When we read horror stories we tend to think of them as fiction, at least I hope that we do. Throughout the ages there have been many people that have thought that many of vampire legends were true. Sometimes, what they perceive as evidence of their beliefs can be found. A cemetery was said to have been found in Bulgaria, that was very old. To be exact, it was thought to date back over seventeen hundred years. That in itself is not so unusual, because ancient cemeteries are uncovered from time to time in ancient countries. So why did this particular cemetery draw so much attention? Maybe it was the fact that each of the bodies that were buried in it, had a wooden stake driven through their hearts? The caskets themselves were made extra strong and it is presumed that this was done to prevent the occupants from opening them and climbing out. Many people in the area who heard about this, believe that this was a cemetery for vampires. I guess this is understandable for people living in a country that has a strong tradition of vampire tales and superstitions. What makes this event even more curious is the fact that another one of these "vampire cemeteries", was found in the Czech Republic, about seven years ago. What made this discovery a little different,was the fact that not only were the bodies staked through the heart, but nails were driven through the heads. As some might say, you can never be too careful.

Seriously, these were very strange finds. Many countries seem to have a tradition of vampirism running through their legends. This might have been a great way for politicians of that day to get rid of their political enemies. All one had to do was declare them vampires. The people of the time were so paranoid about this subject, that just the accusation itself might have been enough reason not only to kill someone, but to also wipe out their entire family. If a person believed in vampirism, them they must have believed that it was not only one family member that was a vampire. In their eyes, the entire family must have been vampires, or the one who was, would have feasted on the blood of the others who weren't. This would be the logical thinking in ancient times. I just have to wonder how many innocent people were killed this way? There are some people that still believe that vampires, or creatures of the night as they are sometimes called, exist today.

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You have to wonder what type of evidence could ever be found that would prove that vampires are real? Sure we might find graves like the ones listed above, but that certainly is not proof of vampire existence, it is only proof that people killed other people, because they believed that they were vampires. Someone was asked what a vampire really was, he was a learned person. I think that he may have come close to the true definition. He said that it was a corpse that was blamed for events that occurred. In other words people felt that a certain body was not really dead and was coming alive and causing mischief. If this was the case then whatever people did to the body did not hurt it, because it was dead already. Perhaps the people that were found with the stakes in their hearts had already been dead? I am talking about death in the traditional sense, not the undead, as they call it. I just don't believe that bodies get up and walk around.

There is a story about a family that lived in New England in the late 1800s. They began to die and one at a time they were buried. A disease called consumption in those days, was taking it's toll. Today it is better known as TB. One at a time the family began to lose members, until a certain female member died. At that point people in the town began to die. As they died off, somehow that female that died began to get blamed for some of the deaths. People began to claim that they saw her walking around and near the areas where others had died. The public outcry began to build up, until they decided to dig up her grave. The plan was originally to examine all the graves of her family, but she was the first and after digging her up, they decided to end it there. They were horrified at what they saw. When they had pried the lid off of the coffin, there she was, she had turned over. Today we know that bodies that are not embalmed can sit up and even turn over, but the people back then, didn't realize this and were scared out of their minds. Another thing that the crowd hadn't taken into consideration was the fact that she had died during a cold winter and the coffin was stored above ground and was just buried, because the ground had been to hard to dig in. This meant that she looked very well preserved, which scared the heck out of everyone. They opened her chest and took out her heart and burned it.

Vampires were not described the same way in the old days as they are depicted in the movies now. They usually are shown as being very pale and gaunt. In the old days they were described as bloated and ruddy with a dark countenance. Vampires were called by different names, depending on the country that they were said to come from. In Greece they were called vrykolakas, but in Romania are know as strigoi. One of the very first works of fiction about a vampire was written in 1819 by John William Polidori and was said to be very successful. I guess this story is as much responsible as anything else for our current belief that vampires are just fictional characters. When I talk about this belief, I am referring to the vast majority of people, not those relatively few that still believe in this stuff.

Unfortunately, fiction sometimes has an effect on some people. The vampire legends are suspected of having influenced some of the more notorious serial killers This was believed because of bite marks found on the victims of these killers. One killer, Wayne Boden, had killed women during rough sex. He would bite them very hard and because of this, he left tooth impressions on all the bodies of his victims. When police caught Boden, a dentist was called in. He took impressions of Boden's teeth and they were matched against the teeth marks on the bodies and they matched perfectly. Was this really because he was influenced by stories of vampires? In truth, he didn't think so, but many did. The women he killed were not drained of blood, but had been strangled. Many psychiatrists and psychologists believe that fiction can have an influence on those that are impressionable. They believe that video games, if they are played constantly, can influence their actions and that they will begin to believe that this is part of real life. Maybe those parents that complain that video games are becoming too violent are correct?

Is there any chance that evidence will ever be found that will prove that vampires ever existed? I doubt that. There will always be people saying that they found evidence, but I don't think that any of it will ever stand up to investigation. It is like the tombstone that was found that listed the years of someone's life from 1313 to 1999 that was presented as evidence. This means absolutely nothing. It could be a mistake, a joke or the last wish of someone for some unknown reason. Maybe he or she was the last of their line and listed the first to the last in their family. Anyway, for those that are looking for evidence of vampires, I believe their time could be better spent.