As someone who lives in Transylvania, I'm sick and tired of the stereotype that all of us are vampires. In all my 500 years here, I've never met one, and I've asked my friends too, who have all been around longer than I, and they haven't seen one either.
Good story. My son has cutaneous porphyria and it's no joke, growing up we couldn't figure out what was going on until he was properly diagnosed at Mayo. Too much sun (baseball) would cause it to feel like he was burning from the inside and he would puff up like the pillsbury dough boy. His hands would burn and we'd have to stick them in bowls of ice. Thankfully, limiting sun exposure has helped him quite a bit and now that he's in college he knows when it's time to get inside.
I am still trying to figure out whether I have porphyria or just incurable case of polymorphic light eruption (it's supposed to get better with more exposure, but mine is just getting worse over the past twenty years). I'm so glad you were able to find a diagnosis for your son. 💖
My best friend of over 10 years has porphyria. I've seen how it's affected him too. His hands are covered in scars from before they knew what was going on
Arguably, vampire reflections would show up on modern mirrors since we don't use silver nitrate anymore as the reflecting surface. Silver was considered a pure metal and couldn't interact with the undead (or it would kill them) which is why it was believed vampires wouldn't be reflected.
There's a summer camp for kids with porferia. Its a nocturnal camp for kids who can't go out during the day. The Yankees invite them to play at the stadium once a summer after their ball game ends around 11PM.
@@jamespaul2587 Oh, stop. It's the *anti-vaccination* movement that's the product of irrational world-views, encouraged by pandering populist demagoguery. And nobody gives a crap about your political opinions in the discussion about a video that attempts to *debunk* bizarre beliefs based on hysteria. 🙄
Vampires were "real", werewolves were "real", and along with murder hornets there are flesh-eating bees (aka "zom bees") and zombie fungi controlling dead ants (and other animals). Throw in the Animal Conspiracy by Tim Bedore and the weirdness that various cryptids/monsters are based on and you start to figure out that maybe it's not disease we really should be worrying about...
Recently been working as armed security on the graveyard shift, love it. I'm only 22, been doing night shift work mostly for the last 2 years. Have you noticed any long term health impacts from it at all?
Damn 17 years, whats your sleep schedule?I did graveyard for a couple months as a teen, it was the strangest thing watching the sun go down, then up, and then go to bed lol.
Yeah, me too! Night shift is natural for me. The thing I hate is any event, like holidays or family celebrations, are held during the day. Which, for me is right in the middle of my sleep cycle. Other than that, I’m cool with it.
1:21 When you said it happened in the 1890s my mind was blown. Relatively speaking, this is recent history. This isn't eons ago, in times forgotten. The fact that this happened so recently, when technology was booming (electricity and phones!) is crazy to me!
Very recent history. The last living living person verified to have been born in the 1890s was Emma Morano, who died in Italy in 2017... The 1890s are practically living memory.
Minor correction; because Mary Brown died in winter, the ground was frozen and so she couldn't be buried. Her body was stored in a mortuary house in the cemetery, which had no heating, and made of stone. Basically, it was a perfect fridge for corpse preservation. When spring came around and she was finally buried, she'd barely been in the ground when she was exhumed. By this point she'd been dead a few months, but the winter time preservation meant when she was exhumed from her grave she looked very 'fresh.' Also historians have noted that the origin of Vlad Tepes drinking human blood stemmed from propaganda paid for by his enemies. Labeling him as a sadist, cannibal, vampire and more. While not 100% definitive; it's likely Vlad did not drink human blood. Animal blood perhaps, in the form of blood sausage or pudding and similar dishes is likely, though. I have nothing on Elizabeth Bathery except that she was the basis for the Countess of Blood in one of the Diablo video games. Or, her legend was, anyway. I deeply appreciate this video, Joe (and fans); it's just missing the finer details. You would be hard pressed to make a detailed video on this subject that is only 10 minutes long, too. I really recommend Ask A Mortician's video on this very topic.
I read a book once where they connected vampire stories with Type 1 Diabetes. Untreated T1D would cause the person to be pale and weak and yet ravenous. Diabetic coma may be the reason for vampires ‘coming back to life’. Another symptom could be sensitivity to light or having their gums recede and bleed.
currently critical care hospital nurse. really appreciate the historical and social context for these diseases. right on. that's a talent to bring all this together and share
I have a friend with hyperteychosis. She's running for Congress in Ohio. Hoping to be the first bearded lady in Congress. She won the Democratic primary, but its a GOP district, so its a long shot.
I mean, the Dems are always gunning for the first (insert supposedly marginalised demo here). That said, bearded lady is at least a real thing and not a women thinking she's a man.
I live about 30 minutes away from the largest TB hospital in Kentucky. The owners and historical society have been holding tours and overnight tours to help restore it. It’s quite an interesting place to visit
Vampires being killed by sunlight isn't part of traditional vampiric folklore. It comes from the movie "Nosferatu". Even in the novel, Dracula wasn't hurt by sunlight. He just didn't like it. That book is only 130 years old. Vampires didn't have fangs, either.
It's kinda interesting that even today, the vampire myth is continually evolving. Like you said, the sunlight part came after Nosferatu. He also was a terrifying monster, but today they're all sexy and seductive, lol. We keep adapting and changing their qualities. We laugh that people used to believe that they were real, but here we are, still telling vampire stories and "updating" them to fit in with current culture.
@@nephicus339 It makes sense that glitter would be associated with vampires. Once you bring glitter into the house and open the jar, it will come and go freely. You’ll think the glitter is gone, but suddenly it is there again.
I just realised your channel are the only one that I watch the videos without read the title, love the content and it always bring something intersting to my day. Thanks for the hard work!
The Bride of Corinth by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, written in 1797 is probably the first piece of literature dealing with the theme of the undead. Although the story is inspired by a story from Phlegon de Tralles, a Greek writer and freedman of the emperor Hadrian, who lived in the 2nd century AD. There is also a story from the book "One Thousand and One Nights", written around 750 AD, called the Honour of the ghoul.
Very smooth plug for your sponsor. Great over view of the topic plenty of detail. No stone unturned in research. Simple light click bait project examining a specific and troubling feature of culture.
I know, right? And yet here we are, over 2 years past the height of the pandemic, and people are still muzzled outside, alone (even in the rain) to pretend that they're protecting themselves from a virus that spreads through aerosols. Incredible!
my 61-year-old aunt still believes in vampires, demons, witches, and gods. She lives in a small village in a third-world country with very few opportunities or education.
Superstition isn't limited to third world nations with limited educational opportunities. About a quarter of American adults believe the Christian bible is the literal and inerrant word of God, and that belief isn't any more rational or evidence-based than belief in vampires, demons, or witches.
"Dipped his bread in his blood..." blood coagulates quickly. Probably like jam at that point. Rabies is the most terrifying diseases that I've ever, legitimately, worried about. I've had to have shots on 3 separate occasions. IT SUCKS! But if you have ever seen a case of a human exhibiting the symptoms it's very much worth it. Especially since that by that time they exhibit those symptoms they're guaranteed to die. The following week is the things that night terrors hope they never become.
This still happens in Romania lol. The last vampire killing (exhuming the corpse and burning stuff) happened in like 2010 here and that's just what came out. It probably still happens.
Consumption was used to refer to any lung disease. This was often TB, but a lot of cases were probably lung cancer. Which makes sense since tobacco use was common and most people cooked over wood fires in their homes, while heating their homes with wood or coal.
My last order from Hello Fresh came with mold growing on the main ingredient. The one before also contained a moldy item (just lettuce this time, so it's cheap - whatever) but one of the meals was recalled due to salmonella. When I contacted them about the moldy food, they offered $2 in compensation.... $2... I totally understand when it was just some ruined lettuce, but the main ingredient was inedible and they wouldn't even credit me enough to buy another meal from them? I cancelled my HF subscription and I plan to repeat this story to anyone who will listen. Your channel is great but your sponsor screwed me over.
Actually, Bram Stoker's Dracula was inspired by the novella, Carmilla, written by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It predates Dracula by 26 years and provided creative inspiration for Stoker's novel.
As a former vampire, I am now a dedicated Black Ribboner and can confidently say that we - the few vampires who are left - do not conform to tradition and eschew the old-fashioned view of us. We are modern, forward-thinking vampires who would just like to be left alone to get on with our photography and such. Thankyou so very much.
Stoker only got the NAME from Vlad Dracula. The manuscript was essentially complete before he had heard of him. When he heard the name, he adopted it for his story, but the story was otherwise pretty much done by that point.
If you look at Stoker's notes (and some pages have been published in several annotated editions) you'll see confirmation of Sam's comment -- Stoker went through his notes and crossed out the vampire's original name "Count Vampyr" (🤨) and wrote in "Count Dracula."
@@willmfrank Thanks. I had heard about this, but was a little worried I was repeating misinformation. I looked for the original name and couldn't find it. I saw a review of his notes online, but not the actual notes. There is apparently a pretty extensive book of his notes. They were discovered in the 1970s and it answered a lot of scholarly questions about his writing.
@@Sam_on_RU-vid Hi Sam. You're very welcome. Check this out: Here's a link to the "Dracula" episode of Professor Christopher Frayling's excellent documentary series "NIGHTMARE! The Birth of Victorian Horror." In this clip, Prof. Frayling shows us Bram Stoker's personal papers and notes. Enjoy! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-88edGlW3DT4.html
Salem executions totaled 20, Joe. 19 were hanged, but one, Giles Corey, was pressed to death. He refused to answer to any charges, and his last words (uttered during his "pressing") were "more weight." Source: been to Salem. Massholes represent! 🤟
I went Skiing in Bavaria and they still Strongly Believe in Vampires it was Kinda Scary there are Crosses all over the place and garlic on the Doors But a Awesome Place to SKI Thanks Great Vlog
Unlike the rest of Germany, that is primarily Protestant, Bavaria is primarily Catholic. Catholicism crucifix displays are very common. They are often worship locations for the local congregation on religious holidays. Most Catholic homes or businesses have a crucifix over the door inside to keep evil out. Garlic is grown north and south of Munich and around Nuremberg. The garlic stalks are weaved and hung outside during the winter by private gardeners to prevent the bulbs from rotting that the garlic can be planted in the spring. There is a tradition belief of winter ghosts Crampus that has festivities late November to min December. Not impossible but I don't think vampires are included in the list of spooky characters. Also there is a large Turkish population in Germany that has some beliefs about garlic associated to the devil...but I doubt they hang garlic on their doors. So most likely these activities in Germany are not due to Transylvania, vampires, or Stroker.
Why RU-vid HAS STOPPED RECOMMENDING your videos?! I've been a long time subscriber and watched every single video multiple times, but recently coming across your newer videos is hard unless I directly check the channel.
One day our descendants will look at trickle down economics, the paranoia against socialism, and a bunch of extremes on the right and left like we look at these weird beliefs from the past. Hindsight is always 20/20 but thank you for presenting these windows into our past and trying to put them into context and not just belittle our ancestors.
IDK, for one thing, you're assuming our civilization will last long enough into the future that they can look back! also, I think economic ideas, even extreme ones, might just be re-invented, with other names, perhaps.
