From the highly regarded classic to the downright ridiculous, vampire stories have fascinated humanity for centuries. But is there more to these narratives than poetic license? Similarities in the depiction of the creatures and their behavior within these texts is clearly evident, and real-world reports of vampire-related events have contributed to the cultural history of almost every continent in the world, be it through oral retelling or actual documentation.
There has been little respect for studies into the existence of vampires, a creature that is long considered to have been a product of superstition, given life by the whispers of legend and folklore. The authors of this guide are great admirers of vampires and have spent many nights researching and documenting vampire species from around the globe. In fact, it was during our own separate lines of research that we first crossed paths. From the moment we began debating Séan Manchester’s theories put forward for the case of the Highgate vampire incidents from the 1970s, we knew we had found a kindred spirit in one another.
In 2009, our work attracted the attention of the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) – a United Nations agency that sponsors programs in arts, communication and culture. UNESCO had been playing close attention to our research as we delved headfirst into the vampire underworld. We saw the worst the species had to offer during our time behind the front lines. We wanted to understand the creatures better: where do they come from? What is their motivation? Are they merely victims of scapegoating? The information our research has uncovered is both fascinating and alarming.
During our work with UNESCO, the organization was able to confirm one startling piece of information that the authors had long suspected: hunters the world over have been independently fighting vampires for millennia. Until now, their activities had stayed mostly hidden and the vampire threat was kept relatively under control. But now the underworld is a hive of activity as the “undead” prepare to assemble their forces and rise up against humanity.
UNESCO is reacting by aggressively stepping up the recruitment and training of its own counter-units. Vampire hunters are being deployed across the globe to fight the massing hordes of vampires. Dubbed SAU (Special Action Units), these groups are using every piece of information at their disposal to neutralize the growing threat.
What we have compiled is a handbook of sorts: a basic background to the vampires, drawing on information that we have gathered through our research and first-hand experience with these deadly and uncompromising creatures. Within these pages, you will find explanations of a number of vampires in areas across five continents: Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and South America. We have focused our content on a select number of vampire subspecies – those that present the biggest threats to humanity now and in the foreseeable future – within the three principal classes of vampire: haemophages (blood drinkers), psychics, and a combination of the two.
Studying our targets’ origins will allow a greater understanding of their behavior and motivations. We reach far back into prehistory, beyond even the first recorded mention of the creatures in the Russian Primary Chronicle (1047), a historical text that features a Novogorodian priest known as Upyr’ Likhij (Wicked Vampire). Though the Slavic origin of the “vampire” has established Europe as a hotbed of vampiric activity for more than a thousand years, our research proves that the reach of the vampire is far greater than we could have ever imagined.
Strigoi, the classic European vampires, are extremely difficult to photograph. Not only do they generally not want their pictures taken, but their images seem to slide off film in a way not completely understood to science. This situation has somewhat improved with the rise of digital photography, but authentic photographs of vampires remain a rarity.
No guide to vampire hunting would be complete without an analysis of the methods used to destroy the enemy. As each vampire has evolved in its surroundings, hunters have retaliated by adapting their skills and techniques to take on the threats in their locale. The comprehensive examination of each hunter, from their humble beginnings to their current practices and successes, is told with a view to inform. Today’s vampire hunters should look to the styles that follow to influence their own methods as they prepare to fight every type of vampire, as more and more species migrate from their native countries to integrate themselves into foreign covens. A new, global empire is on the horizon, one that will threaten the existence of the human species as we know it.
Our studies have been prepared to arm any potential vampire hunter with the knowledge required to support their training and become skilled in their profession. Forget everything you thought you knew about vampires – your education starts right here.
A still from the 1922 silent film, Nosferatu. After a legal battle involving the Bram Stoker estate, all copies of the film were ordered destroyed by the German courts. Thankfully one copy survived this purge. Many have interpreted the incident as an effort by European vampires to suppress knowledge of their existence. (Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy)