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Most tales of vampires portray them as revenants that rise from the dead to prey on their loved ones and others in the area from which they resided in the living form. Most of them are described as wearing a shroud and their faces were usually dark, bloated or ruddy in color. They are nothing like the Victorian vampire so many identify with in movies and fiction. The pale, aristocratic vampire wasn't spoken of until the beginning of the 19th Century and the use of the word vampire wasn't popularized until the 18th Century. It was at this time that many tales of vampires spread into Western Europe from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. There were other names used believed to be vampires but this particular one was not popular earlier. This of course led to people becoming afraid and created hysteria culminating in many corpses being staked in their graves and some being accused of being vampires with dire consequences in some instances.
Yet in folklore there were stories of vampire-like creatures in many ancient cultures such as those in Mesopotamia, Greece,
Rome and even in Hebrew lore. Some in that time period were thought of as demons or evil spirits that plagued man.
Then of course there are writings translated by a priest in 1047 AD, referring to someone as Upir' Likhyi which has been stated to mean something similar to "wicked vampire" or "foul vampire". Some say this is referring the Novgorodian Prince Vladimir Yaroslavovich. The belief is that the premise for the name came from older Pagan traditions for taking on nicknames. It is not believed it meant he was literally a vampire as some more recently are trying to promote. A newer theory on who is being referred to in regard to the controversial wording is as follows:
“However, in 1982, Swedish Slavicist Anders Sjöberg suggested that “Upir’ likhyi” was in fact an Old Russian transcription or translation of the name of Öpir Ofeigr, a well-known Swedish rune carver. Sjöberg argued that Öpir could possibly have lived in Novgorod before moving to Sweden, considering the connection between Eastern Scandinavia and Russia at the time. Sjöberg argued that Öpir could possibly have lived in Novgorod before moving to Sweden, considering the connection between Eastern Scandinavia and Russia at the time. This theory is still controversial, although at least one Swedish historian, Henrik Janson, has expressed support for it.”
The source is what is called a colophon, meaning it was a printers mark or logo, usually on an introduction page or it’s a short explanation at the end of the book explaining production notes.
There are mentions of the worship of upyri in other sources but no one knows what it all actually means even though it has been suggested that it refers to vampires, so it is interesting but has to be considered an anomaly due to lack of definitive information. Most scholars would not take such scant information as a doctrine for any theory. There is mention of vampires in other areas of the world such as in Ireland which date from the 5th or 6th century. It appears to be futile to pursue a course of origin. Many cultures kept an oral history and information was lost or forgotten over the centuries.
What most think of concerning vampires comes from Slavic origins and appeared around the 18th Century. This was around the time when folklore which is verbal and handed down orally was beginning to be collected and written down, the majority coming out of South Eastern Europe. Most know, if they have any interest in vampire mythology, what the theories are on the origin of this one word in particular. It is not definitive but proposed by the nature of the languages involved.
There have always been stories told to children since ancient times to get them to go to sleep. One well known tale is common in English speaking countries and that is the bogeyman but long before that there was Mormo. Greek mythology is vast and this entity was one of many that are apart of this mythology. Mormo, now considered to be a vampire by some authors, was a spirit that was supposed to bite bad children. He was a companion of Hecate. Sometimes a female vampire-like creature is described and most often in the plays of Aristophanes.
Anton LaVey described Mormo as a male he referred to in the “Satanic Bible” who was “King of the Ghouls” and also consort of Hecate.
According to this source:
"MORMO was a female specter that the Greeks used to frighten little children. She was one of the same class of frightful creatures as Empusa and Lamia. The Mormolyceia further were said to be able to assume the form of beautiful women for the purpose of luring young men to bed, where they sucked their blood and consumed their flesh."
It is this last description that has given this creature the title of a vampire by some and most likely in more modern times. There is some disparity as to whether this spirit is male or female. Perhaps it was both.
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