1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Hello, it's Richard McLain Smith here, not the impostor you've 2 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: been listening to on the podcasts the real one. Join 3 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: me for Unexplained TV at YouTube dot com Forward Slash 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: Unexplained pod. You're listening to Unexplained Season eight, episode twelve, 5 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:43,279 Speaker 1: The Dark Banquet, Part two. When Bram Stoker's Dracula, the 6 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: story of an undead Eastern European count who rises zombie 7 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,239 Speaker 1: like from a coffin, feasting on the blood of the 8 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: living to survive, was first published in eighteen ninety seven, 9 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: it became an overnight sensation. Today it is considered the 10 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: quintus viential vampire novel, spawning a reverence and fascination for 11 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: this most alluring of creatures that has persisted for over 12 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty five years. Though many of the 13 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: characteristics we associate with vampires, such as having no reflection 14 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: or not being able to enter a building unless they 15 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: are invited in, were invented by Stoker, he also borrowed 16 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: a great deal from the ancient folklore and even real 17 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: life history of Eastern Europe. There the vampire phenomenon can 18 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: be traced back to at least the ninth century Historians 19 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: have surmised that many of the folk tales likely evolved 20 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: from peculiar or inexplicable deaths that people may have witnessed, 21 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: combined with a lack of understanding of the symptoms of 22 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: certain diseases and the decomposition process in general. In the 23 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: Middle Ages, people who became infected by the plague often 24 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: developed ulcers and lesions around their mouths, which would bleed, 25 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: making them appear as though they had been drinking blood. 26 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: There was also the medical condition known as porphyria, a 27 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: disease of the blood resulting from the faulty production of hemoglobin. 28 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:22,799 Speaker 1: Symptoms include abdominal and chest pain, vomiting, and fever. One 29 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: form of the disease, known as porphyria cutanee tardia, concentrates 30 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: the porphyrins, organic building blocks that help create hemoglobin in 31 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: the skin. Exposing the affected skin to sunlight causes the 32 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: abnormal pigments to damage surrounding tissues, resulting in severe skin 33 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: rashes and blistering. It may also lead to severe anemia, 34 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: giving sufferers a pale spectral appearance, along with receding gums, 35 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: which leads to the teeth becoming more exposed and causing 36 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: canines to take on a fang like appearance, all symptoms 37 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: that likely contributed to the stories of why vampires avoid sunlight, 38 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: burning up and being destroyed if they are exposed to it. 39 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,679 Speaker 1: When people are buried, if the soil is especially acidic 40 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 1: or temperatures are low, the decomposition process can be very slow. 41 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: If grave robbers were to dig up a corpse under 42 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: such conditions, they might find the body still looking eerily lifelike. 43 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: In other cases, uneven rigor mortis sometimes caused corpses to 44 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: sit up in the grave, churning blood up the esophagus 45 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: which issued from the mouth. People could be forgiven for 46 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: thinking that such bodies had come back to life and 47 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: were feeding on blood. On occasion, it has been known 48 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: for wooden stakes or metal rods to be driven through 49 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: the chest of these seemingly errant corpses just to make 50 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: absolutely sure that they were dead. In recent decades, a 51 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: slew of medieval vampire burials have been unearthed across Eastern Europe. 52 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:21,359 Speaker 1: Bulgaria alone is home to at least one hundred. In 53 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: two thousand and four, archaeologist Peta Balabanov discovered six nailed 54 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: down skeletons at a site near the eastern Bulgarian town 55 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: of de Belt. According to Balabanov, the pagan rite was 56 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: practiced in neighboring Serbia and other Balkan countries too, and 57 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 1: that wasn't all. An alternative to staking a corpse lest 58 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: it returned from the dead was to behead the body, 59 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: then place the head between the knees. Sometimes huge stones 60 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: were placed on the corpse too to weigh it down, 61 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: or the corpse was buried surrounded or pierced by sharp 62 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:06,040 Speaker 1: agricultural implements. Incredibly, these methods haven't been completely consigned to 63 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: the history books, with some regions continuing to harbour these 64 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: long held beliefs and