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31 entries this month
LAVENDER AND THYME ROASTED CHICKEN Posted on April 28, 2015
21:10 Oct 10 2016
Times Read: 318
INGREDIENTS
2 teaspoons Steed & Company Culinary Lavender
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
1/4 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
4 poussins (young chickens; about 1 pound each) or 4 small Cornish hens (about 1 1/4 pounds each)
1 small lemon, halved
1/4 cup Sauternes
Garnish: Steed & Company Culinary Lavender and thyme leaves
PREPARATION
With a mortar and pestle coarsely crush Steed & Company Culinary Lavender and in a small bowl stir together with butter, thyme, zest, and salt and pepper to taste until combined well. Spoon mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a 4-inch-long log. Chill compound butter, wrapped well in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes, and up to 3 days.
Preheat oven to 475° F.
Discard gizzards from birds and trim necks flush with bodies if necessary. Rinse birds inside and out and pat dry. Starting at neck end of each bird, slide fingers between meat and skin to loosen skin (be careful not to tear skin). Cut butter into sixteen 1/4-inch-thick slices and gently push 4 slices under skin of each bird, putting 1 slice over each breast half and thigh. Tie legs of each bird together with kitchen string and secure wings to sides with wooden picks or bamboo skewers.
Arrange birds in a flameproof roasting pan large enough to hold them without crowding. Gently rub birds with lemon halves, squeezing juice over them, and season with salt and pepper. Roast birds in middle of oven 30 minutes (for poussins) to 45 minutes (for Cornish hens), or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh (be careful not to touch bone) registers 170° F.
Transfer birds to a platter and loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Add Sauternes to roasting pan and deglaze over moderate heat, scraping up brown bits. Transfer jus to a small saucepan. Skim fat from jus and simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup.
Garnish birds with Steed & Company Culinary Lavender and thyme and serve with jus.
Servings: Makes 4 Servings.
BEEF CARPACCIO WITH ORANGE-OLIVE SALSA AND SHAVED CHEESE Posted on April 28, 2015
21:09 Oct 10 2016
Times Read: 319
INGREDIENTS
Orange-Olive salsa
2 large navel oranges
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Carpaccio
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon white peppercorns
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Steed & Company Culinary Lavender
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1 1/4-pound trimmed beef tenderloin
2 cups lightly packed fresh arugula
1 2-ounce wedge aged Gouda cheese, shaved using vegetable peeler
PREPARATION
For salsa:
Using small sharp knife, cut off peel and white pith from oranges. Working over medium bowl, cut between membranes to release sections. Cut each section crosswise into 4 pieces and add to bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients. Cover; chill at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
For carpaccio:
Combine first 4 ingredients and Steed & Company Culinary Lavender, if using, in mortar and coarsely crush with pestle (or place in resealable plastic bag and coarsely crush with rolling pin).
Rub 1 tablespoon oil over beef, then coat beef with spice mixture. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add beef and sear on all sides, turning every 2 minutes, about 12 minutes total (beef will be rare in center). Chill until cold, then wrap in plastic and freeze 1 hour.
Slice meat as thinly as possible (sliced meat can be pounded between layers of waxed paper until paper-thin, if desired). Toss arugula with juices from salsa and mound on platter. Top with salsa. Surround with meat and cheese.
Partially freezing the tenderloin after searing it makes slicing easier.
Servings: Makes 10 servings.
Duck with Lavender Honey...21:08 Oct 10 2016
Times Read: 320
2 teaspoons Steed & Company Culinary Lavender
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 ½ teaspoons coarse sea salt
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
1 6- to 6 ½-pound duck, fresh or frozen, thawed
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons dry red wine
4 tablespoons Steed & Company
4 toasted baguette slices
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind 1 teaspoon Steed & Company, thyme, sea salt and peppercorns in spice grinder or with mortar and pestle. Remove fat deposits and giblets from duck cavity, reserving liver. Trim excess skin and fat from neck area. Rinse inside and out; pat dry. Cutting through skin and fat (but not flesh) of duck breasts, score in crisscross pattern. Rub inside and outside of duck with herb mixture; return duck liver to cavity.
Place duck, breast up, on rack in roasting pan. Roast 2 hours. Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 375°F. Transfer duck to plate. Pour pan juices into 4-cup glass measuring cup; spoon off fat. Return juices and 1 tablespoon fat to pan. Add broth and wine. Return duck to pan. Brush with 2 tablespoons Steed & Company.
Roast duck 20 minutes, basting once with pan juices. Brush with 2 tablespoons Steed & Company; sprinkle with ½ teaspoon Steed & Company. Roast duck until deep golden and thermometer inserted into innermost part of thigh registers 180°F., about 5 minutes longer.
Transfer duck to platter. Remove liver; mash finely in small bowl. Spread liver over baguette slices. Add ½ teaspoon Steed & Company to roasting pan. Place over medium heat. Boil juices until thick enough to coat spoon, whisking often, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Slice duck and serve with baguette slices and pan juices.
SALADS with lavender dressing...
21:07 Oct 10 2016
Times Read: 321
Posted on April 28, 2015
INGREDIENTS
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoons Steed & Company Lavender Honey
2 teaspoon Steed & Company Culinary Lavender
Freshly ground black pepper
PREPARATION
In a small bowl, wisk together all ingredients, add to salad, toss.
LAVENDER HONEY TEA BREAD Posted on April 28, 2015
21:06 Oct 10 2016
Times Read: 322
INGREDIENTS
½ cup whole milk
2 tablespoons Steed & Company Lavender Honey
1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon Steed & Company Culinary Lavender
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 8-ounce container sour cream (1 cup)
1 cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
PREPARATION
Bring milk to simmer in small saucepan; add Steed & Company Lavender Honey and 1 tablespoon Steed & Company Culinary Lavender. Stir until honey dissolves. Remove from heat; cover and let steep 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour decorative 10-cup fluted pan or Bundt pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.
Strain milk mixture into another medium bowl; discard solids in strainer. Whisk sour cream into milk mixtureto blend. Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with milk mixture in 3 additions each, beating just until smooth. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top with rubber spatula.
Bake bread until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool bread in pan on rack 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.
Combine powdered sugar and remaining ½ teaspoon Steed & Company Culinary Lavender in strainer set over small bowl. Press sugar mixture through strainer, discarding large bits. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.) Sift strained powdered sugar mixture over bread.
Baker’s wisdom: For a delicate texture, mix in the dry ingredients just until the tea bread batter is blended.
LAVENDER CREME-CARAMEL TART Posted on April 28, 2015
21:04 Oct 10 2016
Times Read: 323
INGREDIENTS
For crème caramel
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
3 tablespoons Steed & Company Culinary Lavender
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
For pastry crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 ½ tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 ½ to 2 tablespoons ice water
Special equipment: a 10-inch glass pie plate (1 to 1 ½ inches deep), 9 ½-inch plate or cardboard round, and 10- to 14-inch flat serving plate with a slight lip
Garnish: fresh nontoxic and organic violets
PREPARATION
Make crème caramel:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cook 1 cup sugar in a dry large nonstick skillet over moderate heat, swirling and shaking pan (to help sugar melt evenly), until sugar is melted and caramel is deep golden. Immediately pour caramel into pie plate, tilting to coat bottom and sides evenly.
Bring cream, milk, Steed & Company Culinary Lavender, salt, and remaining ½ cup sugar to a simmer and remove from heat. Let stand 15 minutes, then reheat. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding lavender. Whisk whole eggs and yolks together in a bowl and slowly whisk in hot cream mixture. Pour custard over caramel.
Bake custard in a water bath in middle of oven until set but still trembling slightly (custard will continue to set as it cools), 40 to 45 minutes. Remove pie plate from water and cool creme caramel on a rack. Chill, loosely covered with plastic wrap, at least 2 hours.
Make pastry crust:
Blend together flour, sugar, salt, and butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle 1 ½ tablespoons ice water over mixture and toss with a fork until incorporated. Test mixture by gently squeezing a small handful: When it has proper texture, it should hold together without crumbling apart. If necessary, add remaining‚ tablespoon water.
(If you overwork mixture or add too much water, pastry will be tough.) Turn mixture out onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. Smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together and form it into a disk.
Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 10 ½-inch round and slide onto a baking sheet. Trim dough to a 9‚-inch round (use 9 ½-inch plate turned upside down as a guide). Prick round all over with a fork and chill 30 minutes. Bake round in middle of oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes, and cool completely on baking sheet on a rack.
Assemble tart just before serving:
Run a thin knife around edge of crème caramel and rotate pie plate back and forth to make sure crème caramel is loosened. Slide crust on top of crème caramel, centering it carefully, and invert serving plate on top of crust. Invert tart onto serving plate (caramel will run to edge of plate).
Cooks’ notes: You can make crème caramel and crust 1 day ahead, but don’t assemble until just before serving. Chill crème caramel and keep crust, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature.
Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 ½ hr
Servings: Makes 8 servings.
TOP 10 FOOD AND DRINKS BANNED IN THE USA...
18:58 Oct 10 2016
Times Read: 326
March 18, 2013 by Wendy
After a vacation we are back with our next list. All over the world you can find certain foods and drinks that are banned from a country and for various reasons. This is a list of the top 10 food and drinks that are banned in the USA. The organization that controls the food in the US in the US Department of Agriculture and they ban certain items in the US for health reasons, sanctions or to protect a species.
#10 Absinthe
Absinthe is a distilled, highly alcoholic (90-148 proof)beverage. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from botanicals, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium (a.k.a. “grand wormwood”), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland in the late 18th century. It arose to great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France. In 2007, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) effectively lifted the longstanding absinthe ban, and has since approved many brands for sale in the U.S. market. The importation, distribution, and sale of absinthe is permitted with respect to the following restrictions: The product must be thujone-free as per TTB guidelines. The word “absinthe” can neither be the brand name nor stand alone on the label. The packaging cannot “project images of hallucinogenic, psychotropic or mind-altering effects.” Absinthe imported in violation of these regulations is subject to seizure at the discretion of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
#9 Ackee
Ackee is a fruit similar to the lychee that is native to tropical western Africa. It was also imported to Jamaica in 1778. It is the national fruit of Jamaica and common in a lot of Jamaican cuisine. The unripened or inedible portions of the fruit can be toxic as they contain the toxins hypoglycin A and hypoglycin B. The importing of canned ackee into the U.S. has at times been restricted due to unripe ackee arilli being included. However, it is currently allowed, provided that the amount of hypoglycin present meets the standards of the Food and Drug Administration.
#8 Pig’s Blood Cake
Ti-hoeh-koe, pig’s blood cake is made of pork blood and sticky rice. It is a traditional Taiwanese dish. The rice and blood are cooked together and then left to set up; the rice binds the blood. The end result is like a sausage without a skin. This is then put on a stick and the street vendors cover the pigs blood cake with a layer of peanut powder and cilantro. If you’re a fan of black pudding or blood sausage—and who isn’t?—then you will adore pork blood cake, which is sweet, warm, unctuous, and with a slight chewiness. USDA has banned pig’s blood cake in the US due to sanitary reasons.
#7 Foie gras
Although not banned in the whole of the US, foie gras remains a controversial food and there most likely will be more areas in the US banning this ingredient in the future. Foie gras involves the controversial force-feeding of birds with more food than they would eat in the wild, and more than they would voluntarily eat domestically. The feed, usually corn boiled with fat (to facilitate ingestion), deposits large amounts of fat in the liver, thereby producing the buttery consistency sought by some gastronomes. At time of publishing this list Foie gras is banned in the State of California, City of Chicago and City of San Diego.
#6 Redfish
In 1980, New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme publicized his recipe for blackened redfish, which is still very popular today. The recipe was so popular that it sparked a blackened redfish craze in the 1980s, which so severely threatened the redfish stock that the Commerce Department had to step in and close down fisheries in July 1986 and limited the sale in order to help the regrowth of the Redfish population. The term redfish applies to various species of scorpion fish and sciaenops occellatus. The sale of redfish for profit is banned in all US states except Mississippi.
#5 Casu marzu
Carsu marzu is a traditional Sheep milk cheese found mainly in Sardinia, Italy. The cheese is notable for containing live insect larvae. The fermentation stage is brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly. The larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese, promoting an advanced level of fermentation and breaking down of the cheese’s fats. Some people clear the larvae from the cheese before consuming while others do not. Some call this cheese ‘maggot cheese’. It is banned in the US because of health reasons and the maggots’ mouthhooks can severely damage stomach lining.
#4 Wild beluga caviar
The Beluga (huso huso) is the largest of all sturgeons (up to 6 meters/20 feet in length) and is the only carnivore, but unfortunately, because of aggressive modern fishing methods such a size seems extremely unlikely these days. Because of its immense size, the Beluga caviar has the biggest eggs, which are the most highly prized for their large grain and fine skin. The egg color varies from light grey to nearly black. Beluga caviar is protected as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This law generally prohibits the import/export and interstate sale of listed species and products made from them. The United States banned the importation of beluga caviar from the Caspian Sea basin as of September 30, 2005, and from the Black Sea basin as of October 28, 2005. No beluga caviar from any country in these basins could be legally imported after these dates.
#3 Japanese Puffer Fish
In US restaurants and fish markets are banned from serving or selling puffer fish (also known as puffer, fugu, bok, blowfish, globefish, swellfish, balloonfish, or sea squab) unless they have a license to do so. This is in order that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) can be sure that it is obtained from a safe source. The puffer fish’s skin and its certain organs contain tetrodotoxin, an extremely poisonous neurotoxin which has the potential to paralyse a human by damaging or destroying nerve tissue and also lead to asphyxiation. Only a few milligrams of this toxin are enough for a fatal reaction to occur. However, it has been eaten for many years in Japan, where experts serve it as a delicacy.
#2 Haggis
Haggis is considered the National dish of Scotland. Haggis is a savory dish containing sheep’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a sausage casing rather than an actual stomach. Since 1971, it has been illegal to import haggis into the US from the UK due to a ban on food containing sheep lung, which constitutes 10 to 15% of the traditional recipe.The situation was further complicated in 1989 when all UK beef and lamb was banned from importation to the US due to the BSE crisis. In 2010, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Agriculture stated that they were reviewing the ban on beef and lamb products, but the ban on food containing sheep lung will remain in force.
#1 Unpasteurized milk
Pasteurization was first used in the United States in the 1890s after the discovery of germ theory to control the hazards of highly contagious bacterial diseases that was thought to be easily transmitted to humans through the drinking of raw milk. When it was first used, pasteurization was thought to make raw milk from any source safer to consume. More recently, farm sanitation has greatly improved and effective testing has been developed making other approaches to ensuring safety of milk more feasible; however, pasteurization continues to be widely used to prevent infected milk from entering the food supply. Most states impose restrictions on raw milk suppliers due to concerns about safety.
What Are the Benefits of Writing With Fountain Pens?
18:24 Oct 10 2016
Times Read: 327
Someone who read about this project over on the NaNoWriMo site asked me what the benefits are of writing with a fountain pen. There are numerous benefits, which is why I chose to answer this question in a second post, instead of making yesterday's post longer. Some of these benefits are tangible, while others will vary from person to person. And I've saved some of the best, or at least those which apply to everyone, for last.
As a writer, the most important benefit is the way using fountain pens aids the process of writing. When the ideas are flowing hot and heavy, the nib never has trouble keeping up, yet the act of using a pen of this sort encourages a bit more thought than banging away on a keyboard. The simple knowledge that the words I write cannot be "undone" forces me to think about what I'm writing, and that leads to better writing that needs less editing later. And, since there are none of the annoyances, interruptions, and crashes so common when using a computer, I don't lose the thread of the story to the fickle whim of a stray electron.
Often, the simple act of holding and using a certain pen will inspire me; I may ink up an Esterbrook Dollar Pen made in 1941-42 (something I can tell from the style of the clip) to write a story set during World War Two. Thinking of how that pen may have been used to write letters from the home front to a soldier fighting that war helps fuel my imagination. Or I may choose a pen for its looks or style, even if there is no obvious historical connection. I even bought one vintage Parker 51, imprinted with another person's name, because the sight of that pen brought to mind a character.
There is something visually stimulating about the lines left on paper by most fountain pen nibs. It is elusive, and digital reproductions seldom if ever do this factor justice, but text written with a fountain pen is "alive" in a way no other form of writing except dip or quill pens can be. It is much like the difference between letterpress printing and most printing today. Even if the impression of the type in the paper is not deep enough for you to see, there is a subtle quality that just isn't there in the same text deposited on the surface. Not only that, but some nibs offer intriguing line variation, from the subtle to the extreme, and the joy of seeing such forms appear on the paper helps motivate me to keep on writing. And the ease of using just about any shade of any colour that might suit my story and my mood is another way I can encourage myself when the writing gets tough.
Almost everyone who takes a little time to get used to using a fountain pen also finds that it improves their handwriting. Fountain pens with special nibs are what is used in the finest calligraphy, but even if you don't bother to learn calligraphy and have an ordinary nib, you'll find your handwriting will start to look better. The technique required is just different enough that it leads to better handwriting, even if you don't make a conscious effort to improve it. Even doctors have discovered that this works. When I post digital images of some of the pages I've written, you may doubt this... but keep in mind that I am writing quickly, and that my handwriting has always been atrocious. On those rare and painful occasions when I'm forced to write with anything else, my writing is more jagged and much more illegible.
Repetitive stress injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, hand cramps... those are the symptoms of someone who uses a keyboard, or a modern pen which requires them to exert pressure on the point. Ballpoints and pencils may be worse, but even the smoothest rollerball needs pressure to write. Fountain pens require little or no pressure at all to write with. That is one of the things which make them a joy to write with. You can save yourself pain and possibly even injury just by using a fountain pen. This is one area where new users need to be careful, though; most people are so used to applying too much pressure, compared to what a fountain pen needs, that they have trouble and can even damage the nib by shoving it into the paper.
Although I admit this won't help if you get hooked on buying lots of pens and bottles of ink, fountain pens are actually less expensive to use, over time, than the cheapest of ballpoints. No one ever thinks about how the cost adds up. It is difficult to compare the two methods exactly, since the traditional measure of a ballpoint's life is how long a line it will write before running out. With fountain pens, every nib is different, and a broad or a wet nib will use a lot more ink than a fine or a dry nib. But you can get some idea by measuring the amount of ink contained in every ballpoint or rollerball refill. For under thirty dollars, you can buy a bottle of good quality fountain pen ink that contains as much ink as nearly a hundred and twenty dollars worth of the cheapest refills available. (At least in Massachusetts.)
And unlike those cheap pens that are worth nothing by the time you toss them away, most fountain pens keep much of their value. Some are even worth more twenty years after you buy them than they were than. So the pens so many people perceive as "expensive" can actually save you money. Of course, this will only work if you can resist buying a lot of them. But even if you do, many fountain pens are objects of beauty in their own right. Even ink bottles can be minor art objects. You can add beauty to your daily life, and still have a good investment. And no matter how many pens you buy, the only ones you won't be able to resell later are the ones you lose or break. Since they tend to last quite well if you take reasonable care of them, there's no need to be too worried about this. I've bought fifty year old pens that wrote - with absolutely no trouble, and no servicing beforehand.
And, of course, a fountain pen using bottled ink is the "greenest" option for writing. You can recycle or reuse your empty ink bottles, and a good pen should last you the rest of your life. (Depending on what you choose, you may need to have it serviced very occasionally.) With a disposable pen, you are throwing out the tip, the barrel, everything, once the ink is used up. Even with a ballpoint or rollerball that accepts refills, you are throwing out the empty refill, and these are seldom easy to recycle. So there is much less waste from using a fountain pen. So the real question is, why wouldn't anyone want to use a fountain pen?
Posted by The Wandering Author at 6:50 PM
8 Reasons To Love Red Wine Raise your glass to these health benefits of vino By STEPHANIE CASTILLO OCTOBER 1, 201218:23 Oct 10 2016
Times Read: 328
Beneficial Booze
Any hardworking gal knows that kicking back with a girlfriend and a glass of red wine is a fabulous way to de-stress. The best part? Your red-wine habit also happens to come with some happy health benefits, such as protecting your ticker and even slimming your waistline. Check out these eight reasons why winding down with a glass of vino is a good call all around.
1. Lower your cholesterol
1. Lower your cholesterol
High-fiber Tempranillo red grapes—which are used to make certain red wines, like Rioja—may actually have a significant effect on cholesterol levels, according to a study from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain.
