Vampires from a Scientific Lens
Taking a look at medical explanations for the vampire mythos.
The mythology surrounding vampires has been around for centuries, even spanning several cultures and taking on many iterations throughout time.
Although the superstitions surrounding vampires can vary based on cultures, the modern perception of vampires appears to be based predominately off of European folklore.
Some of these notions include blood-sucking, pale skin, immortality of some sorts, and strange fears of mirrors, sunlight, and garlic of all things.
One would wonder why such a mythical being would have such peculiar weaknesses. Many can be derived from folklore, but some may be grounded in some actual scientific basis.
Therefore, it may be fun to examine the concept of vampires from a scientific/medical perspective. Keep in mind that the information here is highly speculative and done more for levity.
Vampires and Possible Origins
1The folklore surrounding vampires likely derives from superstitions and beliefs around death, with many people possibly mistaking the image of a decomposing body as being unnatural. It’s likely that many of these assumptions about decomposition may have come from misunderstandings of what should actually occur to a body as it decomposes.
Fears of the unknown may have also led people to assume that deaths of villagers may be caused by forces from beyond the grave, as the concept of diseases was likely not around at the time.
It’s even been argued that several historical figures may have inspired some ideas of vampirism.
Count Dracula is one of the most well-known of these nightly creatures, stemming from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.
It’s been argued that Bram Stoker’s interpretation of vampires may have been based off of the real Vlad Dracul, better known as Vlad the Impaler, who was born in Transylvania, Romania similar to Dracula.
Vlad Dracul was apparently known for killing his enemies by impaling them on wooden stakes, and may have had a taste for human flesh and blood as well. The latter accounts have been heavily questioned, and some historians have even argued that Stoker didn’t base Dracula off of Vlad Dracul, although it’s hard to overlook such striking similarities including the similarities in name.
One of the most recent, and possibly final accounts of vampires actually appears to have come from America in stories of a deceased Rhode Island woman named Mercy Brown.
Mercy Brown died of suspected tuberculosis in 1892 after several other family members have already succumbed to the disease, with her brother Edwin appearing to suffer from the illness as well.
When such diseases would spread among family members, especially when not much was known about diseases such as tuberculosis, it wouldn’t be uncommon for villagers to assume something supernatural occurring.
It appeared that many people, in wanting a solution, turned to the recently deceased Mercy Brown as the culprit for her brother’s ailment, somehow targeting him from beyond the grave.
This led many people to exhume Mercy Brown’s body, which at the time was speculated to not have been buried yet and was kept in a crypt due to winter making it difficult to properly bury her.
When her body was exhumed, Mercy’s body appeared on its side, flushed, and still full of blood.
Although it could be argued that this was due to her recent passing, and that the winter weather could have limited decomposition, many took this to be an indication that she was a vampire (or vampire-like at least).
In an effort to save Edwin the villagers ripped out Mercy’s heart and lungs, cremated them, took the ashes, and then fed them to Edwin in an attempt to cure him of his unknown malady; a practice that appears to have occurred several times as an attempt to defeat or ward off vampires.
Of course, this would prove to be of no avail as Edwin would succumb to his illness a few months later.
Mercy Brown was buried soon after her body was desecrated, and it serves as one of the clearest examples of the vampire scare that gripped many people at the time and its influence on practicing anti-vampire rituals, even if there was no basis for such practices.
These are just a few of the many real-life stories that have sprouted up in regards to vampires. Although the veracity of these claims should always be questioned, it’s interesting to see how the history of vampires may have been inspired by real-world events, and in many cases may have been derived from times of uncertainty in which ideas may create a boogeyman to target.
A Medical Rationale for Vampires?
Superstitions and diseases share interesting similarities, as in times of epidemics and uncertainty many stories may come about to explain the strange, horrifying events taking place.
As knowledge on diseases continued to grow, people eventually drew rational arguments for superstitions.
Vampires are no exception, as in recent years two rare disease have been viewed as a medical rationale for vampires: porphyria and rabies.
One summary comes from R.P.P.W.M., Maas & P.J.G.M., Voets2 which I will draw from in describing these similarities.
Does Porphyria explain Vampirism?