Another thing about rabies: its victims develop hydrophobia. A lot of historians suspect that this might be where the myth about holy water repelling vampires came from
Dr. J. Gómez-Alonso did a really great paper on this topic in the 90s. MedicalNewsToday ended up writing an article on his findings a few years ago. I will post some of the additional similarities below: 1. Vampires are almost always depicted as male, and rabies affects men seven times more often than women. 2. Individuals with rabies become particularly aggressive and sometimes bite, or attempt to bite, other people. Also, once a vampire bites you, you become one of them, as is the case with rabies - it is by being bitten that the virus is most commonly spread. (And one of the more commonly-known spreaders of the rabies virus is bats…) 3. Rabies might cause people to become averse to strong or surprising stimuli, including odors (such as garlic), light, and mirrors. In fact, according to Gómez-Alonso’s paper, “A man was not considered rabid if he was able to stand the sight of his own image in a mirror. When someone with rabies comes into contact with such stimuli, their face can become contorted as the facial muscles spasm; their lips curl back to display their teeth, and their vocal cords may contract, producing hoarse sounds. They might also froth or bleed from the mouth. 5. Rabies sometimes makes it difficult for the afflicted to sleep, and they therefore become prone to night wandering. 6. Vampires have a reputation for being rather lascivious. Similarly, people with rabies can be easily aroused. This is thought to be because the virus influences the limbic system, which controls emotions and behavior. In some cases, men with rabies can experience priapism, which is a painful erection that lasts, sometimes, for days. 7. Vampires are often depicted turning into other animals - the bat being the most common. Animals with rabies behave in much the same way as humans with rabies. It is not too much of a leap of the imagination to think that somebody living in the 18th century who saw a human and an animal acting similarly might make some kind of link; they might assume that animal and beast were morphing into each other. 8. When someone dies from rabies, it is commonly due to asphyxia or cardiorespiratory arrest. In these cases, blood can remain liquid for some time after. Because of the vampire-based concerns of the day, bodies were often dug up to check that they weren’t vampires. Seeing liquid blood oozing might raise concerns. Also, as tissue breaks down, parts of the body and internal organs can become swollen as gases are produced. This distension can force blood out of the mouth. If a corpse were to be exhumed, the sight of what appeared to be fresh blood in the mouth may be taken as confirmation that the undead had been feasting on humans during the night.
I like to think that "you can't see their shadow", "you can't see them in a mirror" and "they hide from sunlight" are just funny little ways of saying... vampires don't exist. Like, some witty monk wrote that as a joke to imply that there are no such things as vampires, but common people took it literally.
Actually the reason why they had no reflection back in the day was because mirrors used to be made with silver, which was the major vampiric weakness (it didn't get connected to werewolves until much later). "Hiding from sunlight" is also hyperbolic, since there are tales of vampires that went out during the day; they simply preferred night because the prey was easier to stalk at that point. As far as seeing no shadow, it's because they were supposed to have no soul.
Have you ever watched The Strain? Since it's kind of like Dracula crossed with Resident Evil the break it down to a parasitic infection of a hive mind parasite. But they make mention to the fact that in the show's universe the plagues of Rome weren't plagues of convention illness, but was a short period where the Vampires almost took Rome before the hunters got it under control again. Which makes you question the other plagues.
You should check out that guy from wales who hunts pixies. The CGI is so fantastic that the first time I watched a video of his I almost believed it. Almost. Only because my childhood resurfaced for a moment and I really wanted to believe it!
Well, I dunno about New England, but we had some pretty sketchy neighbors, y’know, flying around after dark, hanging around blood banks looking for the expired stuff. I just doubled the size of our garlic patch, that took care of it.
Every year, I put together local ghost stories and creepy events for my family and I to check out and learn about. We actually visited Mercy Brown's grave also with a couple others! So much interesting history in New England.
I remember watching a documentary set between 1820-1865 where a quite important American politician wearing a tall hat used to kill vampires. It was quite a good documentary.
I dressed as a vampire for Halloween one year, saying that I was portraying Countess Elizabeth Bathory (no, I wasn't in a dress of the period 😅). It was during a Gothic phase in my pre-teens where I became fascinated with Edgar Allen Poe and the classic monsters.
Thanks for not concentrating only on Mercy Brown. She's buried the next town over from where I now live. I read an article by a medical examiner who said that the blood still being red and pooled in her body is an artefact of decomposition not understood until later in time. Ive also read that the people impaled by Vlad Dracul were Romany or Gypsies. And it makes sense, if a warlord impaled an entire army wouldn't the owner of the army stricke back? He probably would unless they were mercenaries of an outcast people. The probably history of the Rom people is interesting.
Have you ever thought of doing a video about McCarthyism and the Red Scare of the 50’s and beyond? Herbert Norman was a Canadian diplomat who factors into this and his story is quite interesting (to me at least). When I think of vampires I think of the Red Scare sometimes. Anyways, love your channel! Keep doing the good work!
Since we're on the subject of "supernatural stuff that was possibly inspired by Rabies", pretty much the only difference between it and a Zombie virus is raising the dead.
