Rylie Belalcarzar

The western interpretation of a vampire.

Even though the Halloween and spooky season in turn have passed vampires are a thing most people are fascinated with: pale-skinned, fanged bloodsuckers who burn in the sunlight. There are many different variations of vampires, however. For example, some can’t enter homes without being invited in, and more obscurely, some love counting. 

Although Bulgarians are credited with the modern notion of vampires, the legend has origins in a Slavic creature that resembles poltergeists though they are blood-sucking creatures, they also caused havoc in villages by spreading diseases. The concept of vampires spread throughout Europe once the Holy Roman Empire gained control of Hungary. The Roman imperial troops learned the stories from the Slavic population and then took the legends to larger cities, spreading them quickly. They took these legends to bigger cities making it spread over time.

As the ideas of vampires spread, new ideas were added to the tales. People of the time viewed vampires more scientifically, and they were considered a disease than a supernatural creature In different cultures, however, vampires are portrayed differently than compared to the West. For example, in Greece, vampires are called Vrykolakas. People used to believe they were undead creatures who were buried with improper burial rituals. However, it has since evolved, and now Vrykolakas are European werewolves after they die. 

In Albania, vampires are known as Shtriga, only women. They drain humans of life by drinking their blood; a way to restore them is Shtriga’s saliva. If a Shtriga spits into a person’s mouth after they kill them, it will bring the person back to life. Shtriga also has to vomit up blood after drinking it. If a person were able to collect the vomited blood onto a silver coin, it would be like garlic to a Western vampire. 

Vampires have become extremely popular with the media due to books like Dracula and Twilight and television shows like Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. However, vampires are different all around the world. Vampires have been around for quite a while, and they have cemented themselves within modern-day culture.