Full Article: http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/2011/07/is-there-connection-between-reptilians.html
There has been a lot of speculation, especially by British author David Icke, concerning a real connection between non-terrestrial reptilian species and vampire beings. Some feel that this is simply a conspiracy theory or used as an allegory in order to sell books. But both elements, in my opinion, offer some insight into a hypothesis that may help explain some of the mysteries of why we are on Earth.
Draconians and Dracula...is there a connection?
This is where part of the symbolism in the story of Dracula originates. It was written by the Irish author Bram Stoker and published in 1897. Stoker knew the vampire legends after years of research...there is no part of the world and no era of history that does not have its myths and legends about vampires who feed off other people's energy and blood. Observe the main elements of that tale.
His name is Dracula (the Draco constellation is the alleged home of the royal reptilian bloodlines). He is called "Count" Dracula (symbolic of the way these Draco bloodlines have been carried by "human" royalty and aristocracy). Dracula is a vampire (symbolic of the need of the Draco reptilians to drink human blood and feed off human energy). Dracula shape-shifts, appears and disappears (symbolic of the reptilian shape-shifters). He cannot stand direct sunlight (what some say of the reptilians and greys). He comes in through "windows" (symbolic of the interdimensional portals through which reptilian entities enter our world).
Stoker's character was largely based on a man called Dracula or Vlad the Impaler, (in Romanian - Vlad Tepes) the 15th-century ruler of a country called Wallachia, not far from the Black Sea in what is now Romania (Rom = reptilian bloodlines). This was the same region that was once called Transylvania, the home of the most famous vampire legends, and the Danube River valley, which runs from Germany to Romania and into the Black Sea, is a name that comes up very often in the history of the bloodlines.
Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, slaughtered tens of thousands of people and impaled many of them on stakes. He would sit down to eat amid this forest of dead bodies, dipping his bread in their blood. He usually had a horse attached to each of the victim's legs and a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp; he didn't want the victim dying too quickly from shock. Infants were often impaled on the stake forced through their mothers' chests. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake. Death by impalement was slow and painful. Victims sometimes endured for hours or days. Dracula had the stakes arranged in various geometric patterns and the most common was a ring of concentric circles. The height of the spear indicated the rank of the victim, an excellent indication of the ritual-obsessed reptilian mind.
The decaying corpses were often left there for months. It was once reported that an invading Turkish army turned back in fright when it encountered thousands of rotting corpses impaled on the banks of the Danube. In 1461 Mohammed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, a man not noted for his squeamishness, was sickened by the sight of twenty thousand impaled corpses rotting outside of Dracula's capital of Tirgoviste. The warrior sultan turned over command of the campaign against Dracula to subordinates and returned to Constantinople. Ten thousand were impaled in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu, where Dracula had once lived. On St. Bartholomew's Day, 1459, Dracula had thirty thousand merchants and others impaled in the Transylvanian city of Brasov. One of the most famous woodcuts of the period shows Dracula feasting amongst a forest of stakes and their grisly burdens outside Brasov while a nearby executioner cuts apart other victims.
Impalement was Dracula's favorite technique, but by no means his only method of inflicting unimaginable horror. The list of tortures employed by this deeply sick man included nails in heads, cutting off limbs, blinding, strangulation, burning, cutting off noses and ears, mutilation of sexual organs (especially in the case of women), scalping, skinning, exposure to the elements or wild animals, and boiling alive. No one was immune to Dracula's attentions. His victims included women and children, peasants and great lords, ambassadors from foreign powers and merchants.
Vlad III was the son of Vlad Dracul, who was initiated into the ancient Order of the Dragon by the Holy Roman emperor in 1431. It's emblem was a dragon, wings extended, hanging on a cross. Vlad II wore this emblem and his coinage bore the dragon symbol. All the members of the order had a dragon on their coat of arms and he was nicknamed Dracul (the Devil or the Dragon). Son Vlad signed his name Draculea or Draculya or the "Devil's son" and this later became Dracula, a name that translates as something like "son of him who had the Order of the Dragon". This is the same Dragon Order that is today promoted by the British "Holy Grail" author, Sir Laurence Gardner. By the way, Queen Mary or Mary of Teck, the mother of King George VI and therefore grandmother to the present Elizabeth II, was descended from a sister of "Dracula".
