are they real or are they fictional…its something i always wondered…especially since i’m horribly scared of them…i thought they were fake but i don’t know…
Welcome to SDMB Shorty. Tough question as the answer is probably no but it depends on your definition of vampire. If you are talking about the undead of Bram Stoker’s novel no but some will probably dispute that. If you go by other definitions of what people think vampires might be the answer becomes fuzzy. The master speaks in several columns you can search. Here are a couple for starters.
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_131.html
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990507.html
Vampires–the classic folklore variety–most certainly are not real. Turning into a bat and coming back from the dead are both impossible.
There are, however, people who identify themselves as blood-drinkers, “psychic vampires,” or “Vampyre lifestylers.”
From the FAQ at www.sanguinarius.org
Now, I would interpret these “needs” as having a psychological origin, though I suppose that doesn’t make these needs any less strongly experienced by self-identified vampires. Some of the physical symptoms also reported (like increased dexterity or sensitivity to sunlight) sound like wishful thinking to me. Oh, and the psychic energy thing…well, like being “undead,” modern science really doesn’t support the existence of such a thing.
Vampires certainly can be scary, though. <–flash
Oh, and welcome aboard, Shorty03!
Well, for my money vampires, as in supernatural blood-suckers, are fiction, although ther are apparently folks who believe they are vamires. Author Whitley Streiber, when researching his nove The Hunger, claimed to have talked with a group of such self-confessed vampires who actually drank blood, and that one hazard of this lifestyle is contracting hepatitis. Of course, Streber went on to write Communion, so why should I believe him?
Vampire author Montague Summers aparently believed in vampires, too, so you’re in some company. But the bulk of vampire reports and literature can be explained naturally. Read David J. Skal’s books V is for Vampire, The Monster Show, and Hollywood Gothic, or Radu Florescu’s books on Dracula, or any of the zillion o books on the topic out there now.
For the record, the vamire legend looked an awful lot different before 1800. Shortl after that John olidori (perhaps with n assist, or at least inspiration from, Lord Bron) gave us the first “titled” vampire, Lord Ruthven. Then we had “Varley the Vampire” that popularized and crystallized a lot of vamire lore, and Sherdan le Fanu’s “Car,milla” did the same, as did a lot of ther works throughout the 9th century, until 1896 when Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” really did finalize most of the legend – Stoker invented an awful lot of stuff (like vampires not being seen n mirrors – see “The Annotated Dracula” and “The Essential Dracula” by Leonard Wolf).
CalMeacham, I think you mean “Varney the vampire.”
I’m going to assume from the question that you are a bit younger than most posters. Either that or you’ve “whooshed” me.
There is no such thing as a vampire, ghost, wraith, mummy, frankenstein, werewolf, monsters under the bed, zombies, etc.
When we fear these kinds of monsters, it is because we have inner anxieties that we are not free to express, so we project them out into the world in these forms subconsciously.
There are wrapped dead bodies that are buried and we call them mummies. Not a one has ever “walked the earth” again. They stay dead. There are diseases that mimic the symptoms of fantasy werewolves and vampires and zombies. When people tell stories to frighten their friends for fun, they exapnd a lot on the experience and over time the story gets bigger and bigger. It’s like comic books that make the bad guys disfigured and ugly: its a story telling device. In real life all people are a mix socially positive and negative impulses, and some look good, and some not so good. You can only tell each person’s mix after you get to know them well.
Oughta give that keyboard a rinsing, Cal. 
Well smack me down for this if you will, it has been a long time sinc ei researched such things.
Maybe we shoudl tacle this question more from the " what makes a Vampire / Vampyre
Garlic ? - I believe this dates to plague days (like much of the vampire myths)
As for sleeping in coffins - This comes from the eager burial of the richer folks (those non mass graved) from the plague days where the dead were not infact dead and would stir in there coffins.
Sunlight ? - No idea
Silver ? - I think this comes from the Abrcadra (sp) inscribed in silver as a talisman for the plague.
Crosses - Obvious.
Holy water - …Hmmm not sure apart from the above
Bats - Maybe vampire bats ? But they are unique to South America (aren’t they ? SA wasn’t colenised at the time of vmapire myths)
What makes them what? Die, get annoyed, get aroused?