Healthy study participants who consumed the same grape supplement found in red wine saw their LDL, or "bad cholesterol," levels decrease by 9% among healthy. Participants with high cholesterol experienced a drop of 12%. What's the big deal? Excess LDL ends up getting deposited in arterial walls and forming plaque, which causes arteries to stiffen and blood pressure to rise, ultimately leading to heart attacks, says Arthur Agatson, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Miami and author of The South Beach Heart Program.
2. Protect your heart
On top of lowering bad cholesterol, polyphenols—the antioxidants in red wine—can help keep blood vessels flexible and reduce the risk of unwanted clotting, says John Folts, PhD, a professor of cardiovascular medicine and nutrition at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
"They're nearly as effective as aspirin," says Folts. But be careful: Chronic heavy drinking damages the heart, so, as with most things, moderation is key. (If you prefer an aspirin to protect your ticker, be sure to follow these 3 aspirin safety tips.)
3. Control blood sugar
The skin of red grapes—a rich source of red wine's natural compound resveratrol—may actually help diabetics regulate their blood sugar, finds recent research published in the journal Nutrition. Study participants who took a 250 mg resveratrol supplement once a day for three months had lower blood glucose levels than those who didn't take the pill. Plus, resveratrol-takers also had significant decreases in total cholesterol and systolic blood pressure. Researchers suspect that resveratrol may help stimulate insulin secretion or activate a protein that helps regulate glucose and insulin sensitivity.
4. Boost your brain
Resveratrol may also be the key to keeping your memory sharp, says Philippe Marambaud, PhD, a senior research scientist at New York's Litwin-Zucker Research Center for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders. The compound has been shown to hamper the formation of beta-amyloid protein, a key ingredient in the plaque found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Marambaud suggests flexing your noodle by doing crossword puzzles and brain teasers for an hour then cooling down with a glass of wine. New to brain teasers? We've got you covered with 7 Brain Games That Make You Smarter.
5. Fight off a cold
If you hate getting sick (and who doesn't?), the antioxidants in red wine may help keep you healthy. A 2010 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that among 4,000 faculty members at five Spanish universities, those who drank more than 14 weekly glasses of wine for a year were 40% less likely to come down with a common cold. Why? According to the National Institutes of Health, antioxidants are believed to fight infection and protect cells against the effects of free radicals, which may play role in cancer and other diseases.
Another antioxidant boost? They may also lower sex hormone levels to protect against breast cancer, says a study from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. (Stay up to date on the latest breast cancer news with our Breast Cancer Center.)
6. Stop cancer
According to researchers at the University of Virginia, the resveratrol you get from drinking one glass of red wine three or four times a week may be enough to starve any nascent cancer cells. The scientists dosed human cancer cells with resveratrol and found that the compound inhibited the key action of a cancer-feeding protein.
7. Get slim
Clearly, resveratrol is a bit of a limelight hog when it comes to the healthful compounds in vino. But research in the Journal of Biological Chemistry suggests piceatannol, the chemical compound our bodies convert from resveratrol, deserves some credit. This compound was shown to actually prevent the growth of fat cells in a series of lab tests. How? Researchers say that piceatannol binds to the insulin receptors of fat cells, essentially blocking the pathways necessary for immature fat cells to mature and grow.
8. Jazz up dinner
Who said your red wine consumption had to be limited to the glass? You can include the drink in your dinner, either as a sauce (in which case we suggest our yummy DIY red wine sauce) or complimentary ingredient, and still reap its benefits.
V5 Vampire Virus18:18 Oct 10 2016
Times Read: 330
It is believed by some that the cause of vampyrism is to be attributed to some type of "virus." The, "Vampire Virus," has been given many, many names over the years, including, "Code V," "Code 5," "K-17," "G-17," "vHERV," "Stem Alpha," and, perhaps most notably, "The V5 Vampire Virus." It is believed that this is what causes vampyrism because, as studies have shown, retroviruses can have some rather significant (long-term) impacts on the physical rendering of one's appearance and attributes.
It is thought that this virus is a sort of endogenous retrovirus, behaving much like HIV. In short, retroviruses are viruses that, once in the body, attack the genetic make-up of our bodies, altering our very DNA, and the term, "endogenous," means that it is passed on through the offspring from the parent organism. Therefore, "endogenous retrovirus," means that it is a DNA-altering virus that can be passed on to the infected individual's children.
History of Endogenous Retroviruses
Allow me to start from the beginning...of time, that is... You see, endogenous retroviruses are the primary source of "evidence" for those who support the evolutionary theory and try to debunk all religion; however, it should be noted that many religious figures also use this as evidence for a divine being(s). Now then, that being said, there is a lot of evolutionary jargon involved in endogenous retroviruses, but we'll try to keep it simple for now.
What are known as, "common ancestors," are merely the creature that all sub-species evolved from. For example, all birds came from a single, "common ancestor," with other species and kingdoms having been derived from other common ancestors. It is believed that there were several of each common ancestor roaming the earth at some point in time long, long ago. The common ancestors were, essentially, the "pure" species of avian (birds), mammalia (mammals), and the other animal groups. So, what was it that made these creatures change into, well, something else?
Charles Darwin stated that it is reasonable to make the assumption that our environments play some role in our developments as species, thus explaining why, in the Gallopagos Islands, turtles on some islands have short necks and uniform shells while turtles on other islands have long necks with a cut-out in their shell around their heads which allow them to raise their necks higher. This would also explain why Africans and other peoples with closer proximity to the equator are of a darker skin complexion than individuals in the extreme northern reaches of the world who tend to be of a much paler complexion; because if the Africans were not so dark they would burn, and because the sun shines to a much lesser extent in the north (if the sun even shines at all, which it doesn't in some parts of the year), the peoples of such regions have less need for darker skin, therefore they are more pale.
It could be said that the discovery of retroviruses both futhers Darwin's theory and destroys it, depending on the individual's views. It is believed that retroviruses played a key role in the development of life as we know it. To Darwin, we began with a common ancestor and its offspring adapted to their different environments accordingly. To retrovirologists, we began with a common ancestor who became infected with a retrovirus, altering its DNA, and, therefore, the DNA of its offspring, making it an endogenous retrovirus. This endogenous retrovirus then continued to alter the DNA of its host organisms through many, many, many generations until its host had achieved the new design that which the retrovirus was programmed to change it to.
In short, we had a basic, common ancestor with simplistic functions, but that design wasn't good enough so the retroviruses came along and infected the organism, thus altering its genetic makeup, which, as science has proven countless times, alters the physical attributes of the creature. Over many years, the virus continued to change the creature until the virus either died somehow or something happened that caused the virus to become dormant and stop functioning (science hasn't gotten that far quite yet).
Retrovirii Evolve to Form Vampire Virus
It is believed that a retrovirus similar to that of its ancient viral ancestors has been born and is beginning to affect the homosapien species, entering the organism and altering its DNA. Some of these changes include increases in reflexes, day and night eyesight, smell, hearing, endurance, strength, agility, a change in the body's circadian rhythm to be more awake at night (when most predators hunt), and much, much more.
Believers of this 'new retrovirus' will often cite the Mayan calendar and various other astronomical charts from different cultures, stating that they predicted, "a great change," in the year 2012, and that this change they mentioned could very well be the next step in human evolution – a new endogenous retrovirus.
This retrovirus would be passed on through the offspring of the infected, and could likewise be transferred via a blood transfusion to infect others. The virus would then force the new host to undergo the changes it was programmed to inflict until there are no further changes to be made and its purpose has been fulfilled. It is theorized that this state of "fulfillment" is vampyrism.
One individual with whom I spoke took this a step further, even, so as to say that this is why we Hunger for blood, and it must be said that it is definitely one of the most logical reasons I have heard thus far. This individual's theory for our need for blood was that it is what is needed to "fuel" the retrovirus and the changes it must make to our DNA. Our bodies would begin to enjoy these changes and, consequentially, become addicted to them – dependent on them even, and would therefore not allow them to cease so easily. When the retrovirus became weak, our bodies would induce upon us the symptoms of the Hunger, telling us to Feed; to nourish the virus so that it may continue to advance our bodies to the next step in evolution.
The Real World Disagrees
Unfortunately for fans of the "Vampire Virus," there are many, many, many kinks in the hypothesis.
For one, viruses act without the necessity of nourishment.
For another, it is not yet 2012, but is, in fact, quite far from it.
Also, if it were endogenous, as many claim, it would have spread so widely by now that everybody would have it, and, therefore, be a vampyre. No matter how you look at it, it's a mathematical impossibility.
This is blindingly obvious since if we were to assume that it is the cause of vampyrism it would have had to have been around for thousands and thousands of years, equivalent to the age of the earliest vampyre.
Even if we were to assume that vampyrism has only been around for a few brief decades –although there is ample evidence to prove otherwise–, approximately half (at least) of the earth's population would have contracted the virus by now, and since we have (supposedly) decoded the entire human genome recently, we would have noticed it by now, especially since it would only show up in some individuals (vampyres) and not others.
One could argue, "Well, this is a special kind of retrovirus because nothing of this scale has ever occured before," but I sincerely hope that you, the reader, realize how childish this argument sounds, especially in light of the fact that retrovirologists, themselves, state quite firmly that things of this scale have, indeed, occured in the past – the evolution of every single species on earth is a pretty large-scale development if you ask me. Immaturity aside, it has been proven that viruses do not require nourishment – this is why they are so lethal and are so difficult, if not impossible, to eradicate. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a beautiful example of this.
Of course, they would then argue, "Well, then it's something else," to which I reply, "Well now, didn't you just state quite adamantly that it was a retrovirus and make dozens of web pages and blogs providing alleged 'proof' of why it is such a thing? Well, what is it then if it's not a retrovirus? Oh, you don't know? Well, then it would appear that you are now in the same boat as the rest of us, as well as without any legitimate reason as to how this could even remotely resemble a retrovirus."
Harbinger3_DR
Another item that believers of the "V5 Virus" like to mention is the Harbinger3_DR. In lay man's terms, the Harbinger3_DR enters a host, scurries along the DNA fixing anything and everything that's wrong with it, and cuts-and-pastes pieces of DNA to make them better, and is even quite capable of cutting itself out of the genome itself, continuing onward in its journey to make every single strand of DNA 'perfect.' My comment on the Harbinger3_DR? That's pretty damn cool.
There's just one minor (actually it's pretty major) problem with the theory that this gene has anything to do with vampyrism: "...the Harbinger3_DR gene is extinct in humans, but zebra fish contain a version of the transposon." [Scientific American] Well then, by the looks of it unless vampyres are zebra fish (*checks for gills* nope, no gills on me) we're out of luck. Incidentally, so are fans of the Harbinger3_DR somehow magically contributing to the so-called, "Vampire Virus."
Ironically enough, the above quote is in the abstract of the article so it's pretty hard to miss. Even if we were to assume they skipped over that, it is also re-stated in the third sentence of the paper. Let's go even further so as to say that they missed that too or perhaps overlooked it entirely simply because it didn't work in their favor –that's fine–, the paper is about gene therapy. Yes, that's right, this is what it's all about:
"'The reason we chose Harbinger3_DR was this unexpectedly specific insertion site,' [...] 'We were hoping to use this [reincarnated] element for later studies, to understand how it selects this specific target site,'" because, "modern scientists would love to master its secrets so they could more precisely control where genes introduced for gene therapy incorporate themselves into a patient's DNA strand," due to the fact that, "inactivated viruses are currently the only means of permanently inserting a new gene into a patient's DNA, but the viruses integrate fairly randomly into the host genome."
How people can take a paper about studying safer and more efficient ways to control genes in gene therapy (especially since dormant viruses are often currently used and, "Viral insertion into critical genes has triggered lethal leukemias in several gene therapy recipients," and, "Rarely, viruses can also regain their ability to reproduce, posing a risk of becoming infectious.") and turn it into something about vampyres being injected with a rogue zombie strand of Harbinger3_DR and have it running around making their DNA "perfect" (we may be conceited at times, but to say we're perfect on a genetic level!?) is beyond me. It really seems like these people are grasping for straws.
All of the above quotes were taken from Scientific American. If you can't access it, scroll to the bottom of this article for help with finding the source, or view the PDF of the whole magazine here: Scientific American magazine. The information regarding Harbinger3_DR is located on pages 24-26.]
Vampire Virus and its Roots in Media
Oh, and lest I forget to mention this last little bit of information, here it is: http://web.archive.org/web/20030912124237/http://v5.gq.nu/site.html, the worst nightmare of all believers in the, "Vampire Virus."
You see, the entire idea of vampyrism being caused by a virus was thanks to a very imaginative TV series creator, named Joe Ahearne. Joe Ahearne is the creator of the (no longer running) television mini-series "Ultraviolet" in which mankind is destroying itself as they advance in technological discoveries, such as the atom and hydrogen bombs, as well as grow more and more foolish so as to allow the spread of AIDS to become that of a low-grade epidemic and destroy the planet upon which they live. The main storyline of the series was about vampires re-gaining control of their food source (humans) after allowing them to live to their own devices for so long.
In the series, the vampires were called, "Code V's," while the particular genetic vampirism-causing strain was labeled, "Code Five." From this it is fairly easy to see where the term, "V5," was derived from. Coincidentally enough, "V5," is by far the most commonly used term in place of the words, "Vampire Virus." In fact, it is also quite common to see them paired together.
Still don't believe it was just a television series? Well then, take a gander at the IMDB profile for "Ultraviolet."
In short, the so-called, "Vampire Virus," is a fake, a sham, a lie, and a hoax.
Sources
http://www.vampirewebsite.net
http://www.retrovirology.com/content/3/1/67
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/thegrieves/transfer/200807.pdf
http://www.nocturnalvoices.com/vampires/real-vampires/384-v5-virus
http://www.world-productions.com/wp/content/shows/other/uv/uvhome.htm
http://vwxynot.blogspot.com/2007/06/endogenous-retroviruses-and-evidence.html
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2006/12/19/human-endogenous-retroviruses
http://www.fairiesvampires.com/forum/topics/what-are-your-points-of-view?x=1&id=2033374%3ATopic%3A3045725&page=3
Soares, C. (2008). Ancient gene, new tricks. Scientific American, 299(1), 24-26. ISSN: 00368733
iOS 10's Invisible Ink Feature Is Stealthy AF — Here's How to Send a Hidden Message By Melanie Ehrenkranz June 15, 201617:16 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 345
Apple teased the future of messaging during its Worldwide Developer Conference this week. The iOS 10 update is going to change the way you text (and sext) — and one feature in particular, Invisible Ink, looks damn cool if you're into discretion.
Invisible Ink lets you message words or a photo that look like scattered dots until you swipe over it, revealing the hidden message. After the recipient opens it, it'll default back to the mass of flecks. Covert as hell. One way this could've been more covert is if Apple required your fingerprint to open the messages.
Note: If you've downloaded iOS 10 and Invisible Ink isn't working for you, there's a simple solution.
iOS 10's Invisible Ink Feature Is Stealthy AF — Here's How to Send a Hidden Message
Source: Apple
It's not like Snapchat — the message doesn't destruct after reading — but it doesn't remain visible for long. You'll have to keep swiping over the dots to read it, so if you want to keep personal messages obfuscated (nudes), Invisible Ink affords you more discretion than your average iMessage.
iOS 10's Invisible Ink Feature Is Stealthy AF — Here's How to Send a Hidden Message
How to send a message with Invisible InkSource: YouTube
Here's how to send an invisible ink message with iOS 10:
Type out your message or choose the photo you want to send.
Then 3D Touch, push it real good, the send arrow to pull up the new bubble effect options.
From there, you can choose the invisible ink feature. Press that, and it'll apply the inconspicuous effect to your message.
iOS 10's Invisible Ink Feature Is Stealthy AF — Here's How to Send a Hidden Message
How to send a message with Invisible InkSource: YouTube
Use it wisely.
The Elegant Lady... A true encounter I experienced when beginning a new job...15:55 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 349
I recently took on a new job and was through my training phase as a server at an exceptional Italian Restaurant. I had taken my first table and was filling their order of beverages. I had reached into a crate of green glasses, and had my right hand on the butt end of the glass. The glass shattered and pierced my thumb and finger with a huge shard of glass. I immediately pulled my hand away and made my way back to the kitchen to see a Manager for first aid supplies. The blood was dripping down my arm, and the Manager was no where to be seen... Just then, a beautiful woman, with her hair up in a French twist: motioned me back into the office area and handed me the supplies I needed. She also pulled out a large blue bandage and handed it to me... She pointed to a hand-washing sink, and when I turned back to her to thank her, she was GONE... Seeing the blood now pelting the floor, I presumed to take care of my throbbing injury and clean up the bio-hazard mess, and used the blue bandage. It was a perfect fit. I donned a glove and continued on with my day noting to myself that after shift I would properly thank her. Several Servers asked me what happened, and where did I get the blue bandage? They had never seen that before... I told them the "Elegant Lady" had given it to me, and they all had the same reaction... Pale faced and smiling, they told me that few ever get to see her, and even less to speak with her. They stated that she appears in times of great need and then vanishes.... None know her name, or what she did in life, although I suspect that she was a Nurse of some kind based on her reaction to me. She knew exactly what I needed....
Her apparition to me was solid, as you would see a normal mortal. but much much more beautiful... she had an ethereal beauty. I have been there now for a few months, and have felt her nearby, but no emergency has occurred and she remains in the shadows... I hope one day to properly thank her for the assistance she gave me. I acknowledge her every day I work.... She makes me smile... and obviously feel a bit safer knowing she is around should something happen....:)
VAMPIRE FILES... Incomplete at this point...
15:35 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 350
A quick note to readers: Currently this page is extremely incomplete so please bare with us as our research goes on.
I have been directed to conduct this research on the behalf of IT'S AN UNDEAD WORLD AFTER ALL. I will not provide my name nor does UNDEAD WORLD know my name. I am an independent journalist subcontracted threw an unnamed third party to conduct this research. hence forth I will be referring to myself by the moniker of willing/unwilled. With that said, let me start by saying this research has taken me down some dark roads and I have met some characters who are beyond belief. Some where nothing more than silly fools with dangerous practices, while others, haunt my nightmares regularly. Weather it's just in my mind or it's the malevolent extension of their control over me, I may never know.
Willing/Unwilled.
Before we go to deep into Vampire types, one needs to understand their are two basic types initially. All other Vampire types are sub-types of the basic two, Physical and Nonphysical Vampires.
Physical: Physical Vampires require a tangible substances like blood for nourishment and are generally the result of the V retrovirus. Note: this does not limit them to only obtaining sustenance from blood.
Nonphysical: Nonphysical Vampires require intangible substances like emotions or a soul for nourishment and are the result of years of study and practice of the arcane and/or mental discipline. For the most part they are normal humans or non-terrestrial beings with extraordinary abilities and lack the weaknesses of physical vampires.
Hybrid: Hybrid vampires are a combination of the physical and nonphysical vampire types. Most who consider themselves physical vampires are in fact hybrids.
One should note at this point that not all vampires are undead but they are mentioned here for continuity sake.
The science of the Vampire virus
V Retrovirus: is an RNA virus that is replicated in a host autosome cell via the enzyme reverse transcriptase to produce DNA from its RNA genome. The DNA is then incorporated into the host's genome by an integrase enzyme. The virus thereafter replicates as part of the host cells DNA. The V retrovirus is an enveloped viruses that belongs to the viral family Retrovampiridae.
A special variant of the V virus is the androgynous V virus which is integrated into the genome of the host and inherited across generations. Examples of this are Sanguine Vampires and Genetic Vampires.
The virus itself stores its nucleic acid in the form of a +mRNA (including the 5'cap and 3'PolyA inside the virion) genome and serves as a means of delivery of that genome into cells it targets as an obligate parasite, and constitutes the infection. Once in the host's cell, the RNA strands undergo reverse transcription in the cytoplasm and are integrated into the host's genome, at which point the V-retroviral DNA is referred to as a necrovirus. It is difficult to detect the virus until it has infected the host and symptoms of the virus physically manifest.
In most viruses, DNA is transcribed into RNA, and then RNA is translated into protein. However, the V-retroviruses function differently - their RNA is reverse-transcribed into DNA, which is integrated into the host cell's genome (when it becomes a necrovirus), and then undergoes the usual transcription and translational processes to express the genes carried by the virus. Therefore, the order of steps from a V-retroviral gene to a necrovirus is: RNA → DNA → RNA → Necro V-virus.
