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Do vampire stories and the view of vampires differ in each country?

I would like to hear something new if there is anything.

There Are Certain Beliefs In Africa About Vampires, Their Called Fifollet. They Are The Children That Died From Baptism....A Good Book To Check Out And Read Is: The Vampire Book The Enyclopedia of The Undead

also in the story interview with the vampire they made reference to vampires in what would be around germany to russia area who were nothing but mishapped corpses who had no idea what they were doing

A lot of countries around the world have different references to beings who could be catogorized as vampires. I recommend you read an encyclophedia on vampires. Most will list different species of vampire.

Gosh you guys sound so knowelegable, so I wonder where did the first one orginate?

Well, that rather hard to say. Stories of blood drinking beings that life in the dark of night have been roaming the world for almost as long as there have been people around. Ever since man made his little campfire and huddled around it he has imagined thing lurking in the shadows. Most of these stories are probably based on a deep rooted fear of man that we are corruptable. Man has always strived to become better or purer. The fear of being corrupted has always been here. This may be a basis for vampire lore.

Even the Native Americans have their own version of vampirism.

Oh that sounds interesting Sacredknowledge, please share!

i herd from my moms former exchange stuedent from tieland that the thought vampires were crikets that burroled down into the brains and would swim in the vesils and sleep in the brain during the day

I suppose vampires here in England are seen like Hollywood vampires, I've not come across any people here that have our interests

I don't know if any of you have read this yet or not, but there's an excellent article on vampires in different countries, right here on VR. You can find this article here:

GLOBAL VAMPIRES of LEGEND AND MYTH

actually there are different beliefs not only in different countries but also in different states...i am from newy ork and now live in horth carolina but when i lived in new york it was more nelieved than not that vampires were unsucceptable to cold and therefore were almost all living in the northern most parts of the world...however in north carolin they are believed to be the exact opposite...heat unsucceptable...this makes me think that depending on your geographic location does it affect the stories you belive in as your mythology and religion do?

vampire storys do very much so change due to the country..... here in canada most of the storys are based on hollywood movies... depending on the country and what most people fear the storys are adapted to what the people in the area fear most thats what makes the stories and not fact people will almost always adapted things to what they fear or enjoy the most to make the story "better" in their mind

i agree with people making it to be more enjoyable to their minds and the minds around them that if the vampire is from where they are then the vampire must be amazingly great...people do this often and new falsified things are brought to life every day by people who just like to have people think that they are intelligent which irritates the ever living piss out of me...how about you guys? any of you get tired of being lied to about vampires or other legends?

I beleive there is as different version or story or views on vampires as there is cultures, each of them having their own side or version of waht is a vampire and how they came and all and all.
I am pretty sure if you go to africa or australia you'll be much suprise by the way they see a vampire. and where/when did it come from

As Bones kindly pointed out, there are two members articles listing the different vampires around the world alphabetically indexed by country

here and here

I think the storys from all over the world are part of what makes a vampire so special they are a mystery in part because we make them mysterious

"Skatene" is what the Choctaw Native American people of the southeastern US call a vampire and the "Stikini" is what the Seminole Native American People of Oklahoma call vampires. These were just two things that I remember my grandfather speaking of when I grew up.

Well, lets look at Anne Rice and Brahm Stokes. There is definitely a difference.

That is a excellent example Tzaddi

no real way to tell there are so many different stories and views, some just go off of others and are added to make a different point.

I don't know what other countries think about Vampires but i am sure it is differnt in each one just like religion every nationality or country has a different belief of things.

i visit mexico offten at the border in nogalis they have a bunch of shops there they have this one there that sells things that would kill vampires you now all the stuff that was in the movies well i asked him why he sold stuff like that he told me that there had been sightings of flying devils said his daughter was taken by one they all believe in them in mexico and they are deathly affraid of them i dont know if it was true but i talkked to alot of ppl and they said the same thing

i never heard of any vampire stories in australia but i am sure there would be....

I would believe that in some countries vampires are highly thought of as in a sort of religion or something along those lines....apart from that all i can really get from different parts of the world is how they are portrayed in films and books..=)

Well I think here in australia we have the hollywood western version of vampires. i havent heard of any legends with the indigenous people here.

I agree with Bones, check out the posted link in that response, it's a good article with a lot of information. Other than that, an encylopedia on vampires is good too.

In researching something else I found this reference in The Vampire Research Society WorldWide.

Mrart

A vampire-like creature (often referred to as a ghost of a dead member of the area, or a stranger) and was specifically powerful in the dark, often trying to drag victims away from a campsite. Aboriginies also believed a second soul existed that could sometimes inhabit another person’s body or could live in the bush and torment its living relatives. Dead bodies were weighted down in aboriginal burial rites, or their legs were broken. The possessions of the dead were destroyed and its campsite abandoned.

Talamaur

A living vampire type found in the Banks Islands, near Australia. The people of Banks Island believed in the possibility of ‘lively’ intercourse with the ghosts of the dead. Some feared the dead, but others welcomed interaction with the spirit world. Being either male or female, the talamaur was said to be able to communicate with ghosts, establishing a close relationship with a dead individual and making it a familiar, or a servant that could be sent to affect the living. Some accounts of talamaur causing evil in communities were told that the suspected talamaur was seized and forced to smell the smoke of burning leaves until confessing to being the master of a spirit, and giving the name or names of the creatures being used and the living individual who was to be the victim.

Another type of talamaur was a person, also called a tarunga, who could end out his or her soul to consume the lingering life essence left in a newly dead person. This was often confirmed by dreams and visions. The approach of such to a new grave is said to hear like a scatching or rustling at a door.

It was not a crime to be a talamaur, and some people actually projected the image of being one.

artemka's articles are very informative.
But no United States vampires?
LOL

In Japan, there name for vampire is called "Pakemuno" I like that word lol

I think as with different Myths in different countries about Vampires.. gives a difference in opinion about vampirism. And how it is perceived and practised.

I was interested to hear more regarding Native American vampirism.. Were you using 'vampirism', AS the term for their grasping energy?

Excellent thread thanks Chris

There are alot of good books which refer to vampires of different countries. but this is a very wide range topic.

Bones has a great link to a member article that covers many of the different countries and what stories come from each written by artemka called "GLOBAL VAMPIRES OF LEGEND & MYTH"

I am not so very educated on all the different cultures, but I know that in Romania the vampire (or the strigio (man)/stregoica(woman)) can actually become a vampire through seveal different ways:

The most common and popular is when a man commits suicide.. Also if a child dies before it is baptized it will become a vampire seven years after it dies, any man that swears falsely for money will become one six months after death, an unborn baby will become one if a vampire casts its eye on the pregnant woman or if the mother does not eat salt during her pregnancy, in a family if seven children are born of the same sex the seventh will become a vampire (it's also rumored that the child will have a tail), A dead man will become a vampire if a cat jumps over him, if someone steps over him, or even if a mans shadow is cast over him...

I think there must be a lot of vampires in romania. :)

im sure that every country has a different belief

I've heard different stories on how a someone is turned into a vampire and what the vampire looks like. I have heard that in some places a person becomes a vampire by eating the heart of someone that has died but is still walking this earth in the form of a ghost.

There are common factors in all legends but as most of them start with word of mouth stories they change and develop through the ages and countries they are told in

I think that in most places vampires are seen as evil. But each country will have it's own version of the vampire. Even Vlad's people did not really see him as a vampire but as a hero. Only the church saw him as a vampire. At least I think that's how it went....lol

well in india vampires are called bhoot .besides we all here do believe in bhoot

the native american version of the vampire is call the skin walker

each country differs with or without being vmpires. we all dissagree sometime. other wise we all be zombies. even though i have meet a couple...oh well, you don't care. anyway , being a vampire is no different ( except the speech) anywhere.

I believe every country aspires to the folklore of vampires, and each has it's myths and legends about the subject. For some reason, however, but with no theory I can't see American Native Vampires...

i think that like most fables, fairy tales, folklore, etc have the same idea but may be told differently in each country. but i do believe that every country has a similar story but maybe the details differ a bit to match each countries standards adn beliefs.

Hmm, yes..that makes perfect sense BL, during my travels when I was younger I noticed how true that was. I used to say, "oh we have the same story in Ireland"