practices. In Romania, in two thousand 65 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,720 Speaker 1: and four, reports emerged of a woman who'd become strangely 66 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: ill after a farmer relative of hers named Toma Petrie 67 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: had died. Believing her illness had something to do with Tom, 68 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: it fell to six of her family's menfolk to remedy 69 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:35,160 Speaker 1: the situation, and so it was that, in the dead 70 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,839 Speaker 1: of night, together they went to the village cemetery and 71 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:44,279 Speaker 1: proceeded to dig up Thoma's corpse. Once unearthed, they removed 72 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 1: its heart and burned it. The ashes were then mixed 73 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 1: with water and given to the sickly relative to drink 74 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: it said that after downing it all, she reportedly made 75 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 1: a swift recovery. However, when the news gone out, the 76 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:06,480 Speaker 1: six men involved in tomas exhumation were promptly arrested, prosecuted, 77 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: and jailed for six months. Though Toma Petrie was most 78 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,680 Speaker 1: likely not a real vampire, the animal kingdom are there's 79 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: many vampiric creatures, most being very small by comparison to humans, 80 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: though potentially no less intimidating, such as bed bugs, leeches, fleas, ticks, 81 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: female mosquitoes, and the especially unsettling lamprey. Only one bird 82 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: species is known to drink blood. It lives on the 83 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: Galapagous Islands, and far from being a scary predator, it 84 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: is an actuality. A diminutive song bird, The vampire finch 85 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: is closely related to the sharp beaked ground finch and 86 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,840 Speaker 1: normally eats seeds and insects, though it will occasionally peck 87 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: at the skin of other birds for nourishment. There's only 88 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: one group of mammals that have evolved to live a 89 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: life completely on a diet of blood. The creature moves 90 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: slowly with a stealthily tread across the bare ground in 91 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: the warm, humid blackness. It stops, raises its head and 92 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: sniffs the air. It listens intently to an almost imperceptible 93 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: sound up ahead, the steady breathing of a person lying 94 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: on a bed sleeping deeply. The creature recognizes the exact 95 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: pattern of those breathing sounds it has fed on this 96 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: victim before. It raises its nose into the air, once more, 97 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 1: sensing the faintest hint of warm air drifting through the 98 00:07:55,080 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: darkened room. Then steadily it moves in closer towards the 99 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: sleeping victim, using the minute changes in air temperature to 100 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: navigate through the darkness the sleeper's body heat. With surprising agility, 101 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 1: The creature hops up lightly onto the person's chest and 102 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: begins moving inexorably towards their neck. Once there, it licks 103 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 1: at a small patch of exposed skin, its saliva, dispensing 104 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: a painkiller, a skin softening agent, and an anti coadulant 105 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: at the same time. Then, finally, the creature sinks its 106 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: strikingly white raisor sharp teeth into the flesh of the 107 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:44,080 Speaker 1: victim's neck. The puncture wound is so small and the 108 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 1: bite so gentle that the victim senses nothing. As the 109 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 1: creature begins to extract its blood. It does not suck. Rather, 110 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,200 Speaker 1: the blood flows by capillary action along a pair of 111 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:02,079 Speaker 1: grooves in its tongue, which moves rhythmically unceasingly in a 112 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: piston like motion. When it has finally drunk its fill, 113 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: the creature simply withdraws as quietly as it came and 114 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: vanishes silently back into the moonless night. It's certainly easy 115 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: to see how the humble vampire bat provided such rich 116 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 1: inspiration for bram Stoker. Despite its obvious influence on the writer. 117 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: The common vampire bat is in fact not found in 118 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: Europe at all, but South America, in parts of northern 119 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: Mexico and south into Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. The bats 120 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 1: roost in caves, hollow trees, old mine shafts, and abandoned buildings, 121 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: emerging after dark to hunt for blood. In common with 122 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: other bat species and their fictional human vampire counterparts, vampire 123 00:09:56,160 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 1: bats are most decidedly lunophobic, which is say, only active 124 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: when there's no moon or on a cloudy night. Contrary 125 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: to popular belief, vampire bats feed mainly on domestic livestock, 126 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:14,959 Speaker 1: typically cows and goats, and to a lesser extent, on 127 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: wild mammals and