Vampires.....Any biological evidence?

I know there's evidence for lycanthropy (werewolves), such as those kids in mexico what with the hair on their face and all...but what about vampires?

Any conditions that cause poity hollow teeth, light sensitive, etc.?

Any help is welcome... I tried the search, but must be doing something wrong there....

no.

There are people who are very sensitive to light, but they're not vampires. It's a condition called photosensitivity and is manifested in the form of an immunological response to sunlight.

Photosensitivity

I suppose if one of these people had really bad dental hygene and had cavities in their canine teeth they'd be about the closest thing you could find to a vampire.

But there is no condition that requires a human to drink blood to survive (You can't absorb any part of the blood intact through eating it your body will break down the cells as if you were eating meat).

Blood thirst I believe is a fundimental part of what a vampire is. So without that, there's no case. Even with the other two, you'd have a false vampire.... someone who appears to be a vampire, but is missing the fundimentals... ie. blood thirst, being a demon, etc...

I recall reading about a an old family of eastern europeans which had long corner teeth, due to inbreeding or a normal mutation.

Pathology and vampirism
Some people argue that vampire stories might have been influenced by a rare illness called porphyria. The disease disrupts the production of heme. People with extreme cases of this hereditary disease can be so sensitive to sunlight that they can get a sunburn through heavy cloud cover, causing them to be nocturnal and avoid all light. People with porphyria can also have red eyes and teeth, resulting from buildup of red heme intermediates (porphyrins). Certain forms of porphyria are also associated with neurological symptoms, which can create psychiatric disorders. However, the hypotheses that porphyria sufferers "crave" the heme in human blood, or that the consumption of blood might ease the symptoms of porphyria, are based in ignorance.

Others argue that there is a relationship between vampirism and rabies. The legend of vampirism is known to have existed in the 19th century Eastern Europe, where there were massive rabies outbreaks. Rabies causes high fever, loss of appetite, and fatigue as initial symptoms. In later stages, patients try to avoid the sunlight and prefer walking at night. Strong light and mirrors can cause episodes characterized by violent and animal-like behaviors and a tendency to attack people and bite them. Concomitant facial spasms might give the patient an animal-like (or a vampire-like) expression. In a furious form of the disease, patients might have an increased urgency for sexual activity or occasionally vomit blood. Rabies is contagious.

en.wikipedia.org...

I hope this is a point in the right direction, the page above is filled with lots of useful information on the subject.

Photosensitivity is the basis of a movie called "The Others" If you rent it, there's a whole documentary on people who have the disease.

As stated above Porphyria is the keyword I believe;

In 1985 biochemist David Dolphin proposed that the vampires of folklore may actually have been people suffering from porphyria, a group of rare, largely hereditary blood diseases. According to the Times account of his remarks:

(1) Porphyria victims are extraordinarily sensitive to sunlight. Even mild exposure can cause severe disfigurement. Facial skin may scar, the nose and fingers may fall off, and the lips and gums may become so taut that the teeth project like fangs.

(2) To avoid sunlight, people with serious cases of porphyria go out only at night, just like Dracula.

(3) Today porphyria can be treated with injections of blood products. Centuries ago, porphyria victims might have sought to treat themselves by drinking blood.

(4) Porphyria is inherited, but the symptoms may not manifest themselves until brought on by stress. Suppose a sibling with an active case of the disease bites you to quench his thirst for blood. Très stressful, non? Suddenly your own latent porphyria goes critical and you start growing fangs too.

(5) Garlic contains a chemical that worsens porphyria symptoms, causing sufferers to avoid it. Just like vampires.

The rest of the text linked below kind of debunks the above, even though its interesting to know the above was published in Times magazine.

www.straightdope.com...

About photosensitivity, Nasa has special suites for the people who carry this photosensitivity disease, and they sell it and ship it to anywhere in the word. which completely blocks the light. specifically designed for vampires

Originally posted by Thain Esh Kelch
I recall reading about a an old family of eastern europeans which had long corner teeth, due to inbreeding or a normal mutation.

Pff... I have long corner teeth too. I mostly crave hamburgers instead of blood though.

I beleive most of the stories about vampires originated with Vlad the Impaler. He was a really creepy guy. One of the stories I remembering hearing about him is that he used to rip off victims skin and throw then into a pit of salt.


Not a nice guy...

here's a link
www.vladtheimpaler.com...

I remember hearing of a king or count(hehe) that had very long canine teeth and he was the original vampire. I want to say charlagmane but I know thats wrong.

play Vampire the Masquarde Live Action, does that count? That was fun...until all the story-tellers got in the way with legalistic interpretation of the rules. To resolve conflict, it's rock-paper-scissors for crying out loud! What's not to understand? My two fav. characters were Malkavian and they modified the rules to let me play an Angel. I try to obfuscate at work now and then, but I must be failing my rolls...

Ah well, can't find good LARPs these days...

[edit on 4-4-2005 by saint4God]

Saint, I enjoy playing the nerdy VTM too. Not into the new WoD though. We play very good games and have been playing for so long that we're all good at it by now.

