American Vampire Tales

The Story of Mercy Brown

When mentioning vampires, people in New England like to tell the story of Mercy Brown. In Exeter, Rhode Island residents speculated that after Mercy Browns' death she had in fact become a vampire, that she was rising from the grave and feeding on her sick brother. She had followed her mother and sister to the grave and the people of the area were in a panic. As a result, on a cold March afternoon, Mercy's father and some of his neighbors dug up her grave to see if she had indeed changed into a vampire.

It was found that she had shifted in her coffin and her mouth and heart were full of fresh blood. The heart was cut from her chest and burned on a large rock to stop Mary from venturing from the grave. Some of the ashes were even fed to her brother as a cure but he still died two months later. After he passed, the body was staked through the chest and tied in the coffin so he didn't turn into a vampire like Mercy.

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The New Orleans Vampire Murders

In 1984 nine people were found dead in various sections of the French Quarter of New Orleans. They all had been murdered by having their throats torn out. The paramedics responding to the scenes were struck by the fact that there was no blood at the scenes...something or someone had simply sucked all the blood directly from the victims. Police to this day do not have a suspect in this case....the murder spree ended as quickly as it had began. Rumors suggested that it was the work of a rogue vampire that was destroyed by the elder vampire sect of New Orleans because of pressure placed by authorities on the known vampire community in city.

In 1933, on two different nights, police were called to Royal Street where on each night young prostitutes were found laying in a alley with their throats torn out. Both women had been dead only a few minutes when they were found but no blood was found at the scenes. A local resident who lived above one of the murder scenes claimed a dark figure was observed leaning over one of the victims and people began to scream for police. The witness said the dark figure had climbed over a 12 foot wall at the end of the alley with little effort. It appeared to the witness that the dark figure was a man dressed in a black cape and hat. Police searched but found nothing. Both murders have yet to be solved.

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The Vampires of Dillsboro, North Carolina

In the spring of 1788 a family setup housekeeping in the small mountain community of Dillsboro N.C. The family name was Alfort and there were rumors that they had descended from royalty. They bought land by the river and built what was then a very nice large southern colonial home. Dr. Alfort opened up an office and pharmacy in a few rooms in the front of the house. The local people were at first really happy that a new doctor had arrived in their community...but very quickly this attitude was about to change.

Two men both who had gone to the new doctor to be treated for gout suddenly died. Both men had been well liked members of the community and the circumstances angered many of the residents. However in a short time the local minister had brokered peace in the community and everything seemed to be fine. However this calm was short lived.

That Fall the young daughter of the minister was found dead in her bed with puncture marks to her throat. The minister's wife swore she had seen a dark form hovering over her daughter and she screamed but it was too late and the child quickly succumb to the attack.

The incident caused a huge outcry in the town and the people of the area started to claim a vampire or a group of vampires was in their midst. For many nights groups of men ventured out and searched but found nothing. However some men claimed to have seen a large black bat-like creature fly over them. A few nights after the sighting a young boy ran down the hill to his grandfather's house and proclaimed that something was up the hill in his house attacking his parents. The grandfather summoned other men and they ran to the house but only found the parents and their two young daughters, who were dead with puncture wounds to their necks. The area was immediately alerted...soldiers were called in and searched the area. By February of 1789 the community had quieted down.

Then one evening screams were heard and when men arrived they witnessed a black form of a human run from the house, run down the hill and into the Alfort house. When the village men went into the house where the screams had come from they found the bodies of a young couple with vicious bite marks to their throats. Almost at once more men came and they were told that the murderer had ran down the hill and into the Alfort house. When the search party got to the Alfort house Dr. Alfort refused to let them in. However as soon as the sheriff arrived they dragged Dr. Alfort outside and tied him to a tree. When the men entered the house they were surprised at what they found. The upstairs bedrooms each had beds but it was clear that no one had slept in them. When the sheriff and search party went downstairs they found three caskets and Mrs. Alfort, who was dressed in black, lying in one of the caskets and very much alive. She hissed and cursed at them as she was pulled from the casket.

Later that night the sheriff and the village minister announced to the crowd assembled outside the Alfort house that the Alforts and their son were vampires. The Alforts were summarily hanged and then placed back inside the house. The house was set on fire and burned to the ground. However the couple's 15 year old son was not found and never seen in the area again. There were no further unusual murders in the area.

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The St. Augustine Stalker

In 1933 intense terror shrouded over St. Augustine, Florida. On the morning of October 5th a man visiting his brother discovered the bodies of his brother, his wife and their three children. All of the dead had open wounds in their throats where something had fed and sucked the blood from the victims. The Turner family all appeared have been dead for two to three days at the time they were discovered. Every mirror in the house had been broken and several crosses and other religious artifacts the family owned had been thrown out of a back window into the yard. The family cat had been savagely killed and it's headless body was tossed on the hall floor. The head was never found. Blood was smeared on walls throughout the house...it was clear that someone had taken a lot of time in doing so.

Neighbors said that they heard nothing but another man a few doors down said that he saw a very dark man dressed all in black leave the house just before daylight a day or two before. He said the man walked past him and he clearly heard the man make a hissing sound at him as he walked by.

Police at the time conducted extensive searches...bloodhounds were even brought in but no trace of whoever or whatever committed the horrible crime was ever found. The local newspapers both placed the same headline across the front "Vampire Stalks St. Augustine." In time, the murders faded from memory...it's still part of public record though the case remains unsolved.

Is There A Connection Between Reptilians and Vampires?

There has been a lot of speculation, especially by British author David Icke, concerning a real connection between non-terrestrial reptilian species and vampire beings. Some feel that this is simply a conspiracy theory or used as an allegory in order to sell books. But both elements, in my opinion, offer some insight into a hypothesis that may help explain some of the mysteries of why we are on Earth.

Draconians and Dracula...is there a connection?

This is where part of the symbolism in the story of Dracula originates. It was written by the Irish author Bram Stoker and published in 1897. Stoker knew the vampire legends after years of research...there is no part of the world and no era of history that does not have its myths and legends about vampires who feed off other people's energy and blood. Observe the main elements of that tale.

His name is Dracula (the Draco constellation is the alleged home of the royal reptilian bloodlines). He is called "Count" Dracula (symbolic of the way these Draco bloodlines have been carried by "human" royalty and aristocracy). Dracula is a vampire (symbolic of the need of the Draco reptilians to drink human blood and feed off human energy). Dracula shape-shifts, appears and disappears (symbolic of the reptilian shape-shifters). He cannot stand direct sunlight (what some say of the reptilians and greys). He comes in through "windows" (symbolic of the interdimensional portals through which reptilian entities enter our world).

Stoker's character was largely based on a man called Dracula or Vlad the Impaler, (in Romanian - Vlad Tepes) the 15th-century ruler of a country called Wallachia, not far from the Black Sea in what is now Romania (Rom = reptilian bloodlines). This was the same region that was once called Transylvania, the home of the most famous vampire legends, and the Danube River valley, which runs from Germany to Romania and into the Black Sea, is a name that comes up very often in the history of the bloodlines.

Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, slaughtered tens of thousands of people and impaled many of them on stakes. He would sit down to eat amid this forest of dead bodies, dipping his bread in their blood. He usually had a horse attached to each of the victim's legs and a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp; he didn't want the victim dying too quickly from shock. Infants were often impaled on the stake forced through their mothers' chests. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake. Death by impalement was slow and painful. Victims sometimes endured for hours or days. Dracula had the stakes arranged in various geometric patterns and the most common was a ring of concentric circles. The height of the spear indicated the rank of the victim, an excellent indication of the ritual-obsessed reptilian mind.

The decaying corpses were often left there for months. It was once reported that an invading Turkish army turned back in fright when it encountered thousands of rotting corpses impaled on the banks of the Danube. In 1461 Mohammed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, a man not noted for his squeamishness, was sickened by the sight of twenty thousand impaled corpses rotting outside of Dracula's capital of Tirgoviste. The warrior sultan turned over command of the campaign against Dracula to subordinates and returned to Constantinople. Ten thousand were impaled in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu, where Dracula had once lived. On St. Bartholomew's Day, 1459, Dracula had thirty thousand merchants and others impaled in the Transylvanian city of Brasov. One of the most famous woodcuts of the period shows Dracula feasting amongst a forest of stakes and their grisly burdens outside Brasov while a nearby executioner cuts apart other victims.