Necrovirus: is a virus genome that is integrated into the DNA of a host autosome cell.
This state can be a stage of virus replication, or a state that persists over longer period of time, either inactive V-viral infection or endogenous V-retrovirus. In inactive V-viral infections the virus will not replicate itself but through replication of its host cell. This state can last over many host cell generations. Endogenous V-retroviruses are always in the state of a necrovirus.
When a (nonendogenous) V-retrovirus invades a cell, the RNA of the retrovirus is reverse-transcribed into DNA by reverse transcriptase, then inserted into the host genome by an integrase such as with Revananent Vampires.
A necrovirus does not directly make new DNA copies of itself while integrated into a host genome in this way. Instead, it is passively replicated along with the host genome and passed on to the original cell's offspring; all descendants of the infected cell will also bear necroviruses in their genomes. Integration can result in a latent infection or a productive infection. In a productive infection, the necrovirus is transcribed into messenger RNA which directly produces new virus, which in turn will infect other cells. A latent infection results when the necrovirus is transcriptionally silent rather than active.
A latent infection may become productive in response to changes in the host's environmental conditions or health, the necrovirus may be activated and begin transcription of its viral genome. This can result in the destruction of its host cell because the cell's protein synthesis machinery is hijacked to produce more viruses. an example of such cellular activity are Genetic Vampires.
It is thought that necrovirus may account for approximately 8% of the Sanguine genome in the form of inherited endogenous V-retroviruses.
VAMPIRE TYPES
Astral vampires (nonphysical): are vampires that are able to travel through the astral plane and feed off of the life-force energies of other entities within the astral plane, and/or they are able to materialize in astral form and feed off the life-force energies of people that are usually asleep. astral vampires are able to enter into a person's dream, and feed from the life-force energies within the dream. They can be invisible observers in the dream, or they can manifest themselves within the dream. Some are able to influence the course of the dream. There are also creatures known as Chit who are considered to be an example of astral Vampires, Chit are known to be able to posses a person not unlike demonic possession. They are said to posses those who are weak in spirit and mind or an individual who gives himself over freely in the belief that this possession will grant them power. Well it doesn't, so don't do it! All it does is give these things free roam of our plane of existence and the forfeit of your soul or what ever makes you, you. Really a bad idea.
Elemental Vampires (nonphysical/ PHYSICAL) : are vampires that are able to feed on the life force energies of the elements; earth, wind, fire, and water. Some will say that elemental vampires are elementalists who are able to manipulate elemental energies and then convert those energies into consumable life-force energies. Others will say that elemental vampires feed directly from elemental life-force energies. There are also those that will say that vampires who feed on life-force energies from plants and animals are also elemental vampires. However, there are those that distinguish such vampires as nature vampires. Another method of feeding often considered a subcategory or specialization of elemental feeding is electrical feeding; the indirect feeding on energies in electrical fields and lightning. Others will distinguish such vampires as electrical vampires.
Empathic Vampire (nonphysical): These are vampires that feed on strong emotions, such as anger, love, fear, rage, happiness, or they will provide little to no sustenance for the vampire. Like the Psi Vampires, Empathic Vampires do not need to have physical contact with their victim, but physical contact will increase the potency of their feeding. Unlike the Psi Vampires, however, Empathic Vampires do not need to have eye contact with their victims, they simply need to be standing within five meters of the person, or people, on which that are ‘feeding’.Some may even be known to start fights, just so they can feed from the emotions it causes. Empathic Vampires can feed from a single source or from a group of sources, it all depends on personal preference. They are less likely to kill their food source than other vampires, but can leave the human source completely drained of emotion. Sometimes, this lack of emotion will kill a human, as a main part of humanity is emotional function.
Genetic Vampires (physical): Are Vampires born of at least one Vampire parent. The parents of the vampire will be a human and a true vampire, both genetic vampires or a human and a genetic vampire.Their weaknesses and abilities is dependent on the Vampire parents type and dilution of the vampire blood line. Even this does not give certainty of what to expect. the vampire trait tends to lay dormant inside them until their body reaches the late stages of puberty, or releases a chemical which awakens the xv chromosome and begins many physical changes in the body. As a result of this, most Inheritors look around 19 - 20 years old their whole life. Inheritor vampires live to around the age of 350-400 years old.
Hybrid Vampire: Hybrids are a mix of both nonphysical and physical Vampires. They have many of the Psi abilities that a Psi vampire has, and can also gain energy from consuming blood. [they are the highest of ranks in the vampire world]
malkavian vampire (varies): They are basically vampires who suffer from mental illnesses, or are considered to be insane by the rest of the community. However, they just have a different outlook on life, and most of the time they are not dangerous.
Nightwalker (physical): This type of vampire is almost exstinct. The reason for this is that they do not have the healing of the Genetic or Revanent vampires. They do not have the speed, or even the life span of the ageless vampires. Infact, they are more human than vampire. They only live for about 100 years, they do not have the healing like the other "immortals", and their speed is the same as a human. However, they do have the need to feed, just like any other physical vampire, and are also extremely sensitive to sunlight.
Nosferatu Vampire (physical): When a human or vampire is turned, the body tries to fight the infection. In the case of the Nosferatu vampires, the body got the upper hand. This caused the virus to alter itself, thus allowing for it to survive in the new host, causing the vampire's body to be extremely disfigured. From what I have heard, the Nosferatu are derived from Revanent, Night walkers, and Genetic vampires. They are turned, not born.
Psionic Vampire (nonphysical) : a vampire that derives their power from non-physical energy, rather than blood. They drain energy from memories, thoughts and other life forces of mortals to replace their own life force. It is like recharging a battery. They do not need to have physical contact with their victim, though the feeding process is stronger with physical contact. They must have eye contact with their victim, whether they have physical contact or not. Once this eye contact has been established, the human finds in very hard, if not impossible to break eye contact until their captor releases them.
Some will also refer to psi vampires as pranic vampires, derived from the term prana, a Sanskrit term literally translated as life-force energy.
Given the energies on which they feed, it is very easy for a Psi vampire to kill their prey, especially if the human suffers from mental instability, is sick or has a serious physical injury.
Renfield Vampire (physical): These are humans who have a blood fetish, and who often get called vampires by other humans. They do not have a need to feed, but simply enjoy the taste of blood, or are excited by the sight, smell and taste of blood
Renfield's Syndrome, also called clinical vampirism, is a rare psychiatric disorder in which the sufferer feels a compulsion to consume blood. The disorder, identified by clinical psychologist Richard Noll in 1992, does not appear in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). According to current psychiatric terminology, Renfield's Syndrome is classified as schizophrenia or paraphilia.
Renfield's Syndrome is named after the character Renfield in Bram Stoker's 1887 novel Dracula. Renfield is a mental patient who consumes flies in the belief that he will absorb their life force. Eventually, he begins feeding flies to spiders and spiders to birds, then consuming the birds, to obtain a greater concentration of life force. People who suffer from Renfield's Syndrome commonly believe that they obtain some sort of power or strength through the consumption of blood.
Sufferers of Renfield's Syndrome are overwhelmingly male. The disorder is typically sparked by an event in childhood in which the sufferer associates the sight or taste of blood with excitement. During puberty, the feelings of attraction to blood become sexual in nature.
Renfield's Syndrome typically follows three stages.
In the first, autovampirism or autohemophagia, the sufferer drinks his own blood, often cutting himself in order to do so.
The second stage is zoophagia, which consists of eating live animals or drinking their blood. Obtaining animal blood from a butcher or slaughterhouse for consumption also falls into this stage.
In the third stage, true vampirism, the sufferer's attention is turned to other human beings. He may steal blood from hospitals or blood banks, or drink blood directly from a living person. Some people with Renfield's Syndrome commit violent crimes, including murder, after entering this stage.
Though Renfield's Syndrome is newly named and has not yet been accepted into the DSM, it is not a new disorder. Noll noted apparent references to the disorder in German psychiatrist Richard van Krafft-Ebing's 1886 text Psychopathia Sexualis and speculated that Stoker may have been familiar with Krafft-Ebing's work.
Sexual vampires (nonphysical/PHYSICAL): are vampires who feed on the life-force energies generated from having sex, especially the excess energies generated at the moment of orgasm. They can do so psychically and/or from bodily fluids. Female sexual vampires are sometimes referred to as succubi (singularly, succubus), and male sexual vampires are sometime referred to as incubi (singularly, incubus). Some will also refer to sexual vampires as tantric vampires. Others will refer to sexual vampires as pranic vampires. There is sometimes debate within the vampire community if referring to sexual vampires as pranic vampires is correct or not as there are some within the vampire community that refer to psi vampires as pranic vampires, which could lead to some confusion when talking about pranic vampires. Those that support referring to sexual vampires as pranic vampires argue that pranic energies and prana are two different things, and that pranic energies are energies related to sex while prana is just life-force energies. There are those that think the use of the labels tantric and pranic in reference to sexual vampires is an attempt by some within the vampire community at political correctness who feel that the term sexual vampire is derogatory and/or offensive or simply think that tantric and pranic "sound" better than sexual. However, it is also possible that those who use tantric or pranic when talking about sexual vampires are doing so to differentiate them from any link to behavioral psychology which seems to also be co-opting the term sexual vampire to describe a person who has a psychological need for attention (much like a psychic vaire) through sex.
Soul Vampires - Soul Suckers (nonphysical):A Soul Vampire feed on the souls of Human beings. The feeding process is the most intimate of all vampire species, as the vampire must be kissing, or be within close proximity to their victim. They literally suck the soul from their victims.. They have no other option but to take the whole soul of their victim, and while doing this, they learn everything there is about their human victim, everything from memories to skills. As a result of soul feeding, soul vampires will sometimes gain some or all of the abilities of the person they are feeding from. Soul vampires will also sometimes receive memories, thoughts and desires of the person that they are feeding from. Soul vampires are also sometimes referred to as soul devourers.
Once the soul as been consumed by the Vampire, it cannot leave pass on to the next realm, whether that be heaven, hell or otherwise. It will however, escape the Vampire’s body over the course of a week and once that week is up, the soul can finally move of to its afterlife realm, and the vampire needs to feed again.
If the human on which they have chosen to feed is unwilling, it can be very hard for the Soul Vampire to take their soul, though they are sometimes able to force the Human into a kiss or to open their mouth so that they may suck the soul from them.
Social Vampire (nonphysical) : social vampire is very much like a sexual vampire, except they feed on social energy, rather than sexual energy. A social vampire will tend to be the type of person who loves to be the center of attention, and cannot stand to be alone or ignored by others.
Revenants (physical) : is an animated corpse that survives by drinking the blood of the living. It also has a demonic nature and is a servant of Satan, dedicated to spreading its evil throughout the world. Bram Stocker added many desirable traits to the vampire, and the myth was later explored and refined by numerous artists and philosophers. The body of a Revenant is technically dead by human standards. It can be said that a Revenant’s body is in a state of arrested decay, animated by a supernatural force or spirit residing in its corporeal form, and kept vital by some magical energy that some refer as ichor. Revenants usually appear as "normal" humans do, unless they are aroused by bloodlust or enraged. In such cases, the appearance of two, reticulating canine-like fangs may be seen; accompanied by red eyes and a rather predacious countenance. They can shape-shift, forming animals or mist. They reproduce by draining their victims of blood repeatedly, during which an infection sets in that may or may not kill the victim. If the victim dies, they will usually rise from the grave as a vampire.
Sanguine vampires (physical): (or sanguinarians) are vampires who feed by drinking blood. Unlike Revanents Sanguine are alive and procreate like humans. Legends tell of Lilith, Adam of the bibles first wife, and Adam where the prodigeners of the Sanguine race. Still other tales claim it was a union between Adams son Cain and Lilith that sired the race but the Cain and Lilith scenario is more geared towards Revanent Vampires. It is not the blood itself that the Sanguine are feeding on. It is the life-force energy contained within the blood. Blood drinking is arguably the most potent form of feeding on life-force energy, and many sanguinarians can thrive for many weeks from a single feeding. (A single feeding is often about an ounce or two of blood taken from a willing donor.) Sanguinarians often describe blood drinking as a very fulfilling, very powerful and somewhat intoxicating experience. It also tends to be a rather intimate form of feeding. . However, Sanguinarians do not live much longer then the average human being.
Wannabe's: These are humans who want to be vampires. Most of the time they are 16-years-old kids who watch a lot of vampire movies, and think it would be "cool" to be a vampire. However, there are some people who are serious about wanting to be turned, who are in their 20's - 30's, and who know what they want and what they are getting themselves into. (aka, people who go "vampire" because of the Twilight book/movie, and all the other vampire novels.)
Vampire Time Lines Article... a Good Read...15:33 Oct 02 2016
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140 A.D; LONGINUS, ROMES VAMPIRE EMPEROR.
During the early days of the Roman Empire, vampires were hunted and destroyed by an elite squad of the Legion. The Roman ability to control vampires was widely respected and made it easier for them to colonize far flung nations. Captured vampires were brought to the the Coliseum in Rome, where they fought lions, tigers and Christians in nighttime battles.
A frequent spectator at these contests was the young Emperor Longinus, who began his reign in AD 68 at the age of 17. Longinus' favorite was Brittanicus, who was captured in England in AD 65 and had developed a formidable record as a vampire-gladiator. Against the advice of his Praetorian bodyguards, Longinus had Brittanicus installed in a lavish suite inside the palace. One night, Longinus paid his guest a visit and the inevitable happened: Longinus was bitten and became Rome's first vampire emperor.
The vampire emperor's short reign over Rome was disastrous. The Praetorian Guards who had defended Longinus were expelled from the Palace, and vampires became protected throughout the Empire. Longinus and Brittanicus led other vampires on nightly hunting parties through the streets of Rome. Vampirism, which had previously been contained within Rome, exploded.
Facing a dire future, the expelled Praetorian Guards took it upon themselves to save the Empire. On a warm summer morning in AD 69, about a dozen Praetorians burst into the palace. The vampires, drowsy and bloated from the previous night's feast, were easy pickings and the Praetorians methodically dispatched them, saving Longinus for last. He was decapitated, and his head was stuck on a pole outside the city gates as a warning to any vampires who might want to venture into Rome.
773 A.D. CHARLEMAGNE DEFEATS QUADILLA THE VAMPIRE.
The decline of the Roman Empire left Europe in a turbulent state. In an absence of any central authority, the countryside was overrun by a series of vampire armies, each more terrifying than the last. The armies, generally consisting of between 50 and 100 vampires, would swoop into towns on horseback in the dead of night, howling with bloodlust. The only saving grace for the people of Europe was the limited range of these armies, as it was difficult for them to stray far from their daylight havens. But in the Ninth Century, a charismatic leader named Quadilla united a number of vampire armies into a mobile, fearsome fighting force that had many in Europe believing the end of the world was nigh.
Quadilla grew up riding horses and tending goats and sheep on a farm near the Po River in northern Italy. His bucolic upbringing came to an abrupt end at age 16, when a corrupt local priest confiscated his family's property. The evicted family had the distinct misfortune of settling in a gypsy camp shortly before it was set upon by a small vampire army. Quadilla's parents were killed; he was bitten, then taken away to join the army.
Quadilla quickly distinguished himself as a great horseman and fearless warrior whose ambitions outpaced the limited scope of his precursors. Quadilla envisioned himself as the leader of a vampire empire stretching from Gibraltar to the Danube. With his great skills as an orator, Quadilla was able to convince local vampire armies to join his cause. After winning important victories against the Lombards, the army began a slow, inexorable march down the Italian peninsula toward Quadilla's ultimate goal: the papal leadership in Rome.
Quadilla's offensive was greatly aided by the Italian topography. Each night, he would raid a village for blood, then take shelter in the numerous caves of the Apennine Mountains. Remindful of the corrupt priest who took his boyhood home, Quadilla saved special cruelty for houses of worship. He plundered monasteries and left the heads of priests impaled on stakes outside the churches. These horrific displays convinced many that Quadilla was the Devil himself, and that the advances of his army represented the end of the world prophesied in the bible.
In December of 772, Quadilla's army took Siena, leaving it only 150 miles from Rome. As the Italian capital swelled with refugees, the stories of Quadilla took on an outsized, mythological scale. Eyewitnesses told of a ten-foot-tall, fire-breathing man with horns, cloven hoofs and a tail. While none of these stories were true, they surely unnerved Pope Hadrian II. The Pope, facing desertions in his own army, sent envoys to the Frankish Kingdom of the north to ask the young king Charlemagne for help.
Though Charlemagne had come to power only two years earlier, at age 29, the six-foot-six-inch King of the Franks already had ambitions to match his towering frame. He wanted nothing less than to rule Europe, and he knew that having the imprimatur of the Pope would help him greatly in his quest. He told the papal envoys that he would take his men into Italy as soon as the snows melted.
In the spring of 773, Charlemagne led his army across the Alps into Italy. He followed the coast south and made camp along the Tiber River north of Rome, not far from the site of Quadilla's most recent assault. Charlemagne had planned to use the camp as a base from which to conduct sorties into the mountains, but Quadilla had different ideas. That night, the vampire army attacked the camp and inflicted heavy losses on Charlemagne's army before retreating back to their caves.
As the day dawned, Charlemagne surveyed the wreckage of his camp and realized he could not fight the vampires by conventional means. After breaking his army up into smaller groups and setting them in defensive positions in the hills, he sent his most experienced vampire hunters into the mountains to conduct reconnaissance. That night, the men located the vampire cave network, and as soon as the sun came up, Charlemagne led his army there. Rather than send his men stumbling blindly into the dark caves, Charlemagne had them heap timber onto modified horse carts, light the pile on fire and roll the carts into the caves. The plan worked beautifully: vampires were smoked out into the light and beheaded by the hundreds.
Working from cave to cave, it took four days for Charlemagne's army to kill the last of the vampires. Quadilla himself fought gallantly; though effectively rendered blind by the bright sun, he killed over 20 soldiers before Charlemagne dispatched him with a blow from his sword.
On Christmas Day, 773, a grateful Pope crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in the city he had saved. During Charlemagne's 47-year reign, Europe enjoyed a relative respite from vampire armies. The fire carts Charlemagne had improvised lasted even longer; they were employed against vampires well into the Eighteenth Century.
In 1974, a team of Italian archaeologists discovered a huge cache of artifacts in caves near the Tiber. Among the finds were armor and weapons bearing the broken cross symbol peculiar to Quadilla's army. A museum was built nearby to house the relics and honor the men who saved the seat of Christianity from a grisly fate.
1530 A.D. LUDOVICO FATINELLI
During the Middle Ages, the scientific study of vampirism was tangled up in religious notions of good versus evil. Vampires were the Devil's foot soldiers, and victims of vampirism were thought to have had some sort of moral failing which left them vulnerable to attack. The large number of prostitute-victims was held up as proof of this. The church, at perhaps the zenith of its power, had a vested interest in keeping this notion afloat, as nervous worshipers tended to spend more time in church and give more money. But the dawn of the Renaissance gave rise to a number of visionary scientists who, at their own peril, began to question previous assumptions about vampirism. And one of them, an Italian named Ludovico Fatinelli, paid for it with his life.
Fatinelli was a native of Florence whose father was employed in the relatively new profession of making eyeglasses. The young Fatinelli took an interest in his father's trade and made his own magnifying glasses to study the world around him. As his lenses got more sophisticated, he was able to discern a world previously unknown to science. His notes from a look at a sample of water from the Arno River capture the excitement of discovery: "I then saw, with great wonder, that in the water were very many little animalcules, very prettily a-moving. The animalcules were in great number, and oft times spun around like a tail." Fatinelli had taken the first recorded look at bacteria.
The young Florentine went on to study medicine at the University of Padua, where one of his teachers was the great scientist and philosopher Galileo Gallilei. While there, Fatinelli, through the use of increasingly more sophisticated microscopes, discovered that "animalcules" also appeared to live in human tissue. From these observations, the young scientist developed the radical theory that it was these microscopic entities, not moral failures, that were the real source of vampirism. Experiments on animals seemed to bolster his hypothesis, and he set to work on a treatise that would summarize his findings and, he hoped, establish his reputation as a great scientist.
In Januay, 1616, Fatinelli published his findings under the title, Treatise on Vampires. Alas, his timing couldn't have been worse. Pope Paul V, worried about the rise of Protestantism, had been taking a hard line against any new interpretation of church dogma and decided to make Fatinelli an example. The young man was brought up for the Inquisition, and when he refused to recant the conclusions in his treatise, he was charged with heresy and brought to trial. Though a simple recantation probably could have gotten him off the hook, Fatinelli stood behind his findings. Judgment was swift: the verdict was guilty, the sentence, death.
