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About Vampires:
VAMPIRES: Fact or Fiction?

The myths and legends about vampires have been part of culture for centuries. What exactly are vampires? What is it about them that has made them so famous and immortalized in both the entertainment industry and everyday society? What is it about the concept of vampirism that has perked the interest of people from every walk of life for centuries? Vampires have been defined as human ghosts that are superstitiously believed to suck the blood of other humans. Such creatures are believed to prey on people while they sleep because, according to the lore, vampires sleep through the day and wake at night. (V.E. Wamback, V.E., 2007).

When most people hear the word "vampire", they typically imagine the vampires that have been portrayed in movies and books. In modern times, the idea of vampirism has all but disappeared, but every now and then, a movie or book is made that stirs up these images again. The most universal description of vampires consists of a dark haired fair skinned person. Typically in legends, these people will have two razor sharp fang-like teeth on each side of their ruby colored, blood stained mouths. The actor Bella Lugosi in the1931 film Dracula further embellished this image. In the film, Lugosi portrayed the title character, Dracula, as a dark and mysterious man who had smooth hair and "a cloak favored by Satan". (Gifford, p.82). What about this image has created such a fascination in the world with vampires? Where did the idea of the existence of vampires originate?

In 1410 A.D., the Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund of Hungary founded a secret order of knights called the Order of the Dragon in order to uphold Christianity and defend the empire against the Turks. Because he was a brave and well-trained soldier, Vlad, the son of Prince Mircea of Walachia was admitted to the order. The members of the order began calling him Vlad Dracul, meaning "dragon". As a result of this, Vlad's second son would then be known as Dracula, or "son of the dragon". Because Dracul also meant "devil", Vlad's enemies called the son of Vlad Dracul, "the son of the devil". (www.gecities.com/Athens/Aegea n/7545/Dracula.html).

In 1431, Vlad was made the military governor of Transylvania. Vlad Dracul's son Vlad Dracula was born at the end of the year 1431. At around this time, Vlad Dracul became discontented with the idea of being merely the governor of Transylvania. He gathered supporters for his plan to seize the throne of Walachia from

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