WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: The Nosferatu Vampire

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>and monsters. In time, countless variations of the vampire have

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<v Speaker 1>emerged from our popular culture, fed by the blood of

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<v Speaker 1>global myths, folk tales, and legends. Some are sparkly and sexy,

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<v Speaker 1>other sinister and dangerous, others altogether monstrous. The Nosforatu vampire

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<v Speaker 1>has come into its own, a pale, emaciated body with

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<v Speaker 1>ghoulish features, batlike ears, and a pair of elongated incisors

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<v Speaker 1>for piercing the skin of their victims rather than the

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<v Speaker 1>elongated canine teeth found in so many other vampire depictions.

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<v Speaker 1>While not always completely devoid of humanity, they tend toward

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<v Speaker 1>the purely monstrous end of the vampire e spectrum. They

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<v Speaker 1>have been consumed by their unnatural thirst, and this may

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<v Speaker 1>leave them in a primal state, or one in which

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<v Speaker 1>their human memories have faded gossamer then naturally. This monster

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<v Speaker 1>dates back to the nineteen twenty two silent German expressionist

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<v Speaker 1>film Nosferatu A Symphony of horror, which in turn has

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<v Speaker 1>been reimagined many times, including in the Werner Herzog nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy nine film Nosferatu the Vampire. I find the Nosferatu

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<v Speaker 1>particularly engaging in light of what we know of obligate

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<v Speaker 1>sant guovar's in the natural world, particularly vampire bats. It

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<v Speaker 1>is a highly specialized diet blood and not at all

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<v Speaker 1>an easy survival path. Unlike their insect and fruit eating relatives,

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<v Speaker 1>vampire bats cannot hibernate or migrate. They lack the fat store,

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<v Speaker 1>so instead they must feed every night, lapping up fifty

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<v Speaker 1>of their body weight in order to survive. So too,

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<v Speaker 1>the Nosferatu seems shackled to its thirst. In the fifth

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<v Speaker 1>edition of Dungeons and Dragons, the Nosferatu merits its own

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<v Speaker 1>monster manual entry, separate from all the other blood drinkers,

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<v Speaker 1>with a level eight challenge rating. It's no pushover, but

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<v Speaker 1>it's both powerful and in some ways fragile. Hyper sensitive

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<v Speaker 1>to sunlight. It has a few different attack actions at

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<v Speaker 1>its disposal, including blood disgorge, in which quote the Nosferatu

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<v Speaker 1>vomits blood in a fifteen foot cone. In doing this,

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<v Speaker 1>it inflicts necrotic damage on any hapless hero in its way.

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<v Speaker 1>In the natural world, scavenging vultures are known to disgorge

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<v Speaker 1>their meals when threatened, perhaps to bribe the attacker or

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<v Speaker 1>to lighten their load for an escape flight. This would

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<v Speaker 1>be a fit in comparison for the nosferatu, but the

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<v Speaker 1>Texas hornet lizard boast an impressive defense as well. While

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<v Speaker 1>it's camouflage is generally quite effective, it can also shoot

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<v Speaker 1>a stream of blood out of its eyelids with a

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<v Speaker 1>range of up to five ft. According to the Oklahoma

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<v Speaker 1>Department of Wildlife Conservation. The blood also contains a bitter chemical,

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<v Speaker 1>possibly derived from ants and the lizard's diet, which predators

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<v Speaker 1>such as coyotes find particularly distasteful. The lizard can use

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<v Speaker 1>up to a third of its total blood supply in

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<v Speaker 1>this counter attack, but it gets the message across. Tune

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<v Speaker 1>in for additional episodes of The Monster Fact each week.

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<v Speaker 1>As always, you can email us at contact at stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your

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<v Speaker 1>Mind It's production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts

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