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I don't know if anyone caught, this it was on the history channel last night, I recorded.

It was going on a theory that in the ealy 1700 -1800 in the New england colonies, people believed that their loves ones were indeed vampires, and went as far as decapitating them and placing their themor bones in a "x" pattern ( all after they had already been buried).
They stated later in the show that they believed each case to be death by consuption (TB).

this is the show recap:

A vampire scare in New England in the 1700s lasted more than a century and turned families and communities upside down. The dead bodies of those suspected of vampirism were exhumed and ancient curse-breaking rituals were performed on them. Watch as the latest technology is used to analyze historic evidence of the New England vampires and discover if there was any basis for the panic. Medical science is also used to examine those who believe themselves to be modern day vampires. Is there a common element between the suspected vampires of America's past and present?


http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Episodes&content_type_id=56119&display_order=2&mini_id=56117

I was wondering what everyone elses take on this was.

Well the theory might be strong but its not likely that this happend not that i am saying vampire dont exists. But back then they thought maney thing and in most cases in the 1700's to the 1800's when ever people couldn't get there way with others they would either cry witch craft or vampireism on a person them come up with a story and in other cases the way people reacted or was barried by others resembles that of a vampire and peole will often carry a story to match that making it beleave able. Now i know there is a chance i am 100% wrong its just my opion on this topic^_^.

I'm usuallyy not much of a MonsterQuest Fan (was disappointed by some of their past shows), but will look at this one when it comes on again.

For those of you who did not catch this episode and would like to see it, it's on a few more times. (These showings are based on US EST--check your local listings for when it will be on by you.):

Thursday, August 07 01:00 AM

Saturday, August 09 01:00 PM

Wednesday, August 20 08:00 PM

Thursday, August 21 12:00 AM

Didn't get to see it but will watch for it. I'm sure its plausible but I am interested to see what the scientists have deduced, you didn't say what their verdict was?

This kind of paranoiya was very comon in the past century it is not just link to New England, but most of the country and continent have their share of decapitation of their family members or burning alive to avoid them from rising as vampire, even some would go as far as to seperate the body from the head in another location to make sure it is never reconected with the body.

Superstition is a very strong trait of the human nature, causing us to do many things, both useless and with time...giving the impression the ones living during that preiod had a lower IQ, when it was not the intelligence but simple what they did not know or could'nt explain.

Its strange that they would think the symptoms of TB would have anything to do with being a vampire as I see no similarities whatsoever....

Symptoms:

# Nausea / weakness / fatigue
# Rapid weight loss
# Fever
# Night sweats
# Cough
# Chest pain
# Hemoptysis (the coughing up of blood)

That was pretty good last night...the History Channel has a few programs that would go well into the Vampire Database, since they do sell DVDs of most of their shows...just a thought.

That one guy as someone called him was Vlad the Impaler aka Vlad Dracula aka The basis of Bram Stokers Dracula.Aside from from many peoples belief of vampires...back then people didn't know of desease and how the body changes after death...so they assumed that their dead loved ones were vampires or were attacked by them.

I expect the forensic exam of the long dead folks will show nothing but routine results. Because there were no vampires in the Colonies, all the exhumations and ritualistic bone arrangements were caused by the hysteria common in those times. There were many similar occurences back in europe, especially in the balkan countries. There were no vampires there either except in mythology. There were a lot of folks that were buried alive however due to undeveloped medical knowledge of the ability to ascertain death. I do believe that if exhumed those unfortunate folks would seem to have peculiar positioning, bloody fingers and bruises.

what did they say about the people they interviewed today that believe they are vampires?

I think you mean 'femur' bones, and well I think all it proves is that people have always been daft :p

Didn't get to see it but will watch for it. I'm sure its plausible but I am interested to see what the scientists have deduced, you didn't say what their verdict was?

The mind is a tricky thing...if a person really believes that something is true...their mind and body will respond to whatever it is.If you truly believe you are something that others say doesn't exist...your body and body will start showing signs otherwise.If someone believes hard enough that another can draw energy from them...then they "can"

vampirism is psychological/spiritual thing to me, if you ever read up on the work of Jung's archetypes i think vampirism can be best explained by using some of his models.

Sounds almost like the Salem Witch Trials.

I agree with Psi Vampire, I don't like the show anymore. They spin it more for entertainment then to the truth, so I wouldn't trust it.

I didn't get a chance to see this movie on the History channel but I will look out for it and if they play it again, I will try to watch it depending on the time and day it goes on.

ya, they always make you try to believe them in the beginning then at the end they shut it done, except with the giant squids and big fresh water fish, the only ones i think that were true....

Wow. Another movie about Us. Well at least make us famous. The true history of Vampirism still happening as we speak. To encounter a Vampire, you must, be a Vampire. the media only use this kind of subject, for rating purpose and because there are many who are interested and will turn the TV on.

It isn't a movie...it was a program on the history and myth of Vampires.

Seen it never miss and episode and everyone pretty much said what i was thinking so,Not to repeat anything I will say intresting that monster quest went to find evidence of an age old not myth....

I just watched the epiode this afternoon and agree entirely with hisdarkestdream's post. The only other thing that was mentioned as for the reason for the vampire scares' (besides their lack of medical knowledge and death processes) is because there was supposedly a foreign "doctor" who came to America and brought the lores from Eastern Europe to light.

Since they could not identify the one body--other than the initials "J. V (or B)." (which was the one that was exhumed, rituals performed and the femoral bones layed in a cross position) they could not find any case files and the "doctor" could not not be traced.

I found the show very informative....

however.... I found it's research to be very narrowed....

They only focused the source of Vampirism strictly towards Bram Stoker and transylvanian Vampires....

saying that Vampires are harmed by sunlight only because the movie, "Nosferato" wanted a different ending....

an actuality... a few different cultures have their respective vampires WITH the fatal reaction to sunlight.

and it also seemed to me that the show was out to "debunk" the legend of the Vampire.....

and not just find answers to the New England vampire scare.....

in my opinion.... there are many better TV documentaries then this program.....

Since it was a show about vampires, I was totally expecting Don Henri to be there to talk about vampirism. The show did have Michelle Belanger tho.

Over and over people write that Vlad Tepes was the basis of Bram Stoker's book but this isn't fact. His book was originally called Wampyr and his character was Count Wampyr and the setting was Austria. He knew about vampire legends that went back to the 5th and 6th century in Ireland from reading some himself and from stories the maids and his grandmother told him including blood drinking faeries and other creatures. He worked for an actor that used to run around the place in a cape yelling. He found the Vlad thing just before printing and changed the name. A good source for information on this is Elizabeth Miller who has written books based on his notes which she had.

The staking thing he knew about because of a cemetery just outside of Dublin. They staked all suicides and those executed. They were buried in unconsecrated ground. There were other places that did this but in that time period they believed the seat of the soul resided in the heart and many believed suicides would come back as vampires...therefore they staked them. I don't think I have heard of this New England thing but one thing I do know...it has nothing to do with Bram Stoker.

I will watch the show. Sounds interesting but if its anything like the one I saw on Discovery its bunk and it was a misrepresentation of facts.

These are three excerpts from an article I wrote that was published. I have done a lot of research and have even emailed with Elizabeth Miller:

One of the leading authorities on vampires, Professor Christopher Frayling, rector of the Royal Academy of Art in the UK believes he merely “pinched” the name. (

It cut it off:

One of the leading authorities on vampires, Professor Christopher Frayling, rector of the Royal Academy of Art in the UK believes he merely “pinched” the name.

Like Elizabeth Miller, Professor Frayling has studied Stoker’s notes for the book and he believes that his inspiration may have to do with one of the actors he knew so well. Mr. Stoker was employed in the 1890s as a business manager at the Lyceum Theatre in London for Henry Irving. Irving was known to run about the theater wearing a cloak and yelling at people.

Adding more credence to these possible theories is Professor Sabina Ispas, director of the Institute of Ethnography and Folklore in Bucharest. When she addressed the World Dracula Congress in May of 2000 in Transylvania she stated unequivocally, “there is no tradition of vampires here in Romania.” She went on to say, “Bram Stoker presented his fiction with a special identity of his own making.

I will watch the show and thanks for the date. Cannot comment on the New England thing until I have more information about it. People were very superstitious back then and brought many ideas from the "ofd country" with them. Those with TB would cough up blood so perhaps they would have blood on their lips prior to dying and that is why they thought vampirism.

I didn't get to watch this show, but I am going to try to catch it or at least record it. It sounds like it might be very interesting. I'm not sure that I think they can either prove or disprove it by digging them up. Like many have said, they believed anyone who was different was either a witch or a vampire back then.