On April 23, 1616, a huge crowd gathered in Florence's Piazza Signoria to witness the execution. Fatinelli was tied to a pole atop a pile of logs, which were then set ablaze. The fire ate through the rope securing Fatinelli to the pole, and his left arm flew up in the air. A shriek went through the crowd; many fainted, thinking that the Devil was passing a curse from Fatinelli's body onto them. But the man on the pyre was only flesh and blood. Once the spectacle was over, one of the most important scientists of the time was ignominiously heaved into a pauper's grave, where the church hoped he would be forgotten forever.
It was not to be. Though Fatinelli was gone, his research lived on. For years after his death, illicit copies of his banned treatise made their way through Europe's scientific communities and helped pave the way for important work by scientists like the Englishman Edward Jenner, who created the first vaccine in 1795. Fatinelli had indeed been far ahead of his time: too far ahead, for the church's comfort.
1607 A.D. SHIP OF THE DEAD BRINGS
VAMIPRES TO THE NEW WORLD
The voyage of the British merchant ship Cormorant from Portsmouth, England, to the Caribbean island of Nevis had special meaning for Andrew Oglethorpe. After ten years as a sailor, Oglethorpe had decided to call it quits and live out his days as a fisherman in the British West Indies. And so, on June 15, 1607, the night before his last voyage, Oglethorpe set up shop in a Portsmouth pub and drank to his good fortune.
It wasn't to last. As Oglethorpe staggered toward the docks an hour or so before dawn, a prostitute called to him from the shadows. Inebriated, and facing three months at sea with no female companionship, Oglethorpe eagerly followed her into a dark alley, ignoring the old seafarer's maxim: harlot for hire, might be vampire. No sooner had they found a private spot than the prostitute sunk her fangs into him, and Andrew Oglethorpe's dream of a life of tropical ease was over before it started.
Like many victims of vampirism, Oglethorpe chose to deny what had happened. He boarded the Cormorant and assumed his duties as the ship left port under the direction of Captain Horatio Wheeler. By nightfall, Oglethorpe was in sick bay with a fever and chills. As Oglethorpe's wounds were not easily visible, the ship surgeon probably confused his symptoms with one of the more common ailments of the day. Eventually, Oglethorpe slipped into a vampiric coma; he was being prepared for burial at sea when he came back to life.
The fate of the crew would have been left to the imagination had Captain Wheeler not been an assiduous journal-keeper. Entries in his log became increasingly ominous as the journey progressed.
August 24th: "For the past three days, we have been sailing through a storm, which has prevented us from continuing a sweep of the ship designed to root out any remaining vampires. Thus far, we have captured and thrown overboard three crew members who were showing signs of the dread disease."
September 14th: "The vampires have barricaded themselves in the hold and, despite my entreaties, none of my crew dares go down there to dispatch them. Our nerves are frayed, as none of us have slept for two weeks. Last night, a man leaped off the boat rather than face another night of this torment."
September 16th: "They are at my door now. There is no hope. I can only pray that God dash this accursed ship against the rocks, lest it deliver its hellish cargo upon some innocent shores."
The captain's wishes would not be met. On the night of September 20th, Cormorant cruised into the harbor of the small Caribbean island of Nevis with Captain Wheeler, now a vampire, at the helm. Native islanders paddled out on canoes to greet the ship, unaware of the awful surprise waiting on board.
From this one ship, the vampire virus would spread rapidly across the Caribbean and the New World. The disaster prompted an overhaul of shipping procedures. Henceforth, all sailors were given thorough physical examinations before boarding.
1842 Vampire investigation bureau established
England's Vampire Investigative Bureau, the world's first and longest serving undead abatement force, was the model for the FVZA and many other organizations across the globe.
The seeds for the VIB were planted in London during the 18th Century, when the city's steep rise in vampirism forced civic leaders to offer substantial rewards for slaying vampires. Mercenary vampire hunters patrolled the streets from sunset to sunrise, collecting five to ten pounds for each vampire they destroyed. Unfortunately, the system was rife with corruption, as many slayers developed too close a relationship with the vampire underworld of London and took bribes for looking the other way or for putting the squeeze on a rival vampire pack.
In 1842, Prime Minister Robert Peel formally established the Vampire Investigation Bureau. Requirements for investigators were minimal at first:
* To be over 21 and under 27 years of age.
* To stand clear 5ft 9ins without shoes or stockings.
* To be able to read well, write legibly and have a fair knowledge of spelling.
* To be generally intelligent and free from any bodily complaint.
Investigators walked beats during the night, armed only with a cutlass. As newer divisions were established in the outer suburbs, the beats became longer and the danger increased, since much of the territory was open fields between residential areas, leaving lone investigators easy prey for roving vampire packs.
Like the FVZA, the VIB in its early incarnation was hardly a model force. Drunkenness and desertion were high. The VIB also was limited by a rivalry with the Metropolitan Police. In the late 1880s, several women were brutally murdered in the Whitechapel area of city. Even though the attacks bore evidence of the work of vampires, the Metropolitan Police refused to hand the case over to the VIB, insisting that the perpetrator was a man. Finally, after a dozen known murders (and probably many more that were undiscovered), the VIB took over the case. VIB officers conducted several raids in the Whitechapel area and destroyed a number of vampires, including Wentworth Smith, a suspicious lodger given to "nocturnal wanderings." While most people believe to this day that the Whitechapel killings were the work of Jack the Ripper, evidence is overwhelming that the murders were in fact the work of a vampire.
Consider the following:
* The murders all took place in the evening.
* Most of the victims were known prostitutes, a favorite vampire target.
* There was a surprising lack of blood around the bodies of several victims.
* Police found body parts in the areas of the murders, including a torso under a railway arch and another torso in the cellar of a new police building under construction. Vampires often will tear victims apart after feeding.
* The murderer sent police half of a human kidney in the mail, along with a note stating that he had eaten the other half. The body of another victim was missing a heart. Vampires have a fondness for gnawing on human internal organs, especially the kidneys, spleen and heart.
* Several eyewitnesses described the killer as "shabby genteel," suggesting a vampire who's been wearing the same clothes for some time.
Lastly, and perhaps most tellingly, the murders stopped after the VIB operation. My personal belief is that the vampire Wentworth Smith was the real Jack the Ripper.
English imperial might stretched the VIB to the breaking point and beyond at the turn of the century. The VIB snuffed out vampire packs everywhere from the mines of South Wales to the slums of Calcutta. The Bureau suffered high rates of suicide and attrition as the vampire population hit its peak worldwide. However, the VIB was able to turn the tide in the 20th Century, thanks to a number of innovations:
* 1908: officers begin working with dogs.
* 1921: zombie division formed, based across the river in Southwark.
* 1934: the VIB Academy founded.
* 1940: first women officers.
As England's overseas possessions shrank, the VIB turned its focus to controlling the undead on the homefront. The U.K.'s small size and relatively isolated geography made the job easier, and the VIB swiftly had vampires and zombies under control. By the early 1960s, the VIB was gone but not forgotten, as they received a roll of honour at Westminster Abbey.
1850 A.D. HAUSSMAN DESTROYS
PARIS VAMPIRE QUATER
The first half of the Nineteenth Century saw a population explosion in European cities. The rural poor and dispossessed flooded urban centers looking for work, and in the process created overcrowded slums rife with disease, crime...and vampirism. All across Europe, vampires found good hunting and ample hiding places in medieval-era neighborhoods, with their tumbledown dwellings, narrow streets and alleyways. Every major European city had a concentration of vampires: the East End of London, Lisbon's Alfama, Warsaw's Old Town. In Paris, so many vampires haunted the neighborhood north of the Louvre that it became known as the Vampire Quarter.
European leaders tried a variety of measures to try and control vampire numbers, including hiring more vampire-fighters and instituting strict curfews. But the number of attacks continued to climb. In 1850, Baron Georges Haussman, Paris' top city planner, offered a radical suggestion: instead of trying to kill the vampires, why not eliminate their habitat? Haussman envisioned a radical reconstruction of Paris, with broad boulevards, spacious squares and a modern sewer system (it was still common belief that poor sanitation contributed to vampirism).
Haussman's plan won approval from French Emperor (and Napoleon grandson) Louis Napoleon and, in 1853, work crews began tearing down the Vampire Quarter, building by building. As crowds of onlookers watched, vampires scurried from collapsing buildings, shrieking and shielding their eyes from the sun, only to be methodically destroyed by special legions of the French Army. In one church, more than 50 vampires were flushed from the crypt. While some French, like writer Emile Zola, protested the widespread destruction of architectural treasures and the lack of interim housing for the homeless, the project did seem to be succeeding in slowing the rate of vampire attacks.
Within 20 years, Haussman had transformed the the old rabbit warrens of the Vampire Quarter into posh neighborhoods with grand boulevards radiating from large squares like the Place de l'Opera. Haussman was celebrated as a genius and European cities raced to follow his lead. From Lisbon to Prague, broad boulevards and wide squares become de rigeur.
However, the canonization of Haussman proved to be premature. After dropping for a short time, vampire attacks in Paris rose to their highest levels ever. To make matters worse, the attacks were no longer confined to Paris' slums. Vampires attacked the well-heeled of the Tuileries, they preyed on students across the river in the Latin Quarter. The great irony of Haussman's work was that, while he had driven vampires from their old haunts, in building Paris' extensive sewer system he had provided them with the perfect place to hide.
For the next 50 years, these vampires, known in Paris as "Haussman's Children," made their home in the sewers, emerging at night for hunting. For a short time, the French stationed troops there, but had to pull out due to high rates of desertion. During World War II, French resistance fighters hiding from the Nazis in the sewers encountered vampires in 19th-Century dress. The development of the vampire vaccine, along with more sophisticated vampire-fighting technology, eradicated vampires in Europe by the mid-1960s. However, in 1971, a rash of vampire attacks along the river Seine paralyzed Paris. French authorities, working with the assistance of the FVZA, tracked a lone vampire into the sewers. The vampire was cornered near the Place des Vosges, and perhaps the last of "Haussman's children" was destroyed.
1867 A.D. FORT BLOOD
At about the same time that the FVZA was being organized here in the United States, our neighbors to the north were coming to grips with their own vampire problems. For about 200 years, the huge swath of land in the western half of Canada was controlled by the fur-trading Hudson's Bay Company. The powerful Company was able to keep any vampire outbreaks in check with their own security force. But when the Canadian Confederation Act of 1867 brought the western lands under Canada's control, the Hudson's Bay Company pulled out, leaving the region in a state of disorder. A motley crew of outlaws began moving into the region, and in those days, whenever outlaws congregated, vampirism was sure to follow.
The opportunistic outlaws were mostly Americans who saw money to be made setting up illegal whiskey-trading camps in the region. These scofflaws would trade whiskey with Indians in return for buffalo furs and horses, and the success of their operations sometimes enabled their crude encampments to grow into rowdy towns rife with gunfights and prostitution. Vampirism inevitably took hold, driving out the transients and leaving the Indians to deal with the problem.
There was one whiskey-trading camp that eclipsed all others in debauchery and lawlessness. The camp, which would come to be known as Fort Blood, was the provenance of the Gallatin Gang, a group of low-lifes who had escaped from a Montana prison before making their way to the Great White North and establishing a successful whiskey business. Even by the standards of whiskey camps, Fort Blood was a den of iniquity. With all the prostitutes and transients, it was inevitable that a vampire plague arrived, and when it did, the Gallatin Gang hit upon a novel solution to the problem. Rather than leave town, the Gang struck up an agreement with the vampires in which they would lure Indians to the camp with the promise of whiskey, and then set the vampires on them. In return for providing blood for the vampires, the Fort Blood outlaws were able to keep and sell whatever buffalo hides and horses they took from the Indians. By the early 1870s, Fort Blood had grown into a formidable problem, paralyzing regional trade and settlement and poisoning sensitive relations between the local Indian tribes and the new Canadian government. Now that Canada was responsible for this land, it was clear that Fort Blood had to go.
In 1873, a freshly-minted force of 250 Canadian Mounted Police, or Mounties, traveled west with orders to destroy Fort Blood. But the Gallatin Gang received word of the impending attack and was ready when the Mounties arrived. The Gang repulsed the attack and then, as night fell, unleashed the vampires. All 250 Mounties were killed. The defeat was a stinging rebuke to the newly formed government, and proof that Canada needed a specialized force to fight vampirism in the west.
In 1874, a bill was passed creating the the North-West Mounted Police, Special Division, or the "Specials," for short. 400 men were recruited and trained in vampire combat, and in July of 1874, they left their compound at Fort Manitoba for the long trek west. With 300 horses, 73 wagons and 142 heads of cattle in tow, the Specials followed the Boundary Trail west and made camp at a bend in the Milk River not far from Fort Blood.
Rather than conduct a frontal assault on the fort, the Specials took a more stealthy approach. A small battalion slipped into the fort posing as Indians and, once inside, killed the Gallatin Gang. They then let the rest of the Specials in to finish off the sleeping vampires. By the next morning, Fort Blood was nothing more than a smoldering pile of ash.
For the next several years, the Specials marched from outpost to outpost, slaying vampires and restoring order to the region. Trade and settlement gradually returned to normal, and relations with the Indians improved. However, the frontier nature of the west ensured that the Specials remained busy, especially during the periods from 1882 to 1885, when the railroad was under construction, and 1896 to 1899, during the Klondike Gold Rush. Like the FVZA, the Specials were often pulled away to fight wars on foreign soil, but they still managed to keep a lid on any vampire or zombie outbreaks in their homeland. In 1973, the Specials celebrated their centennial with a ceremony during which they received medals from Queen Elizabeth II. Shortly thereafter, they were disbanded.
1891 A.D. STEKEE’S VAMPIRE RIGHTS
MOVEMENT IN FRANCE
In the summer of 1891, young painter Lucien Steketee arrived in Paris from a small village in Brittany to find a city energized by bold artists breaking free of the confines of Impressionism. Even in a place crowded with painters, the young Breton quickly stood out. Tall and handsome, student of Monet's, friend to Pissaro and Cezanne, he cut a dashing figure in the City of Light.
Like fellow painter Toulouse-Lautrec, Steketee's preferred subject was the nightlife around his atelier in Montmartre. He painted prostitutes, dancing girls, beggars...and vampires. While other artists had painted vampires from memory, Steketee was the first to have them sit for portraits. Despite the danger, Steketee painted over a dozen vampire portraits, and with each one his sense of ease grew. In July of 1892, a vampire suggested to him that Paris' underground catacombs, with their stacks of skulls and bones, would be a more atmospheric backdrop for the portrait; Steketee foolishly followed him there and was set upon by a hunting pack.
Two days later, a local vampire patrol discovered Steketee about to sink his teeth into a young woman. He fled to the nearby Moulin Rouge nightclub and barricaded himself on the third floor. A mob formed outside and began chanting for the vampire's head. In desperation, Steketee stepped out onto the balcony and made an impassioned plea for his life. So persuasive was he that the mob spared him and allowed the gendarmes to take him away to jail.
Steketee had found his calling. Writing feverishly in his dim prison cell, he advanced the radical notion that vampires should be treated like the sick people they were, and hospitalized rather than destroyed. Steketee's broadsides were distributed by his artist friends and created a sensation in Paris. Key to his growing support was his claim that he could live without blood. "Controlling bloodlust," he wrote, "is a matter of discipline and faith." He held himself up as proof, and the public bought it.
With public sentiment on his side, Steketee was released into the care of Madame Mauriello, a wealthy widower and devoted follower. She set him up in her Tuileries mansion, where he continued his crusade, speaking to huge crowds and winning support from politicians and religious leaders.
But away from the spotlight, Steketee was hunting, with the help of Madame Mauriello. Each night, she would prowl the streets of Paris looking for young women to lure back to her mansion under the auspices of posing for a famous artist. Once there, the women would be plied with wine until Steketee emerged, fangs flashing. He kept the "newly converted" in his service as a sort of harem.
The arrangement was shortlived. Early on the morning of December 12th, 1892, a terrified girl arrived in the police station claiming that she had narrowly escaped the clutches of a vampire. Police officers followed her back to the Mauriello mansion and discovered the pack. Word spread, and for the second time in his life, Lucien Steketee found himself hiding out from an angry mob. But this time, there was no escape: the mob burned the mansion to the ground, with Steketee, Mme. Mauriello and the young vampires inside.
Steketee's body was never found, leading to speculation that he had escaped; a suspicion strengthened during World War II, when several members of the French Resistance reported seeing a man resembling Steketee prowling the sewers. To this day, he is said to emerge from underground on the anniversary of his death to claim a victim. Which is why, before nightfall on December 12th, suspicious Parisians hang garlic and crosses over their doorways.
1905 VAMPIRE POPULATION
WORLD WIDE NUMBERS
HIT ONE MILLION
At the turn of the Nineteenth Century, a growing, increasingly urban population, along with rising immigration, contributed to a spike in vampire numbers. In a widely-published 1905 vampire study, FVZA scientists estimated the worldwide vampire population at one million.
The vampire population boom forced world leaders to take drastic measures to try and slow the spread of the plague. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt ordered a curfew in every city and town in the country. At dusk across the land, curfew sirens rang out as children ran in from their play and cities fell dark. The curfew was economically devastating for restaurants, theaters, bars and nightclubs, and led to a mini-Depression. President Roosevelt also authorized an emergency vampire relief fund, with most of the money going to the FVZA to hire more people and upgrade their equipment. In addition, every branch of the Armed Forces was called into service to help the Agency.
Large cities were hardest hit by the vampire explosion. Early each morning in London, boatmen would make their way west along the fog-shrouded Thames, stopping at various wharfs to pick up vampires that had been destroyed the night before. The sight of a withered old boatman slipping silently through the fog, his boat heaped with vampire corpses, was one of the indelible impressions of the day. Eventually, the vampire corpses would be brought to the Battersea power station for incineration. At its peak, Battersea station was burning over one-hundred vampires a day.
Other cities took more dramatic steps to combat the rise in vampirism. In Bombay, India, the city's old quarter, with its narrow streets and numerous homeless people, had become a a breeding ground for vampires. When extermination efforts by British troops did little to stem the problem, the Viceroy ordered the area burned to the ground. Thousands were displaced, and a precious historical neighborhood was gone forever. Not surprisingly, vampire fighting became a valued trade: mercenary vampire fighters roamed the globe, demanding top fees for their services.
While vampires took thousands of victims between 1900 and 1910, their psychological toll on the public may have been even worse. Innocent people were gunned down as panic and paranoia reigned. Some enterprising Americans tried to leaven the stress by opening illegal bars and clubs known as "Curfew-Busters." The locations of these establishments changed often to keep away from the prying eyes of the FVZA.
In general, attempts to skirt the law were the exception and not the rule. Most people in the U.S. honored the curfew, forcing blood-starved vampires to become more brazen, and in the process, more vulnerable. After reaching a peak in 1905, the vampire population stabilized somewhat, before growing again through the Great Depression and the war, until science trotted out its greatest weapon: the vampire vaccine.
1967 LAZLO DISASTER IN SIBERIA
After the development of the vampire vaccine, the United States and the Soviet Union began pouring enormous resources into vampire research. The stakes were great, as it was thought that the keys to immortality lay in vampire DNA. The Soviets based their research at a secret lab outside the small village of Lazo in Siberia. Unbeknownst to the Americans, they made significant progress in the lab and in 1967, under a veil of utmost secrecy, they began animal trials, using chimpanzees as the test subjects.
Sometime in mid-February, disaster struck at the lab when an infected chimpanzee bit a technician. The unfortunate man was vaccinated, but the experimentally-altered virus he was infected with proved to be immune to the vaccine. As a blizzard descended on the village, cutting off communication with the outside world, the technician came to life and ran amok, biting everyone in the lab. The scientific team, transformed into vampires, left the lab and went to the village to hunt. By the time the storm cleared, the entire town of Lazo was infected.
Faced with an uncontrollable vampire plague, Russian President Leonid Brezhnev was forced to take extreme measures. So, on a bright winter day, a transport rolled into Lazo and left a nuclear weapon in the middle of the town square, while the vampires slept. Once the team was safely out of range, they detonated the bomb.