birds. They are thought to have become 128 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: common in the early fifteen hundreds, when there was an 129 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: influx of Europeans to the continent, bringing with them a 130 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,080 Speaker 1: wealth of domestic animals for the bats to feast on. 131 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:34,560 Speaker 1: Biologically speaking, life as a vampire is tough, and that's 132 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: why all known living vampire bats are small. The larger species, 133 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: Desmodu rotundus, weighs just under one and a half ounces, 134 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: the same mass as a large grape or a small 135 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: sachet of sugar. However, a giant vampire bat, appropriately named 136 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: in Latin Desmodus straculi, has been found in the fossil record, 137 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:03,800 Speaker 1: with some believing it might yet still be alive, living 138 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 1: undiscovered deep within the Amazon. As it happens, blood is 139 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 1: not a very nutritious food, comprised mostly of water and 140 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: proteins with no fat, vampire bats can't store energy like 141 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: other mammals, which means they have to consume around fifty 142 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:33,360 Speaker 1: percent of their body weight in blunt each night. Failure 143 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 1: to feed for three days in a row could mean 144 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:40,320 Speaker 1: starvation and death. So how would this all play out 145 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: in a real life human vampire transmuted into human form? 146 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: That character would be a far cry from the fictional 147 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: portrayal of human vampires as terrifying and sadistically sexy, like 148 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 1: Edward Cullen in the Twilight series or the Start From 149 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:03,400 Speaker 1: Interview with a Vampire, for example, due to physiological constraints, 150 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: your vampire lover would far more likely be short, barely 151 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: five feet tall, and very slight. He wouldn't want to 152 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,560 Speaker 1: go out until after dark and only on moonless or 153 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:19,079 Speaker 1: cloudy nights. He need to drink around half his weight 154 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 1: in blood every day or two, and while feeding, the 155 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: stomach would swell to such vast proportions he'd be forced 156 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:31,840 Speaker 1: to urinate while drinking. If in line with modern vampire 157 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:35,560 Speaker 1: fictional tradition, you'd chosen to be bitten and had become 158 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 1: a blood drinker yourself. If you weren't able to feed 159 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 1: for two or three days, your vampire compatriot might share 160 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 1: some of the most recent meal with you via the 161 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:51,280 Speaker 1: perhaps unromantic or romantic method depending on your kink of 162 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:56,720 Speaker 1: mouth to mouth regurgitation Vampire bats in the wild commonly 163 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: share food this way, both with their young but also 164 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 1: with unrelated adults, in an example of naturally socialist behavior. 165 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: It's done on a reciprocal basis. Bats who don't share 166 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 1: eventually become nosferatu non grata in the colony and are 167 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:20,040 Speaker 1: more likely to die from starvation in lean times. Some 168 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: more attractive aspects of fictional vampires are biologically accurate, though, 169 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: like being amazingly athletic and fast. Some species of vampire 170 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: bats can make spectacular acrobatic jumps in any direction, using 171 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:41,440 Speaker 1: powerful pectoral muscles along with elongated thumbs which they use 172 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 1: to push off from the ground, and they can run 173 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:48,600 Speaker 1: up to two meters per second scaled up to small 174 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: human size, that is impressively fast. Vampire bats can also 175 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:59,560 Speaker 1: effectively see in the dark, too, using leaflike structures in 176 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 1: their nose to sense differences in temperature, an adaptation that 177 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:09,319 Speaker 1: helps them approach warm blooded prey in complete darkness. This 178 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 1: ability is so sensitive that once a bat gets within 179 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 1: around six inches of its prey, its thermo receptors can 180 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 1: detect the minutest temperature variations on the surface of the skin, 181 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: which allow it to locate where the blood vessels lie 182 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: just below the skin's surface. Your vampire lover, should you 183 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,359 Speaker 1: choose to take one, would also have the most extraordinary 184 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: sensitivity to specific sounds. In a two thousand and six 185 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 1: paper published by Udo Gurger and Lutz fe Greep on 186 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: the common vampire bat, they explain how they solve the 187 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 1: puzzling problem of how vampire bats have been observed to 188 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 1: relocate and feed on the same human host night after night. Incredibly, 189 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 1: the bats can hear and recognize your breathing. The