Impalement was Dracula's favorite technique, but by no means his only method of inflicting unimaginable horror. The list of tortures employed by this deeply sick man included nails in heads, cutting off limbs, blinding, strangulation, burning, cutting off noses and ears, mutilation of sexual organs (especially in the case of women), scalping, skinning, exposure to the elements or wild animals, and boiling alive. No one was immune to Dracula's attentions. His victims included women and children, peasants and great lords, ambassadors from foreign powers and merchants.

Vlad III was the son of Vlad Dracul, who was initiated into the ancient Order of the Dragon by the Holy Roman emperor in 1431. It's emblem was a dragon, wings extended, hanging on a cross. Vlad II wore this emblem and his coinage bore the dragon symbol. All the members of the order had a dragon on their coat of arms and he was nicknamed Dracul (the Devil or the Dragon). Son Vlad signed his name Draculea or Draculya or the "Devil's son" and this later became Dracula, a name that translates as something like "son of him who had the Order of the Dragon". This is the same Dragon Order that is today promoted by the British "Holy Grail" author, Sir Laurence Gardner. By the way, Queen Mary or Mary of Teck, the mother of King George VI and therefore grandmother to the present Elizabeth II, was descended from a sister of "Dracula". - 'Children of the Matrix' (David Icke) - www.aboutromania.com - 'Dracula: Between Myth and Reality' (Adrian Axinte) - www.romaniatourism.com

NOTE: There have been several anecdotes referencing reptilian draconian beings in Romania since it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2004. There is no date given for the scenario detailed by General Emil Streinu (below) though, I suspect, it occurred post-1989 Romanian Revolution and pre-NATO membership. Again, this not the only reptilian claim to have come out of Romania...Lon

A very interesting link about the possible connection - The Anunnaki, the Vampire
and the Structure of Dissent

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Romanian General Emil Streinu is an expert in radiolocation (radar technology) and has a doctorate in geophysical warfare (HAARP technology). He has served as the Advisor of the Romanian Parliament on unconventional issues and asymmetrical threats - Director of The Special Situations and Research Center on UFOs and Psihotronics - Founder of the Association for the Study of Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena and author of several of esoteric publications.

For many years he has claimed that the reptilian extraterrestrials exist, that they have huge underground bases/cities, but nothing more. Each time he concludes by stating “I’m not going any further on this subject”

After reading Aryan Hava's books "Inuaki, The Reptilian Inside Me" (Vol. 1 & 2), General Streinu contacted her to convey a remarkable story as she was about to publish her third book on this subject: "Anunnaki vs. Anunnaki" (or "An.unnak.ki versus An.unnak.ki"). Streinu eventually writing the book's preface.

In the introduction he speaks about a good friend of his who had seen two reptilian beings in an early morning (5:00 AM) in the Retezat Mountains (A group of mountains in the Carpathians).

His friend is also a military figure, a high ranking officer specialized in commando warfare, which asked for his identity to remain hidden. He served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and Latin America (South America). General Streinu also mentioned that his friend is not a fan of neither science fiction or ufology and that he trusts his friend above any doubt.

This high ranking officer, let's call him "Colonel X", was driving back from a short camping trip, which he took alone in the mountains. He was close to Bucharest when he noticed that he was low on gas...so he pulled into a small rural gas station.

It was 5:00 - 5:10 AM, so nobody was around. Colonel X noticed a khaki Hummer with black windows parked outside the gas station with the engine on, but nobody around it. After filling up his tank, he paid and walked back to his SUV. He then noticed that the driver's door of the Hummer was opened and inside it he saw a reptilian being. The reptilian had no clothes but it was wearing military boots...it was entirely covered with green scales (like a crocodile) and had a lizard-type crest on the head. The reptilian saw Colonel X, then he got out of the Hummer, while still staring at him. He directed some sharp sounds at someone from inside the car, this time looking irritated, then got back at the wheel and quickly drove away. The car had no license plates, either on the front or back.

Colonel X estimated the reptilian to be 2.00m (78.7 inches) high, with yellow eyes and cat type slits.

The Colonel looked around to see if someone else had witnessed the event, but he was alone. Then he noticed the gas station's video camera. Unfortunately, the attendant told him that the camera was "just for decoration" and had no practical use, other than scare any potential robbers. Thinking that this was a very well played hoax, he got back into the car and continued his journey.

After several miles he was still very upset by the events, when he saw the same Hummer with all four doors opened. On the shoulder he noticed two dark green reptilians that seemed to be arguing. The second reptilian was 15-20 cm (5,9 - 7,9 inches) higher than the first one. It wasn't wearing clothes or boots and had lizard-type feet and unlike the first one, it also had a tail.

On the street, trucks were passing by in both directions and the drivers were pointing at the creatures, but nobody pulled over. Then, Colonel X got his mobile phone out and took several photographs of the reptilians who seem oblivious to the situation.

After 3-5 minutes, the two reptilians got back into the Hummer and drove back, at high speed, in the direction they initially came from. The Colonel looked again at the pictures from his mobile phone and rushed for Bucharest in order to contact General Streinu and together decide what to do with the astonishing pictures.

Back in Bucharest, the phone clearly showed 11 pictures, but all of them were completely green. Together with General Streinu, they headed to a phone service company that couldn't help them either. It was like the Colonel photographed a bright green light.

For two weeks they analyzed the story in great detail and searched for witnesses, but all efforts ended up in failure.

General Streinu concluded: "Only one thing is sure: we live in a world that we only THINK we know, having a false impression that we are its masters. In fact we are only subtenants in transit, on a planet that never belonged to us and having no idea what our purpose really is..." - humansarefree.com

NOTE: here is a link to my post on The Romanian Vampires that details the legend. What do you think...could there be a connection between reptilians and vampires? Do you believe that these beings even exist? Are we starting to realize that there are other forces at play and that we are here for a specific purpose? Lon

Reptilians & Vampires - The Same

Would You Give A Child This Book?

I have a story to tell and I would like some input by the readers. I know what the majority of the answers are going to be but I have my reasons for asking the question.

Would you give a young teenager a book about psychic vampires? The specific book is detailed at The Vampire Codex...this is an internet version of the book supplied by the author. Should a child be given this information?

Several months ago, Spirit Rescue International was asked to investigate, research and remote view a residence in Connecticut. The client was a ghost hunter who had gotten a bit reckless and didn't protect herself....thus attracting a multitude of entities into the home that caused various problems. The client was also obsessed with EVP recordings and constantly setup a recorder in the residence. It had gotten to the point that we were called in to clear the location. Unfortunately the client refused to stop looking for ghosts and continued to re-infest the home. There were many other factors involved as well...but the bottom line is that the client simply refused to help herself.

During the investigation we were told that the young teenage girl living in the home had become interested in the client's ghost hunting activities and that the client purchased The Vampire Codex for the teen. Frankly, we were shocked and considered dropping the investigation...but are committed to help those who are truly in need. Eventually the client was requiring constant attention and interfering with other cases we were working. She could not understand why new spirits were moving into the location as well as attaching to her. Out of frustration the client lashed out and blamed us for her predicament.

As serious investigators we expect some people and clients will not understand what we do. This is not television...it's real-life and we solve real entity hauntings and possessions. It's not about money or glory...it's about helping. Some times it's a humbling endeavor...but most times it is very satisfying, even though we may not get a simple 'thank you'.

Please go to the book link, read the information and comment on this. Thanks...Lon

Spiritual / Paranormal Activity: Vampires, Urban Legends and Evil Spirits

The Vampire of Mineral Point

“In 1981 in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, sightings of a reported ‘Vampire’ were made in the local Graceland Cemetery. Police Officer John Pepper had a run-in with the phantom, which he described as being a tall, white-faced man in a cape. Pepper pursued the suspect but gave up after the man leaped over a barbed-wire fence and disappeared in the darkness. Pepper reportedly discounted the Vampire rumors, believing the suspect to have possibly been mentally ill.” - DB

“On March 14, 2008 around 9 PM, Mineral Point police responded to a number of calls of a person sitting in a tree outside an apartment complex and leaping upon those who passed by. The person described matched that of the Mineral Point Vampire. As police arrived, the suspect jumped from the tree and ran off into the night. Authorities followed what they believed to be his tracks in the snow, which led to a 10 foot high cement wall and stopped. The suspect could not be found.” - Derek

“On July 11, 2008 at about 10:00 PM Mineral Point residents Brandon Heinz (22 years old) and his girlfriend Jamie Marker (19 years old) were fishing off the jetty on the far west shore of Ludden Lake when the couple heard noises coming from under the jetty. The noises were described as sounding “like something was using the boards of the jetty like a ladder, climbing along underneath us”.

“Heinz began stomping the boards believing it was some kind of animal and hoping to scare it away. He aimed his flashlight between the cracks of the boards when he and Marker heard water splashing down towards the other side of the jetty. Heinz shone his flashlight towards the sound to see “a figure with dark hair and a very pale face pulling itself up onto the jetty”. Heinz and Marker stood in shock as the figure began to rise to it’s feet. Marker turned and ran up the path towards Heinz’s vehicle as Heinz kept his flashlight aimed on the figure.

“”It was wearing some kind of Dracula looking cape and a suit, sort of,” Heinz stated. Marker claimed the same. Heinz threw his flashlight towards the figure and ran up the path after Marker, who was already in the vehicle with the doors locked. As Heinz started the vehicle and began leaving, Marker saw out the passenger window that the figure was coming up the path at a run and she screamed for Heinz to hurry.

“The couple drove to the Mineral Point police department and made a statement directly after. A patrol unit in the area of Ludden Lake investigated the area where Heinz and Marker had been but found no one. Heinz and Marker returned the next day to retrieve their belongings with everything accounted for, except for Heinz’s flashlight.

“Whoever it is,” Heinz says, “they can keep it.”" - The Daily Page - Madison, WI

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Urban Legend or Truth? 'Humans Can Lick, Too'

The next few weeks I'm going to post internet driven tales that start out as an email or forum post but quickly go viral. You decide if these or urban legends or truth:

Subj: DON’T DELETE THIS!!! (it scared the crap outta me)

“Once there was a beautiful young girl who lived in a small town just south of Farmersburg. Her parents had to go to town for a while, so they left their daughter home alone, but protected by her dog, which was a very large collie. The parents told the girl to lock all the windows and doors after they had left. And at about 8:00pm the parents went to town. So doing what she was told the girl shut and locked every window and every door. But there was one window in the basement that would not close completely.”

“Trying as best as she could she finally got the window shut, but it would not lock. So she left the window, and went back upstairs. But just to make sure that no one could get in, she put the dead-bolt lock on the basement door.”

“Then she sat down had some dinner and decided to go to sleep for the night. Settling down to sleep at about 12:00 she snuggled up with the dog and fell asleep.”

“But at one point, she suddenly woke up. She turned and looked at the clock…it was 2:30. She snuggled down again wondering what had woken her…..when she heard a noise. It was a dripping sound. She thought that she had left the water running, and now it was dripping into the drain of her sink. So thinking it was no big deal she decided to go back to sleep.”

“But she felt nervous so she reached her hand over the edge of her bed, and let the dog lick her hand for reassurance that he would protect her. Again at about 3:45 she woke up hearing dripping. She was slightly angry now but went back to sleep anyway. Again she reached down and let the dog lick her hand. Then she fell back to sleep.”

“At 6:52 the girl decided that she had had enough…she got up just in time to see her parents were pulling up to the house. “Good,” she thought. “Now somebody can fix the sink…’cause I know I didn’t leave it running.” She walked to the bathroom and there was the collie dog, skinned and hung up on the curtain rod. The noise she heard was its blood dripping into a puddle on the floor. The girl screamed and ran to her bedroom to get a weapon, in case someone was still in the house…..and there on the floor, next to her bed she saw a small note, written in blood, saying: HUMANS CAN LICK TOO MY BEAUTIFUL.”

“Now it is time for you to lock all the windows and doors. This letter is the only chain letter that is true. This did happen many years ago, and the man who killed the dog was never caught. If you delete this letter you will suffer the same fate as the girl in the story did, years after the dog was killed. She was raped and killed in the same town and same house as the dog. Do not dismiss this letter, because if you do, a horrible thing will become of you, everyone will soon know your name. But only because it will be the headline of your local newspaper for a long time. It will read… Small Town Murder On The Loose! You cannot chance your luck on a chain letter so serious as this. Give up your chance to send this letter to 23 people and you will be giving up your chance to live. You were warned. I hope that I will not see any murder stories in the papers anytime soon. And now I bid you a good day. And one more thing… you only have 23 minutes… sorry.”

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Kyrgyz Parliament Expels 'Evil Spirits'...Sacrifice Seven Sheep

Lawmakers in Kyrgyzstan's raucous parliament have sacrificed seven sheep in what they call a bid to drive evil spirits out of the chamber.

Parliament press officer Shairbek Mamatoktorov said almost all the deputies attended Thursday morning's traditional ceremony. He says meat from the slaughtered animals will be sent to homes for the elderly and the disabled.

The impoverished Central Asian nation's fragile three-party coalition has descended into a flurry of squabbling. Deputies from two parties in the fragile coalition government even came to blows earlier this month and traded bitter accusations.

This month marked the first anniversary of a bloody uprising that led to the ouster of the country's authoritarian leader. - AP

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THIS WEEK'S SPIRITUAL / PARANORMAL ACTIVITY LINKS

Apparitions in Argentina are not authentic, declares archbishop

A Shadow Army in the Czech Republic

Possessed by Three Demons

Are cemeteries haunted?

Exploring the Bidwell Mansion

The Naked Soul of Man

The Third Man Factor: Strange visitors at times of stress

The Black Lady of Opryland

Red Eyes

Longtime cult tracker following new path

The Dagg Poltergeist

The Lyric Theater in Alabama

Folk Tale or Not

Killing in the name of tribal superstitions

Paranthropology – Narrative Approaches to the Paranormal

Ghosts and Pregnancy

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The Romanian Vampires

The day after I had posted Recounting the Pontianak, I received an inquiry from a reader who wanted to know that "despite the Dracula story and Vlad the Impaler legends, why Romania was more frequently associated with vampires when the phenomenon has been recognized worldwide?" I thought it was a fair question so I decided to look at the references available:

Since the Middle Ages, Romania has be renown for vampires. In the kingdoms and dominions of Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia that the tales of vampires are the more abundant than anywhere else. The Romanian folklore remained infallible despite interventions that were historically present from the Romans, the Hungarians and the Ottoman Turks. Romania maintained absolute rules and regulations in obstructing the dead from coming back to life.

Traditional Romanians believed that the initial sign of one being or becoming a vampire was the birth of a child under abnormal circumstances. Some of these circumstances included a child being born out of wedlock, born with a caul (the amniotic membrane that surrounds a fetus), or death occurring before a baptismal could be performed. If a person was aware of their irregular births, they would leave instructions upon their deaths to have the necessary precautions taken, preventing them from rising again as one of the undead. It was also believed that if a woman was with child and did not consume salt, or was to be gazed upon by a vampire, especially one past her 6 month of pregnancy, that her child was doomed to eternal damnation of becoming one of the undead. The only way to redeem the unborn child’s soul was to seek the blessing of the Church. Yet another belief regarding vampires and the birth of a child was to be born the seventh son of the seventh son, or likewise, the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter. They were said to sometimes be born with a tail and could eventually become a vampire.

Although odd births were the most prevalent in beliefs of one becoming a vampire in Romania, it was not the only way one could become a member of the undead. If someone was bitten, they could become a vampire. If someone lived a wicked life such as practicing witchcraft, committed suicide, had sworn a false oath, was excommunicated by the Church, or their corpse was leaped over by a cat, they were prime vampire candidates.

