Fun Facts About Vampires

My latest book A Good Man (also available in French as Un homme bien), now in preproduction with Radowski Films, has been released earlier this month. In celebration, I have some fun facts about vampires to share with you!

- Stakes, garlic, sunlight and holy water are not the only ways to kill vampires. Other cultures recommend boiling a vampire in vinegar,  pounding a nail through his navel, beheading it, burying it at a crossroads or scattering birdseed on its tomb. Hawthorn branches, rowan trees, fire, peppermint, salt, iron, and running water are also considered dangerous for vampires.

- Almost every country has its own vampire legend. Some even date back thousands of years. One of the best known vampires is Vlad Dracul, also known as Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476). He allegedly killed up to 30,000 people and liked to dip bread into the blood of his victims. Although he was reported dead in 1476, his tomb has remained empty. Some historians believe that Prince Charles is a direct descendant from Vlad Tepes.

- A rare disease called porphyria causes vampire-like symptoms such as extreme sensitivity to sunlight, hairiness, strange behavior and reddish brown coloring of the teeth. It's also known as the vampire disease or the Dracula disease.

- In ancient times, anaemia was often mistaken for a symptom of a vampire attack.

- One of the most popular vampires in children's fiction in recent years is called Bunnicula - a cute little rabbit that lives a happy existence as a vegetarian vampire.

- The romantic and sensual Hollywood vampires differ drastically from folklore vampires. The Ghanan Asasabonsam vampire, for example, has iron teeth and hooks for feet, which they drop from treetops onto unsuspecting victims. Certain regions in the Balkans believe that pumpkins and watermelons would turn into vampires if they were left out longer than 10 days or not consumed by Christmas. A drop of blood on a fruit's skin is a sign that it is about to become a vampire.

- The oldest known vampire legend comes from Sumerian and Babylonian mythology and is about the ekimmu, a spirit or demon who was not buried properly and has returned as a vengeful spirit to suck the life out of the living.

Want to read more about vampire facts and myths? Then head over to my vampire guest posts at Holly's Horror Land and Sweeping Me.

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Do you like Dexter and American Psycho? Then chances are you will love A Good Man.

Louis Caron is a good man – he's a vegetarian, feeds the homeless, takes care of animals, and is concerned with the ecological future of the planet. But his altruism has a sinister edge – he's a vampire - and local detective Taglioni is becoming increasingly suspicious. Louis' attempt to escape the police will take him on a journey into his own private hell where he is not only forced to confront his worst fears, but also to destroy the lives of those he cares about most.

Purchase

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon FR