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Naples, Italy

Church of Santa Maria la Nova

Does this church in Naples hold the true tomb of Vlad the Impaler, the notoriously cruel figure who inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula?
Vampire finches feed on a Nazca booby on Wolf Island.
vampires

How the Vampire Finch Developed a Taste for Blood

Meet the Galápagos birds Darwin didn't tell you about.
Cara Giaimo July 26, 2024
The capelobo is said to stalk Brazil's dense rainforests—always looking for its next victim.
cryptozoology

The Blood-Sucking Capelobo Haunts Brazil’s Dense Forests

The humanoid anteater slurps its victim’s gray matter as if devouring termites in a mound.
April White May 2, 2024
Standing no taller than a 10-year-old, the Yara ma tha who watches from the forest canopy—always ready to pounce on its next victim.
cryptozoology

The Child-Eating Bloodsucker of Aboriginal Australian Nightmares

The Yara ma tha who is more terrifying than any vampire.
April White May 1, 2024
A Victorian-era sitter is clamped into position using a metal frame before having his portrait taken.
vampires

7 Crazy True Stories About the Victorian Era

Plus three that are, sadly, just myths.
April White February 23, 2024
Skyros, Greece

Vrykolakonisia (Vampire Islands)

The alleged vampires after which these islets are named may have actually been plague victims.
The true reasoning behind this undead-decapitating sickle burial is likely lost to time.
cemeteries

The Truth Behind Poland's 'Anti-Vampire' Graves

Can recent excavations answer questions about death and demonology in the 1600s?
Sam O'Brien August 14, 2023
The shadow of Count Orlok is long.
vampires

A New Look at Nosferatu’s Bloody Legacy

An exhibition in Berlin celebrates a century of one of the most famous, and complicated, vampire stories.
Diana Hubbell December 15, 2022
The 17th-century blood jam recipe recommended using fluid drained from “persons of warm, moist temperament.”
vampires

The Strange Endurance of Consuming Human Blood for Our Health

From draining slain gladiators to modern-day "sangs," people have long looked to blood as a panacea.
Mark Hay October 31, 2022
Tuberculosis—or consumption, as it was known in the 1800s—was often associated with vampirism. Those suffering from the disease grew pale and weak, as seen in this photomontage from 1858.
vampires

The Real-Life Vampire Autopsies of the Victorian Era

When medicine and folklore collide, strange things happen.
April White October 14, 2022
Through the centuries, the vampire myth has taken many different forms.
vampires

Five Vampire Stories You Haven’t Heard Yet

From Dracula’s Indian inspiration to just how long it would take these mythical bloodsuckers to annihilate humanity.
April White October 5, 2022
Even though Mexico's "Weeping Woman" is thought to be pre-Hispanic, today her sorry tale reflects the brutalities of colonialism.
witchcraft

6 Legends That Manifest Fears of Powerful Women

From German witches to vampiric Malaysian spirits to a real-life poisoner.
Sarah Durn April 11, 2024
Front of the mausoleum
New Orleans, Louisiana

Rice Family Mausoleum

Anne Rice, one of the most influential writers in gothic literature, is buried alongside her husband in a New Orleans cemetery.
Spotted skunks perform an impressive handstand to appear twice their size and ward off would-be predators.
vampires

Our Favorite Headlines of the Year Offer Skunk Stunts and Sandwich Scandals

Wild wordplay and curious questions from 2021.
Michelle Cassidy December 27, 2021
(detail) The cover of the first paperback edition of <em>Dracula</em>, published in 1901, from the Rosenbach's collection.
vampires

Dracula Lives! (in Philadelphia)

The Rosenbach museum is home to Bram Stoker’s original notes on vampires and a growing collection of undead literature.
April White October 27, 2021
New Orleans, Louisiana

We Bite Rare & Unusual Plants

This New Orleans boutique and nursery specializes in rare flora, with a focus on carnivorous plants.
List

10 Places Where It Seems Like Vampires Are More Than Myth

Sometimes superstition leaves a mark on the world.
Jonathan Carey October 22, 2021
This depiction of the Demon Boatman from the 1835 <em>Calendar of Horrors!</em> is one of the many penny dreadfuls that fueled Victorian moral panic over what children were reading.
murder

How Gruesome Penny Dreadfuls Got Victorian Children Reading

Despite causing a moral panic, these salacious tales helped boost literacy in Victorian England.
Sarah Durn October 22, 2021