Vampire Myths and Other Interesting Facts
Kerry Phillips:

Vampire: 1) A bloodsucking ghost or retained body of a dead person believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep.2) One who lives by preying on others; a blood sucker.

Traits of vampires

• Vampires, being already dead, do not need most normal things required for human life, such as oxygen. They often have a pale (for vampires from literature and cinema) or ruddy (for those from folklore) appearance, and are cool to the touch from the perspective of humans.

• Vampires are sometimes considered to be shape shifters, change from human to animal or vise versa, though this feature is more commonly present in fiction than in the original folklore.

• Vampires typically cast no shadow and have no reflection. This mythical power is largely confined to European vampiric myths and may be tied to folklore regarding the vampire's lack of a soul. In modern fiction, this may extend to the idea that vampires cannot be photographed.

• Some traditions hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless he or she is invited in. This concept has been referenced throughout the history of vampire fiction (from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula to Stephen King's novel Salem’s Lot and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Generally, however, a vampire can come and go at will after being invited once.

• Vampire powers are often limited during the day or in daylight. In some cases sunlight may burn or kill vampires, or they may be comatose during the day.

• Some tales maintain that vampires must return to their native soil before sunrise to take their rest safely. Others place native soil in their coffins, especially if they have relocated. Still other vampire stories such as Le Fanu's "Carmilla" maintain that vampires must return to their coffins, but sleep in several inches of blood as opposed to soil.

• Vampires in some tales have very specific dietary requirements while others do not. However, most tales of the undead feature vampires that cannot eat (or at least cannot gain nourishment from) normal human food. In most cases they sustain themselves by sucking living people's blood or life force; this seems to be a requirement for their continued existence regardless of whether they are able to absorb other food and drink, or gain anything from such.

• Apotropaics, or objects intended to ward off vampires, include garlic, a branch of wild rose, and all things sacred (e.g., holy water, a crucifix, a rosary). This weakness on the part of the vampire varies depending on the tale.
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• There are three main ways to destroy a typical European vampire: a consecrated bullet, a wooden stake through the heart to paralyze him until the sun rises, or decapitation. This includes other means of death that effectively removes a vampire's head, such as incinerating the body completely.

• Old folklore from Eastern Europe suggests that many vampires suffered from a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, being fascinated with counting. Millet or poppy seeds were placed on the ground at the gravesite of a presumed vampire in order to keep the vampire occupied all night counting. Chinese myths about vampires also state that if a vampire comes across a sack of rice, s/he will have to count all of the grains.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Other Interesting Facts

• Corpses were sometimes buried face-down to prevent them from becoming vampires, (this way when the body became alive it would dig to free itself yet only dig deeper into the ground). Wooden stakes were sometimes planted in the ground above the grave, so if the body rose it would stab itself on the stake -- hopefully through the heart.
• Corpses were sometimes wrapped in a carpet or cloth to make it more difficult for them to rise from the dead. Alternately, the legs or arms were tied up with rope.
• Large rocks were often placed over the grave to prevent the corpse's return. (Could this possibly be the origin of the modern tombstone?) And it is significant to note that some people consider the vampire to be a type of ghost which lives after death, transcending the grave. What better way to keep the ghost in the grave than seal it in stone?
• The natural process of bodily decomposition after death sometimes convinced people that corpses were actually transforming into vampires: the hair and nails continued to grow, indicating continued life; the corpse bloated from naturally occurring gasses in the body, meaning it fed on the living; blood sometimes appeared near the mouth as a natural result of bodily decay, indicating the drinking of blood; the generally grotesque appearance of the corpse complete with pale skin, indicating a vampiric need for blood.
• Ignorant people followed superstitions to thwart assault from vampires, too. Two of the most commonly known substances used to scare away vampires were the herbs "wolfsbane" and, of course, garlic. It is theorized that people during the Middle Ages believed that the horrible smell of the dead was related to the cause of death, especially during the Black Death, and that the deaths were somehow related to vampires. It is not unlikely that herbs would be used to counteract the smell of death, considering the potent aroma of garlic. Also, throughout the ages garlic had been used as a medicinal herb even by the ancient Romans. Ironically enough, modern science also believes garlic can help people become healthier, in some cases.

Source: Parascope.com

The Top Five Vampire Myths

Most vampire myths come to us from the Dark Ages, when science was in its infancy and people looked to religion or superstition to explain the world around them. While many vampire myths have their basis in Christian orthodoxy, others represent imaginative interpretations of actual vampire behavior.

Vampires sleep in coffins
Source: this myth probably arose from gravediggers and others who observed vampires emerging from coffins and crypts.
Truth: if a vampire did spend the night in a coffin, it probably had nothing to do with sleeping preference. In the old days, many victims of vampire bites were interred while still in a vampiric coma. The truth is, vampires will sleep wherever they feel safe.

Garlic repels vampires
Source: most likely based on observation.
Fact: vampires have sensitive noses and can momentarily be driven off by pungent odors. However, this method of deterrence is unreliable and certainly won't work on an experienced vampire

Crosses repel vampires
Source: Christian religion.
Fact: crosses have no effect on vampires.

Vampires are killed by driving a stake through their heart
Source: Christian religion.
Fact: because their blood is circulated by skeletal muscles, vampires can easily survive injuries to the heart.

Vampires burst into flames upon exposure to sunlight
Source: most likely based on observations of a vampire's extreme reaction to sunlight
Fact: sunlight renders vampires, with their hyperdilated irises, blind. It also causes neural pathways to fire randomly in the vampire brain, creating an extreme epileptic reaction. As dramatic as this reaction may appear, it will not be enough to start a fire.

Source:www.fvza.org ( Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency)