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Vampires in Science

Many humans have been called vampires throughout history because their physical appearance was similar to vampires from stories. However, modern science has helped us identify several medical problems that may explain why people looked or acted this way.

Porphyria is a rare blood disease. People with this disease cannot produce heme, a necessary part of red blood. This means they are extremely sensitive to sunlight, grow large amounts of hair, become allergic to garlic, and have tightened skin around their lips and gums, which makes their teeth look bigger.

Xeroderma

About 200 people in the United States suffer from xeroderma. It is a rare genetic problem that causes extreme sensitivity to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays. Most people with xeroderma get a terrible sunburn after being in the sun for even a short time.

Anemia is a disease of the blood in which the number of red blood cells is extremely low. The symptoms of anemia include pale skin, tiredness, fainting, and difficulty breathing - all showing that the oxygen in the body is too low (red blood cells transport oxygen throughout the body). A person with anemia could look like a vampire victim who was beginning to turn into a vampire.

Rabies is a disease that can cause people to act in a scary, violent way. The disease can be carried by wild animals, such as dogs, wolves, and bats. This could explain the connection between these animals and the vampires in stories. People with rabies avoid sunlight or looking into mirrors and they often froth at the mouth.

Catalepsy is a problem with the nervous system that causes a slowing down of the body's normal actions, so much so that the sick person appears dead. They can see and hear but cannot move or speak. In the past, they were often buried alive before they had a chance to recover. But when they did recover, it could appear that they were rising from the dead.

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In-Class Assignment:

Give a 2-minute presentation about the information in this article.

Each person in your group must speak for an equal amount of time. No reading from this sheet!

You can make notes on another piece of paper if you need to.

When you finish your presentation, you must ask the class the questions see below. If they can answer the questions, then you have completed your presentation. If not, then you need to talk more.

Questions for Understanding:

1. What are five diseases that could make people look or act like vampires?

(porphyria, xeroderma, anemia, rabies, catalepsy)

2. Why might people connect wolves or bats with vampires? (they can carry rabies)

3. Why might people assume that a person with xeroderma is a vampire? (they avoid sunlight)

4. Why might people assume that a person with catalepsy is a vampire? (they appear to be dead)

5. What might people think about a person who has anemia? (that they were bitten by a vampire)

Vampires in Myth & Folklore

Vampires are creatures of folklore. It is said that the first vampire stories come from Eastern Europe hundreds of years ago. Although the descriptions of vampires were different in each of these countries, an 1897 novel entitled Dracula established the ideas about vampires that we commonly recognize today. Firstly, vampires are described to be creatures that drink human blood directly from a human being's neck. They extract this blood using two pointed teeth, or “fangs.” Secondly, vampires sleep in coffins during the day and only emerge at night. Thirdly, it is believed that a vampire bite will cause the person bitten to also become a vampire. And finally, vampires are believed to be able to turn themselves into bats.

However, there are a number of things a person can do to protect him- or herself from a vampire. For one, vampires hate garlic, so wearing garlic could help keep a vampire away. Further, vampires are believed to be very sensitive to the sun and to the sight of a holy cross. If a vampire is exposed to either, it will die. Alternatively, a person could stab a vampire in the heart with a stake or decapitate it while it is sleeping.

Although these traits are commonly accepted today, legends of vampires around the world vary. In the Czech Republic, people traditionally believed vampires turned themselves into butterflies instead of bats and in Romania, it was believed vampires had two hearts. African vampires are thought to have teeth made of iron and Malaysian vampires are flying heads that do not have any bodies.

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In-Class Assignment:

Give a 2-minute presentation about the information in this article.

Each person in your group must speak for an equal amount of time. No reading from this sheet!

You can make notes on another piece of paper if you need to.

When you finish your presentation, you must ask the class the questions see below. If they can answer the questions, then you have completed your presentation. If not, then you need to talk more.

Questions for Understanding:

1. Where & when did the first ideas of vampires come from? (Eastern Europe, hundreds of years ago)

2. Where did we get the ideas we have about vampires today? (the book Dracula)

3. What are “fangs” and how do vampires use them? (sharp teeth used to drink blood)

4. What is a coffin and how do vampires use it? (it’s the box we put dead people in; they sleep there)

5. What can vampires turn themselves into? (bats)

6. What are some ways to keep vampires away? (garlic, sun, holy cross)

Vlad Dracula

Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, was Prince of Wallachia (now a part of Romania). He lived from 1431–1476.

In the English-speaking world, Vlad is best known for the legends of the very cruel punishments he gave. These may have given ideas for the vampire main character in Bram Stoker's popular Dracula novel.

As Prince, he was fighting against the Turkish expansion. He was once kidnapped by the Turkish Empire and suffered a lot. He was locked up in an underground prison and often whipped and beaten by the Turks for being rude. These years had a great influence on Vlad. They shaped his personality. He developed a strong hatred for the Turkish sultan.

Later, there was a war between the Turkish Empire and the Hungarian Kingdom. Vlad decided to join the Hungarians. In the winter of 1461 Vlad attacked the area between Serbia and the Black Sea, leaving over 20,000 people dead.

Romanian tales and legends about Vlad stayed a part of folklore among the Romanian peasants. By constant retelling they have become confused and created an ideal picture of a big national hero. Among the Romanian peasants, Vlad was sometimes remembered as a prince who defended his country. But the Romanian tales also remember Vlad as a very cruel ruler. There is a story about some foreign ambassadors received by Vlad. In response to some real or imagined insult, (perhaps because they refused to take off their hats in front of Vlad), he had their hats nailed to their heads.