researchers 190 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 1: found that the bats were able to discriminate between the 191 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 1: breathing patterns of three different human subjects, even when mixed 192 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: with additional random breathing sounds, a distinction which human subjects 193 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: hearing the same sounds couldn't make. When vampire bats find 194 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:32,040 Speaker 1: a source of blood that tastes good, it appears that 195 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: they remember the unique ultrasonic components of that individual's breathing pattern, 196 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:44,640 Speaker 1: using it to repeatedly relocate their favorite supplier. Human vampires 197 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:49,320 Speaker 1: would also have an impressive immune system. Bats have hyperactive 198 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 1: immunity needed to repair the frequent micro injuries to cells 199 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: and DNA from having to ramp up their metabolism every 200 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: night for flying. In the wild, vampire bats typically live 201 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:06,440 Speaker 1: for around nine years, although in captivity they've been recorded 202 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 1: as surviving to the grand old age of thirty, a 203 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: very long life equivalent to roughly one hundred and twenty 204 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: human years for such a small mammal. Vampire bats don't 205 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,960 Speaker 1: age the way they should by controlling inflammation and slowing 206 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: down the aging process, so although your vampire bow would 207 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: not be immortal, they would be long lived. Watching a 208 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:37,600 Speaker 1: vampire bat feed can be a compulsively gruesome sight. The 209 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: species Deemus young guy typically approaches a bird from below 210 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: its roosting perch, moving like a stalking cat, one limb 211 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 1: at a time, taking care to keep the branch between 212 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:55,000 Speaker 1: itself and its prey. Once beneath the bird, it picks 213 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: the potential bite sight, usually on the bird's big toe. 214 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:04,040 Speaker 1: After licking the site, it bites gently and begins to feed. 215 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:08,520 Speaker 1: The vampire bat is even more crafty when it feeds 216 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:13,160 Speaker 1: on a chicken. It's been seen hopping onto a hen's back, 217 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 1: imitating the behavior of a mating male chicken, assuming she 218 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: is being mounted for another purpose. Altogether, the hen instinctively 219 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:29,760 Speaker 1: adopts a crouching posture while the vampire bat contentedly feeds, 220 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:36,120 Speaker 1: but not all vampires, it seems, are bats or bed bugs, 221 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 1: or works of fiction. It was early evening in the 222 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 1: French quarter of New Orleans, and John Edgar Browning was 223 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: feeling apprehensive. Things began as if it were a medical procedure. 224 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 1: Asked Browning to take off his top, then took out 225 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 1: an alcohol swap and wiped a small patch of skin 226 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:11,880 Speaker 1: on Browning's upper back. Next, he made a small puncture 227 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: wound with a disposable hobby scalpel and squeezed the flesh 228 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: around it until the blood started to flow. Browning's companion 229 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,359 Speaker 1: lowered his lips to the wound and began to drink. 230 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:29,800 Speaker 1: He lapped at the blood with his tongue briefly before 231 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: cleaning and bandaging the cut. When Browning asked why he 232 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 1: drank so little, the man explained that the blood was 233 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,160 Speaker 1: not quite to his taste. It was not as metallic 234 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:45,959 Speaker 1: as he usually liked, the vampire said. He explained that 235 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: many factors, including diet, hydration, and blood group or make 236 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:56,160 Speaker 1: subtle differences to the flavor. Browning later reported that he'd 237 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: been relieved to get the experience over, especially since he 238 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:02,399 Speaker 1: was a bit of a needle fobe who preferred to 239 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: avoid sharp objects. But why had he subjected himself to 240 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:10,440 Speaker 1: such a situation in the first place. John Edgar Browning 241 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: has made a career studying and writing about horror, in 242 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:19,600 Speaker 1: particular works of vampire fiction. Currently a professor of Liberal 243 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:24,200 Speaker 1: Arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, Georgia, 244 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 1: Browning often works as a consultant on TV documentaries and 245 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:35,720 Speaker 1: films depicting vampires. While a graduate student at Louisiana State University, 246 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 1: as part of his doctoral dissertation research, Browning embarked on 247 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:44,760 Speaker 1: a two year ethnographic study of a community of self 248 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 1: described vampires in New Orleans. He decided that the only 249 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,639 Speaker 1: way to conduct genuine research was to immerse himself in 250 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:58,639 Speaker 1: vampire culture. His field notes document how on the eve 251 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,000 Speaker 1: of the second Tuesday of every month, he would become 252 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:08,280 Speaker 1: a diligently observant bystander. Strolling around the Bourbon Street neighborhood 253 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: in the French Quarter, Browning would often see bats darting 254 00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:17,200 Speaker 1: about in the twilight sky above. As he walked the streets. 