American officials detected the explosion via satellite and launched an inquiry. The Russians claimed accidental detonation, but American intelligence knew that there were no nuclear installations in that part of the country. The mystery ended in the Summer of '68, when one of the soldiers who had planted the bomb defected to West Germany and told the whole story. The 750 people of Lazo were among the last casualties of the war on vampires.
The mishap created a backlash against vampire research in the United States and thoughout the world. On October 14th, 1970, President Nixon signed into law the Muskie-Fineman Act, halting research on vampire blood. It would be 16 years before the ban was overturned, and vampire blood research began anew, with rigorous safety provisions in place to avoid a repeat of the Lazo Disaster.
Link to President Ulysses S. Grants Federal Vampire and Zombie Organization...15:08 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 352
http://www.fvza.org/vampires.html
Order of the Eastern Star From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia14:40 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 354
General Grand Chapter logo
The Order of the Eastern Star is a Freemasonic appendant body open to both men and women. It was established in 1850 by lawyer and educator Rob Morris, a noted Freemason. The order is based on teachings from the Bible,[1] but is open to people of all religious beliefs. It has approximately 10,000 chapters in twenty countries and approximately 500,000 members under its General Grand Chapter.
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Members of the Order are aged 18 and older; men must be Master Masons and women must have specific relationships with Masons. Originally, a woman would have to be the daughter, widow, wife, sister, or mother of a master Mason, but the Order now allows other relatives[2] as well as allowing Job's Daughters, Rainbow Girls, Members of the Organization of Triangles (NY only) and members of the Constellation of Junior Stars (NY only) to become members when of age.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Emblem and heroines
3 Officers
4 Headquarters
5 Charities
6 Notable members
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
History[edit]
The Order was created by Rob Morris in 1850 when he was teaching at the Eureka Masonic College in Richland, Mississippi. While confined by illness, he set down the principles of the order in his Rosary of the Eastern Star. By 1855, he had organized a "Supreme Constellation" in New York, which chartered chapters throughout the United States.
In 1866, Dr. Morris started working with Robert Macoy, and handed the Order over to him while Morris was traveling in the Holy Land. Macoy organized the current system of Chapters, and modified Dr. Morris' Rosary into a Ritual.
On December 1, 1874, Queen Esther Chapter No. 1 became the first Prince Hall Affiliate chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star when it was established in Washington, D.C. by Thornton Andrew Jackson.[3]
The "General Grand Chapter" was formed in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 6, 1876. Committees formed at that time created the Ritual of the Order of the Eastern Star in more or less its current form.[4]
Emblem and heroines[edit]
The emblem of the Order is a five-pointed star with the white ray of the star pointing downwards towards the manger. In the Chapter room, the downward-pointing white ray points to the West. The character-building lessons taught in the Order are stories inspired by Biblical figures:
Adah (Jephthah's daughter, from the Book of Judges)
Ruth, the widow from the Book of Ruth
Esther, the wife from the Book of Esther
Martha, sister of Mary and Lazarus, from the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John
Electa (the "elect lady" from II John), the mother
Officers[edit]
Officers representing the heroines of the order sit around the altar in the center of the chapter room.
Eastern Star meeting room
There are 18 main officers in a full chapter:
Worthy Matron – presiding officer
Worthy Patron – a Master Mason who provides general supervision
Associate Matron – assumes the duties of the Worthy Matron in the absence of that officer
Associate Patron – assumes the duties of the Worthy Patron in the absence of that officer
Secretary – takes care of all correspondence and minutes
Treasurer – takes care of monies of the Chapter
Conductress – Leads visitors and initiations.
Associate Conductress – Prepares candidates for initiation, assists the conductress with introductions and handles the ballot box.
Chaplain – leads the Chapter in prayer
Marshal – presents the Flag and leads in all ceremonies
Organist – provides music for the meetings
Adah – Shares the lesson of Duty of Obedience to the will of God
Ruth – Shares the lesson of Honor and Justice
Esther – Shares the lesson of Loyalty to Family and Friends
Martha – Shares the lesson of Faith and Trust in God and Everlasting Life
Electa – Shares the lesson of Charity and Hospitality
Warder – Sits next to the door inside the meeting room, to make sure those that enter the chapter room are members of the Order.
Sentinel – Sits next to the door outside the chapter room, to make sure those that wish to enter are members of the Order.
Traditionally, a woman who is elected Associate Conductress will be elected to Conductress the following year, then the next year Associate Matron, and then next year as Worthy Matron. A man elected Associate Patron will usually be elected Worthy Patron the following year. Usually the woman who is elected to become Associate Matron will let it be known who she wishes to be her Associate Patron, so the next year they will both go to the East together as Worthy Matron and Worthy Patron. There is no male counterpart to the Conductress and Associate Conductress. Only women are allowed to be Matrons, Conductresses, and the Star Points (Adah, Ruth, etc.) and only men can be Patrons.
Once a member has served a term as Worthy Matron or Worthy Patron, they may use the post-nominal letters, PM or PP respectively.
Headquarters[edit]
The International Temple in Washington, D.C.
Main article: International Temple
The General Grand Chapter headquarters, the International Temple, is located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the former Perry Belmont Mansion. The mansion was built in 1909 for the purpose of entertaining the guests of Perry Belmont. This included Britain's Prince of Wales in 1919. General Grand Chapter purchased the building in 1935. The secretary of General Grand Chapter lives there while serving his or her term of office. The mansion features works of art from around the world, most of which were given as gifts from various international Eastern Star chapters.
Charities[edit]
The Order has a charitable foundation[5] and from 1986-2001 contributed $513,147 to Alzheimer's disease research, juvenile diabetes research, and juvenile asthma research. It also provides bursaries to students of theology and religious music, as well as other scholarships that differ by jurisdiction. In 2000 over $83,000 was donated. Many jurisdictions support a Masonic and/or Eastern Star retirement center or nursing home for older members; some homes are also open to the public. The Elizabeth Bentley OES Scholarship Fund was started in 1947.[6][7]
Eureka Masonic College, also known as The Little Red Schoolhouse, birthplace of the Order of the Eastern Star
Signage at the Order of the Eastern Star birthplace, the Little Red Schoolhouse
Notable members[edit]
Clara Barton[8]
J. Howell Flournoy[9]
Eva McGown[10]
James Peyton Smith[11]
Lee Emmett Thomas[12]
Laura Ingalls Wilder[13]
H. L. Willis[14]
See also[edit]
Achoth
Omega Epsilon Sigma
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Installation Ceremony". Ritual of the Order of the Eastern Star. Washington, DC: General Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star. 1995 [1889]. pp. 120–121.
Jump up ^ "Eastern Star Membership". General Grand Chapter. Retrieved 2010-06-03. These affiliations include: * Affiliated Master Masons in good standing, * the wives * daughters * legally adopted daughters * mothers * widows * sisters * half sisters * granddaughters * stepmothers * stepdaughters * stepsisters * daughters-in-law * grandmothers * great granddaughters * nieces * great nieces * mothers-in-law * sisters-in-law and daughters of sisters or brothers of affiliated Master Masons in good standing, or if deceased were in good standing at the time of their death
Jump up ^ Ayers, Jessie Mae (1992). "Origin and History of the Adoptive Rite Among Black Women". Prince Hall Masonic Directory. Conference of Grand Masters, Prince Hall Masons. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
Jump up ^ "Rob Morris". Grand Chapter of California. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
Jump up ^ "OES Charities". Retrieved 2016-04-15.
Jump up ^ "Elizabeth Bentley Order Of The Eastern Star Scholarship Award". Yukon, Canada. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
Jump up ^ "Eastern Star has enjoyed long history". Black Press. Retrieved 2009-11-05. The Eastern Star Bursary, later named the Elizabeth Bentley OES Scholarship Fund, was started in 1947.[dead link]
Jump up ^ Clara Barton, U.S. Nurse Masonic First Day Cover
Jump up ^ "Sheriff 26 Years – J. H. Flournoy Dies," Shreveport Journal, December 14, 1966, p. 1
Jump up ^ by Helen L. Atkinson at ALASKA INTERNET PUBLISHERS, INC
Jump up ^ "James P. Smith". The Bernice Banner, Bernice, Louisiana. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Thomas, Lee Emmett". Louisiana Historical Association, A Directory of Louisiana Biography (lahistory.org). Retrieved December 29, 2010.
Jump up ^ Big Muddy online publications
Jump up ^ "Horace Luther Willis". The Alexandria Daily Town Talk on findagrave.com. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
The Knights Templar... and the Link to Vampirism...
14:38 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 355
Why are we looking at an order of the knights, which still survives today and as it's ancient form, and what does it have to do with vampires?
Well, we shall let you come to your own conclusions about that, but now let us go back many centuries to the days of old and the most famed knights in history.
Who were the Knights Templar?
The Knights Templar were a monastic military order formed at the end of the First Crusade to protect pilgrims traveling on route from Europe to the recently captured city of Jerusalem. Within a couple of decades the group became an order with the backing of both the Pope and the collective European monarchies.
Within two centuries they had become powerful enough to defy all but the Papal throne. Feared as warriors, respected for their piety and sought out for their wealth, there is no doubt that the Knights Templar were the key players of the monastic fighting orders.
Due to their vast wealth, the Templars essentially invented banking as we know it. Usury (the lending of money for interest) was forbidden by the church in those days, but the Templars were able to skirt the issue and finance even kings.
Perhaps due to this wealth or fear of their seemingly limitless powers, they were destined to be destroyed. The order met with a rather untimely demise at the hands of the Pope and the King of France in 1307 and by 1314, The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon ceased to exist.
Although originally a small group of nine knights, they quickly gained fame largely due to the backing of Bernard of Clairveux and his 'In Praise of the New Knighthood'.
Bernard at that time was often called the Second Pope and was the chief spokesman of Christendom. He is also the one responsible for helping to draw up the order's rules of conduct.
In European political circles, they became very powerful and influential. This was because they were immune from any authority save that of the Papal Throne. (Pope Innocent II exempted the Templars from all authority except the Pope.)
After the crusades were over, the knights returned to their Chapters throughout Europe and became known as money lenders to the monarchs. In the process many historians believe they invented the Banking System. The Templars fought along side Richard Coeur de Lion (Richard The Lion Hearted) and other Crusaders in the battles for the Holy Lands.
The secret meetings and rituals of the knights would eventually cause their downfall . The King of France, Philip the Fair, used these rituals and meetings to his advantage to destroy the knights. The real reason for his crushing the Templars was that he felt threatened by their power and immunity. In 1307, Philip who desperately needed funds, made his move against the Knights Templar.
On October 13th,1307, King Philip had all the Templars arrested on the grounds of heresy, since this was the only charge that would allow the seizing of their money and assets.
The Templars were tortured and as a result,
ridiculous confessions were forced from them.
These confessions included:
Trampling and spitting on the cross.
Homosexuality and Sodomy.
Worshipping of The Devil, Baphomet.
Philip was successful in ridding the Templars of their power and wealth and urged all fellow Christian leaders to do the same thing.
On March 19th, 1314 the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake.
De Molay is said to have cursed King Philip and Pope Clement as he burned at the stake, asking both men to join him within a year.
Pope Clement died only one month later and King Philip IV died seven months after that.
Accusations Against The Order
It all started with the arrest of the French Knights by King Philip the Fair on Friday the 13th of October, 1307. What followed was a ridiculous set of accusations against the Brethren of the order.
These accusations were broken into nine basic sets. They are as follows:
I. That during the reception ceremony, new brothers were required to deny Christ, God, the Virgin, or the Saints on the command of those receiving them.
II. That the brothers committed various sacrilegious acts either on the cross or on an image of Christ.
III. That the receptors practiced obscene kisses on new entrants, on the mouth, navel or buttocks.
IV. That the priests of the Order did not consecrate the host, and that the brothers did not believe in the sacraments.
V. That the brothers practiced idol worship of a cat or a head.
VI. That the brothers encouraged and permitted the practice of sodomy.
VII. That the Grand Master, or other officials, absolved fellow Templars from their sins.
VIII. That the Templars held their reception ceremonies and chapter meetings in secret and at night.
IX. That the Templars abused the duties of charity and hospitality and used illegal means to acquire property and increase their wealth.
Included in these charges where those of the Knights consorting with the Devil and a specific deity. Here we look a bit more closely at this aspect of the mysteries and charges against the knights.
Central to the accusations brought against the Knights Templar, was the accusation that, they worshipped an idol named Baphomet, which is said to have taken the form of a head or sometimes a Black Cat.
V. That the brothers practiced idol worship of a cat or a head.
That this one aspect of the Templars Mythos, could generate so many theories as to its true origins is amazing. The interest in the Baphomet has survived over 600 years and taken many forms. The opinions on the Baphomet vary greatly from Scholar to Scholar and Mystic path to Mystic path. The purpose of this section is to shed some light on some of those theories and the connection to the Knights Templar.
'Baphomet was the deity worshipped by the Knights Templar, and in Black Magic as the source and creator of evil; the Satanic goat of the witches' Sabbath and one of the names adopted by Aleister Crowley.'
From the ''Dictionary Of The Occult And Supernatural''
by Peter Underwood
The Popular Image Of Baphomet
The image of the Baphomet is as varied as the explanations of what it means and descriptions of it.
An idol with a human skull
A head with two faces
With a beard
Without a beard
With the head of a cockerel
With the head of a man
With the head of a goat and the body of a man but with wings and cloven feet
The more popular appearance of the demon, said to be a symbol of lust, degeneration and wisdom.
The head of the goat
The upper body of a woman (maternity)
Cloven hooves
A pair of wings
A candle on it's head (symbol of revelation) combining male sexual potency with the four elements (pentagram) and intelligence.
The Templar Connection
Theories on what the meaning of the Baphomet are many. By some it is believed to be a corruption of the Moslem word 'Mahomet'. The Templars fought along side Moslem Assassins during their time. Another train of thought is that Baphomet is really a joining of two Greek words meaning absorption into wisdom. In either case the fact remains that the Templars were accused of practicing their initiations and rituals in front of a large idol of the demon Baphomet.
How did this belief come to be?
Since King Philip (the fair?) of France sought to own the vast Templar wealth he, along with his puppet Pope Clement, had the Templars captured and tortured. During these tortures they made many confessions, among these, the disclosure that they had worshipped Baphomet.
Were these claims true?
Perhaps we'll never know.
Jacques de Molay, who had earlier confessed his and the Templars guilt slowly burned at the stake insisting the order was innocent of all but one offense, that of allowing torture to cause them to lie and confess untruths.
Baphomet: What's In A Name?
Theories surrounding the name Baphomet and what it meant to the Templar Knights are many. Perhaps we will never truly know. Perhaps it never truly existed but rather was put in the mouths of confessors by those torturing them. The following are some of the more common theories proposed and some commentary on each.
A Corruption Of The Name Mahomet (Mohammed)
It is held that the Baphomet was an idol. If we take this as fact, then the word Baphomet as a corruption of Mahomet doesn't hold. This is because, if the Templars followed Moslem beliefs there would be no idols Islam forbids all idols.
A Corruption Of The Arabic Term, Abufihamat
The meaning of the word is Father of Understanding or Father of Wisdom. It is a term used to refer to a Sufi Master. In Arabic, father is taken to mean source. If this is the case, this could imply God. The Templars were quite likely to have come in contact with Sufism while in the Holy Land.
For an interesting theory on The Abufihamet connection you must read Baphomet: A Mystery Solved At Last? by Frater Baraka IV O.T.O.
From The Greek Words, Baph and Metis
The word Baphomet is derived from two Greek words Baph and Metis meaning Baptism of Wisdom. The Templars are said to worship a Head (The Baphomet). One of the theories stands that this head was none other than the head of John the Baptist. If this were true, then perhaps this Greek origin of the term is true also.
Atbash Cipher For The Goddess Sophia
The Word Baphomet was altered by Knowledge of the Atbash Cipher and was actually a representation of the Greek Goddess Sophia.
I wish to give my thanks to Frater Baraka IV of Whiskey Rebellion Camp O.T.O. for his kindness in allowing me to reprint his article and theory on the Baphomet here.
(This article originally appeared in _Annuit Coeptis_, the official publication of Whiskey Rebellion Camp, Pittsburgh PA Ordo Templi Orientis. (C) 1995)
Baphomet: A 'Mystery' Solved At Last?' by Frater Baraka, IV*
Sooner or later every student of either the esoteric or the history of the Crusades encounters the name of an allegedly sinister entity known as 'Baphomet'. Baphomet was said to be the 'god' or 'idol' of the Knights Templar, but has also been described as 'the goat of Mendes', 'the god of the witches', a latter-day version of the Greek god Pan, a symbol of an alchemical principal, and even Satan himself. And while each of these has a following, there is evidence suggesting the possibility that Baphomet's origins are not only not sinister, but human rather than supernatural.
The 'mystery' of Baphomet begins in 1307 with the demise of the Knights Templar. The military order of 'warrior monks' was founded in 1118 in France after the First Crusade to protect European pilgrims on their way to and from the Holy Land.
For nearly two centuries the Templars grew in size, strength, political clout, reputation (good at first, but bad towards the end), but most of all in wealth, and this would prove to be their undoing. In the early fourteenth century King Philip IV of France, who was deeply in debt to the Templars, decided to not only cancel that debt but seize their wealth and property for himself and having his puppet pontiff Clement V dissolve the order.
To do this, Philip would have to have the Templars convicted of heresy. With 'evidence' gathered from agents who infiltrated the Templars, along with a sworn deposition from a disgruntled ex-Templar on whose testimony his prosecutors could build a case, Philip made his move. Acting on sealed orders they were not to open until the previous midnight, Philip's officials arrested every Templar they could during the dawning hours of Friday, October 13, 1307.
While some of the charges, such as sodomy and desecration of Christian symbols, were obviously silly even to many people at the time, other allegations, such as the chanting of 'Yallah!' (Daraul, 1961), sounded like descriptions of documented Sufi Muslim practices (Khan, 1974). But it is the charge of worshipping an idol called 'Baphomet' that has inspired the most controversy.
At first, 'Baphomet' was simply a head, and presumably a human one, but under the duress of torture, Baphomet's descriptions became progressively more elaborate and fantastic. Nearly every historian who has written on the subject has dismissed the 'Baphomet' issue as patently false, just one more trumped-up charge against the Templars. However, after studying both the hypothetical and more plausible connections between the Templars, Sufism, and Freemasonry, I have come to the tentative conclusion that the 'Baphomet' matter may have contained a sizable element of truth -- one which the inquisitors certainly distorted, but true nonetheless.
Most of us who have heard of Baphomet first encountered the name in either a history book or the works of Anton Szandor LaVey, whose goat's-head-in-the-inverted-pentagram illustration is supposed to be Baphomet, or else in the works of Aleister Crowley, who equated Baphomet with the Greek god Pan (Crowley, 1974). Crowley even adopted the name 'Baphomet' as his own motto when he joined Ordo Templi Orientis (Order of the Oriental Temple, or O.T.O.). Other occult writers who have discussed Baphomet include nineteenth century authors Eliphaz Levi and Albert Pike, and Baphomet is the model for 'The Devil' in the Waite-Rider and Case-B.O.T.A. tarot decks. Many historians have claimed that the name 'Baphomet' was Old French for Muhammad, whose name is sometimes spelled Mahomet, although Crowley (1989) presented an interesting, but probably coincidental, claim that the name came from a Greek phrase for 'baptism of wisdom'.
The problem with Crowley's case is it overlooks two basic facts about the Templars:
1) as Roman Catholics, Greek names were not that important to them (and to Catholics at the time, the Greek Orthodox Christians were in some ways just as much 'infidels' as the Muslims), and
2) the Templars who lived in the Holy Land, along with the masons they employed, had to deal with the local population on a regular basis, often became fluent in Arabic, and for a European in the Holy Land --Templars included -- to 'go native' was not particularly unusual.
But it was in the pop-history book _Holy Blood, Holy Grail_ that I first came across the idea that 'Baphomet' was derived from an Arabic term, _abufihamet_, meaning 'Father of Understanding', rather than from an Old French name for the founder of Islam. Since that book, although a 'good read', is not one scholars take seriously due to its highly speculative theses, I decided to check their source for this, Idries Shah's _The Sufis_, which contains additional relevant information discussed below.
For now I tend to favor the Arabic origins over the Old French for the following reasons: first, as an iconoclastic religion, Islam strictly forbids images, either painted or sculpted, of either God or Muhammad, so the idea of even unorthodox Muslims worshipping an idol is simply ludicrous. Second, of those authors I have read who claim that 'any expert on Old French' will say that Baphomet was another name for Muhammad never actually cite any such Old French experts to document this assertion.