The disease most commonly associated with vampires is porphyria.
Porphyria describes a class of inherited diseases in which heme biosynthesis is hindered, leading to the increase of porphyrins (heme precursors) within the body.
R.P.P.W.M., Maas & P.J.G.M., Voets provides this summary and its association to vampires:
The association between vampirism and porphyria is probably the most famous one. Porphyria refers to a group of disorders characterized by a defect in one of the enzymes involved in the synthesis of heme. As a consequence, accumulation of porphyrins (toxic heme precursors) occurs in various organs, depending on the specific subtype.3 Although porphyria cutanea tarda and acute intermittent porphyria are the most common forms, it is congenital erythropoietic porphyria that is in particular associated with vampirism.1 This autosomal recessive disorder, also known as Günther’s disease, is characterized by pronounced photosensitivity and chronic hemolytic anemia.3
The main cause of porphyria is usually due to inheritance of mutations for enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of heme3, although it’s worth noting that porphyria is a broad category and includes autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, and X-linked inheritance of porphyria.
Different types of porphyria will also manifest different symptoms, and usually the symptoms can be categorized into two forms; either acute or cutaneous.
Acute porphyria is sudden onset of symptoms and is usually associated with neurological issues. Some symptoms general include abdominal pain, chest pain, fever, vomiting, high blood pressure, and high heart rate.
Cutaneous porphyria is the most physiologically noticeable form, which includes photosensitivity as exposure to light and can cause blisters, burns, and rashes.
It’s also worth noting that specific drugs may also cause intermittent porphyria in which case the skin may become sensitive to light, which generally dissipates after the treatment is ended.
R.P.P.W.M., Maas & P.J.G.M., Voets goes on to further explain some of these physical similarities between vampires and those with porphyria, including how the idea of garlic and blood drinking may have come to be associated with this disease:
The classical aversion of the vampire to garlic may be accounted for by the ability of certain compounds of this bulbous plant to induce the heme degrading enzyme heme oxygenase-1,4 thereby further exacerbating the anemia. Furthermore, in the presence of sunlight accumulated uroporphyrin I and coproporphyrin I are able to donate electrons to oxygen, resulting in the formation of reactive oxygen species and severe skin damage.5 In addition, secondary infections and bone resorption may induce severe scarring and deformities of sun-exposed body parts. Accumulation of toxic porphyrins not only occurs in skin, but also in bones and teeth,3 giving rise to the characteristic erythrodontia that may have readily been attributed to the drinking of blood in former days. In this way, vampires might theoretically replenish their heme stores and thus partially correct the state of chronic anemia. Further analysis, however, reveals the fraction of heme in the circulation after oral intake to be negligible and craving to be absent among porphyria patients.1
Porphyria is found across the world, and given the fact that it is extremely rare (with current estimates assuming only 200,000 people worldwide may have porphyria), it may explain why this disease has come to be associated with superstition and folklore, as the tale of someone with such a rare disease may only be spread through gossip to neighboring villages, therefore taking on a life of it’s own.
However, there have been some pushback against this hypothesis tying porphyria to vampires. In fact, some of these associations may actually be a modern invention.
One account of this association appears to have come from a 1985 New York Times report covering that year’s American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting.
This meeting included a presentation by renowned biochemist and porphyria researcher Dr. David H. Dolphin, who associated porphyria with mythological beings such as vampires and even werewolves.
Part of the report is as follows:
Werewolves and vampires, those dreaded beasts of folklore and superstition, may have been nothing more than people suffering from a rare class of genetic diseases, a scientist suggested here today.
Dr. David H. Dolphin, a biochemist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, suggested that the effects of the porphyria diseases, which involve a malfunctioning in the body's manufacture of crucial chemicals, could have left victims grotesquely disfigured, turned them into creatures of the night and caused them to suck the blood of their brothers and sisters.
Victims of the diseases, Dr. Dolphin suggested in a talk at the American Association for the advancement of Science, could have inspired the mythology of werewolves, which were humans who changed into wolves, and vampires, which were corpses that left their graves at night to suck the blood of humans.
It’s hard to argue to what extent this report remains factual to the actual presentation— I don’t put any faith into the veracity of science reporting then as I do now, so take this report with some skepticism.