255 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 1: He began to home in on places where vampires seemed 256 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 1: to hang out typically goth clubs. In terms of personal safety, 257 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,920 Speaker 1: it helped that Browning was six foot four and two 258 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:32,960 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty pounds, but he was more concerned for 259 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: his study subjects than himself. Outing a vampire could potentially 260 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:43,600 Speaker 1: put their personal and professional lives in jeopardy. After several 261 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: nights of observations, the owner of a goth clothing shop 262 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:51,040 Speaker 1: he was visiting subtly pointed to a woman standing with 263 00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:55,199 Speaker 1: her two children in one of the aisles. Sidling up 264 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: to her, Browning began to tell the woman about his 265 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:02,119 Speaker 1: study of vampires. She told him that she might know 266 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:07,399 Speaker 1: a few, then smiled, revealing two fanglike teeth, which to 267 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:19,600 Speaker 1: Browning looked atrociously sharp. John Edgar Browning managed to make 268 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:23,399 Speaker 1: friendships with a large group of vampires, whom he interviewed 269 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:27,959 Speaker 1: repeatedly before he began his study. He assumed they'd simply 270 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:32,159 Speaker 1: be delusional types who were enamored with vampire fiction and 271 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:37,399 Speaker 1: merely fetishized the lifestyle rather than lived it. Certainly, there 272 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 1: were a few who wore fangs and slept in coffins, 273 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:45,679 Speaker 1: for they weren't the majority. Instead, most of the vampires 274 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,920 Speaker 1: he met had little or no belief in the paranormal 275 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,199 Speaker 1: at all, and often had only a passing knowledge of 276 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: vampire fiction and TV shows like True Blunt. He certainly 277 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:01,959 Speaker 1: didn't expect to find individuals who actually drank human blunt. 278 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,480 Speaker 1: Over time, Browning began to feel a great degree of 279 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:11,120 Speaker 1: empathy with people he described as often highly intelligent, who 280 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: more often than not, were pursuing the lifestyle because of 281 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:20,399 Speaker 1: a medical condition. Many claimed to suffer from frequent fatigue, headaches, 282 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: and excruciating stomach paint, which they believed could only be 283 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:30,879 Speaker 1: treated by drinking another human's blood. They called themselves medical 284 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 1: sanguinarians or medsancs for short. As it happens, there are 285 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:41,080 Speaker 1: many cases in history where human blood was once considered 286 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: a bona fide curative. It is claimed that at the 287 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 1: end of the fifteenth century, Pope Innocent the eighths physician 288 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,719 Speaker 1: allegedly bled three ten year old boys to death and 289 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:56,639 Speaker 1: fed their still warm blood to the dying pope in 290 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 1: the hope that it might pass on their youthful vitality, 291 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:06,360 Speaker 1: but the treatment failed. Although the story is most likely apocryphal, 292 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 1: there is little doubt that in medieval times, blood was 293 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:14,480 Speaker 1: viewed as enhancing connections between the physical and spirit world, 294 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 1: with the ability to confer strength. People suffering from ailments 295 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:24,520 Speaker 1: would sometimes gather around gallows and collect the warm blood 296 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 1: dripping from recently executed criminals, believing that by drinking the 297 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,440 Speaker 1: blood of healthy young men, they would imbibe their youthful 298 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 1: spirit and cure whatever afflicted them. Such practices only fell 299 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 1: out of favour following the Enlightenment, when more prudish sensibilities 300 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 1: took hold. In modern times, real life vampirism has conjured 301 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:53,119 Speaker 1: horrible images, and the practice is seen as taboo in 302 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:58,880 Speaker 1: much of mainstream society, partly through association with gruesome acts, 303 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 1: like the case of Richard Trenton Chase from Sacramento, California, 304 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,680 Speaker 1: who in the late nineteen seventies reputedly began his vampire 305 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:13,119 Speaker 1: habit by killing rabbits and drinking their blood. He was 306 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,679 Speaker 1: sectioned and spent time in a psychiatric facility, where he 307 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: allegedly bit the heads off live birds. He went on 308 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:24,080 Speaker 1: to commit murder, after which he was said to have 309 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:29,120 Speaker 1: drunk his victim's blunt. He later apparently told a fellow 310 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,439 Speaker 1: prison inmate that he believed it would improve his health. 