One such writer was Peter Partner, who even found a French troubadour ballad from the late thirteenth century and published an English translation, showing parenthetically that 'Bafometz' had appeared in the original French (he had rendered it as 'Mohammed' as if this had somehow proved his point). What Partner had inadvertently done was prove that
a) Baphomet was a known entity before the demise of the Templars, and most likely a person with spiritual power, capable of working miracles (although Islam never credits Muhammad with any 'miracle' other than receiving the Qu'ran), and
b) that Baphomet was known among non-Templars (although Partner believed the ballad's author was an ex-Templar, that troubadour's audience certainly had non-Templars among them), and if Shah is correct in his assertions about Sufic influences on the troubadours, then we have in the ballad Partner quoted possible proof of a link between Sufism and Baphomet. (As for the Templars and the Sufis, not only were there many documented contacts between Templars and Sufis [as well as other unorthodox Muslims such as the Ismailis] during their time in the Middle East, but there were also opportunities for contacts in Europe. France, after all, borders Spain, and during the Crusades Sufism flourished in Muslim-ruled Spain and influenced the early Qabalistic Jews and other mystics on both sides of the border; Robert Graves, in his introduction to Shah's book, even claimed that Templars fought alongside Sufi warriors in Spain. And many Masonic trappings, such as the checkered floor and the tolerance of all monotheistic religions, are at least Islamic in origin if not specifically Sufic.) But in my opinion the strongest support for Baphomet as abufihamet is the number of Arabic sobriquets which begin with abu which belonged to historical individuals rather than esoteric principles.
One such individual was the tenth century Sufi martyr Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj, who died in 922CE. A pantheist, an alleged miracle worker, and a most definitely unorthodox Muslim, Hallaj was imprisoned and tried for blasphemy for his public descriptions of his mystical union with God. Finally convicted after a nine year inquiry, Hallaj was maimed, crucified, beheaded, and his torso was cremated.
Some of the stories surrounding his death include an account of the Caliph's Queen Mother having Hallaj's head preserved as a relic (Singh, 1970). Various Sufi sects have rituals commemorating Hallaj's death, and Shah claimed that Hallaj was the model for the 'Hiram Abiff' character in the Master Mason initiation ritual. Although Shah cited other reasons connecting Hallaj to Hiram Abiff and the sect of Sufis known as 'the Builders' (who built the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on the site of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, which was the Holy Land headquarters for the Templars and the mythical scene of Masonic initiations), Hallaj bore some interesting parallels to the Old Testament's descriptions of Hiram the artificer: first, both men were sons of widows; second, both men had 'sons of David' play key roles in their lives (Hiram worked for Solomon, and one of Hallaj's prosecutors was named Ibn Daud [Massignon, 1994], which is Arabic for 'Son of David'), and third, the Old Testament Hebrew for 'Abiff' is abyu (Kohlenberger, 1987).
Having already encountered writers who hypothesized a connection between the Templars and Freemasonry (which, although plausible, is nowhere near as romantic or fantastic as some, such as John J. Robinson in _Born in Blood_, have claimed), I had already found the first two most interesting, and further investigation of Hallaj, who, according to the medieval Islamic poet and historian Farid al-Din Attar, turns out to have been known by several titles beginning with abu-, brought the third coincidence to my attention. And since, as noted above, some of the Templars may indeed have been participants in documented Sufi practices, could the charge that the Templars 'worshipped a head called Baphomet' not have had some factual basis, namely the commemoration of a decapitated Sufi martyr whose head became a relic and who had been given the sobriquet abufihamet? The only problem here is that despite all the other abu- titles belonging to Hallaj, there is no known documentation linking him to abufihamet.
Perhaps this documentation does exist (it would be useless to hypothesis that 'perhaps it once existed, but no longer does'), but has not yet come to my attention, and should someone who knows of it ever read this essay, I would be most appreciative to hear of it. Until then, the above thesis, although plausible in my opinion, and hopefully interesting to the reader, remains purely speculative. But if it does turn up, then at last we will have proof positive that the Templars possessed a body of knowledge that would later become known to the Freemasons, regardless of how Freemasonry came to be.
Continued below, the following short bibliography ...
Bibliography
~ Attar, Farid al-Din (A.J. Arberry, trans.). _Muslim Saints and Mystics_. New York: Arkana, 1990.
~ Baigent, Michael, Leigh, Richard, and Lincoln, Henry. _Holy Blood, Holy Grail_. New York: Dell, 1982.
~ Case, Paul Foster. _The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages_ (revised edition). Los Angeles: Builders of the Adytum, 1990.
~ Crowley, Aleister. _The Book of Thoth_. York Beach: Samuel Weiser, 1974.
~ The Confessions of Aleister Crowley_. New York: Arkana, 1989.
~ Daraul, Arkon. _A History of Secret Societies_. New York: Citadel Press, 1961.
~ Howarth, Stephen. _The Knights Templar_. New York: Dorset, 1991.
~ Khan, Pir Vilayat Inayat. _Toward the One_. New York: Harper Colophon, 1974.
~ Kohlenberger, John R. III, ed. _The New International Version Hebrew-English Interlinear Old Testament_. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.
~ LaVey, Anton Szandor. _The Satanic Bible_. New York: Avon Books, 1969.
~ Levi, Eliphaz (A.E. Waite, trans.). _Transcendental Magic_. York Beach: Samuel Weiser, 1970.
~ Massignon, Louis (H. Mason, ed. & trans.). _Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr_. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.
~ Partner, Peter. _The Murdered Magicians: The Templars and their Myth. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1993.
~ Pike, Albert. _Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry_. Charleston: Supreme Council of the Thirty Third Degree for the Southern United States, 1871.
~ Robinson, John J. _Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry_. New York: Evans, 1989.
~ Dungeon, Fire, and Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades_. New York: Evans, 1991.
~ Shah, Idries. _The Sufis_. New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1964.
~ Singh, Kapur. _Mansur Al-Hallaj_. Patiala: Guru Gobind Singh, Department of Religious Studies, Punjabi University, 1970.
~ Waite, Arthur Edward. _Pictorial Key to the Tarot_. New York: Causeway, no date.
~ Frater Baraka invites opinions and support to his thesis. Those wishing to contact the author may write to him at P.O. Box 101722, Pittsburgh PA, 15237 or zentao93@juno.com
What Is The Atbash Cipher?
We have just looked at several theories of the origination and myths of the Templar's god ... here is another ... but there are slight errors in this one as explained to me by one who knows these things.
The code of the Atbash Cipher consists in one simple substitution, based on the Hebrew Alphabet. In the code of Atbash, the first letter of the alphabet, Aleph, is replaced with the last one, Taw, the second one, Beth, with the penultimate one, Sin (or Shin), and so on.
Baphomet As Applied To The Atbash Cipher
Dr. Hugh Schonfield was one of the original researchers examining the Dead Sea scrolls. He was a man interested in the history of the Templars. In particular, the accusations that they worshipped the Baphomet. Believing the Templars may have possessed the knowledge of the Atbash Cipher, he first translated the word Baphomet into Hebrew characters:
The word Baphomet written in Hebrew (Hebrew is read from right to left)
Then applying the Atbash cipher, he rewrote the word again in Hebrew characters revealing a different word and meaning altogether:
When the Atbash cipher is applied we get this reading in Hebrew which is a Greek word Sophia meaning Wisdom (Again letters read from right to left)
If we once again return to the image of a head that the Templars were said to worship. Applying the theory of Dr. Schonfield, that Baphomet was an Atbash cipher of the Greek word for wisdom a couple of possibilities crop up:
In Kabbalistic Lore there is the figure of Adam Kadmon. His bearded head represents the Chokmah of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Chokmah is a representation of wisdom. Perhaps the Templars were in possession of knowledge of the Kabbalah.
The Greek Goddess, Sophia is again a representation of wisdom. The Templars were said to possess a gilded image of a woman's head. In fact in the accusations brought against the order by Philip IV, such an item is inventoried to have come from the Paris Temple.
The Baphomet And The Freemasons
The Albert Pike / Leo Taxil Hoax
Perhaps no one aspect of Anti-Masonic practice has fueled religious zeal greater than the hoax perpetrated by Leo Taxil on Albert Pike in the late 1800's. This hoax, still accepted today by those who would condemn Freemasonry, linked the fraternity to Lucifer and Devil worship.
1. The Players
2. The Hoax Document
3. Taxil Admits Hoax
4. The Baphomet Connection
1. The Players
Albert Pike (1809-1891) was the Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction) a position he was elected to in 1859. To many Freemasons, he is considered to be a Masonic genius, yet to a large number of people he is viewed as a Luciferian, preaching a secret doctrine hidden from the majority of Masons.
Pike wrote a book called 'Morals and Dogma', in which he quoted many philosophical and religious teachers words. It was Pikes belief that, unless you knew the history of a concept, you couldn't grasp the concept itself. It is a book still available today and in the libraries of many Freemasons worldwide. The book has often been criticized and more often misquoted as we will soon see.
Why was such a great man, in the eyes of Freemasons, so disliked outside the craft? The answer is because of a hoax constructed by Leo Taxil and the gullibility of the masses eager to accept it as truth .
Leo Taxil, born Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pages, was a freethinker who made his living writing pornographic stories in chapter (serial) form. Freethinkers was a term given to those who opposed the authority and dogma of society, especially religious authority.
In addition to his anti-Masonic writings, Taxil also was known for his works opposing Catholicism. Taxil upon petitioning admission to the Masonic lodge, met with opposition of its members, largely due to his reputation as an Anti-Catholic writer. Objections aside, Taxil was made a member for a short time after which he was expelled from the order. Perhaps this expulsion prompted him to write his Anti-Masonic works or perhaps it was his purpose for joining in the first place. In any case Taxil would go on to perpetrate a hoax that has lasted decades.
2. The Hoax Document
The following is the form which the bogus quotation usually takes. It was later admitted by Taxil to be a hoax, yet to this day is quoted by those that would use it to slander Freemasonry.
Albert Pike 33°
'That which we must say to a crowd is - We worship a God, but it is the God that one adores without superstition.
To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st, and 30th degrees - The Masonic Religion should be, by all of us initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian Doctrine.
If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay whose deeds prove his cruelty, perdify and hatred of man, barbarism and repulsion for science, would Adonay and his priests, calumniate him?
Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god. For the eternal law is that there is no light without shade, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, for the absolute can only exist as two gods: darkness being necessary to the statue, and the brake to the locomotive.
Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy; and the true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil.'
Instructions to the 23 Supreme Councils of the World, July 14, 1889. Recorded by A.C. De La Rive in La Femme et l'Enfant dans la FrancMaconnerie Universelle on page 588.
3. Taxil Admits Hoax
On April 17th, 1897, twelve years after Taxil first launched the hoax, he admitted it was just that. Before an assembly at the Paris Geographical Hall, Taxil told the crowd that the last decade plus of Anti-Masonic literature had been falsely stated fabrications. The crowd, who in all likelihood had gathered to hear some new Anti-Masonic revelation was angered to a point where Taxil had to duck out a back exit.
As well documented as his admission of defrauding a gullible public is, the myth of Albert Pike's statement is still used today to slander the fraternity of Masonry.
4. The Baphomet Connection
The purpose of Taxil's hoax was to reveal a highly secret Masonic order called the Palladium which only existed in Taxil imagination. Palladium, Taxil claimed, practiced Devil worship, murder and other brutalities of an erotic nature. His works published in 1885 and 1886 were very popular with a public eager to read the horrors of Freemasonry. In his book 'Les Mysteries Franc Maconnerie' Taxil utilized Levi's Baphomet. The cover depicts a group of Masons dancing around Levi's demonic Baphomet depiction. Additionally, the artist added another element of the Baphomet mystery. In the lower left hand of the cover we see a woman holding a severed bearded head. In esoteric tradition dating back three thousand years, there is the image of the 'Mistress or Mother of Blood' believed to be the Baphomet (representing the bride of Satan). The severed head is that of a priest, being representative of the sinister male aspect. The head is said to be severed after sexual union with the Baphomet.
In another Anti-Masonic book of the day we find the image of Levi's Baphomet as connected with the Freemasons. Published in 1894 ,'La Femme et L'Enfant dans la Franc-Maconnerie Universal' (Woman and child in Freemasonry) by Abbe Clarin de la Rive, we find the popular Baphomet seducing a woman on the cover between the pillars of Masonry. In this same book the false Albert Pike quote is used to support (falsely) the authors own Anti-Masonic views. It is no doubt that the covers of these two books created quite a stir with the public of the day.
This type of imagery as false as it is, has prevailed among Fundamentalist Christian groups today, such as Jack T. Chick publisher of 'The Curse Of Baphomet', an Anti-Masonic tract comic book. The Taxil hoax has been thorn in the side of Freemasons for years and is unlikely to go away anymore than the myths surrounding the Knights Templar.
In any monastic order there must be strict rules and regulations.
The Templar Order was no exception. The Commander would call the brethren to hear the charges against an offender and when the accused brother would confess of his fault he was asked to leave the room. At this time the Commander would seek the advice of the brethren in what penance to apply. If his infraction was small or if he was found to be innocent then no penance would be given. If however he was in violation of a major infraction of the rule then he would be later tried by the general chapter.
Below is a list of some of the faults and consequences a brother of the order could face:
EXPULSION FROM THE ORDER
This was the highest punishment a Templar Knight could face. Upon expulsion of the order he had an obligation to join the Cistercian order (founded by Templar supporter St. Bernard of Clairveux). It was hoped that joining this non warrior monastic order would save the expelled brothers soul.
Below are the infractions to cause such expulsion.
Murdering a Christian
Divulging The Chapters meetings
Committing acts of sodomy
Committing an act of heresy or denouncing the Christian faith
Conspiring, or making false charges, against a Brother
Leaving the Temple house for more than two days without permission
Fleeing the enemy during battle while the Baussant was flying or without permission of the Marshall
LOSING ONES COAT (Rank)
Losing the coat of the order was a penance of shame. Taken from guilty brother were his coat, weapons and horse. He would also be forced to eat off the floor, do menial tasks and be generally separated from his brethren.
This penance befell any who committed these infractions:
Fought with another brother
Lost or murdered a slave
Killed a pack animal or lost their horse due to their own neglect
Told untruths about themselves
Injured any Christian person out of anger (not by accident)
Had sex with a woman (sex with a man, sodomy, was a much more serious Templar crime)
Threatened to join the Saracens (usually out of madness or anger)
Leaving the Commandary at night in anger
Throwing their Templar coat to the ground in anger
Loaned any Temple assets without permission of the Order
It is important to note that all the above crimes could be forgiven. If a Brother repented with sincerity of his bad actions and, providing the Brethren agreed, he would be restored with his coat and weapons.
The Templars and their myths.
The Legend Of The Skull Of Sidon
The Skull and Cross bones have long been known to have Masonic connections. It was commonly used as a symbol on Masonic Grave sites in the past. The Skull and Crossbones, Masonic or not point out to us all, our own mortality and eventual death. This image of mortality was believed to figure in Templar ritual. Now while this claim in and of itself seems quite believable, one of the legends of how it came to be is not.
It is well known that the order of the Templars were monastic in nature and therefore forbidden to have involvement with women (see Templar Rule of Order). The legend of the Skull of Sidon states that one Templar knight had a relationship with a woman who died. He dug up the woman's corpse and consummated their relationship resulting in a most grisly birth nine months later.
'A great lady of Maraclea was loved by a Templar, A Lord of Sidon; but she died in her youth, and on the night of her burial, this wicked lover crept to the grave, dug up her body and violated it. Then a voice from the Void bade him return in nine months time for he would find a son. He obeyed the injunction and at the appointed time he opened the grave again and found a head on the leg bones of the skeleton (skull and crossbones). The same voice bade him 'guard it well, for it would be the giver of all good things', and so he carried it away with him. It became his protecting genius, and he was able to defeat his enemies by merely showing them the magic head. In due course, it passed to the possession of the Order.'
From The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail
by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln
According to these same authors this tale can be traced back to a twelfth century author named Walter Mapp, although the story at this time is not connected with the Templar Knights. However, at the time of their trials 1307-1314 CE it was well woven into the Templar legend. In fact it was called upon during the actual trials of the Templars.
Edward Burman in his book 'Supremely Abominable Crimes' tells of an Antonio Sicci, an apostolic notary from Vercelli, Northern Italy. Sicci recounts to the inquisitors the tale of the Lord of Sidon which he claimed he learned while working for the order in the Holy Land. His accusation and recounting of the tale is similar to that quoted in Baigent and Leighf's book.
As loony as this tale seems to modern eyes, it was easily bought during the period. The inquisitors and theologians would have picked up on the fact that the woman of the piece was Armenian by background. This they would have connected with the Armenian Church and its Paulician sects. The Paulicians and the Bogomils were practitioners of Catharism which the church had all but wiped out during the Albigensian Crusade. Since the church believed the Cathari to be practitioners of the Black Mass and necromancy, the woman's Armenian background would make the story guilty by association.
On Excommunicated Knights
12. Where you know excommunicated knights to be gathered, there we command you to go; and if anyone there wishes to join the order of knighthood from regions overseas, you should not consider worldly gain so much as the eternal salvation of his soul. We order him to be received on condition that he come before the bishop of that province and make his intention known to him. And when the bishop has heard and absolved him, he should send him to the Master and brothers of the Temple, and if his life is honest and worthy of their company, if he seems good to the Master and brothers, let him be mercifully received; and if he should die in the meanwhile, through the anguish and torment he has suffered, let him be given all the benefits of the brotherhood due to one of the Poor Knights of the Temple.
13. Under no other circumstances should the brothers of the Temple share the company of an obviously excommunicated man, nor take his own things; and this we prohibit strongly because it would be a fearful thing if they were excommunicated like him. But if he is only forbidden to hear the divine office, it is certainly possible to keep company with him and take his property for charity with the permission of their commander.
On Not Receiving Children
14. Although the rule of the holy fathers allows the receiving of children into a religious life, we do not advise you to do this. For he who wishes to give his child eternally to the Order of Knighthood should bring him up until such time as he is able to bear arms with vigor, and rid the land of the enemies of Jesus Christ. Then let the mother and father lead him to the house and make his request known to the brothers; and it is much better if he does not take the vow when he is a child, but when he is older, and it is better if he does not regret it than if he regrets it. And henceforth let him be put to the test according to the wisdom of the Master and brothers and according to the honesty of the life of the one who asks to be admitted to the brotherhood.
On Brothers who Stand Too Long in Chapel
15. It has been made known to us and we heard it from true witnesses that immoderately and without restraint you hear the divine service whilst standing. We do not ordain that you behave in this manner, on the contrary we disapprove of it. But we command that the strong as well as the weak, to avoid a fuss, should sing the psalm which is called Venite, with the invitatory and the hymn sitting down, and say their prayers in silence, softly and not loudly, so that the proclaimer does not disturb the prayers of the other brothers.
16. But at the end of the psalms, when the Gloria patri is sung, through reverence for the Holy Trinity, you will rise and bow towards the altar, while the weak and ill will incline their heads. So we command; and when the explanation of the Gospels is read, and the Te deum laudamus is sung, and while all the lauds are sung, and the matins are finished, you will be on your feet. In such a manner we command you likewise to be on your feet at matins and at all the hours of Our Lady.
On the Brothers' Dress
17. We command that all the brothers' habits should always be of one colour, that is white or black or brown. And we grant to all knight brothers in winter and in summer if possible, white cloaks; and no-one who does not belong to the aforementioned Knights of Christ is allowed to have a white cloak, so that those who have abandoned the life of darkness will recognize each other as being reconciled to their creator by the sign of the white habits: which signifies purity and complete chastity. Chastity is certitude of heart and healthiness of body. For if any brother does not take the vow of chastity he cannot come to eternal rest nor see God, by the promise of the apostle who said: Pacem sectamini cum omnibus et castimoniam sine qua nemo Deum videbit. That is to say: 'Strive to bring peace to all, keep chaste, without which no-one can see God.'
18. But these robes should be without any finery and without any show of pride. And so we ordain that no brother will have a piece of fur on his clothes, nor anything else which belongs to the usages of the body, not even a blanket unless it is of lamb's wool or sheep's wool. We command all to have the same, so that each can dress and undress, and put on and take off his boots easily. And the Draper or the one who is in his place should studiously reflect and take care to have the reward of God in all the above-mentioned things, so that the eyes of the envious and evil-tongued cannot observe that the robes are too long or too short; but he should distribute them so that they fit those who must wear them, according to the size of each one.