Included in this presentation is Dr. Dolphin’s association of heme with blood drinking. One treatment for porphyria is blood transfusion to restore heme levels, and possibly to remove high levels of porphyrins. Based on these ideas, Dr. Dolphin assumed that heme may have been restored through consumption of blood since transfusion wasn’t possible at the time.
Some other assumptions include genetic inheritance of porphyria, and that siblings who present with symptoms of porphyria may try to take blood from siblings, therefore triggering their own symptoms— all of which may actually appear as the spread of vampirism. Garlic was also avoided for those who have porphyria due to the exacerbation of anemia—we’ll cover garlic a bit in a separate post.
These comments were met with mixed reception, including an opinion piece published the following month criticizing Dr. Dolphin’s assertions.
It’s worth pointing out that Dr. Dolphin’s assertions about porphyria also included werewolves, likely alluding the grotesque disfigurement that some with porphyria may suffer from, although this form of porphyria is specific to those with congenital erythropoietic porphyria (also called Gunther)4. It's possible that the ambiguities of folklore passed through generations may have caused some descriptions of these creatures to intermingle. At the same time it can also cast some doubt if one were to use such an all-encompassing hypothesis.
Heme iron is also very unlikely to survive digestion, meaning that the drinking of blood may not have been a good way of alleviating symptoms of porphyria. It’s been argued that people with porphyria may actually be able to consume garlic, although we will dive into this idea more in a separate post.
Strangely, some accounts have even suggested that the aversion to sunlight was never an aspect of vampirism, and that the writings of Broker in describing Dracula actually argue against the notion of vampires being photosensitive.
In essence, it could very well be that some of these aspects of vampires are actually modern constructions, likely taking on life based on reports from Dr. Dolphin which added its own modern day folklore to the vampire mythos via the aspect of photosensitivity.
In any case, it’s fascinating to think that the concept of vampires may continue to evolve. The mythos, as we have it now, may not be the end. It makes sense given the fact that we have come across our own modern day constructs in the form of beings such as Slenderman5.
It may not be hard to consider that, within a few years time, sparkling, decades old vampires who date high schoolers may become part of the actual mythos, although if that day comes hopefully none of us will be around to witness that atrocity.
Was it Vampirism, or was it Rabies?
Rabies probably isn’t the first disease one would think to associate with vampires, and yet there actually appears to be a good deal of crossover between the two.
Rabies is a highly contagious disease caused by lyssaviruses, usually spread through bites from infected animals.
Symptom onset depends on the virus first making its way to the nervous system where it wreaks havoc. It also depends on the type of virus as well.
R.P.P.W.M., Maas & P.J.G.M., Voets provides this description:
The association between vampirism and rabies was first described in 1733.6 Three years after, the French theologist Augustin Calmet wrote that people who died from rabies had an increased chance of ‘returning’ (as a vampire).7 Rabies is caused by a lyssavirus that is transmitted through animal saliva—usually after a bite of the with vampires associated bat, wolf or dog—and quickly travels along the peripheral nervous system by retrograde axonal transport. After a phase with non-specific, prodromal symptoms, such as fatigue and periwound paresthesias, an encephalitic or (less frequently) paralytic illness develops. The encephalitic or ‘furious’ form is clinically characterized by hydrophobia, muscle spasms, agitation, insomnia and bizarre—beastly or hypersexual—behavior.8
Rabies appears to be found across many cultures, and epidemics of rabies have been shown to have occurred in places such as Hungary during the early 18th Century. Compared to porphyria it appears that rabies is far more common, making its association with vampires more substantiated.
Given that rabies targets the nervous system, victims of rabies may suffer altered sleep patterns and suffer insomnia, as well as heightened sensitivity to many stimuli such as smell and light.
It’s assumed that the pungent odor of garlic may ward of rabies victims due to their heightened smell, and the heightened sensitivity to light may keep them away from the daytime and direct exposure to the sun.
The end-stage behaviors of humans infected with rabies may not appear any different than those of animals, and this similarity may also play into the vampire mythos.
