Vampire Folklore in the 19th Century

19th Century Vampires:
Sucking the Truth Out of the Legend

The legend of the vampires has been around longer than many people realize. They didn't sparkle in the sun or have babies that turned into werewolves. The legend behind the vampire has evolved over the years while becoming the source for many famous books and movies. In a lot of ways, the creature that incited fear in many have become idolized. There are so many different folklores surrounding these monsters, but during the 19th century they started to resemble the vampires we know and love today. Almost everyone you talk to recognizes the name Dracula and can tell you what kills a vampire, how someone becomes one, and what the characteristics of them are.

Some of the first folklores during the 19th century that surrounded the vampire legend were formed out of fear and lack of knowledge. They came from all around the world and each are had it's own version of this monster. The idea that the undesirable people, who were considered sinners or miscreants, would turn into vampires after they died feels like an excuse to cause fear, as well as punish the people who didn't fall in line. Since medical knowledge was limited, the unexplainable sicknesses, medical disorders, and body reactions after death were all thought to be characteristics of a future vampire. According to the World Mythology Illustrated Guide, it was believed by the people then that after these people have died, they would come back and harm the living by drinking their blood and infecting them at the same time (1). The National Geographic stated that these misconceptions caused practices such as "anti-vampire rituals", which were meant to help heal and prevent people who have been exposed to these monsters. In a lot of cases, they ended up causing more death (2). Not only did they believe they had to treat the potentially exposed, but they had to take extreme measures to deal with the ones they thought were already vampires.

Jennifer Ouellette explains in her writings that the myth about the eternal life comes from bodies that haven't fully decayed in the ground. Since they believed that vampires could come back from the dead, they would dig up graves so they could examine the bodies. Then they would examine the organs of the dead to see how much they have decayed during the time they've been buried and if the organs, especially the heart, has not decayed, they would remove it from the body and dispose of it separately. They felt that the only way to do this was either to stake the heart or burn it. They would also remove the head from the body and reposition bones to ensure that they could never rise from their grave (3). Fear is a powerful thing that can cause the human race to do and believe just about anything. Folklores and myths rise from those fears because we always must have an explanation even if it's wrong one. As a society we tend to be conditioned to fear the unknown which makes it easier to control the masses while creating monsters that are real and fiction.









Sources

1. Willis, Roy. World Mythology The Illustrated Guide. Oxford University Press, 1993. pg 213

2. National Geographic Television. “The Bloody Truth About Vampires.” National Geographic, 27 Oct. 2016, www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/10/vampires-europe-new-england-halloween-history/. 

3. Ouellette, Jennifer. “DNA Analysis Revealed the Identity of 19th Century ‘Connecticut Vampire.’” Ars Technica, 1 Jan. 2020, arstechnica.com/science/2019/12/dna-analysis-revealed-the-identity-of-19th-century-connecticut-vampire/.