Sorry. What makes a Vampire garlic. That’s clear enough. Should have read further.
Stands up and cheers - Woohooo !! Desmostylus you are contributing ! … you’re special.
All you jokesters should read this:http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=000B1BEF-C051-1DF8-9733809EC588EEDF
The links Padeye gave are good. I’d also suggest looking for In Search of Dracula by Radu Florescu in the Library. The second half was a bit disappointing, but the first half covers the history and superstition very well.
And yes, assuming you are talking about the restless undead here, it is all superstition. Very interesting superstition.
The Master did a column giving the ‘vampires were really folks with porphyria’ explanation. Later, he did this .
I don’t have specific sites for these, if necessary I can try to find which of the odd books I own they’re in.
Garlic- Was considered by some cultures to be a generic health food (much like a bowl of chicken soup) and, in some cases an aphrodisiac. Thus, it is a force for life and repels the walking dead. Additionally, vampires were often tied to plagues and disease. As Trader said, garlic is supposed to keep the disease at bay and this is extended to vampires
Bats-They’re nocturnal. Most nocturnal animals have bad reputations. Further, bats are misfits. They fly like birds, but have fur. In Chinese mythology, however, bats are symbols of happiness and good fortune. My WAG is that the bat species of that area are diurnal.
Running Water- Still water can become stagnant. Bugs breed in it. It can be fouled by human waste. Until the invention of plumbing, rivers and streams were essential to any town. Again something that protects against disease becomes protection against vampires
Sunlight-The sun makes plants grow. It is an obvious life symbol. Second, the day is simply a safer time. Unless you were wealthy, your house was largely unlit. Perhaps the family huddled around the hearth. If you needed light, you carried a small candle with you. Outside of a small circle of dim flickering light, everything was darkness.
Re Sanguinarians And Such
There are web communities based on all kinds of delusions:the government put a control chip in my brain, the Iluminati controls the world, I need to drink human blood to survive, etc. White Wolf publishes the RPG Vampire The Masquerade. Many of the books feature disclaimers along the lines of ‘Vampires are NOT real. If you feel the need to drink blood, burn these books and run to a psychiatrist. Any person claiming to be a vampire is either lying or insane. It’s just a game folks.’
Hm.
Well, let’s look at a comparison:
DRACULA
Real name: Vlad Dracula
*Vampire
*Supernaturally strong
*Good looking
*Supernaturally persuasive
*Needed blood to survive
*Amoral
*Killed people periodically
*Afraid of crosses and holy stuff
*Powerless between sunrise and sunset
*Could turn into a bat or wolf or mist
*Tended to stand out in a crowd, due to aristocratic bearing and thick foreign accent
…and now, the VAMPIRE OF SACRAMENTO
Real name: Richard Chase
*Non-vampiric raving loony
*Strong, but not supernaturally so
*Good looking
*Extremely persuasive
*Thought he needed blood to survive
*Amoral
*Killed people periodically
*Afraid of police officers
*Totally indifferent to day or night
*Could turn into a raving psycho at a moment’s notice
*Blended into a crowd wonderfully
Given a choice, I think I’d take Dracula. Ram a popsicle stick through the bastard, and he’s history…
Oh, and I’m referring to the MOVIE Dracula, not the Book Dracula or the Historic Dracula, so kindly don’t pounce on me…
Well, Cecil says that drinking blood doesn’t help porphyria and the article on the SciAm web site says it does. Here’s why (according to the SciAm, anyway). What is missing is the heme group, which is a porphyrin ring with an iron atom in the middle. Blood is digested except the heme is left intact and can be absorbed. This does two things. It helps with the anemia and also turns off the porphyrin production which is what causes the damage. So who do you believe? BTW, although they don’t crave blood, the same argument works for blood pudding and other animal sources of blood and they certainly might have noticed that it improves things.
**
That would be Cecil.
IANA medical doctor, biologist, zoologist, or chemist. However, I see two problems with this
Baking or cooking seems likely to destroy the heme
Would the heme of pigs, cows etc be usable by a human? I am aware that the human body can utilize horse estrogen(the brand name Premarin is actually short for pregnant mare's urine. Now, that's truth in advertising!), and pig insulin. But what about heme?
Any expert Dopers reading this thread?