- 'Children of the Matrix' (David Icke) - http://www.aboutromania.com/
- 'Dracula: Between Myth and Reality' (Adrian Axinte) - http://www.romaniatourism.com/
Showing posts with label Vampire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vampire. Show all posts
Friday, November 18, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Nick Cage Is a Vampire
Robalini's Note: Apparently, one of the side effects of being a vampire is making increasingly shoddy choices in scripts after winning an Oscar...
From ABCNews.com
Could Nicolas Cage be a vampire? A Civil War era photo that bears an eerie resemblance to Cage has sparked rumors that the actor is a real-life vampire.
Cage has starred in “Vampire’s Kiss” and played a demonic role in “Ghost Rider.” For most, his connection to the bloodsucking species ends there. Not so for Jack Mord, an antiques dealer who got the rumor mill cooking when he posted a photograph for sale on eBay of a man he says is from Bristol, Tenn., around 1870, and he says can be no one else but Cage.
Mord believes Cage is a vampire who reinvents himself every 75 years or so.
“Personally, I believe it’s him and that he is some sort of walking undead/vampire, et cetera, who quickens/reinvents himself once every 75 years or so,” he wrote in the post, which has since been removed. “150 years from now, he might be a politician, the leader of a cult, or a talk show host.”
Mord claims that the supposedly 47-year-old actor looks virtually unchanged since his first big hit “Moonstruck” all the way back in 1987 — more “proof.”
The seller is so confident that the person in the photo is Cage that he said: “Any serious potential buyer will be allowed to have a photo expert of their choice examine the original photograph before any money changes hands.” The photo was offered at a price of $1 million, but it has since been removed...
Nicolas Cage a Vampire from the Civil War Era?
CASSANDRA ARSENAULT
Sep 21, 2011
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2011/09/is-nicolas-cage-a-vampire-from-the-civil-war-era
Friday, October 8, 2010
Porphyria: The Vampire Disease That Started The Legend
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/270110_porphyria-the-vampire-disease-that-started-the-legend
Porphyria: The Vampire Disease That Started The Legend
Apr 2nd, 2010 by MEMO
Porphyria or the so-calle Vampire Disease, is a rare blood disorder that is the actual reason there are concepts about vampires today. Read this article and you will understand all the myth about vampires and how it came about.
The Vampire Disease, or porphyria in scientific term, is a set of genetic disorders characterized by the malfunction of the hemoglobin production. It is a rare disease that is said to originate from the intermarriages of the European nobility. The good news is, it is not contagious. Unfortunately, it is not curable.
While the term “porphyria” is relatively new, the disease itself has been in existence since the beginning of time. It is referred to, before, as a liver or a blood disease due to its symptoms. It was later called the “Vampire Disease” and was actually the start of the vampire legend.
People suffering from porphyria have symptoms manifested by mythological vampires. Their skin is sensitive to sunlight, their urine is reddish to purplish in color, the gums are shrunk making the teeth looking more prominent and canine-like and they have an averse reaction to garlic. Likewise, people suffering from porphyria will feel constant abdominal pains, will have increased hair growth, bouts of vomits and tightened skin.
The Vampire Disease is the reason why vampires can be considered real. They exist because the folks during the era of the Inquisition refer to patients with porphyria as “vampires”. However, they are far from what we now see on TV or the movies. They are not dangerous, in fact they are sick. The facts enumerated hereunder are the reasons that gave birth to the comtemporary vampires that we now know of.
1) Sensitive to sunlight – When a porphyria sufferer is exposed to the rays of the sun, his skin and face get disfigured and blackened. It also ruptures and swells and the resulting sores have thick hair growing from it.
2) Fangs – The fangs that vampires have are actually the appearance that a porphyria patient gets when his ears and nose start to be eaten away resulting to red lips that peel back from his receding gums. This results into the exposed fang-like teeth that are quite gruesome and frightening in appearance.