19. And if any brother out of a feeling of pride or arrogance wishes to have as his due a better and finer habit, let him be given the worst. And those who receive new robes must immediately return the old ones, to be given to the squires and sergeants and often to the poor, according to what seems good to the one who holds that office.
On Shirts
20. Among the other things, we mercifully rule that, because of the great intensity of the heat which exists in the East, from Easter to All Saints, through compassion and in no way as a right, a linen shirt shalt be given to any brother who wishes to wear it.
On Bed Linen
21. We command by common consent that each man shall have clothes and bed linen according to the discretion of the Master. It is our intention that apart from a mattress, one bolster and one blanket should be sufficient for each; and he who lacks one of these may have a rug, and he may use a linen blanket at all times, that is to say with a soft pile. And they will at all times sleep dressed in shirt and breeches and shoes and belts, and where they sleep shall be lit until morning. And the Draper should ensure that the brothers are so well tonsured that they may be examined from the front and from behind; and we command you to firmly adhere to this same conduct with respect to beards and moustaches, so that no excess may be noted on their bodies.
On Pointed Shoes and Shoe-Laces
22. We prohibit pointed shoes and shoe-laces and forbid any brother to wear them; nor do we permit them to those who serve the house for a fixed term; rather we forbid them to have shoes with points or laces under any circumstances. For it is manifest and well known that these abominable things belong to pagans. Nor should they wear their hair or their habits too long. For those who serve the sovereign creator must of necessity be born within and without through the promise of God himself who said: Estote mundi quia ego mundus sum. That is to say: 'Be born as I am born.'
How They Should Eat
23. In the palace, or what should rather be called the refectory, they should eat together. But if you are in need of anything because you are not accustomed to the signs used by other men of religion, quietly and privately you should ask for what you need at table, with all humility and submission. For the apostle said: Manduca panem tuum cum silentio. That is to say: 'Eat your bread in silence.' And the psalmist: Posui ori meo custodiam. That is to say: 'I held my tongue.' That is, 'I thought my tongue would fail me.' That is, 'I held my tongue so that I should speak no ill.'
On the Reading of the Lesson
24. Always, at the convent's dinner and supper, let the Holy Scripture be read, if possible. If we love God and all His holy words and His holy commandments, we should desire to listen attentively; the reader of the lesson will tell you to keep silent before he begins to read.
On Bowls and Drinking Vessels
25. Because of the shortage of bowls, the brothers will eat in pairs, so that one may study the other more closely, and so that neither austerity nor secret abstinence is introduced into the communal meal. And it seems just to us that each brother should have the same ration of wine in his cup.
On the Eating of Meat
26. It should be sufficient for you to eat meat three times a week, except at Christmas, All Saints, the Assumption and the feast of the twelve apostles. For it is understood that the custom of eating flesh corrupts the body. But if a fast when meat must be forgone falls on a Tuesday, the next day let it be given to the brothers in plenty. And on Sundays all the brothers of the Temple, the chaplains and the clerks shall be given two meat meals in honour of the holy resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the rest of the household, that is to say the squires and sergeants, shall be content with one meal and shall be thankful to God for it.
On Weekday Meals
27. On the other days of the week, that is Mondays, Wednesdays and even Saturdays, the brothers shall have two or three meals of vegetables or other dishes eaten with bread; and we intend that this should be sufficient and command that it should be adhered to. For he who does not eat one meal shall eat the other.
On Friday Meals
28. On Fridays, let Lenten meat be given communally to the whole congregation, out of reverence for the passion of Jesus Christ; and you will fast from All Saints until Easter, except for Christmas Day, the Assumption and the feast of the twelve apostles. But weak and sick brothers shall not be kept to this. From Easter to All Saints they may eat twice, as long as there is no general fast.
On Saying Grace
29. Always after every dinner and supper all the brothers should give thanks to God in silence, if the church is near to the palace where they eat, and if it is not nearby, in the place itself. With a humble heart they should give thanks to Jesus Christ who is the Lord Provider. Let the remains of the broken bread be given to the poor and whole loaves be kept. Although the reward of the poor, which is the kingdom of heaven, should be given to the poor without hesitation, and the Christian faith doubtless recognizes you among them, we ordain that a tenth part of the bread be given to your Almoner.
On Taking Collation
30. When daylight fades and night falls listen to the signal of the bell or the call to prayers, according to the customs of the country, and all go to compline. But we command you first to take collation; although we place this light meal under the arbitration and discretion of the Master. When he wants water and when he orders, out of mercy, diluted wine, let it be given sensibly. Truly, it should not be taken to excess, but in moderation. For Solomon said: Quia vinum facit apostatare sapientes. ÃÃ ÄÄ That is to say that wine corrupts the wise.
On Keeping Silence
31. When the brothers come out of compline they have no permission to speak openly except in an emergency. But let each go to his bed quietly and in silence, and if he needs to speak to his squire, he should say what he has to say softly and quietly. But if by chance, as they come out of compline, the knighthood or the house has a serious problem which must be solved before morning, we intend that the Master or a party of elder brothers who govern the Order under the Master, may speak appropriately. And for this reason we command that it should be done in such a manner.
32. For it is written: In multiloquio non effugies peccatum. That is to say that to talk too much is not without sin. And elsewhere: Mors et vita in manibus lingue. That is to say: 'Life and death are in the power of the tongue.' And during that conversation we altogether prohibit idle words and wicked bursts of laughter. And if anything is said during that conversation that should not be said, when you go to bed we command you to say the paternoster prayer in all humility and pure devotion.
On Ailing Brothers
33. Brothers who suffer illness through the work of the house may be allowed to rise at matins with the agreement and permission of the Master or of those who are charged with that office. But they should say instead of matins thirteen paternosters, as is established above, in such a manner that the words reflect the heart. Thus said David: Psallite sapienter. That is to say: 'Sing wisely.' And elsewhere the same David said: In conspectu Angelorum psallam tibi. That is to say: 'I will sing to you before the angels.' And let this thing be at all times at the discretion of the Master or of those who are charged with that office.
On the Communal Life
34. One reads in the Holy Scriptures: Dividebatur singulis prout cuique opus erat. That is to say that to each was given according to his need. For this reason we say that no-one should be elevated among you, but all should take care of the sick; and he who is less ill should thank God and not be troubled; and let whoever is worse humble himself through his infirmity and not become proud through pity. In this way all members will live in peace. And we forbid anyone to embrace excessive abstinence; but firmly keep the communal life.
On the Master
35. The Master may give to whomsoever he pleases the horse and armour and whatever he likes of another brother, and the brother to whom the given thing belongs should not become vexed or angry: for be certain that if he becomes angry he will go against God.
On Giving Counsel
36. Let only those brothers whom the Master knows will give wise and beneficial advice be called to the council; for this we command, and by no means everyone should be chosen. For when it happens that they wish to treat serious matters like the giving of communal land, or to speak of the affairs of the house, or receive a brother, then if the Master wishes, it is appropriate to assemble the entire congregation to hear the advice of the whole chapter; and what seems to the Master best and most beneficial, let him do it.
On Brothers Sent Overseas
37. Brothers who are sent throughout diverse countries of the world should endeavor to keep the commandments of the Rule according to their ability and live without reproach with regard to meat and wine, etc. so that they may receive a good report from outsiders and not sully by deed or word the precepts of the Order, and so that they may set an example of good works and wisdom; above all so that those with whom they associate and those in whose inns they lodge may be bestowed with honour. And if possible, the house where they sleep and take lodging should not be without light at night, so that shadowy enemies may not lead them to wickedness, which God forbids them.
On Keeping the Peace
38. Each brother should ensure that he does not incite another brother to wrath or anger, for the sovereign mercy of God holds the strong and weak brother equal, in the name of charity.
How the Brothers Should Go About
39. In order to carry out their holy duties and gain the glory of the Lord's joy and to escape the fear of hell-fire, it is fitting that all brothers who are professed strictly obey their Master. For nothing is dearer to Jesus Christ than obedience. For as soon as something is commanded by the Master or by him to whom the Master has given the authority, it should be done without delay as though Christ himself had commanded it. For thus said Jesus Christ through the mouth of David, and it is true: Ob auditu auris obedivit mihi. That is to say: 'He obeyed me as soon as he heard me.'
40. For this reason we pray and firmly command the knight brothers who have abandoned their own wills and all the others who serve for a fixed term not to presume to go out into the town or city without the permission of the Master or of the one who is given that office; except at night to the Sepulchre and the places of prayer which lie within the walls of the city of Jerusalem.
41. There, brothers may go in pairs, but otherwise may not go out by day or night; and when they have stopped at an inn, neither brother nor squire nor sergeant may go to another's lodging to see or speak to him without permission, as is said above. We command by common consent that in this Order which is ruled by God, no brother should fight or rest according to his own will, but according to the orders of the Master, to whom all should submit, that they may follow this pronouncement of Jesus Christ who said: Non veni facere voluntatem meam, sed ejus que misit me, patris. That is to say: 'I did not come to do my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.'
How They Should Effect an Exchange
42. Without permission from the Master, or from the one who holds that office, let no brother exchange one thing for another, nor ask to, unless it is a small or petty thing.
On Locks
43. Without permission from the Master, or from the one who holds that office, let no brother have a lockable purse or bag; but commanders of houses or provinces and Masters shall not be held to this. Without the consent of the Master or of his commander, let no brother have letters from his relatives or any other person; but if he has permission, and if it please the Master or the commander, the letters may be read to him.
On Secular Gifts
44. If anything which cannot be conserved, like meat, is given to any brother by a secular person in thanks, he should present it to the Master or the Commander of Victuals. But if it happens that any of his friends or relatives has something that they wish to give only to him, let him not take it without the permission of the Master or of the one who holds that office. Moreover, if the brother is sent any other thing by his relatives, let him not take it without the permission of the Master or of the one who holds that office. We do not wish the commanders or baillis, who are especially charged to carry out this office, to be held to this aforementioned rule.
On Faults
45. If any brother, in speaking or soldiering, or in any other way commits a slight sin, he himself should willingly make known the fault to the Master, to make amends with a pure heart. And if he does not usually fail in this way let him be given a light penance, but if the fault is very serious let him go apart from the company of the brothers so that he does not eat or drink at any table with them, but all alone; and he should submit to the mercy and judgment of the Master and brothers, that he may be saved on the Day of Judgment.
On Serious Faults
46. Above all things, we should ensure that no brother, powerful or not powerful, strong or weak, who wishes to promote himself gradually and become proud and defend his crime, remain unpunished. But if he does not wish to atone for it let him be given a harsher punishment. And if by pious counsel prayers are said to God for him, and he does not wish to make amends, but wishes to boast more and more of it, let him be uprooted from the pious flock; according to the apostle who says: Auferte malum ex vobis. That is to say: 'Remove the wicked from among you.' It is necessary for you to remove the wicked sheep from the company of faithful brothers.
47. Moreover the Master, who should hold in his hand the staff and rod- the staff with which to sustain the weaknesses and strengths of others; the rod with which to beat the vices of those who sin--for love of justice by counsel of the patriarch, should take care to do this. But also, as my lord St Maxime said: 'May the leniency be no greater than the fault; nor excessive punishment cause the sinner to return to evil deeds.'
On Rumor
48. We command you by divine counsel to avoid a plague: envy, rumor, spite, slander. So each one should zealously guard against what the apostle said: Ne sis criminator et susurro in populo. That is to say: 'Do not accuse or malign the people of God.' But when a brother knows for certain that his fellow brother has sinned, quietly and with fraternal mercy let him be chastised privately between the two of them, and if he does not wish to listen, another brother should be called, and if he scorns them both he should recant openly before the whole chapter. Those who disparage others suffer from a terrible blindness and many are full of great sorrow that they do not guard against harboring envy towards others; by which they shall be plunged into the ancient wickedness of the devil.
Let None Take Pride in his Faults
49. Although all idle words are generally known to be sinful, they will be spoken by those who take pride in their own sin before the strict judge Jesus Christ; which is demonstrated by what David said: Obmutui et silui a bonis. That is to say that one should refrain from speaking even good, and observe silence. Likewise one should guard against speaking evil, in order to escape the penalty of sin. We prohibit and firmly forbid any brother to recount to another brother nor to anyone else the brave deeds he has done in secular life, which should rather be called follies committed in the performance of knightly duties, and the pleasures of the flesh that he has had with immoral women; and if it happens that he hears them being told by another brother, he should immediately silence him; and if he cannot do this, he should straightaway leave that place and not give his heart's ear to the peddler of filth.
Let None Ask
50. This custom among the others we command you to adhere to strictly and firmly: that no brother should explicitly ask for the horse or armour of another. It will therefore be done in this manner: if the infirmity of the brother or the frailty of his animals or his armour is known to be such that the brother cannot go out to do the work of the house without harm, let him go to the Master, or to the one who is in his place in that office after the Master, and make the situation known to him in pure faith and true fraternity, and henceforth remain at the disposal of the Master or of the one who holds that office.
On Animals and Squires
51. Each knight brother may have three horses and no more without the permission of the Master, because of the great poverty which exists at the present time in the house of God and of the Temple of Solomon. To each knight brother we grant three horses and one squire, and if that squire willingly serves charity, the brother should not beat him for any sin he commits.
That No Brother May Have an Ornate Bridle
52. We utterly forbid any brother to have gold or silver on his bridle, nor on his stirrups, nor on his spurs. That is, if he buys them; but if it happens that a harness is given to him in charity which is so old that the gold or silver is tarnished, that the resplendent beauty is not seen by others nor pride taken in them: then he may have them. But if he is given new equipment let the Master deal with it as he sees fit.
On Lance Covers
53. Let no brother have a cover on his shield or his lance, for it is no advantage, on the contrary we understand that it would be very harmful.
On Food Bags
54. This command which is established by us it is beneficial for all to keep and for this reason.
What if ...
Now that we have some insight into this ancient Order of Knights wrongly accused of many things, lets play a game of ... 'What if ...'
What if ... there was a lad born sometime within the year 1223, a lad born an Inheritor Vampire, who grew to the age of admittance into the Templars. He joined and took vows and rose in the Order over time.
History took a strange turn and he was one of the Knights in the original founding order to be accused of such crimes. He was instrumental in freeing his brothers when they where set upon and almost captured by those evil men loyal to the Church. And as such was an outcast, excommunicated ...
Now what if ... this Knight, and others, reformed their own Order based on what had come before, and did their best to right the wrongs ... but as time passed their Brothers, all human, grew old and died. A few of these knights where born Inheritors and aged very slowly. One day another of their kind came to them and explained what they where, Vampires. Not the mythological kind but viral in nature.
The fact that they did not look as old as their brothers was attributed to black magic and worship of the Devil by those influenced by the lies of the church in relation to black magic. So this boy, now an adult, left with his companion, also a vampire, and over time they where joined by others who where also knights. And as the decades passed, these Knights formed their own Order and own branches of the Templar organization.
... and so, this ancient Order was brought fourth to modern day, with some of the original members still serving their vows.
What if ... this fantastic story where true?
~ ~ ~ End ~ ~ ~
As ever,
Catherene NightPoe
The Vampire Prophecies...http://www.vampiricstudies.com/prophecies.html14:36 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 356
In many societies there are prophecies foretelling the time of the last great battle of good against evil. The Vampires have such a legend as well, here are a few of the Prophecies which foretell a time of ending, which begins this, the last war of good against evil, to take place in the modern-day world of the viral vampire.
And now here are only a few of the prophecies that foretell this time of ending and beginning. The words are taken from Paladin as said to her by Azraeyel and also taken from other verbal Vampiric Sources.
And there grows near the foretold time.
A time when the truth breaks forth, like a chicken from its shell, at the moment of birth, into the world. The truth is upon the wind and the wind becomes a gale.
Once set free, the truth travels and releases the knowledge. And there shall be those on both sides who do not wish the truth known. And yet shall it become known to all.
On that day, shall human turn against human, vampire against his own kind and brother shall slay brother and friend shall kill his friend ... in the name of truth.
Then he shall have been the first, but his truth shall go unheeded, and the children shall betray him.
One of his own shall bring forth the tempest.
And the child shall lead and so shall he become the first and be the last.
In the end, there shall be only two kinds of humans: those who believe and understand, and those who fear.
The truth is upon the wind, and the wind becomes a gale, and shall blow across the land to devastate all within its path.
The wind shall blow ill. And so doth the time of ending become a plague upon all the land.
The messenger rides forth alone.
The wall of stone is false and 'tis but made of clay which shattered as the balance is shattered.
They who speak this truth are the first to die.
The Messenger carries forth the divine truth unto the masses.
The death is accomplished by the hand of evil which is mistaken for the Sword of Right.
But though the lips are silent, the heart screams and the words rise as the Phoenix to herald the end of the beginning.
As the storm grows more ponderous, THEY shall hear the windsong.
And what was fantastic will be reality, and reality shall be proven.
He who is the first, he who is the last, shall know the truth.
And as they do, so shall all, and the tempest subsides leaving only the destruction, a memory ... the voices an echo, and the truth evident.
And Brother kills his Brother, and Friend lies to Friend. and loves are lost as friendships die and the wind blows cold.
The Silent Battle rages, the Balance is no more, and yet doth the end come slowly ... with promise of renewed Light.
As with humans there is, and has been for centuries, a foretelling of a Time Of Ending; a time of a great and awful war which would put an end to things as we know them. A war that would tear families apart, that would turn friend against friend and bring destruction, devastation, and death in its wake.
This was/is not exactly religious in nature, but there are parallels. And, as with the Second Coming and the Armageddon, this Ending Time has its own legends and prophecies.
These legends are known mostly only to the vampires and those close to them. But the rumors of such a time have endured for centuries, told by word of mouth from one to the other.
There are several groups of vampires, and those who have an interest in them, who have very similar prophecies. A word or two different, a piece of information missing or added to the puzzle.
But they all agree the battle, as with humanity and Christians, will be a battle of great good over great evil. A fight on a planetary scale to include both humans and vampires.
No more secret, no more underground; no longer limited to just the vampire communities.
The battle is to be for balance, protection and survival.
In today's world, there are many different vampire groups and communities; they all belong to a loosely associated organization. An alliance of sorts, which basically keeps the peace. The alliance members are world wide; they abide by an ancient treaty, a treaty with many sections governing such things as conduct, relationships with humans, territorial ties and disputes, political and environmental issues. Laws and rules by which all are governed.
This treaty is ratified and added to, every so often in large meetings held in Europe, Asia and the Orient, and yes, here in America as well. Those who run the world and govern themselves and others have their own political structure and substructure.
You could compare it to a senate made up of many different councils, committees and other formations which unified the members. All going their separate ways and breaking off into smaller groups. To help understand the treaty concept, think of the alliance and treaty as a whole country, such as the United States, and think of the councils as the individual states, all unified for a common good. Unified to form a uniform policing force and laws that govern and benefit all.
Now think of each member state as an individual, different in modes of conduct. Just as we all are. But in this case, the German, French, American and Asian members all differ within their own location as well ... that way being unified as a member of the treaty, these organizations differ greatly in political beliefs and what they consider to be lawful.
Then, as in America, there is a comparison of the old beliefs, rules and laws, with the new and modern; the natural separation of the very young, the middle aged and the old. But with vampires, the age differences are greater. But young and old are not restricted to age but the length of time one has been a vampire, and which kind of vampire.
In this world, old could mean 800 years and young could mean newly transformed only a day or a week. A Classical vampire may be a week old, even though the 'actual' age of that newly transformed Classical could be over 50 years old or barely 18 years old. Compliance with the treaty originally, and the councils and committees which ran them, is what (in part) had kept the balance.
As with vampires everywhere, many disagree.
Some feel that humans should be shunned and will have no part in human affairs, others cherish human friendships. Some feel humans are cattle and nothing more. Whereby, there are vampires who feel humans are going to be the surviving animals and, as such, are responsible for the safety of the planet.
Other vampires feel THEY are the highest life forms and humans are not necessary and should be gotten rid of by any means possible. Then there are the vampire rogues, the independents who also adhere to the treaty.
The treaty keeps the balance ... as well as the balance of nature, between man and nature; between man and vampire.
