Vampires- Literature and Legends

(Btw my mood is Happy, I just liked the Vampire Emote xD)

No, this is not about the latest Twilight movies. If you like Twilight, I won't bad mouth you or anything. I'm just personally not a fan.

I have been in a Hellsing kick for about a year now. In that time, I have read many different books, articles and the like about vampires.

And I wanted to know what all of you knew about vampires.
Please tell me, what do you like/know about vampires!!
I also wanted to share my knowledge of vampires and vampire pop culture with all of you.

Vlad the Impaler(Tepes) also known as Vlad Dracula the III
Vlad the Impaler was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Vlad himself was never thought of as a vampire in his own time.

He was born in Sighisoara, Transylvania in early winter of 1431. His father, Vlad Dracul, had been living in exile at the time. Vlad was the middle child, having 2 brothers; his oldest brother, Mircea, and his younger brother, Radu the Handsome.

In 1444, at the age of thirteen, Vlad and his brother Radu were sent to Adrianople as hostages, to appease the Sultan. Vlad remained there until 1448, and was released by the Turks, who supported him as their candidate for the Wallachian throne. Vlad’s younger brother chose to remain in Turkey, where he had grown up.

Vlad’s initial reign was short, only spanning 2 months. It was not until 1456, under the support of Hunyadi and the Kingdom of Hungary that he returned to the throne. He established Tirgoviste as his capitol city, and began to build his castle some distance away in the mountains near the Arges River. Most of the atrocities associated him took place during this time.

More than anything else the historical Dracula is known for his inhuman cruelty. Impalement was his preferred method of torture and execution. Impalement is one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable, as it was typically slow and painful. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake. (For more content on this, visit www.donlinke.com/drakula/vlad.…)

Legends surrounding Vlad suggest he had his servants collect the blood of the impaled warriors so that he could dip his bread in the blood and consume it. Other accounts show Vlad eating dinner at a table set next to his dying victims. But it was not until Bram Stoker's book that Vlad the Impaler was thought of as a vampire.

Other Vampire Myths
To be born the 7th son of the 7th son
A cat jumping over corpse turns the corpse into a vamp (England); in Romania the same but the cure (antidote) is to put a piece of iron into the corpse's hand or place Hawthorn in the coffin
To be borne born with teeth or a caul or stillborn - is believed to be a Vampire
A dead body that has been reflected in a mirror - is believe to be a Vampire
To be bitten by a Vampire - will turn you into one
Those who do not receive proper burial - run the risk of returning as a vampire
People who have eaten the meat of a sheep that has been killed by a wolf
Having red hair (Greece only)
By renouncing the Eastern Orthodox religion (which is why the peasants may have thought Vlad Dracula was a vampire)
By being excommunicated by the Greek Orthodox church
Wild dogs jumping over a corpse (don't go dying in the bush)
Leaving any kind of knot in the coffin, in a tie or a rope, it was thought to prevent the corpse's decay and to disturb the dead person's ability to make the transition into another life.

Vampire Sub Culture
The vampire lifestyle is an alternative lifestyle, based on the modern perception of vampires in popular fiction. The vampire subculture has stemmed largely from the goth subculture, but also incorporates some elements of the sadomasochism subculture. The Internet provides a prevalent forum for the subculture along with other media such as glossy magazines devoted to the topic.

Active vampirism within the vampire subculture includes both blood consumption, which is commonly referred to as sanguinarian vampirism, and psychic vampirism, through which the practitioners believe they are drawing spiritual nourishment from auric or pranic energy.

Vampires in Pop Culture
Movies
The Vampire (1931)
Nosfertaru (1922)
A Fool There Was (?)
Son of Dracula (1943)
Dracula (1944)
Dracula's Daughter (?)
House of Frankenstien (1944)
House of Dracula (1945)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstien (1948)
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
Vampyres (1974)
Old Dracula (1974)
Love at First Bite (1979)
Interview with a Vampire (1994)
Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
Van Helsing (2004)
Lust for Dracula (2005)
Twilight (2008-?)
The Lost Boys (?)
Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

Television
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Angel
True Blood
Moonlight
The Vampire Diaries

Video Games
Castlevania
Shadowrun
Darkstalkers
Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil
Shadow Hearts
Guilty Gear
Boktai
Rosenkreuzstilette
Vampire- The Masquerade
BazBlue- Calamity Trigger
The Elder Scrolls
Warhammer Fantasy- Vampire Counts
Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Comic Books
Vampirella (1969)
Tomb of Dracula (1972)
Blade (1973)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (?)
30 Days of Night (2002)
Dracula Vs. King Arthur (2005)

Anime and Manga
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (1987)
Vampire Princess Miyu (OAV 1988, TV series 1997)
Nightwalker (1998)
Vampire Hunter D (2000)
Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)
Hellsing (2002)
Vampire Host (2004)
Tsukihime, Lunar Legend (2003)
Tsukuyomi -Moon Phase- (2004)
Bleach (2005)
Blood+ (2005)
Trinity Blood (2005)
Vampire Knight,(2005)
Karin (2006)
Black Blood Brothers (2006)
Hellsing Ultimate (OVAs) (2006)

(Other Media en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampires…)