3) Drinking of blood – Since porphyria patients have purple-colored urine, it is widely believe then that this was because they drink blood. Aside from this however, there were really some instances when they did drink blood. However, it was animal blood that they used to drink as a means to relieve their anemia and pain.
4) Garlic to ward-off vampires – It may come as a surprise but even this has basis. Porphyria patients has aversion to garlic since the chemicals contained in it aggravates their symptoms. They can experience agonizing pain because of garlic.
5) No reflection in mirrors - It is believed that it must be very hard for any porphyria sufferer to see his appearance once he reached the later stage of the disease where he would have his nose, ears and lips eaten away and his canine-like teeth exposed in an ugly grin. Thus, it is but normal for him to avoid mirrors so as not to see his own deplorable reflection.
6) Aggresiveness – Those with acute porphyria are diagnosed to be irritable, uncooperative, violent and aggressive. They would swear and are basically disinhibited. This may be the reason they are taken to be dangerous.
It is ironical that those with porphyria, who were supposed to be getting medical help, were instead feared, abhorred and was burned at the stake during the Inquisition by no less than the church officials. About 600 of them were burned at the stake during this period. This is where the idea that vampires are repelled by crucifix originated. This is also the reason why porphyria victims, and so are “vampires”, are afraid of the church and anything that symbolizes it.
Today, porphyria has mutated to sets of disorders. It is not common but may be present in 1 out of 10,000. A battery of tests has to be done for it to be diagnosed. It is not curable but it may be contained through regular blood transfusion. It can also be controlled if the patient will have a healthy lifestyle.
With the knowledge about porphyria, people are made aware of the scientific basis of vampires. Most importantly, it will be known that the original concept about vampires is way too far from the truth. Instead of fearing them, people with Vampire Disease should instead be given love and taken cared of.
Porphyria: The Vampire Disease That Started The Legend
Apr 2nd, 2010 by MEMO
Porphyria or the so-calle Vampire Disease, is a rare blood disorder that is the actual reason there are concepts about vampires today. Read this article and you will understand all the myth about vampires and how it came about.
The Vampire Disease, or porphyria in scientific term, is a set of genetic disorders characterized by the malfunction of the hemoglobin production. It is a rare disease that is said to originate from the intermarriages of the European nobility. The good news is, it is not contagious. Unfortunately, it is not curable.
While the term “porphyria” is relatively new, the disease itself has been in existence since the beginning of time. It is referred to, before, as a liver or a blood disease due to its symptoms. It was later called the “Vampire Disease” and was actually the start of the vampire legend.
People suffering from porphyria have symptoms manifested by mythological vampires. Their skin is sensitive to sunlight, their urine is reddish to purplish in color, the gums are shrunk making the teeth looking more prominent and canine-like and they have an averse reaction to garlic. Likewise, people suffering from porphyria will feel constant abdominal pains, will have increased hair growth, bouts of vomits and tightened skin.
The Vampire Disease is the reason why vampires can be considered real. They exist because the folks during the era of the Inquisition refer to patients with porphyria as “vampires”. However, they are far from what we now see on TV or the movies. They are not dangerous, in fact they are sick. The facts enumerated hereunder are the reasons that gave birth to the comtemporary vampires that we now know of.
1) Sensitive to sunlight – When a porphyria sufferer is exposed to the rays of the sun, his skin and face get disfigured and blackened. It also ruptures and swells and the resulting sores have thick hair growing from it.
2) Fangs – The fangs that vampires have are actually the appearance that a porphyria patient gets when his ears and nose start to be eaten away resulting to red lips that peel back from his receding gums. This results into the exposed fang-like teeth that are quite gruesome and frightening in appearance.
3) Drinking of blood – Since porphyria patients have purple-colored urine, it is widely believe then that this was because they drink blood. Aside from this however, there were really some instances when they did drink blood. However, it was animal blood that they used to drink as a means to relieve their anemia and pain.