Lenina, while old folk tales and stories of the same nature may contain Vampiresque characters, the modern vampire was created by Bram Stoker in Dracula. He was the first person to put everything (sun sensitivity, immortality, addiction to blood, aversion to garlic, sleeping in a coffin and even needing the soil of one's birth in order to rest) together. He actually did so with very little knowledge of the Historical Vlad Tepes. He was the first to suggest (in fiction or otherwise) that Vlad was a vampire. Before that he was just known as a really big bastard.

Personally, I blame Jesus for the modern myth of vampirism.
"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him."

-S

[edit on 5-4-2005 by ServoHahn]

Originally posted by ServoHahn
Saint, I enjoy playing the nerdy VTM too. Not into the new WoD though. We play very good games and have been playing for so long that we're all good at it by now.

Nerdy?! Okay, you caught me. Here I thought I could remain incognito, but now my cover is blown. *sighs & calls the Federal Nerd Protection Agency again* "I need another relo please". (relo = relocation)

Originally posted by ServoHahn
Personally, I blame Jesus for the modern myth of vampirism.
"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him."

Shazaam! I guess it's Jesus' fault for zombies too! Lazarus comes back from the dead saying "I want brains!" and eating flesh, yadda yadda. I'm surprised Electronic Arts hasn't licensed Resident Jesus yet. Well, I'm holding God responsible for creating everything, so I guess it all falls on His shoulders huh?

[edit on 5-4-2005 by saint4God]

Hey, I said I played too. It's nerdy. Not as bad as other role playing games. At least it's dark and gothic but the arguments can be disgustingly geeky. Have you ever heard that spoof on "The Evils of Dongeons and Dragons"? I heard it on one of Dr. Demento's collections. The narrator introduces the bit, talking about how our children are losing their souls to the satanic games "Dungeons and Dragons" and then we get to listen in on a bunch of nerds arguing over what's happening in the game it's quite funny.

...
Guy 2: "The pungent smell of mildew emminates from the dungeon walls."
Guy 1: (calling from distance) "I'm gonna get a soda, does anybody want one? Hey Graham, I'm not in the room, right?"
Guy 2: "What room?"
Guy 1: "The room that he's casting all these spells from!"
Guy 2: "He hasn't cast anything yet!"

Guy 3: "I am though if you'd listen! I wanna cast magic missle!"
Guy 2: "Why are you casting magic missle, there's nothing to attack here!"
Guy 3 "I.... I'm attacking the darkness!"
(laughter)
Guy 2: "Fine, you attack the darkness. There's an elf in front of you."
Guy 3: "Whoooa..."
Guy 4: "That's me, right?"
Guy 2: "He's wearing a gray tunic and has blue eyes."
Guy 4: "No I don't I have gray eyes!"
Guy 2: "Lemme see that sheet!" (paper rustling)
Guy4: "Well, it says... it says I have blue eyes on the sheet but I decided I wanted gray eyes."
Guy 2: "Fine."
... and goes on. Try to kazaa it if you haven't heard it.
-S

Originally posted by ID
Here are a few diseases that are thought to have brought about the myth of the Vampire that exists to this day. After reading over these myself I can honestly see why this myth arose, people are often scared of the unknown and these symptoms are almost mirror images of the overall vampire myth.

Tuberculosis, which was formerly referred to as Consumption was a common false indicator of vampirism as it would usually effect an entire family and the person who died first of it would be though to be responsible and thus a vampire (strange I know).

Xeroderma pigmentosum causes the skin to become sensitive UV radiation especially sunlight and can result in blistering or freckling even from minimal exposure.

Catalepsy may be at part responsible for the myth of vampires as it slowly shuts down the nervous system slowing the individual’s heart rate until it becomes virtually non-existent. A person suffering from this condition may fall into a state where they are able to see and hear but cannot move. To the untrained eye it would look as though the person had passed on. Embalming dead bodies is a recent idea and so people may have buried someone suffering from Catalepsy only to find out later that they had awoken from this state and dug their way out.

Porphyria causes individuals gums to tighten severally around teeth which would make the canine teeth appear to be much more prominent. It also causes the body to be unable to produce heme (a component of red blood). This lack of heme is today treated with regular injections however long ago victims may have attempted to treat it by consuming blood, this however does not aid the victim as the heme is unable to survive digestion. Garlic worsens the symptoms of Porphyria making the effects much more painful thus someone suffering from this disease would attempt to avoid it.

Anemia is a blood disease which causes the number of red blood cells to drop drastically. Symptoms include a pale complexion and inability to consume food. Both of these symptoms were also thought to be signs that a person had been bitten by a vampire and thus was beginning their own transformation.


-id

Please use the ATS search function in the future.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Oooooh! Hey guys check it out. We never have to discuss anything on ATS ever again! We can just ask ID!

