Proudly serving monsters since 1998.
Under the umbrella term of vampires, many different creatures are put together. The character, purpose, and manner of the vampire manifestations depend, like its designation, upon environment and the plane of culture.
The notion of vampirism has existed for millennia; cultures such as the Mesopotamians, Hebrews, Ancient Greeks, and Romans had tales of demons and spirits which are considered precursors to modern vampires.
Known under a myriad of names and appellations in the thousands of languages used by our species, vampires are generally known as spirits which leave the tomb, generally in the night, to torment the living and suck their blood. You will find an exhaustive list on Monstropedia, the largest encyclopedia about monsters.
The region of Pomerania stretches along the Baltic coast. Like Silesia, it has been a part of the modern nation of Poland since the end of World War II and has a complicated history. At one time most of West Prussia consisted of this region though it had been Polish territory at times before that. … Read more
The region of Silesia is a northern neighbor of Bohemia and Moravia. Today, it is a part of the modern nation of Poland. Like Bohemia and Moravia, it is a land where Germans and Slavs have lived together for centuries. The earliest accounts of vampire revenants in this territory known today go back to the … Read more
Bohemia and Moravia These two regions today mostly comprise the Czech Republic, with Moravia being east of Bohemia. The earliest known case of an undead vampire in Bohemia is sometimes referred to in today’s literature as that of “The Blow Vampire.” Most if not all that we know of this today is due to a … Read more
Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia In Serbia, the most common names for an undead vampire are vampir and vorkudlak. In Bosnia, Croatia, and Montenegro, the names include not only these but also lampir. In documented testimony from a trial that began in October 1737 and ended in 1738 in the then independent Croatian city-state … Read more
Russia, Byelorussia, and the Ukraine The most common name for an undead vampire in Russia is upir, sometimes spelled as upyr. In the Ukraine the word is upior, and in Byelorussia it is upar. In all of these regions, the undead vampire was sometimes said to be a corpse possessed by the devil. The means … Read more
The ancient Greeks did not believe in people returning from their graves with a need to prey upon the living. This belief came about at some time after the Greece had become solidly Christian. The most common name for the undead vampire in Greece seems to be vrykolakas. On some of the small islands of … Read more
In Slavic beliefs, causes of vampirism included being born with a caul, teeth, or tail, being conceived on certain days, "irregular" death, excommunication, and improper burial rituals. Preventive measures included placing a crucifix in the coffin, placing blocks under the chin to prevent the body from eating the shroud, nailing clothes to coffin walls for … Read more