A vampire was always suspected if sudden death struck consistently in a family or livestock followed by the passing of either a family member or of someone who was questioned about being a vampire. It was said that vampires were known to appear to their families on occasion, especially females, since they wanted to be around their children. They would return to their mortal residency and make their presence known by throwing items around, or getting into the food. The vampire would then began to assault family members and livestock and then move it’s way on to the villagers. If the vampires were not annihilated, they could possibly move on to more distant villages and also other countries where they would reestablish themselves into society as mortals, and no one would be the wiser.

The Feast of St. Andrew, accompanied with the Feast of St. George and Easter was acknowledged as one of the most feared times of the year in Romania. The Feast of St. Andrew was in honor of St. Andrew who was the patron of wolves and donor of garlic. It was on St. Andrew’s Eve, in certain parts of Romania, that the vampire was believed to be the most active and dangerous. The vampires was also believed to continue their activity through out the winter and rest at epiphany (January). During these perilous times, it was considered wise to rub garlic on the doors and windows to protect families within the residence from any vampire attacks. Livestock was also at risk of an attack, so precautions were taken with them as well by rubbing them down with garlic.

Romanians took every precaution against becoming a vampire or harming anyone if they did become one. Graves were carefully watched for any signs that signified a disturbance. Such signatures of a vampire’s presence could be a small hole located near the headstone. It was believed that a vampire could enter and leave their grave through this hole. Upon observing this, the deceased would be exhumed. If the corpse was found to be red in the face, it was without a doubt, a vampire. Other signs of the corpse being a vampire was if the corpse was found laying face down in the coffin accompanied by fresh blood upon it, or, on occasion, traces of corn meal would be found. Also, one foot might be found pulled in at one corner of the coffin. Another customary practice amongst the Romanians was to disinter the graves of the departed three years following the death of a child, four to five years following the death of a young person, and seven years following the death of an adult. If only skeletal remains were found, they would be cleansed and returned to their graves, but if the corpse was found to be fleshly preserved, it was then believed to be a vampire, and dealt with in the manner as all vampires were.

If while alive, one was believed to be vampire prone, many precautions were taken with their burial upon their death. Sometimes Garlic would be placed in the corpse’s mouth, or millet seeds would be placed in the coffin to postpone the vampire, who would have to go through a lengthy process of eating them before they could rise from their grave, or a thorny branch of the wild rose may be placed in their coffin. Once the vampire prone deceased member was buried, a distaff would be driven into the ground above the grave in belief that the vampire would impale itself it tried to rise from it’s grave. On the anniversary of the death of a vampire prone subject, the family would walk around the grave. More harsher preventive measures would be to stake the corpse with iron or wood, either in the heart or the navel. Sometimes, the body would be buried face down and reversed in the coffin. And, on more extreme levels, the corpse would be removed from the grave and to the woods to be dismembered. The heart and liver would first be removed, and then the rest of the body would be burned, piece by piece. The ashes would then be preserved and mixed with water and given to the family members to drink to prevent any vampire attacks. - www.darknessembraced.com

In 1926, Agnes Murgoci wrote in The Vampire in Roumanie the ways to determine if any dead man is a vampire:

- 1. His household, his family, and his live stock, and possibly even the live stock of the whole village, die off rapidly.
- 2. He comes back in the night and speaks with the family. He may eat what he finds in dishes and knock things about, or he may help with the housework and cut wood. Female vampires also come back to their children. There was a Hungarian vampire which could not be kept away, even by the priest and holy water.
- 3. The priest reads a service at the grave. If the evil which is occurring does not cease, it is a bad sign.
- 4. A hole about the size of a serpent may be found near the tombstone of the dead man. If so, it is a sign of a vampire, because vampires come out of graves by just such holes.
- 5. Even in the daytime a white horse will not walk over the grave of a vampire, but stands still and snorts and neighs.
- 6. A gander, similarly, will not walk over the grave of a vampire.
- 7. On exhuming the corpse, if it is a vampire it will be found to be:
1. red in the face, even for months and years after burial,
2. with the face turned downwards,
3. with a foot retracted and forced into a corner of the grave or coffin.
4. If relations have died, the mouth will be red with blood. If it has only spoilt and ruined things at home, and eaten what it could find, the mouth will be covered with maize meal.

The most common vampire species in Romania were the Strigoi. The strigoi are a breed of undead vampire (compared to the Romanian living vampire, the moroii). A strigoi is said to have red hair and blue eyes, moves very slowly, with their right eye closed but they left eye always open. Sometimes the vampire would look bloated with blood. The strigoi drank blood like most vampires but could also eat normal human food. It is said to also be able to draw energies from people, leaving them weak, sickly and helpless. Other than attacking people the strigoii would also spread disease.

In 1985 biochemist David Dolphin proposed a link between the rare blood disorder porphyria and vampire folklore. Noting that the condition is treated by intravenous haem, he suggested that the consumption of large amounts of blood may result in haem being transported somehow across the stomach wall and into the bloodstream. Thus vampires were merely sufferers of porphyria seeking to replace haem and alleviate their symptoms. The theory has been rebuffed medically as suggestions that porphyria sufferers crave the haem in human blood, or that the consumption of blood might ease the symptoms of porphyria, are based on a misunderstanding of the disease. Furthermore, Dolphin was noted to have confused fictional (bloodsucking) vampires with those of folklore, many of whom were not noted to drink blood. Similarly, a parallel is made between sensitivity to sunlight by sufferers, yet this was associated with fictional and not folkloric vampires.

Methods of vanquishing the fiend or protecting yourself from it are: Drinking wine...it is said to be a powerful shield against the vampire, especially lesser quality wine since it taints the blood making you undesirable to the strigoi. Eating strong onions was also said to taint your blood. Scatter the grave of a strigoi with poppy seeds. Like many other vampire species the strigoi are thought to be incredibly obsessive and if you leave poppy seeds (or mustard seeds) at its grave, it will be compelled to stop and count each one before it can move on, which would take most of the night leaving local people safe. In order to destroy the strigoii, cutting off its head and stuffing the mouth with herbs was performed as well as exposing it to sunlight...traditionally described in most Gothic and horror stories (except for the novel 'new age' vampires that sparkle in the sunlight).

The tomb of Petre Toma

There is a modern-day account concerning the death of a Romanian man named Petre Toma.

The authorities in Craiova, south-west Romania, opened an investigation against six people alleged to have impaled the body of a villager who, according to them "had transformed himself into vampire" and "sucked blood from them during the night."

The body of Petre Toma had been unearthed six weeks later by his brother-in-law in the presence of several other members of the family, including his widow and her grand-daughter. According to several testimonies, they made an incision in the chest of Toma to extract his heart before burning it. One report states that, in accordance with a local custom to protect against vampires, they dissolved the ashes in water and drank it.

An autopsy carried out by the authorities in Craiova confirmed that "the heart was indeed taken."

The six people explained that after the death of Toma they had felt "weakened," as if they did not have "any more blood."

"One night I saw it in my room, and in the morning I could not arise; so much was I weakened", said the grand-daughter of Toma, Mirela Marinescu. According to her, as soon as the exorcism ritual was performed the dead body "did not come any more to haunt" its family.

The Sunday Times reported that several villagers affirmed that this exorcism ritual was known and practiced for a long time in the area, and that it each time had appeared "effective against vampires."

“For centuries we have had to protect ourselves against these creatures by finding the graves of the undead and risking our lives by ripping out their hearts,” said sixty-eight-year-old Tita Musca, a local farmer. You can read more on this incident at The Case of Petre Toma.

As we can see, the traditional beliefs in evil and the undead instinctively prevail in Romania and eastern European society. For the sake of those interested in the paranormal and folklorists, let's hope the beliefs continue.

Recounting the Pontianak

The following are a few archived Pontianak reports that I have accumulated over the years. In Indonesian and Malayan folklore, the 'Pontianak' are women who died during childbirth and became 'undead', seeking revenge and terrorizing the living. I have many of these stories and personal witness accounts...so I will occasionally post a few if there is continued interest by the readers:

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Towards the end of my national (Singapore) service, my service support group was sent in to the new SyangKong Camp to prepare stores for the in-coming battalion for their reservice.