4) Garlic to ward-off vampires – It may come as a surprise but even this has basis. Porphyria patients has aversion to garlic since the chemicals contained in it aggravates their symptoms. They can experience agonizing pain because of garlic.
5) No reflection in mirrors - It is believed that it must be very hard for any porphyria sufferer to see his appearance once he reached the later stage of the disease where he would have his nose, ears and lips eaten away and his canine-like teeth exposed in an ugly grin. Thus, it is but normal for him to avoid mirrors so as not to see his own deplorable reflection.
6) Aggresiveness – Those with acute porphyria are diagnosed to be irritable, uncooperative, violent and aggressive. They would swear and are basically disinhibited. This may be the reason they are taken to be dangerous.
It is ironical that those with porphyria, who were supposed to be getting medical help, were instead feared, abhorred and was burned at the stake during the Inquisition by no less than the church officials. About 600 of them were burned at the stake during this period. This is where the idea that vampires are repelled by crucifix originated. This is also the reason why porphyria victims, and so are “vampires”, are afraid of the church and anything that symbolizes it.
Today, porphyria has mutated to sets of disorders. It is not common but may be present in 1 out of 10,000. A battery of tests has to be done for it to be diagnosed. It is not curable but it may be contained through regular blood transfusion. It can also be controlled if the patient will have a healthy lifestyle.
With the knowledge about porphyria, people are made aware of the scientific basis of vampires. Most importantly, it will be known that the original concept about vampires is way too far from the truth. Instead of fearing them, people with Vampire Disease should instead be given love and taken cared of.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Woman Escapes Into 'Twilight' Novels
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/woman_married_to_fat_emotionally
Woman Married To Fat, Emotionally Distant Vampire Escapes Into 'Twilight' Novels
January 11, 2010 Issue 46•02
NEW ORLEANS — Acknowledging years of marital dissatisfaction and a noticeable increase in her vampire husband's weight, 43-year-old Sara Pastor told reporters Thursday that she often seeks solace by losing herself in the escapist fantasy of the Twilight novels.
The New Orleans resident said it's been ages since her husband, 834-year-old Andrei Pastor, bought her flowers, took her dancing, or appeared at her second-story window and charmed her into allowing him inside. According to Sara, she purchased the first book in Stephenie Meyer's young-adult vampire romance series 14 months ago, while waiting for her husband to pick her up from the airport, and has taken refuge in the novels ever since.
"Edward is so romantic," said Pastor, referring to Edward Cullen, Twilight's vampire hero. "He loves [17-year-old protagonist] Bella so much that he runs away from her to protect her. My husband, on the other hand, hasn't posed any kind of danger to me in years."
"Sometimes I wish I could just open up the pages and jump right into Bella's skin," Sara continued. "I know it's silly, but what's wrong with wanting a little romance and adventure from your undead husband?"
Sara and Andrei met in 1988, when, as college students, they both volunteered to organize a campus blood drive. Sara reportedly found Andrei's nocturnal lifestyle exotic and thrilling, and two years later, they were married in a nighttime ceremony guests described as a "storybook wedding."
At first Sara was content with her role as homemaker, cleaning the vast Gothic manse the couple shared and cooking meals that met the strict sanguinary requirements of Andrei's diet. But according to friends, things started to change a few years ago.
Sara's dream husband began spending more and more time secluded in darkened alcoves with his cape drawn over his face. Before long, Andrei—once a stealthy hunter who easily stalked young and healthy prey—started feeding excessively on any slow-moving person who happened to wander by the house, and soon ballooned to almost twice his normal weight.
"When we were first married, Andrei was so dark and mysterious," Pastor said wistfully. "These days, pretty much all he does is sit around swilling blood and watching ESPN."
Added Pastor, "Edward would never do that to Bella."
Now, sources close to the couple report, whenever Andrei leaves the house to feast on the vital fluids of a bedridden shut-in, Sara retreats to the fictional world of Forks, WA, often reading and rereading the same erotic passages from her dog-eared copy of Breaking Dawn.