R.P.P.W.M., Maas & P.J.G.M., Voets goes on to further explain some of these associations, including the strange fear of water which may be due to disruptions in nerve function:
There are several links between hydrophobia and vampires. Streaming water is one of the apotropaia or repellent substances and, according to folklore, the chance of transforming into a vampire could be decreased by sprinkling water on the coffin of the deceased.2 Hydrophobia is characterized by severe laryngeal muscle spasms in response to drinking or even seeing water, often accompanied by coughing up blood and exposing the teeth. Even one’s own reflection could trigger laryngeal spasms, which might explain the vampire’s fear of mirrors.2 The beastly biting behavior of the infected patient, a means to transmit the virus, could explain how vampirism was transmitted from one person to another. Both this behavior and the insomnia which could explain the vampire’s nightly escapades, are the result of dysregulation of the limbic system, an important and early site of neuronal damage and inflammation in furious rabies.9
Vampires are loosely associated with the bats that share its name, and some stories of vampires from Eastern European even suggest that vampires transformed into either wolves or dogs, and not bats.
This idea, if true, would corroborate the association between vampires and rabies as dogs and four-legged animals serve as better vectors of transmission.
Compared to porphyria, it’s far easier to find stories of people being bitten by animals for exhibiting strange symptoms akin to the same animal that they were bitten by.
Overall, the behaviors and symptoms of rabies, along with its global spread, provides some medical insight into the possible background that gave rise to the vampire mythos.
A tale of superstition and science
There really is no conclusive argument that suggests either rabies or porphyria are the true origins of vampires. However, the similarities between these diseases and descriptions of vampires are too eerie to have occurred just from chance alone.
It’s also a sign that sometimes, when there are no rational explanations for phenomenon, people may turn to their imaginations and concoct their own theories that help to rationalize what they are seeing.
This notion, as explained by Brett Weinstein and Heather Heying, is an example of the concept of literally false; metaphorically true. It’s likely that many mythological creatures may have found their roots in unexplained illnesses, which only modern times have been able to provide justifications for.
As such, the metaphor of supernatural beings may serve as stand-ins for illnesses which went unexplained for centuries.
However, sometimes medical explanations may not fully explain the stories that are passed down generations. Over time some of the finer details, especially when spread through word of mouth, may be lost until we are left with the bare bones.
Modern ideals may also add onto the mythos, with some aspects being lost to history only to be replaced by what’s popular in the current day.
Regardless, there’s no doubt that vampires have become a staple in horror and the Halloween season. Even if there may be no clear explanation for the origins of this supernatural being, we may consider that sometimes we don’t need a full explanation for some of the phenomenon that we see.
Sometimes it’s perfectly fine to have fun with things even if we may not understand them.
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The information on the origins of vampires comes predominately from the following articles, so note that these stories may not be true or may have been altered as it passed through history:
The Bloody Truth About Vampires- National Geographic
Vampire History- History
The Last American Vampire- History
R.P.P.W.M. Maas, P.J.G.M. Voets, The vampire in medical perspective: myth or malady?, QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, Volume 107, Issue 11, November 2014, Pages 945–946, https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcu159
The lack of heme means that oxygen cannot be properly transported throughout the body leading to anemia. The accumulation of porphyrins, which are aromatic in nature, may also be excited by photons from the sun. The excited state of these molecules may cause electron transfer and therefore create oxidative damage. It’s assumed that this oxidative damage is what causes the skin legions and damage in the presence of sunlight for those who have specific types of porphyria.
If you look up porphyria and come across these images of disfigurement, note that you are most likely looking at this type of porphyria in particular. It’s important to remember these disfigurements are specific to this type of porphyria.
Slenderman is one of many creepypastas; supernatural creatures and phenomena created on online forums and posts. Although Slenderman is considered one of the most famous, it has also become infamous in its own time as there was a case of two young women who tricked their friend into coming with them into the woods to meet Slenderman, only to brutally stab the little girl multiple times.
The young girl survived, and the Slenderman has now been associated with this incident moreso than its initial inception.
Interesting post - I wonder to what extent vampire bats might have played in the myth as I believe they are the only mammals that feed on blood. Although being indigenous to the Americas they may not have been well known to Europeans.