I was in charge of 20-odd of them. They were on unfamiliar grounds as most of them did not have full basic military training because of their medical condition.

SyangKong Camp is in the middle of reclaimed Tekong. It sits on a sandy/rocky terrain, flank by rubber plantations. The camp was made up of series of single level barracks spread across the field surrounding a center square. Its big enough to house one full infantry battalion. So our first impression when we reach there was, it was a big and empty camp.

Those 20 odd storeman got down doing their stuff, equipping each barrack with the necessities. Foldable beds, pillows, blankets...the list goes on.

Soon after, once everything is in place, they all got back to their barrack. It was a long barrack with windows on the longer sides and entry at both end. There was a double door and a steel gate on the outside.

It was around 8pm and it was already dark. They were all resting. Listening to their MP3s, squinting their eyes on their PSPs. Some rowdies were playing outside. Taking photos on top of a stationary bulldozer, basically just enjoying the time in the middle of the jungle with no officer to scream at them and with only a sergeant who couldn’t care even if they kill each other.

I was too tired to entertain them. After giving them the last instruction for the day, I dozed off on my bed. Strangely, I dreamed of the exact same barrack that I was in. In my dream I was lying on the exact same bed looking on as my men run around the bunk from end to end in total chaos. They were all terrified. The door was opened but the gate was closed. Soon amidst the chaos, I saw a woman in a white cloak with a long hair. The face was horrible but I can never remember how to describe it.

She was a Pontianak...a classic blood sucking bitch who is apparently dead and alive again to struck shear fear in every Malay's life. (I personally think she’s over-rated, but she got her credentials.)

So that explains why the guys are running around in chaos. ‘She’ was flying above our barrack, circling the roof top, jumping from each end to the other trying to gain entry into the barrack. Only the gate was in her way.

So that was the dream I had. It sounds stupid, didn’t it? But it was scary as it was in the middle of Tekong, and having your brain corrupted by the constant stories of Pontianak since you were young. I woke up in a sweat. It was barely an hour since I dozed off.

The barrack was still lighted. The guys who were on their PSP and MP3 had already dozed off. Those from outside had came in. There was an unusual silence amongst them. The doors were shut. I could sense something was wrong. I turned to my man beside me and told him my dream. He kept quiet and went on to sleep. That night, I tried to put myself to sleep. I managed to after awhile. Unexpectedly, it was a sound sleep.

Next day, the man whom I told the story, told me that while I was sleeping earlier last night, they sighted a Pontianak on top of the bulldozer.

As the battalion came in the next day and continue their training for the week, there were a few other happenings and sightings which was more disturbing.

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This story may sound a bit silly, a bit lame even, but I swear it is true!

My friends and I had decided to watch a movie at the Mall. The movie was “Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam”. Its quite a new movie, maybe you’ve heard of it?

Anyway, the Mall (yes, that’s the name of the shopping complex. Imaginative huh?) is built right in the middle of the a busy commercial district, the town center you might call it. It;s brand new, completed just this year, and as far as I know, no supernatural going-ons have happened in the area.

Anyway, as I was saying, we were watching the “Pontianak” movie, the late night showing. I happened to be at the end furthest from the aisle. The few seats from mine to the wall were all empty.

In the middle of watching the movie, my neck felt stiff. You know how that feels right after staring up at the movie for quite a while? So I stretched out, turning my neck from side-to-side to get rid of the stiffness.

To my shock, the empty seat beside me was no longer empty! There was a lady in a white dress with long black hair sitting there, seemingly absorbed in the movie! I turned back to the movie, frozen in terror.

I couldn’t stand it anymore and was about to go crying to my friend (who was sitting right beside me but didn’t seem to have seen something strange). I glanced back at the extra person, but she was gone! I went crying to my friend anyway. She didn’t believe me, but didn’t mind switching seats with me. Needless to say, I wasn’t very much interested in watching the movie after that. I mean, who needs a movie when you’ve seen the real thing?

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This happened when I was on the way back home from work. At that point of time, I was working at Boat Quay as a chat operator. So usually we knock off at 3am. My in-law was staying at Tiong Bahru. Sometimes my hubby would fetch me from work and we would walk all the way to my in-law's place. As our normal routine just like when we were still dating, we like to travel by foot (considering its not that tiring to walk to the destination) and talk about lots of things.

Narrow things down, we reach this 4 block area where it's just 4 story high or 5. Can’t clearly remember. Rumors said that the HDB wants to pull it down but now I see that its being made as a rental place.

So before we reach Tiong Bahru Plaza, we will pass by this place. A few metres before we reach this block, (this happen before the HDB carried out the renovation to upgrade this vacant 4 story block. So it's really run down and been years nobody actually live there) I popped a question to my hubby, "Isn’t it scary to look at this building? It's been vacant like years and I’m sure there’s like 'those things' in there..a lot!". Wile talking, my hubby eyes was fixed to the 3rd story of this building. I tap him gently and ask him what is he looking at.

He turned to me and ask me to look straight. "Sorry sayang", he suddenly said. "Why are you apologizing to me"? I ask. He then answered "Thanks to me, now that thing is already at the bushes across the road. Just don’t look now. Just now, that pontianak was at the 3rd story looking at us. Thanks to me looking at her back, she knows that I spotted her and now she is walking the same line as us just that she’s across the road".

I turn my head slowly and fix my eyes right at the bushes. True enough, there is no wind and nothing across the road (it"s just metres away...so near) the bushes are rustling and moving. It seems like someone or something is walking behind or in the bushes parallel with us, following us from the other side. I calm myself down and just walk straight.

I was praying hard that we would reach home quickly but thanks to the shoes that I'm wearing, I have to go slow (it's a new shoe, so yeah). All of the sudden, my hubby grabs my bag and hand, he pulled me and we both ran. I was clueless at that time but in my mind I did have this thought, "is that thing behind me? Chasing us and wanting to kill us?"

We finally reach a bus stop and sat down. Hubby said it's safe. I really needed to sit down after that dash. Being impatient, I ask my hubby to explain why the sudden dash. Hubby insisted that we reach home and talk about it. Back at my in-law's he explains.

"I saw that thing from the 3rd story while you were talking. At first it didn’t see me looking at it. Then the Pontianak spotted me looking at her. So it was like too late for me to pretend that I never saw her at all. I thought that the Pontianak would just stand and look but she suddenly came down and followed us from the other side. The reason I pulled you was she was about to show herself because I saw the Pontianak emerging from the bushes. I saw her white dress and black hair already so I rather we ran than having you see her that close up".

Since then, whenever I pass the building then and now, I never want to look at it. It just reminds me of the incident. Even now, since the renovation, trying to walk past the building at night, I walk at the back of the building. Who knows what you may see or even meet.

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This guy named Ismail was returning home from his cousin's house as it was during the Hari Raya. I think it was 2 years ago. His cousin's house was in Yishun and he was heading to Pasir Ris that where he lived. While riding along Punggol, he was feeling strange all of a sudden. He continued to ride until there was a Malaysian plated motorcycle. When they were side by side, this old Malaysian guy turned to him and then speed faster. Ismail didn't care and just kept on riding until he was again riding side by side with a old man. He was riding a Vespa motorcyle. The old man turn to look at Ismail and again the old man speed faster. Ismail thought that he wanted to race.

After a few minutes, he looked at his side mirror as he felt as if there was someone riding behind him. He look at the mirror and saw a white dress. He again looked at the mirror and saw a woman with long black hair and then it strikes him that there was evil riding behind him. Ismail says “I did not disturb you and you please...do not disturb me”. He was in total fear!

When he reach a junction at Pasir Ris, he was getting ready to stop at a red light. This 'thing' pulled near and began to laughed. Ismail didn't care weather it was a red or green light, he just sped off until he reached home. Without even taking the key and parking at the correct spot, he rushed to his house. Reaching his house, he tells his elder brother what happened. His brother said he was lying.

