BEFORE DRACULA: The Ancient Vampire Legends That Started It All

What if Dracula wasn't inspired by Vlad the Impaler at all, but by an ancient Irish vampire king buried upside-down under a thorn tree? Uncover the disturbing true stories, from Elizabeth Báthory's blood baths to premature burials during plague outbreaks, to ancient demons that stalked babies in their cribs—discover the dark tapestry of true stories, medical mysteries, and folklore that created the world's most famous vampire.

Read the full article: https://weirddarkness.com/dracula-origins-real-history/

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IN THIS EPISODE: Everyone knows about Dracula. Most everyone has seen at least one film starring the undead blood-sucker, or has read the novel by Bram Stoker. But only the real fans of Dracula know about the real people and true stories that inspired Bram Stoker to create the character.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
BOOK: “Transylvania Superstitions” by Emily Gerard: https://amzn.to/3vsAqrs
BOOK: “Carmilla” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu: https://amzn.to/3cw291I
History.com, Ranker.com, AtlasObscura.com, InternationalHero.co.uk, HowStuffWorks.com, Universtiy of Iowa’s Victorian Wiki, Google Books, HistoryIreland.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mnrpdm36,
https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/eeypjjz3, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4et6ysvs,
https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5bcstakc, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/53vbu5dr, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/bhd6f7yv,https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/y36n7y9v, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2nc96tjx, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2848x4mk
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Originally aired: March 16, 2021
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/BeforeDracula

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