Would you get a load of this guy? Looks like we have a little mod-in-the-making on our hands. Look out Gazrok, I think your position is in jeopardy
... the search function... beautiful in its simplicity...
-S


[edit on 6-4-2005 by ServoHahn]

Originally posted by ServoHahn
Oooooh! Hey guys check it out. We never have to discuss anything on ATS ever again! We can just ask ID!

“Vampires.....Any biological evidence?” That question mark on the end would make the average person think that Korzag wanted to know more about vampirism and any biological conditions that might be responsible for the myth. That being the case, I decided to quote something I had posted prior to this and also include several links to other related topics here on ATS.

Would you get a load of this guy? Looks like we have a little mod-in-the-making on our hands. Look out Gazrok, I think your position is in jeopardy

Yeah sorry about that, I guess I am the only one tired of seeing countless threads of vampires and dragons clutter up the Cryptozoology board. I just figure the more people that know about the search function the less people will repost topics that are still open and discuss the exact same thing. For instance, this thread is entitled “Vampires.....Any biological evidence?” and another active post here at ATS is titled “the disease vampire is real actually....” Again, maybe it is just me, but these two treads seem to be discussing the exact same topic.

... the search function... beautiful in its simplicity...
-S

Yes, yes it is.

No, you're right. There are a lot of threads about this... but I saw this one first and it's new and exciting whereas the older threads are kind of slowing down and getting boring. Gaz wanted to jump start a new dialogue on the subject for those of us who haven't been here as long. Being a mod I'm sure he had a legit reason for posting.

I liked it. But I guess you'd rather us post it on your thread instead. Hey man... I'll post anywhere I can about vampires. I think they're not exactly real in the Anne Rice sense of the word, but there is a whole culture of vampire fiction which I love.

Sure there may be a dozen other threads concerning biological evidence of vampires but I don't care seeing as how I don't believe in any kind of supernatural vampire. With the circles I've hung out with I'm sure I'd have met one by now... Anywho, I think this thread is unique and I enjoy it. Leave it to the mods to be snooty. They do a good job at telling us that our threads are a useless waste of time.

I am allowed to give opinions right, or are my opinions too off topic? (General question for everyone)
-S

Originally posted by ServoHahn
Gaz wanted to jump start a new dialogue on the subject for those of us who haven't been here as long. Being a mod I'm sure he had a legit reason for posting.

This thread was originally posted by Korzag, Gazrok has not started this thread or posted in it at all.

Originally posted by ServoHahn
I liked it. But I guess you'd rather us post it on your thread instead. Hey man... I'll post anywhere I can about vampires.

To set the record straight, I would simply like to say that I have no personal reason to attempt to have people switch threads as I have never authored a thread regarding Vampires.

As for the original intent of this thread, I quoted earlier a little bit of research I did regarding diseases that may be responsible for the birth of the vampire myth. While these diseases can explain almost every portion of the myth each symptom is specific to one disease. This being said I find it very unlikely that anyone at anytime encompassed all the aforementioned diseases. It is my opinion that the vampire myth was not born over night through one individual but, like several other myths, grew as a result of public hysteria. People are comforted by having an explanation for the unknown this is why we hypothesize on that which we do not have the ability to fully prove. It is likely that people from the era in which the myth started operated in very much the same way. These diseases and their exotic side effects could easily be encompassed into one answer, vampires.

For those who believe that vampires do exist or for those who believe they might be one you must remember that the official definition for a vampire is not simply someone who drinks blood. The dictionary definition is: “A reanimated corpse that is believed to rise from the grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping people.” While I am not saying it is impossible for such beings to exist (nothing is impossible) I feel that too many people have forgotten the original meaning behind the myth and simply succumb to the Hollywood versions.

-id

Gaz wanted to jump start a new dialogue on the subject for those of us who haven't been here as long. Being a mod I'm sure he had a legit reason for posting.

Yep, to build up a posting history for my alter-ego for April Fools, and of course, by starting a vampire thread, to instantly be labelled as a newb for not using search. Actually though, wasn't all fluff, hence I went from the angle of looking for actual biological evidence, and was genuinely curious what others had to say on it. Joke or no joke, I wouldn't start a meaningless thread...

This thread was originally posted by Korzag, Gazrok has not started this thread or posted in it at all.

Korzag = Gazrok (think about it...)

Oh, sorry Gaz. I was reading about Vlad Teres and I thought I'd come to the Krypto board to see what all you supernaturalists had to say about it. I saw Kor and I got excited so I came here.... you duped me

Honestly though, I think it was still a legit thread and there are plenty of anal mods who'd raise a fuss if it wasn't (even it was started by you). I kept it going because ID obviously had no idea who you were and I couldn't help trying to bait him whilst contributing my $0.02.

Kinda like the thread I started on "Activists Speak Out Against Second Hand Spit". The URL is lost now but only one person caught on to the satire of the "country's finest news source". I thought every internet nerd knew of The Onion... oh well. I made legit arguments there even though no waitress ever goes home drenched in second hand chew...

Is a misleading-legit thread an oxymoron?

-S