311 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:37,719 Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety eight, Rod Ferrell became the youngest person 312 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:41,080 Speaker 1: at the time to be consigned to Florida's Death Row 313 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,919 Speaker 1: after being convicted of the double slaying of a couple. 314 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 1: Ferrell had been the leader of a cult that centered 315 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 1: around a teenage gang in Murray, Kentucky, known as the 316 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,200 Speaker 1: Vampire Clan. Ferrell claimed to be a five hundred year 317 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:01,679 Speaker 1: old vampire named for Sago, a character he created for 318 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:06,359 Speaker 1: himself after becoming obsessed with the role playing game Vampire 319 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:12,120 Speaker 1: the Masquerade. His death sentence was subsequently reduced to life imprisonment. 320 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:24,920 Speaker 1: Despite its grisly associations, vampirism has persisted among small groups 321 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,400 Speaker 1: of people, who, in the Internet era, have built thriving 322 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: underground networks for the medsas who John Edgar Browning questioned 323 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: the hunger for blood seems to strike around the onset 324 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:42,359 Speaker 1: of puberty. One interviewe told Browning that as a teenager 325 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 1: he felt weak all the time until one day, while 326 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:50,280 Speaker 1: fighting with his cousin, he drew blood, tasted it, and 327 00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 1: felt a sudden rush of vitality, which turned into a 328 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:59,800 Speaker 1: compulsive hunger. Another reported being plagued by irritable bow syndrome. 329 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: Which only got better when she consumed around seven shot 330 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:08,800 Speaker 1: glasses of blood. While one young, self confessed female vampire 331 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,080 Speaker 1: told Browning that following a blood meal, she feels instantly 332 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,680 Speaker 1: more mentally alert, and that any joint or muscle pain 333 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,359 Speaker 1: she has disappear for up to two weeks at a time. 334 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: Browning also learned that the donors for these modern vampires 335 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 1: are most often sympathetic, close friends or relatives, who are 336 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:34,359 Speaker 1: said to understand the perceived need. Both donor and vampire 337 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:39,360 Speaker 1: will first get tested for potentially transmissible diseases such as 338 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:45,480 Speaker 1: HIV and hepatitis before any blood is consumed. He also 339 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:49,879 Speaker 1: learned that vampires make sure to clean their lips, brush 340 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:54,680 Speaker 1: their teeth, and gargle with mouth wash before drinking. One 341 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:59,359 Speaker 1: British vampire described the act of feeding as an impersonal one, 342 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,359 Speaker 1: much more like taking a pill than a scene from Twilight. 343 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 1: It's rumored that thriving underground vampire communities exist in most 344 00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:15,199 Speaker 1: major cities across the world today, all comprised of everyday 345 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:20,040 Speaker 1: ordinary people. Perhaps the person next to you right now 346 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,119 Speaker 1: in the office, on the bus or train, or in 347 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: your bed is one of them. Thank you, as ever 348 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:35,040 Speaker 1: for listening to the show. Please subscribe and rate it 349 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,080 Speaker 1: if you haven't already done so. You can also now 350 00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,240 Speaker 1: find us on TikTok at TikTok dot com, forward Slash 351 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:45,720 Speaker 1: at Unexplained Podcast. This episode was written by Diane Hope 352 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:50,679 Speaker 1: and produced by me Richard McLean Smith. Diane is an 353 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,960 Speaker 1: audio producer and sound recordist in her own right. You 354 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,040 Speaker 1: can find out more about her work at Dianehope dot 355 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:02,840 Speaker 1: com and on Instagram at in The Unexplained is an 356 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: AV Club Productions podcast created by Richard McClain smith. All 357 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,359 Speaker 1: other elements of the podcast, including the music, are also 358 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 1: produced by me Richard mcclinsmith. Unexplained The book and audiobook 359 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,960 Speaker 1: is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, 360 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 1: Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, and other bookstores. Please subscribe to 361 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts, and 362 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:31,679 Speaker 1: feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or 363 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 1: ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps 364 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,000 Speaker 1: you have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. 365 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:42,160 Speaker 1: You can find out more at Unexplained podcast dot com 366 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:45,880 Speaker 1: and reach us online through Twitter at Unexplained Pod and 367 00:28:46,040 --> 00:30:01,680 Speaker 1: Facebook at Facebook dot com. Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast O M.