"Arizona, Italy, Brazil—Edward Cullen travels everywhere for his love," said Pastor, sounding increasingly flustered. "Anytime I want to visit my family in Houston or go on a vacation, Andrei gives me the same old line: 'Sorry, but I can't risk being caught out in the sunlight.' Well, that sure didn't stop him back in 1895 when he came over here from Eastern Europe."
According to Sara, by last year she felt so cooped up that she took a job at a local Olive Garden "just to get out of the house." She woke each morning at 10 a.m. and came home at dusk, her clothes still smelling of garlic.
It wasn't long before the two started sleeping in separate coffins.
"Every time I get to the part where Edward reveals himself to Bella in the sunlight, I start to cry," Pastor said. "Edward is so beautiful, his skin begins to sparkle in the sun. The closest Andrei ever comes to sparkling is when sweat beads up on his chunky thighs after he's climbed a flight of stairs."
Though sources confirm Andrei won't entertain the idea of a divorce, it's uncertain how long the marriage can last under these conditions.
"If Sara wants to live in her little fantasy world all the time, that's her choice," Andrei Pastor, Vicomte of Bazargic, said when reached for comment. "She might think life is just one big fairy tale, but it's not."
Added the vampire, "I've been around 800 years, and I think I know a thing or two about the real world."
Woman Married To Fat, Emotionally Distant Vampire Escapes Into 'Twilight' Novels
January 11, 2010 Issue 46•02
NEW ORLEANS — Acknowledging years of marital dissatisfaction and a noticeable increase in her vampire husband's weight, 43-year-old Sara Pastor told reporters Thursday that she often seeks solace by losing herself in the escapist fantasy of the Twilight novels.
The New Orleans resident said it's been ages since her husband, 834-year-old Andrei Pastor, bought her flowers, took her dancing, or appeared at her second-story window and charmed her into allowing him inside. According to Sara, she purchased the first book in Stephenie Meyer's young-adult vampire romance series 14 months ago, while waiting for her husband to pick her up from the airport, and has taken refuge in the novels ever since.
"Edward is so romantic," said Pastor, referring to Edward Cullen, Twilight's vampire hero. "He loves [17-year-old protagonist] Bella so much that he runs away from her to protect her. My husband, on the other hand, hasn't posed any kind of danger to me in years."
"Sometimes I wish I could just open up the pages and jump right into Bella's skin," Sara continued. "I know it's silly, but what's wrong with wanting a little romance and adventure from your undead husband?"
Sara and Andrei met in 1988, when, as college students, they both volunteered to organize a campus blood drive. Sara reportedly found Andrei's nocturnal lifestyle exotic and thrilling, and two years later, they were married in a nighttime ceremony guests described as a "storybook wedding."
At first Sara was content with her role as homemaker, cleaning the vast Gothic manse the couple shared and cooking meals that met the strict sanguinary requirements of Andrei's diet. But according to friends, things started to change a few years ago.
Sara's dream husband began spending more and more time secluded in darkened alcoves with his cape drawn over his face. Before long, Andrei—once a stealthy hunter who easily stalked young and healthy prey—started feeding excessively on any slow-moving person who happened to wander by the house, and soon ballooned to almost twice his normal weight.
"When we were first married, Andrei was so dark and mysterious," Pastor said wistfully. "These days, pretty much all he does is sit around swilling blood and watching ESPN."
Added Pastor, "Edward would never do that to Bella."
Now, sources close to the couple report, whenever Andrei leaves the house to feast on the vital fluids of a bedridden shut-in, Sara retreats to the fictional world of Forks, WA, often reading and rereading the same erotic passages from her dog-eared copy of Breaking Dawn.
"Arizona, Italy, Brazil—Edward Cullen travels everywhere for his love," said Pastor, sounding increasingly flustered. "Anytime I want to visit my family in Houston or go on a vacation, Andrei gives me the same old line: 'Sorry, but I can't risk being caught out in the sunlight.' Well, that sure didn't stop him back in 1895 when he came over here from Eastern Europe."
According to Sara, by last year she felt so cooped up that she took a job at a local Olive Garden "just to get out of the house." She woke each morning at 10 a.m. and came home at dusk, her clothes still smelling of garlic.
