Vampire Trivia

Beyond Dracula

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Mar 11, 2007 Sandy Mitchell

From Bram Stoker's "Dracula" to Anne Rice's Lestat vampire series to Charlaine Harris' fun vampire cozies, vampires and vampire lore are a popular mystery theme.

But how much do you know about this classic "un-dead" creature? For instance, did you know that there really is a Transylvania? (It’s a province of Romania.) Or that Bram Stoker had never been to central Europe when he penned his classic vampire novel, Dracula? See how many of these other vampire facts you know.

  • The first documented story of a vampire comes from ancient Greek lore. It was, however, the gypsies of central Europe that created the vampire legend we know today.
  • Early vampires of legend were not the suave, debonair vampires of the Anne Rice novels. They were more like the cast of “Night of the living Dead,” fresh out of the grave and still decaying.
  • Japan has a Buddhist type of vampire legend. There, “Princess Miyu” and her kindred vampires guard the boundaries between the world of gods and the world of humanity.
  • Bram Stoker’s Dracula is based on an actual 15th century Romanian, Prince Vlad Dracula Tepes. Tepes was inhumanly cruel and murdered thousands of his countrymen.
  • According to legend, a vampire must sleep near his native soil. To get around this, many novels have their vampires carry coffins of soil with them when they travel.
  • Vampires are able to sail in or out of a port only at high or low tide, not in between.
  • A vampire casts no shadow and has no reflection.
  • A vampire cannot enter someone’s home unless he is invited.
  • A vampire sleeps without breathing and has no pulse.
  • The first popular vampire novel was not Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” but rather “The Vampyre” by John Polidori and based on writings by the poet, Lord Byron.

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The copyright of the article Vampire Trivia in Mystery/Crime Fiction is owned by Sandy Mitchell. Permission to republish Vampire Trivia in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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