolfism and folklore states if your a werewolf in life in death your a vampire. She was also accused of draining the blood of her victims and bathing in it to retain her youth and beauty. Her records were sealed and King Matthias II forbade the mention of her name. A hundred years later a Jesuit priest, Lasylo Turoczy found copies of the original trial documents plus local stories that circulated among the people of Cachtice. With this he wrote a book of her life published in the 1720's this was during a wave of vampirism in Eastern Europe.

    Back            FORWARD