It wasn't long before the two started sleeping in separate coffins.
"Every time I get to the part where Edward reveals himself to Bella in the sunlight, I start to cry," Pastor said. "Edward is so beautiful, his skin begins to sparkle in the sun. The closest Andrei ever comes to sparkling is when sweat beads up on his chunky thighs after he's climbed a flight of stairs."
Though sources confirm Andrei won't entertain the idea of a divorce, it's uncertain how long the marriage can last under these conditions.
"If Sara wants to live in her little fantasy world all the time, that's her choice," Andrei Pastor, Vicomte of Bazargic, said when reached for comment. "She might think life is just one big fairy tale, but it's not."
Added the vampire, "I've been around 800 years, and I think I know a thing or two about the real world."
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Vampire Lesbians of Hammer
http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/the_vampire_lesbians_of_hammer/
Vampire Lesbians of Hammer09.29.2009
Richard Metzger
Topics:
Movies
Tags:
Peter Cushing
Ingrid Pitt
Yutte Stensgaard
Vampires
With all the hubbub about sexy vampires these days, courtesy of Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, it’s time to take a short stroll down memory lane to the “golden age” of vampire lesbian cinema with Hammer’s so-called “Karnstein Trilogy.”The first of the series, The Vampire Lovers, starred beautiful Polish actress Ingrid Pitt, who had previously played Elizabeth Bathory in Countess Dracula for Hammer. Pitt played Carmilla Karnstein, the literary prototype for all vampire lesbians, a character created by author J. Sheridan Le Fanu in 1872. I saw the film on a late night “chiller theater” TV slot in the mid-Seventies and while its actually a pretty decent, serviceable period piece horror film, uh, whatever… let’s get real here, the real attraction were the bare breasts of Ms. Pitt and crew! Without them no one would remember this film at all.
Ask anyone who grew up in the Seventies —well ask any guy-- and they will know all about this film and its two sequels, which were often aired—astonishingly—with the nude scenes intact. Back in the Seventies, this was a cause for celebration for teenage boys. I used to scour the TV Guide searching for weird things to watch and whenever there was a screening of one of these films, I can assure you that I didn’t have anything better to do that night!
The second film in the Karnstein Trilogy was 1971’s Lust for a Vampire starring blond Danish hottie Yutte Stensgaard. Again, ask any middle-aged guy in America or England who watched horror films as a kid and… they will know the name Yutte Stensgaard, who is seen bare-breasted and smeared with blood in the film. A still from this scene made frequent appearances in monster movie books and magazines, providing masturbatory fodder for an entire generation of horror film geeks (here Stensgaard is seen signing it at a fan convention). Few woman reading this will have ever heard of Yutte Stensgaard, but trust me, many —most—of the guys out there have. I love the tagline in the trailer: “Welcome to the finishing school where they really DO finish you…”
Twins of Evil was the final entrant in the series. Twins of Evil starred identical twin Playboy Playmates Mary and Madeline Collinson. It was a sort of pre-quel to the first film and also starred Peter Cushing. Aside from just Sapphic vampires, Twins of Evil had themes of witchcraft and devil worship, so it was an extra campy Hammer entry. The Collinson twins were such bad actresses that their voices were overdubbed in post production.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Nicaragua's Vampire Problem
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1882094,00.htmlNicaragua's Vampire Problem
By Tim Rogers / Llano Grande
2 Friday, Feb. 27, 2009
A shrill scream from the next bedroom jolted Maria Felix Flores from her sleep shortly after midnight on the muggy, tropical night of Feb. 22. She dashed into the adjoining room to find her adult son Carlos and his wife Maria Josefa sitting upright in bed with the lights on, panicked by the sight of their blood-drenched sheets. (Read "Could There be Real Monster Bats?")
Their feet were sticky and warm with blood, but neither felt any pain and couldn't figure out the source of the gush. Flores, however, took one look at the messy scene and knew exactly what had happened: the vampires were back in her little Nicaraguan town.
