Staking Claims: The Vampires of Folklore and Fiction

We know about Dracula and the would-be vampires in the news, but what were the "real" vampires all about? People who learn that I wrote a book on vampire lore often say, "Oh, you mean like Vlad Drakul?"

"Not actually," I tell them. "Vlad Drakul was a figure in Romanian history whose only association with the vampire lore is that Bram Stoker named the character Dracula after him. Until Dracula came out, no one ever associated the historical figure with the vampire lore." This has been pointed out many times, and the Romanians have often expressed their dismay over the way we have expropriated their national hero and made him into a vampire. But in the media the sensational always has an edge on the prosaic, and by being associated with vampires -- even if only via fiction -- Vlad Drakul has become the only figure in Romanian history that Americans have ever heard about. If the Romanians began to make movies portraying George Washington as a ghoul, we would know what they feel like.

Understanding Porphyria: No Vampires Here

(NAPSI) - Many of the world's myths and legends have some basis in fact, which is why they are perpetuated through the centuries. In one case, the idea of a race of nefarious monsters-specifically, vampires-may actually have sprung from a very real and potentially deadly disease that affects thousands of people worldwide.

Porphyria is not a single disease but a group of at least eight disorders. Symptoms vary, but among them are some that have, in ancient times, given credence to the legend of the vampire. These include excruciating stomach pain, severe headaches, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), muscle weakness that can take on a state of paralysis from sensitivity to sunlight, and comas that last for days, giving one the appearance of having awakened from the dead.

V3: The Vampire Vignettes ReVamped is the latest release in author G.L. Giles’s Vampire Saga

Though V3 is the third book in this Vampire Series, all readers can jump right in with this book because it’s a revamped version of the first two books.

Vampires in history: The good, the bad and the bloodthirsty
ASAMPLING of evil and virtuous vampires throughout pop culture history:

- Dracula (1897): Told in a series of diary entries and letters, Bram Stoker's still-popular gothic novel introduced the spooky Transylvanian count to a shivering, worldwide audience. The story was made into a movie starring Bela Lugosi in 1931. Verdict: Bloodsuckingly evil.

- Count Graf Orlock (1922): The original German expressionist film "Nosferatu" was an unauthorized reimagining of Stoker's "Dracula," with a ghastly Nosferatu. The movie was remade by Werner Herzog in 1979. Verdict: Evil — and creepy too.

- Barnabas Collins (1966-71): The gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows" introduced a 175-year-old vampire in a bid to stanch ratings bleed. Jonathan Frid's Barnabas Collins became one of the 1,200-episode series' most popular characters. Johnny Depp is expected to play the vampire patriarch in an upcoming movie version. Verdict: Irresistible.