Vlad also used impalement to torture and kill his enemies. His method of torture was a horse attached to each of the victim's legs as a sharpened stick was slowly pushed into the body. He would then put the end of the stick in the ground and leave the dead body hanging there for months as a sign to his enemies.

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In-Class Assignment:

Give a 2-minute presentation about the information in this article.

Each person in your group must speak for an equal amount of time. No reading from this sheet!

You can make notes on another piece of paper if you need to.

When you finish your presentation, you must ask the class the questions see below. If they can answer the questions, then you have completed your presentation. If not, then you need to talk more.

Questions for Understanding:

1. Where & when did Vlad Dracula live? (what is now Romania, 1431-1476)

2. What experience made him hate the Turks? (being kidnapped and beaten as a boy)

3. Who did Vlad join in order to fight the Turks? (the Hungarian Kingdom)

4. What kind of picture do people have of Vlad today? (a Romanian hero; also, a very cruel man)

5. What did Vlad do with the hats of some foreign ambassadors? (nailed their hats to their heads)

6. What is “impalement”? (torturing/killing someone by pushing a big, sharp stick through the body)

Bram Stoker and the book Dracula

Abraham "Bram" Stoker (November 8, 1847–April 20, 1912) was an Irish writer, best remembered as the author of the horror novel Dracula. Dracula was first published in England in 1897.

Bram Stoker wrote this story during the Victorian era of English history (Queen Victoria's rule, from 1837 to 1901). This time was very successful for the British people. Trade was at its best. A very well educated middle class ruled the British World. The population of England had almost doubled from 16.8 million in 1851 to 30.5 million in 1901, due to the large immigration during the later part of the 19th century.

Dracula is sometimes called "invasion literature" because it tells the story of a foreigner coming in to take over England. People were very interested in these types of stories at the time. Because of wars in Europe and large numbers of immigrants coming into England from other countries, English people had very real fears that their country would be invaded by foreigners.

Another important element of the story is the role of women. In the Victorian era, women had very few rights. They were supposed to be very pure and clean. Their lives were very controlled. If a woman had a lover without being married, everyone would think she was dirty and reject her. In the book Dracula, vampire women act in the ways that normal women could not act. They are wild, free, and dangerous. This shows that many English people thought that free women were a scary idea in this time.

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In-Class Assignment:

Give a 2-minute presentation about the information in this article.

Each person in your group must speak for an equal amount of time. No reading from this sheet!

You can make notes on another piece of paper if you need to.

When you finish your presentation, you must ask the class the questions see below. If they can answer the questions, then you have completed your presentation. If not, then you need to talk more.

Questions for Understanding:

1. Where & when did Bram Stoker live? (England, the Victorian era)

2. What was England like in that time? (very successful, many immigrants coming in)

3. Why do people sometimes call Dracula “invasion literature”?

(it tells the story of a foreigner trying to take over England)

4. What was the role of women in that time? (very controlled and polite)

5. What do vampire women show us about Victorian ideas of women?

(they thought that free women who do what they want are a scary, dangerous thing)

"Dracula" Film

"Dracula" is a 1931 vampire-horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the title character. The film was produced by Universal and is based on the stage play of the same name by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Bram Stoker's novel had already been filmed without permission as Nosferatu in 1922 by German expressionist film maker F. W. Murnau, but Bram Stoker was very angry and tried to stop this film from being made.

When choosing the actor to play Dracula, the producer was not at all interested in Lugosi at first. But luckily, Lugosi had played the part in the Broadway show with success, by chance he was in Los Angeles when the actors for the film were being chosen. He pushed hard, and after he agreed to accept very low pay, he finally got the part.

The scary accent of Lugosi's Dracula was said to come from the fact that Lugosi did not speak English, and therefore had to learn and speak his lines without understanding them. This isn't exactly true. While it was true Lugosi did not speak English at the time of his first English-language play in 1919 and had learned his lines to that play in this way, by the time of Dracula Lugosi spoke English as well as he ever would. Lugosi's appearance as a rich, well-dressed man and his strong accent became the most important things about how we imagine Dracula today. Other actors still try to copy him today.

When the film finally showed in theaters, newspapers reported that members of the audiences fainted in shock at the horror on screen. This news, cleverly planned by the film studio, helped ensure people came to see the film. Luckily, Dracula proved to be a huge success. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York's Roxy Theatre, it had sold 50,000 tickets.

[pic]

In-Class Assignment:

Give a 2-minute presentation about the information in this article.

Each person in your group must speak for an equal amount of time. No reading from this sheet!

You can make notes on another piece of paper if you need to.

When you finish your presentation, you must ask the class the questions see below. If they can answer the questions, then you have completed your presentation. If not, then you need to talk more.

Questions for Understanding:

1. Was the 1931 “Dracula” the first Dracula film?

(no, there was another one that came first, but it was made without the permission of the author)

2. Was Bela Lugosi the first choice to play Dracula? (no, he had to accept low pay to get the part)

3. Is it true that Bela Lugosi couldn’t speak English?

(yes and no; he couldn’t at the time of his first play, but when he made “Dracula” he could)

4. What effect did this film have on our ideas of Dracula?

(Bela Lugosi created the idea of Dracula that we have today)

5. Was the film a success? (yes, a huge success!)

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