They both get on their motorcycles together...Ismail rode behind his elder brother. When they see the motorcycle, the Pontianak was sitting and smiling at them. Ismail scolded his elder brother for not believing him. His brother quickly shouted prayers and the 'thing' was gone. Ismail rushed back home leaving his brother alone.

When the brother reached his way home, he scolded Ismail for leaving him alone, "what if the thing attacked me." Beware riding your motorcycle alone at night.....

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One Friday night, all of my friends and I are chatting at a nearby coffee shop. It was a boring night, one of my friends suggested we go clubbing at Boat Quay but we ignored his suggestion. I suggested to have some fun with the spirits as it was the HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL.

We planned the things that we needed, e.g joss sticks, candles, apples and a comb. We proceeded to the destination planned. Upon reaching, we set up all the things we bought. The candles were used to make a pentagram and we put the joss stick around us. Together there were 6 of us including one girl. We were suppose to sit at every end of the pentagram and one person in the middle. The girl sat in the middle and she was supposed to comb her hair while chanting some spell.

It`s almost midnight and we started to chant the spell my friend taught us. After a few minutes nothing happen. I started to feel that its a waste of our time. I got up and kicked all the candles and joss sticks, and walk away. Suddenly it happened. The girl who was combing her hair started to scream. She ran towards me and started to bite me. At first I thought she playing around but she wasn’t. My friends tried to pull her away from me but to no avail. Then she released me and started to say words that we could not understand. My friend who is a religious type, started to chant some prayers and the possessed girl started to scream again. The screams then began to fade and she fainted. All of us then witnessed a white object flying above the bushes behind us. We became alarmed, picked up the fainted girl and ran away to the nearest HDB block. From there we went back to our home.

I told my mother about the incident...she was so mad that the slap me on the face. She said that I had disturbed the resting place of a PONTIANAK. I swear to myself not play with spirits again. As for the girl she knew nothing about what had happened to her.

This really happened at Serangoon Park Connector.

NOTE: there are lots of Pontianak tales and legends. The following are a few of my personal favorites:

 
‘Pontianaks’ or vampires are basically the most notorious group of paranormal entities and their popularity is evident through their portrayals in horror films and fiction movies. In this story, Ahmad, a man in his mid-twenties, claims to have encountered these strange entities while driving home from Tutong Town. This unfortunate incident triggered months of restlessness and paranoia but yet here, he recalls the sequence of events leading up to that fateful night as he faced his worst nightmare.

Driving down the highway, Ahmad tried to adjust his focus and eyes on the road as fatigue and lethargy took control of his body. The long working hours at his new job had taken its toll and left him practically exhausted. After several failed attempts to keep himself awake, Ahmad finally gave in and decided to stop at the side of the road to get some shuteye before continuing his journey. As he turned to make a stop, his eyes caught sight of a strange looking ‘object’ in the middle of the road that seemed to resemble a log but simply shrugged it off as nothing out of the ordinary. However, as Ahmad peered closer at the weird object, he could make up some facial features but it was too dark to tell whether his imagination was beginning to run wild. Despite the warning which echoed in his mind to ‘run away’, he simply refused to steer clear of whatever was on that road.

Curiosity got the better of him and he took out a torch light out of the glove compartment to investigate what it really was. As Ahmad approached the ‘object’, it laid so disturbingly still as if waiting to strike. He suddenly stood frozen in his tracks as the ‘mysterious object’ lifted its head slowly in his direction and let out an ear-piercing cry. Fear overtook the very core of Ahmad’s mind and he knew instantly what the ’strange’ object was. He struggled to summon his inner strength to face the terror staring him right in the eye. “This was something that you could only see in horror films,” Ahmad said. He watched the terror unfold as the paranormal entity, commonly known as ‘pontianaks’ to the locals, crawled to the side of the road and began creeping towards a lamp post. Within split seconds, it swiftly moved towards him and all he could do was recite prayers to ward off the spirit. The ‘pontianak’ stared at him intently before disappearing into thin air. The memory of such a disturbing image, till this day, seems difficult to erase and has changed his philosophy on the existence of paranormal entities.

“I think it’s a good idea to share my experience with fellow readers on this issue. Whether they choose to believe it or not, is of course up to them. However, this is not something you simply make up. It took me quite a while to try and forget this horrifying incident but I decided to instead use it as a lesson in life,” he said before concluding his story.

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Legends of old have it that an individual who possesses a fragile spirit will most likely encounter supernatural entities and although no evidence of such a claim exists, some have unfortunately experienced it firsthand for reasons they cannot phantom. This story revolves around an American expatriate who was kind enough to share his ordeal before leaving the country for good.

David loved Brunei and considered it as his second home. He even planned to settle down with his then fiancé living in Kuala Belait and thus, frequently traveled back and forth to visit his better half. Working in a highly demanding field, which required every ounce of his expertise, commuting from the capital to the Belait District daily was painstaking and inconvenient but he longed to put a balance between his work and fiancé. Days and sometimes, even months at a time, the pressuring demands of his career began to take its toll on their relationship.

One fateful night, they got into a heated argument and his fiancé threatened to commit suicide. After several attempts to call her hand phone, which went unanswered, he grabbed his car keys and drove hastily to Kuala Belait. “Please answer the phone, please,” David pleaded. He then began blaming himself should anything unforeseen happen to his fiancé and could not imagine life without her.

He then approached the one-lane road and focused on the dark, eerie highway, where no street lamps were erected. Suddenly, the radio reception started to deteriorate and David simply thought it was due to the location. A few minutes later, the car engine began to quiver and decelerate from 120 to 80km/h. “What in heaven’s name could possibly go wrong now?” he exclaimed as it was a brand new car. “Do not break down here please, of all places!” David said while glancing around at the pitch-black darkness without a single soul in sight.

He pulled himself together and tried to dismiss all negative thoughts coming to mind. As he attempted to lean on the arm rest, David caught sight of what seemed to be a ’shadow’, in the corner of his eye. Without thinking, he turned to confirm his worst fear and indeed, there was a weird ‘figure’ sitting beside him in the front passenger seat. The entity’s long black strands of hair covered its face as ’she’ repeatedly let out a blood-curling laugh. Shivers ran down his spine and a thousand thoughts raced through the businessman’s mind. Given the fact that he is a free-thinker, no religion or prayers could save him then as he knew none. David thought of calling someone, practically anyone but his phone was in the middle of the dashboard. Terrified that the ‘entity’ would grab his hands, he continued driving, hoping, praying that a street lamp would appear with some visible ’signs’ of life.

A few minutes on, David’s instincts sent a warning jolt through his body. He could sense that the ’spirit’ was staring at him and his heart raced with sheer trepidation. Straight ahead, visible strokes of light could be seen and he stepped on the gas pedals hoping to reach the area before something happened to him. That seemed to only make things worse.

With the streetlights, he could clearly see his ‘uninvited passenger’. The events that followed would remain embossed in his memories forever. The ’spirit’ extended its arms to grab his shoulders. He immediately stepped on the brakes and ran out of the car. David refused to turn around for fear that ‘it’ was nearby but decided to fight his fear after remembering his fiance.

“After I saw it was gone, I went back into my car and drove off like never before,” David said. After reconciling with his fiance, he retold his frightful story and later discovered that the entity was in fact, a Pontianak. “This has altered my complete outlook in life and I now refuse to travel anywhere alone if it’s 3 in the morning,” he said while giggling but behind the laughter, the impact of that encounter could be visibly seen through his eyes.

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SEARCHING FOR THE PONTIANAK - SINGAPORE PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS

The Malays' belief in ghosts is perhaps the most interesting. They seem to have categorized the ghosts into different types and each was given a special name. The most violent and fierce ghost in the Malay version is perhaps the 'Pontianak', otherwise known as 'Hantu Kontilanak' among Indonesians. Pontianaks are actually the Malay version of a vampire. They kill and tear their victim's body up to suck their blood. They use long nails to shred open the abdomen, and feed on the intestines inside the body. Very disgusting. Another version of attack is swiftly dig out the victim's sex organ when he leaned near to her.

