Unlike Count Dracula, however, Mercy was a real person. Mercy Brown may rival Count Dracula as the most notorious vampire. Other accounts describe the decapitation and burning of the corpses of suspected vampires well into the nineteenth century. In some cases, a stake was thrust through the corpse’s heart to make sure they stayed dead. When a suspected vampire died, their bodies were often disinterred to search for signs of vampirism. Other diseases blamed for promoting the vampire myth include rabies or goiter. ![]() Some symptoms of porphyria can be temporarily relieved by ingesting blood. Many researchers have pointed to porphyria, a blood disorder that can cause severe blisters on skin that’s exposed to sunlight, as a disease that may have been linked to the vampire legend. It wasn’t uncommon for anyone with an unfamiliar physical or emotional illness to be labeled a vampire. The disease often left behind bleeding mouth lesions on its victims, which to the uneducated was a sure sign of vampirism. ![]() Vampire superstition thrived in the Middle Ages, especially as the plague decimated entire towns.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |