Legends of vampire-like creatures have existed for millennia in many cultures around the world. The origins for what we usually mean vampires are mainly from 17th, 18th and 19th-century South Eastern Europe however.

These folkloric vampires shared many elements: The vampire comes into being through the reanimation of a corpse. It can influence the weather and certain animals. It preys on humans, usually at night, sucking the victim’s blood. It can be killed with a stake or by decapitation.

In most cases, folkloric vampires are revenants of evil people, proper people subjected to improper burial routines, witches, or suicide victims. They can also be created by an evil spirit possessing a corpse or by a living person being bitten by a vampire.

Belief in such legends became so rife that in some areas it caused mass hysteria and even public executions of people believed to be vampires.

In the very influential vampire novel Dracula from 1897, the lifestyle of a Transylvanian vampire clashes with the morals of Victorian England.

In Romanian folkore, vampires are called strigois. There are two types of strigois: The Strigoi viu (alive) and the strigoi mort (dead). The strigoi mort is considered the most dangerous.

A vampire-like creature called shtriga exists in Albanian folklore The shtriga is an evil woman that sucks the blood of infants at night. She usually lives in some remote forest and has supernatural powers, including shapeshifting capabilities.

Serbia is the birthplace of the word "vampir" and it has a rich history of legends about these bloodsuckers. Serbians used hawthorn stakes, garlic and holy water to stop suspected vampires.

In Greek folklore, a vampire-like creature called vrykolakas exist. The vrykolalas eats human flesh and causes noises and diseases in human settlements.

The Upiór is an Ukrainian and Polish undead being that attacks humans at night to drink blood from its victims.

Picture 1: The Vampire by Philip Burne-Jones from 1897.

Picture 2: Dracula, as played by Bela Lugosi, with Mina, as played by Helen Chandler.

Picture 3: A shtriga.

Picture 4: Putting a stake into the skeleton of a vampire. Lithograph from 1864.

Picture 5: A strigoi, or is it a zombie.

Vampires in European folklore