Over the past years, SPI had collected a wonderful batch of stories (some with witness' account) regarding this mythical beast namely Pontianak. Most of them are quite drastically incredible like those you read from those bedtime ghost story books. Some archetypes are however summarized as follow for your reference:

1. Lady figure in white was seen near the trees
2. Flower fragrance was smelled in cemeteries
3. A white figurine flew pass from tree to tree
4. A lady ghost was seen singing on a tree branch
5. Pontianak hiding inside a banana tree, etc, etc..

Nevertheless there are some good stories obtained as first-hand information from the witnesses who dare to stand up and testify the stories. The accounts are somewhat more credible than those hearsay you got from elsewhere.

For example:

(1) We have a SPI fan who is an ex-police cadet. During his training in the Mt Pleasant camp, his supervisor told him that there are cases of Pontianak encounters in the forests near the police academy. They are of course classified cases and the supervisor seriously warned the fellows not to walk near the forest at night.

(2) A SPI member, before joining, had witnessed the existence of Pontianak at Mt Pleasant cemetery with his other friends.

(3) A young girl called Lina, who claimed to be the daughter of a bomoh, insisted that Pontianak did exist according to what her father told her. When she was about 9 years old, she saw a Pontianak during her father's summoning ritual.

With an open mind, SPI decided to find the truth behind such myth. We vowed to research, to explore and to investigate to the bottom of this legend. Since we started up SPI we have been collecting over dozens of accounts about Pontianak. By saying we keep an 'open-mind' that means we first not to believe or dismiss its truthfulness. We take our best efforts as usual to try verify whether Pontianak exist or not. If necessary, we are happy to debunk the myth by proving no such thing exist. Otherwise we will testify its real existence. There is only one aim in this investigation - solve the mysteries clouded around the legend of Pontianak. This is why SPI exists, and this is what we do. You can continue reading the investigation at SEARCHING FOR THE PONTIANAK - SINGAPORE PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS

The Croglin Grange Vampire Mystery

Our modern idea of a vampire, a creature that has returned from death to prey on humans at night, is based on the Eastern European vampires myths and legends, such as vampires wearing capes or turning into bats. Although vampire myths occur in almost every culture around the world, such myths are rare in England where the idea was almost unknown until the 18th century, when reports from Europe began to surface.

This particular account dates from just after the English Civil War in the 1650's. The owners of Croglin Low Hall in Cumberland (now Cumbria) were a family named Fisher and the story was told to one Augustus Hare by a descendent of the family in 1896. For some reason of their own, the Fishers decided to go and live in the south of England and rent out the farm. The new tenants were two brothers and a sister named Cranswell. The new family stayed in their remote farmhouse through the first winter without event. The summer came and, that year, it was stiflingly hot so they slept with the windows open. At that time the Hall was only one storey high - the upstairs has been built subsequently. Near the Hall was a chapel and a small graveyard which once belonged to the Howard family, who were great landowners in these parts.

One airless summer night the men sat with their sister watching the moon rise. After a time they decided to go to bed. The sister lay in her bed, the bedclothes cast off because of the heat. She had closed her window, but not fastened the shutters. She gazed out of her window, propped up on her pillows as the long summer day faded out and night took its place. In Cumbria at midsummer, because it is quite far north, it does not get very dark at all between sunset and sunrise.

Miss Cranswell soon became aware of two lights in the belt of trees some distance from the house which separated the lawn from the graveyard. She watched and, after a while, she made out a dark shape moving towards the house and towards her window. A terrible horror seized her. She wanted to get up and leave the room, but to go to the door would have meant she had to go closer to the window. Besides she had locked the door from the inside and so would have to stand there and unlock it...all the while clearly visible to whatever was out there. Frozen to the spot, she stared at the shape...but then it turned and instead of moving closer to her window, it started to move around the house. She jumped up and ran towards the door. Her hands were shaking so much that she found it hard to turn the key. And then her heart nearly stopped. Behind her, close to her though she didn't dare look, she heard a scratching at the window. It was outside...just feet away. She stood there petrified with fear still not turning her head. Then she heard the sound of it unpicking the lead which held the glass in place. She forced herself to look and saw that one pane of the mullioned glass had come away and a long bony hand stretched in and turned the window catch. Whatever it was, it came in through the window with a rush and grabbed her...its fingers in her hair, its mouth at her throat. It bit her neck and forced her onto the ground. As it bit her she screamed.

Croglin Low Hall (Croglin Grange)

Her brothers heard the noise and came and battered at the locked door. The creature looked up as the door was broken open...it turned and fled out of the window, leaving her lying on the floor, bleeding profusely from a wound at her neck. One brother clambered out of the window and went after it. But it was fast and before he could catch it...perhaps it was lucky for him that he didn't. It disappeared into the inky blackness around the graveyard.

Trying to explain the incident afterwards, the girl rationalized that the creature must have been a dangerous lunatic. But she was still horribly shocked and her brothers took her away from Croglin to recover. They stayed away for a while, but then, as autumn came, it was she who urged them to return to Croglin. They had paid for the tenancy, and besides, she joked, it would be very bad luck to come across two escaped lunatics.

They returned to Croglin and spent the winter there. She had the same room, but always closed the wooden shutters. The brothers took to carrying loaded pistols with them around the house. But nothing happened until one night in March.

The sister was lying in bed when she heard a terribly familiar scratching at the window. She struggled to get fully awake and scrabbled for a candle and something to light it with. When she got a flame she saw that the shutters were opened. Staring in at her was a brown shriveled face...she saw its long bony hands picking at the lead of the windows. This time she screamed immediately. Her brothers rushed in with their pistols. She pointed to the window, but the creature had gone. The brothers ran out of the front door and saw it moving across the lawn towards the graveyard. They fired and one of them hit it in the leg. It scrambled away into the darkness and they lost it.

The next day the brothers summoned their neighbors, and with their help they went into the graveyard. The tenants of nearby Croglin High Hall had also been suffering visits from it and their young daughter had bite wounds at the throat. The father had thought that she had been bitten by a rat, but when the Cranswells said what had happened to their sister, they feared the worst and the father joined the party as it made its way to the graveyard.

One of the locals had heard rumors of a particular vault being home to some monster so they opened it up. They stood around, pistols and other weapons at the ready. The vault was full of coffins but most were smashed and the remains mangled and strewn across the floor. Only one coffin was undisturbed. They lifted the lid and there they saw the mummified and shriveled figure that had moved as if alive the night before. To confirm what they feared they looked at the leg and found a recent wound from a pistol ball. There and then they set fire to the dry coffin and burnt the vampire in it.

In his book Legends of the Lake District, J. A. Brooks tells that in the early years of this century the tenants of Croglin Low Hall had to deal with a fire in the dining room chimney. When the fire died down and they were rebuilding the chimney, they found an ancient burnt corpse in there. Though the tenant wanted to rebury the corpse in a churchyard with proper Christian rites, he died before he was able to do this. Some people think that the corpse is still there in the chimney.

Adaptations on the Croglin Range Tale

Augustus Hare, who had the story printed, said he heard it from a Captain Fisher who leased the property after the Cranswells. He dated the events to around 1875. This immediately aroused suspicion that he had actually adapted certain sequences in a 'penny dreadful novel' possibly by James Malcolm Rymer: 'Varney the Vampire' published in 1847. Penny dreadfuls were deliberately sensational. The books sold for a penny, often authors did not want to admit they wrote them.

In 1924, Charles G. Harper decided to challenge Hare's account of the vampire. He went to Cumberland and could not find Croglin Grange, although he found both a Croglin High Hall and a Croglin Low Hall. There was no church nearby. The closest was a mile away. There was no vault as described by the brothers and the villagers.

Later a man called F. Clive-Ross visited the area and in turn challenged Harper's findings. He interviewed the local people and deduced that Croglin Low Hall was the Grange. He also noted that a chapel had existed near the house and its foundation stones were still there in the 1930s.

Then in 1968, D. Scott Rogo, a writer, using a book published in 1929 that contained both stories concluded that it was likely that one story was based upon the other and therefore Croglin Grange was most likely a hoax.