After examining the two, Flores discovered both had been bitten on their toes; the clean incisions and the profuse bleeding were telltale signs of a vampire bat attack. The vampire's bite is quick and razor sharp, so the sleeping victim doesn't feel the incision; and the animal's saliva contains a strong anticoagulating agent that leaves the victim bleeding for hours after the bite.
Flores, who was bitten last year, thought her town's vampire problem had been solved when government vampire hunters wiped out a bat colony in 2008. But once again, this sleepy town is being haunted by the winged menaces.
"The vampires are dangerous. Of course we are scared," says her neighbor Alberdina del Carmen Reyes, whose rustic wood-plank shanty is filled with gaps big enough for the flying mammals to sneak through during the night. Reyes' 5-year-old granddaughter was attacked in her sleep several weeks ago and awoke to a similarly gory scene in her bed. "The government tells us to cover our beds with mosquito nets at night," says Reyes, "but we don't have the money to buy them." Many of the impoverished families in this countryside community of Llano Grande 2, Masaya, have similar vampire tales. The government reports that more than 70 people here have been bitten by vampires in the past year. (See the top 10 animal stories of 2008.)
Vampires normally feed on the blood of livestock. But when cattle populations are suddenly sold off or moved to greener pastures, the bats seek alternative sources of blood. So far, none of the human victims have tested positive for rabies. But the government isn't waiting for an outbreak to take action. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry sent two of its seasoned vampire hunters to the community to catch the winged pests and wipe out their colony, discovered at the bottom of an abandoned 200-ft. well that no one ever thought to cap.
Nicaraguan animal veterinarians Jose Amador and Carlos Ivan Iglesias don't exactly fit the Hollywood role of the dashing Van Helsing, but their arrival in the village was treated like a celebrity event. As the two men set up their capture nets around the well, local residents greeted them with gifts of bread, plates of food, coffee and a liter of some unrecognizable brand of soda. As the town folk retreated to their homes, dusk gave way to night and only the outlines of the wind-blown palm trees could be seen swaying against the starry sky of the moonless night. Amador and Iglesias, whom I had been talking to moments earlier in the dark, were suddenly snoring in their hammocks. I sat in the back of pickup truck trying not to smell like vampire bait and hoping I wasn't in charge of the hunt.
"We got one!" Iglesias yelled 20 minutes later, before I even realized he was out of his hammock and inspecting the perimeter net. In an instant, Amador was at his side, and the two men — wearing thick fire gloves — untangled the aggressive baby vampire from the net, grabbing it carefully as it squealed and hissed madly, trying to bite its handlers through their gloves. The veterinarians applied a poisonous gel to the body of the captured vampire and released it, allowing the animal to return to its roost, where the other bats — up to dozens in the colony — would dutifully lick it clean, killing themselves in the process.
While biological warfare might seem an extreme measure to some animal-protection advocates, international bat expert Merlin Tuttle, founder of Bat Conservation International, says that's the best way to handle vampires. The problem, Tuttle says, is when people — motivated by fear, ignorance or both — target all bats for extermination by dynamiting caves, which causes enormous environmental damage and often kills thousand of beneficial bats that eat insects, pollinate flowers and even disperse seeds as part of natural reforestation. Blood feeders, on the other hand, are extremely rare — only three out of 1,100 species of bat are vampires, and all are found in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Confusion about bats is understandable, considering the scientists who named them were equally confused. According to vampire-bat expert Bill Schutt, a zoologist and author of the book Dark Banquet, about 10 species of bats were erroneously named "vampires," while the true blood feeders were given more innocuous-sounding Latin names. "Bats [with scientific names that include] Vampyrum, Vampyrops, Vampyrina, Vampyressa, Vampyriscus and Vampyrodes aren't sanguivores [blood feeders], while Desmodus, Diaemus and Diphylla are true vampires," he says.
But when people act on their ignorance and kill beneficial bats, they are really putting themselves at even greater risk from the real blood-feeding terrors of the night: mosquitoes. Many more people die each year from mosquito-born diseases than from bat-transmitted rabies. And as someone who's already had dengue fever, I'm much more afraid of getting bit by mosquitoes than vampires.
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