However some years later F. Clive-Ross found a witness, Mrs Parkin who lived at Slack Cottage in Ainstable who said she had known one of the Fishers. However this gentleman was born in the 1860's had heard the story from his grandparents. Mrs Parkin also said that according to the deeds of Croglin Low Hall, it was commonly called Croglin Grange until 1720".

So Hare had made a huge blunder. If the story had taken place it was two centuries earlier in 1680-1700 not the 1870s. Clive-Ross published his research in 'Tomorrow magazine, spring 1963'.

More recent research by Lionel Fanthorpe also suggests that the events took place in the late 1600s. A vault close to the Grange was demolished during Cromwell's time. Hence these findings, place the events before the publication of Varney the Vampire.

So what exactly happened? We shall never know. It is possible that Varney's author heard the legend and decided to write about it as a Penny Dreadful. It was said the book was based on events that took place during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-14), near the time of the incident. Maybe Hare used Varney the Vampire for his book or perhaps he heard about the legend independently and wrote his own account. Whatever the truth, the Croglin beast will remain a mystery.

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The Beast of Croglin Grange - Augustus Hare - 'Story of My Life'

Captain Fisher also told us this really extraordinary story connected with his own family:

Fisher may sound a very plebeian name, but this family is of very ancient lineage, and for many hundreds of years they have possessed a very curious sort of place in Cumberland, which bears the weird name of Croglin Grange. The great characteristic of the house is that never at any period of its very long existence has it been more than one story high, but it has a terrace from which large grounds sweep away towards the Church in the hollow, and a fine distant view.

When, in lapse of years, the Fisher's outgrew Croglin Grange in family and fortune, they were wise enough not to destroy the long-standing characteristic of the place by adding another story to the house, but they went away to the south, to reside at Thorncombe near Guildford, and they let Croglin Grange.

They were extremely fortunate in their tenants, two brothers and a sister. They heard their praises from all quarters. To their poorer neighbours they were all that is most kind and beneficent, and their neighbours of a higher class spoke of them as a most welcome addition to the little society of the neighbourhood. On their part the tenants were greatly delighted with their new residence. The arrangement of the house, which would have been a trial to many, was not so to them. In every respect Croglin Grange was exactly suited to them.

The winter was spent most happily by the new inmates of Croglin Grange, who shared in all the little social pleasures of the district, and made themselves very popular. In the following summer, there was one day which was dreadfully, annihilatingly hot. The brothers lay under the trees with their books, for it was too hot for any active occupation. The sister sat in the verandah and worked, or tried to work, for, in the intense sultriness of that summer day, work was next to impossible. They dined early, and after dinner they still sat out in the verandah, enjoying the cool air which came with evening, and they watched the sun set, and the moon rise over the belt of trees which separated the grounds from the churchyard, seeing it mount the heavens till the whole lawn was bathed in silver light, across which the long shadows from the shrubbery fell as if embossed, so vivid and distinct were they.

When they separated for the night, all retiring to their rooms on the ground floor (for, as I said, there was no upstairs in that house), the sister felt that the heat was still so great that she could not sleep, and having fastened her window, she did not close the shutters - in that very quiet place it was not necessary - and, propped against the pillows, she still watched the wonderful, the marvellous beauty of that summer night. Gradually she became aware of two lights, two lights which flickered in and out in the belt of trees which separated the lawn from the churchyard, and as her gaze became fixed upon them, she saw them emerge, fixed in a dark substance, a definite ghastly something, which seemed every moment to become nearer, increasing in size and substance as it approached. Every now and then it was lost for a moment in the long shadows which stretched across the lawn from the trees, and then it emerged larger than ever, and still coming on - on. As she watched it, the most uncontrollable horror seized her. She longed to get away, but the door was close to the window and the door was locked on the inside, and while she was unlocking it, she must be for an instant nearer to it. She longed to scream, but her voice seemed paralysed, her tongue glued to the roof of her mouth.

Suddenly, she never could explain why afterwards, the terrible object seemed to turn to one side, seemed to be going round the house, not to be coming to her at all, and immediately she jumped out of bed and rushed to the door, but as she was unlocking it, she heard scratch, scratch, scratch upon the window, and saw a hideous brown face with flaming eyes glaring in at her. She rushed back to the bed, but the creature continued to scratch, scratch, scratch on the window. She felt a sort of mental comfort in the knowledge that the window was securely fastened on the inside. Suddenly the scratching sound ceased. And a kind of pecking sound took its place. Then, in her agony, she became aware that the creature was unpicking the lead! The noise continued, and a diamond pane of glass fell into the room. Then a long bony finger of the creature came in and turned the handle of the window, and the window opened, and the creature came in; and it came across the room, and her terror was so great that she could not scream, and it came up to the bed and twisted its long bony fingers in her hair, and it dragged her head over the side of the bed, and - it bit her violently in the throat.

 As it bit her, her voice was released, and she screamed with all her might and main. Her brothers rushed out of their rooms, but the door was locked on the inside. A moment was lost while they got a poker and broke it open. Then the creature had already escaped through the window, and the sister, bleeding violently from a wound in the throat, was lying unconscious over the side of the bed. One brother pursued the creature, which fled before him through the moonlight with gigantic strides, and eventually seemed to disappear over the wall into the churchyard. Then he rejoined his brother by the sister's bedside. She was dreadfully hurt and her wound was a very definite one, but she was of strong disposition, not given either to romance or superstition, and when she came to herself she said, 'What has happened is most extraordinary and I am very much hurt. It seems inexplicable, but of course there is an explanation, and we must wait for it. It will turn out that a lunatic has escaped from some asylum and found his way here.' The wound healed and she appeared to get well, but the doctor who was sent for to her would not believe that she could bear so terrible a shock so easily, and insisted that she must have change, mental and physical; so her brothers took her to Switzerland.

Being a sensible girl, when she went abroad, she threw herself at once into the interests of the country she was in. She dried plants, she made sketches, she went up mountains, and, as autumn came on, she was the person who urged that they should return to Croglin Grange. 'We have taken it,' she said, 'for seven years, and we have only been there one; and we shall always find it difficult to let a house which is only one story high, so we had better return there; lunatics do not escape every day.' As she urged it, her brothers wished nothing better, and the family returned to Cumberland. From there being no upstairs in the house, it was impossible to make any great change in arrangements. The sister occupied the same room, but it is unnecessary to say she always closed her shutters, which, however, as in many old houses, always left one top pane of the window uncovered. The brothers moved, and occupied a room together exactly opposite that of their sister, and they always kept loaded pistols in their room.

The winter passed most peacefully and happily. In the following March the sister was suddenly awakened by a sound she remembered only too well - scratch, scratch, scratch upon the window, and looking up, she saw, climbed up to the topmost pane of the window, the same hideous brown shrivelled face, with glaring eyes, looking in at her. This time she screamed as loud as she could. Her brothers rushed out of their room with pistols, and out of the front door. The creature was already scudding away across the lawn. One of the brothers fired and hit it in the leg, but still with the other leg it continued to make way, scrambled over the wall into the churchyard, and seemed to disappear into a vault which belonged to a family long extinct.

The next day the brothers summoned all the tenants of Croglin Grange, and in their presence the vault was opened. A horrible scene revealed itself. The vault was full of coffins; they had been broken open, and their contents, horribly mangled and distorted, were scattered over the floor. One coffin alone remained intact. Of that the lid had been lifted, but still lay loose upon the coffin. They raised it, and there, brown, withered, shrivelled, mummified, but quite entire, was the same hideous figure which had looked in at the windows of Croglin Grange, with the marks of a recent pistol shot in the leg; and they did the only thing that can lay a vampire - they burnt it.

NOTE: Charles G. Harper's version of the story can be found at "Haunted Houses - Tales of the supernatural with some accounts of hereditary curses and family legends"...Lon


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Sources:
myths.e2bn.org
www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk
lookaroundcumbria.yolasite.com
www.shroudeater.com
www.whitehaven-news.co.uk
www.guardian.co.uk
Charles G. Harper - "Haunted Houses - Tales of the supernatural with some accounts of hereditary curses and family legends" - Chapman & Hall, London, 1907