There is a series of people who govern this treaty ... although the title seems religious, it is not so, not in the same sense as in Judeo-Christian systems ... included in this maze of interlocking different issues is also that of magick ... the old and the ancient, things you have no idea exist ... things of physical and psychic natures ... also dependent on the balance of the cosmos and the universe.
Just as good and evil and life and death are all balance and discipline, so is the treaty dependent on balance ...
For centuries there have been rumor's of this Ending Time. A time when the treaty would be no more ... when the old proven ways would no longer be followed. A time when the balance was disturbed and this would begin before the Christian Armageddon.
It would at first begin with only vampires but would soon spread to their human associates. A war unlike any other which would prove the existence of vampires to the world. There are many truths involved here and a few more important than all the rest.
Vampires have always been safe because of the myths. As long as the myths were believed, the actual vampire remains safe and able to function freely amid the disbelief of mankind. They are safe because they are uniformly not believed in by the masses. But the truth about vampires, by its very definition, will change the balance of nature.
Will humans want the benefits?
The longer life span, the more years of health and strength and beautiful appearance?
Would they feel the real vampire was a threat due to his strength, psychic abilities, longer work history which permits him to gain greater education and wealth?
Would that be considered a threat?
So many issues, so many reasons for the truth to be hidden?
But a few major reasons for the truth to be told.
The major reason ... Death to humans on a massive scale from ... err ... lets call it natural causes.
If one can consider AIDS a natural cause, that is. Deaths of millions of humans over the next 75 to 100 years. That death would also disturb the balance of nature.
What happens to the planet and the vampires, if the humans die? Some vampires feel it is natural selection ... just let it happen. But others feel, 'No, humans must survive. It is necessary to the survival of the planet.'
Now, just suppose that the vampires could insure the humans' survival, but in so doing perhaps end their own existence.
This would cause a rift in the vampire communities with some saying, 'Let them die. They caused it themselves. We can and will survive and so will the planet ... do nothing. Do not endanger us for them.' But others feel humans can be saved but in so doing they would learn a new truth: that vampires exist. And once this is proven to them, the vampires will be at risk as they lose the safety of pure myth.
Humans have always feared what they do not know or understand, and they tend to destroy what they fear. The hatred for vampires is ingrained due to the myths and lies of religion. So, the struggle between the two factions begins; those who wish to keep the treaty, the balance, intact, with those who wish to help humanity survive pitted against those who do not.
Those who feel the time is for change, the new ideas over the old, the young and new over the old ways. A change. Let the stronger vampires prevail.
What could happen if this actually occurred? If the treaty was disbanded? If the alliance fell apart?
The Civil War that would begin the 'Ending Time.'
Some vampires feel they could and should control the world governments by themselves instead of in the partnerships they now find themselves with humans counterparts. They do not wish any truth known ... especially that they exist. These factions would be pitted against those who disagree.
At first this war is confined to words, then actions only within the vampire communities. Later it would spill over into the human friendships, then fully into the human communities.
He, who is venerated for maintaining the Old Ways,
is called the Pope of Balance.
But he is only one of many. He is an ancient; sort of a figurehead, one of the symbols of the treaty and what it stands for: peace, right, balance, life.
He is believed to be a man of ancient honor who had taken vows to uphold this balance and more.
He is, and has always been, a target and so too are any who ally with him. His family, his friends, his associates ... just in knowing him they are a part of a struggle not many even realize begins.
In the end it is believed he will die sometime near the end of the war. He accepts this and is resigned to it. However, some think the event of his dying before the end of the war is a misreading of the ancient texts.
Some of us know our fate and know a truth ... it cannot be altered.
Just as the Christian time was foretold, accomplished and not able to be changed by any of its counterparts, so to is this Civil War predestined. Due to happenings during the past few years, such as the disturbances in California where several vampire groups began to openly argue about general policy and some even got into public fights ... these occurrences of serious argument began spreading to other states and countries.
In late 1997 there was a hectic meeting in Germany where several members of the Inheritor hierarchy walked out of the meeting on ratifying the additions to the treaty. This was followed by a general walkout by the younger Classicals.
A while later, in Paris, a high ranking Inheritor was attacked and badly injured by a young Classical. Also during 1997 a Night-Timer who is responsible for a good quantity of the truth reaching the public was stalked, threatened, had property destroyed by vandals and serious death threats. This act of terrorism and destruction was seen as an attempt to prevent information, such as found in the Vampiric Studies Course on the web site and such as is taught in this class, from being given to the general public. Twice the enemy has successfully been able to bring this site down, that will never happen again.
Due to these and other happenings within the vampire communities it is believed that the time line toward the Ending Time has begun and forces are now in play leading to the inevitable.
It is important to note that this Ending Time which is the beginning of the Civil War will, in its earliest stages, appear to the human community as human 'gang fights' but in actuality will be severe, ideological and territorial disputes which at first will be confined to the vampire communities. These disputes, however, will not be secret and will, in these early stages, be played out within a public background.
The War of Balance which is the beginning of the Ending Time.
El Chupacabra...
14:35 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 357
El Chupacabra is also known as ''the goat sucker''. Its name is derived from the Spanish verb Chupar which means ''to suck'' and the Spanish word for goat ''Cabra''. I've included an information page for El Chupacabra here because of his vampirelike feeding habits of draining the blood from his victims, with no signs of struggle, and leaving only small puncture wounds as evidence that he was there.
Incidentally, there is a similar creature that haunts New Orleans, and the surrounding area, known as the Grunch, sometimes called the Black Grunch. Legend has it that the Grunch dates back to the days of New Orlean's early settlement and that its name ''Grunch'' comes from the name of a road. Many of the stories of blood drained livestock having occurred on Grunch Road.
While the Chupacabra has been known in North and South America for more than 50 years now (since the early 1950s) it did not become widely known until the 1990s. The first official report of the Chupacabra, in 1994, came from Puerto Rico. The Chupacabra has reportedly been sighted in Columbia, Chile, Mexico, the U.S. (reports from most states) and attacks on livestock that follow the same pattern have occurred in the U.K., Spain, Ireland and Russia. So far there appear to have been no fatal attacks on humans.
Preceding El Chupacabra was another Puerto Rican creature called the Moca Vampire or El Vampiro de Moca. This creature first appeared during the Puerto Rican UFO flap of 1975. Sightings of the Moca Vampire and the evidence of its feedings are very similar to those of El Chupacabra. During and after the UFO sightings large numbers of livestock and small animals were found killed and totally drained of blood with only small puncture wounds on the animals. There were no apparent signs of struggle.
Twenty years later, in 1995, when the livestock deaths began again the creature was named El Chupacabra. So far it is estimated that over 2000 animals, including household pets, have fallen victim to the Chupacabra.
Long before both El Chupacabra and the Moca Vampire, some South American rain forest natives believed in a creature they called the ''mosquito-man''. Like a giant mosquito, the mosquito-man uses his long nose to suck the blood from animals. Some claim the mosquito-man, the Moca Vampire and El Chupacabra are the same creature.
Eyewitness accounts vary, but mainly the creature is described as standing 3 to 4 feet tall, hairless or with sparse hair, shorter forelegs with three-fingered clawed forepaws, heavily muscled hind legs with clawed hind paws. It has a row of sharp spines or quills down its back and appears to have a leathery or scaly grayish or greenish hide. Its eyes are most often described as red and as large elongated ovals. (the shape resembling the eyes of the ''Gray Aliens'') Reportedly it has a wolf-like snout with 4 long fangs, two on top jaw and two on the bottom, and a long snake-like tongue. It bounds or hops like a kangaroo, in up to 20 foot leaps. Most reports claim that it can change color from black or dark brown at night to green, greenish gray, to light brown during the day, depending on its surroundings. It has an odor like sulfur. It makes a hissing noise that often makes witnesses nauseous, dizzy or causes headaches. Some witnesses report the creature has wings and can fly.
There are other versions of what El Chupacabra looks like ...
~ A lizard-like creature that also hops, has spines down its back, this version has a proboscis that extends from its mouth and a forked tongue.
~ Another similar to the first, but with coarse thick fur, a dog-like head and a mouthful of big teeth.
~ Another appears to be an unusual type of wild hairless dog but with a spinal ridge, very large eyes, teeth and claws.
Some claim it is a reptilian creature presumed to have been extinct.
Native American Vampire Myths...14:34 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 358
This is a condensed combination of the Vampire Creation Myth. To my knowledge, there are five, three of which I have seen. All are based on Native American myth but two are based on 'The Book of Enoch' (about the fallen angels and the Watchers). To save time I have condensed the non-Christian ones here. To my knowledge the basis for these myths are deeply rooted in the religious lore and Shamanism of the Lakota Sioux, Cherokee and Black Foot Nations.
The Myth
There was once a brave and powerful Medicine Man and Healer who was kind and ruled his tribe with love. His brother was the Chief of the Ten Tribes. The Medicine Man loved a maiden named Laughing Sky. He and his love were wed and they lived among their people in peace and harmony with all. But Laughing Sky was barren and brought forth no children.
One day the Medicine Man, in his anguish for the lack of a son, raised his head and challenged the Great Spirit. He declared that he would no longer obey all things, if he where not given a son.
But the Great Spirit was deaf to his plea and listened not.
As the days passed Laughing Sky grew old and the end of her child bearing time drew nigh. In desperation, the Medicine Man turned to the more negative spirits for aid in making Laughing Sky fertile.
He did things forbidden and one sad day opened a portal by the use of magick, through which entered a dark spirit named Jumlin.
Jumlin was a strong and dominant negative spirit who sought life in the living dimension of the Earth and tricked the Medicine Man to bring him forth. He promised in payment for bringing him out of the Spirit Realm into the world that he would bestow the Medicine Man with many healthy sons and daughters to enrich his later years.
Jumlin promised the Medicine Man that Laughing Sky would bring forth to bare a beautiful and healthy son nine months after the Medicine Man granted Jumlin's desire to be brought from the Realm of Spirit Shadows into the Living World.
The Medicine Man complied.
Even though to do so was forbidden, the Medicine Man brought the Spirit of Jumlin into the world.
But Jumlin had fooled the great Medicine Man. Jumlin had shielded much of his power and once across the Divide, he possessed the Medicine Man, going into his heart, mind and body.
Jumlin was a hard and cruel spirit, dominant and hungry. He fed on blood of living things. First the animals of the forest, then the horses and finally on the people of his tribe.
As the Medicine Man, Jumlin had power and control of his people. He first selected the strongest of Braves to feed upon and in his hunger and blood lust fed from them unto their deaths.
The Medicine Man's brother, the Chief, and his people lived in fear. As Jumlin continued, his physical and mental powers grew stronger until none dared to resist him.
The stronger he became the more he took advantage of those weaker. Then one day he stopped feeding from the males and went into the female population of his village, doing as ever he liked or willed with their minds and bodies as he fed.
As with the males he satisfied himself fully with the women ... most died. In the spring, those who did not die, became with child and there where many new births in the village, all healthy, robust children.
The young, and older, braves, even though terrified, hated their Medicine Man more and more as he did as he pleased to their wives and daughters, sisters and nieces.
As the days grew into summer, Jumlin's appetites increased. He was now unstoppably strong in all ways and became even more negative.
All lived in dreadful fear as woman upon woman and then the female children began to die of Jumlin's cruelty and feeding.
As fall approached the men of the tribe could stand it no more and despite their fears, they sent two messengers to a nearby tribe to consult their medicine man. They were told that their Medicine Man was no longer he whom they had known, but the evil Spirit Jumlin.
And they learned the ancient methods for his destruction, for now, no more could he be killed as a mortal man is killed.
When they returned, after several months, they found Jumlin's spouse large with child and very ill. She lived to bring forth into the world Jumlin's child, who was called Laughing Bear.
Soon after giving birth, Laughing Sky fell into Child Bed Fever and the braves banded together in a plot to destroy Jumlin. But he was aware of it at once.
He killed Laughing Sky and drained her of her blood and did the same to the leader of the young braves as the warrior slept.
Jumlin took his son, several of the other children and their mothers in the dead of night and escaped. He gave the women and their children to several braves in various villages to buy their protection for a time as he made his way across the plains.
After a time only he and Laughing Bear rode together. Laughing Bear soon grew to be as cruel and indulgent as his father.
Several months hence, they came to yet another village where they stopped to rest. As Laughing Bear slept, Jumlin went abroad into the night as was his want. This time his feeding was more vicious than ever and his victim was the chief's eldest daughter.
As Jumlin, deep in a blood lust frenzy, partook of her, he was discovered by her father and three of the Hunters who had been following them all these months. Jumlin was killed, or actually destroyed, by the magic knowledge of the Hunters, but Laughing Bear escaped.
Laughing Bear and his brothers and sisters, begot by Jumlin, are said to be living to this day. Breeding with humans and their own kind to produce the first race of Inheritors.
They are physically powerful, live eternally and are negative in nature.
They are both the first Vampires and the ancestors of the first Vampires. And they walk the Earth today.
So said the three Native American Myths.
Another Cherokee Vampire Myth
U`TLÛÑ'T&Au ml; ~ A VAMPIRE FROM CHEROKEE FOLKLORE
Among the Cherokee there is a legend of a terrible bloodthirsty ogress who slaughters people and eats their livers.
Known as the U`tlûñ'ta, this she-creature can adopt any shape or appearance to suit her purpose, but in her right form she looks very much like an old woman, except that her whole body is covered with a skin as hard as a rock that no weapon can penetrate.
On her right hand she has a long, stony forefinger made from hard bone, shaped like an awl or the head of a spear. She uses this ghastly weapon to stab whomever she encounters.
Because of this fearsome weapon she is called U`tlûñ'tä, or 'Spear-finger'. Some people call her Nûñ'yunu'ï, or 'Stone-dress' because of her stony skin.
By whatever name she is called, though, this vengeful and bloodthirsty creature is to be deeply feared.
As ever,
Catherene NightPoe
TOP 7 MOST HAUNTED FORESTS AND WOODS...Haunted Forests
14:31 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 359
Walking into the woods at night can be scary, but when the woods are said to be haunted, few dare to venture in. Some woods and forests have a rich history indeed. Battle fields, burried treasures, Native burial grounds, crimes and murders, hangings, suicides, cult sacrifices... no wonder some are extremely haunted. Hollywood made 'The Blair Witch Project' movie, a fictional story about a 18th century witch haunting the woods and film students investigating the legend but never coming back. If you prefer non-fiction however, check out our list of what may be the 7 most haunted forests and woods in the world. WARNING: If you plan to visit any haunted sites, here are some things to consider:
1- Vandalism is not funny or cool.
2- If there are neighbors around the place you are visiting, don't disturb their peace.
3- If you trespass on a private property, you may get arrested.
4- Ghost Hunting is dangerous and better left to those who know what they are doing. Many paranormal experts will tell you that negative or malevolent spirits can harm you or follow you home.
7- Screaming Woods
Pluckley, Kent, UKThe Screaming Woods Dering Woods a.k.a. Screaming Woods sit just south of what is said to be the most haunted village in Britain, Pluckley. The woods get their name because of the blood curdling screams people sometimes hear coming from the forest late at night. Described as the most haunted woodland in Kent, Screaming Woods is said to be haunted by a highwayman who was captured by villagers, brought to the woods, pinned to a tree and killed with a sword, and a screaming man who is said to have fallen to his death. Here's a post from an interesting message board thread where people are discussing Screaming Woods and sharing experiences. ▼ I was in pluckley and a group of friends and i deicided to go to deering woods (screaming woods) when we got there ther were birds singing and the atmosphear seemed quite happy we pulled up the other car in the car park left we got out the car and my friend noticed that the birds had stopped singing as we went into the woods you could have heard a pin drop we walked in up to half way towards the cross roads and us girls decided to come out so we went in to the car and the boys went bac in about 20 min later the boys came running out they got in the car started the car and turned it head on to the woods were my friends brand new car stalled head on and we saw this dark black mist coming towards us as if it was walking down the path (there was definatly something) we then went down to the black horse pub were we discussed the days ghost hunt a we always did and the boys said that it was only when they started getting close to the crossroads that it apperead so they ran out. we have talked to a few of the local people who have said that early in the morning you can here screaming coming from the woods. - Read the entire thread here --> Source
6- Epping Forest
Essex, England, UKEpping Forest
©Diliff The birth of Epping Forest goes back to 8000 BC and its history is rich.▼ Most of the history of the forest may have been lost with time. However, there is still evidence of “Iron Age” forts; stories of Iceni Warriors; Roman battles; Saxon saints; Norman invaders; Tudor hunting grounds; notorious highwaymen; a place to escape war and plague, and a retreat for famous artists and writers. - Source Epping Forest is also notorious for its link with crime. The famous highwayman Dick Turpin had a hideout there, he lived for many years in a cave at High Beach. He and his partner Tom King would rob most people who would pass by. The Most Haunted show did an investigation in Epping Forest looking for the spirit of Dick Turpin and apparently they found him there. Because of its proximity to the city of London, the forest is also a notorious burial area for murder victims. Another reason why this forest is notorious is because of its ghost stories. People have reported apparitions, lights and there's even a spot called the Hangman’s Hill at High Beach where some claims that when put in neutral, your car is going to be pulled uphill.▼Legend has it that if you park on the hill the car will roll up it instead of down as you reach the top and look straight ahead you will see a bare field with just a tree in it which is apparently where a man was hung, supposedly you are being pulled up the hill by the hangman. - Source Some claim that it is an optical illusion and that the road doesn't go uphill while others swears that they tested the hill with balls which they say proves it is not an illusion. Here's below a post from an interesting thread discussing Epping Forest as well as Hangman’s Hill.▼ if you get the correct hill, its got a big oak tree at the top, which branch spreads across the road, and there is a ditch with a 30mph sign with graphitti on it stuck in the ground. And it is freaky, cos i've been there a few times, and we got out of the car, and actually watched our car roll up hill towards the tree, then it rolls back down again. We even tested with a ball, and it stood by the tree at the top and the ball rolled down, so it does go up hill. - Read the entire thread here --> LINK
5- Pembrey Woods
Carmarthenshire, Wales, UKPembrey Woods
©forestry.gov.uk Human activities in Pembrey Woods dates back to at least 400 B.C. when a fort was established there. The area is better known for what the locals call the "little hatchet men of Pembrey" who would lure ships with their lanterns close to a coast line that was filled with dangerous rocks, ultimately wrecking the ships. The little hatchet men would then slauther the survivors and rob everything they could. From the 19th century, gun powder and dynamite was produced in the forest. Close by, was a RAF air field and during the second world war, many damaged planes crashed in the area trying to make it home. Many ghosts are seen roaming in the forest as well as on the shores, from the little hatchet men to the ghost of a second world war air man, people have also seen ghost ships with dead sailors onboard. The Most Haunted show did an investigation there and here's a post from a message board thread where people are describing what was seen on the show as well as sharing a few personal stories. ▼ "Went camping in them woods with some friends last year,and I must say omg,I have mediumship but not trained,call it a gift,anyway we set up camp in the woods and made a fire,when night fell I had this strange feeling of we wasn't alone there and it was far from suggestive thinking!anyway I could see shadows moving across the trees and so did the rest of my friends,I also sensed a cavalier type man greeting me at the fire,now the funny thing is I told one of my friends this who was with us and she turned around and said omg I just saw the outline of a man standing by a tree looking over and he had the outline of a cavalier type person,she told me this after I had told her,we also saw strange lights in the distance inside the woods from our camp site,also got mouning in my ear not very nice let me tell you and the last thing I would like to add is when one of my friends went walking around the woods at night he said that it felt like some had gripped the bottom of his leg,hence the reason why he went flying to the ground!! all in all a very nice place to visit but also very creepy and you just know there's something there !!!" - Read the entire thread here --> LINK
4- Old House Woods
Mathews County, Virginia, USAOld House Woods
Photo courtesy of www.lifeinmathews.blogspot.com Mathews is a small county that still doesn't have traffic signal lights but in the 1600s, it was a very important place. It was the home of a very active port during the pre- Revolutionary, Revolutionary and Civil War eras. With so much history, it is no wonder that the woods and the nearby beach are said to be so haunted. Stories involving pirates, Spanish soldiers, treasures, British Redcoats, a burial ground, slaves and Native Americans are told. Some of the paranormal sightings reported are quite fantastic, skeletons in knight’s armor wielding threatening swords, a ghost ship hovering over the woods, ghost horses and cows, floating lights, ghost diggers, headless dogs as well as ghostly British soldiers, Spanish soldiers and pirates. But what about the name you ask? There was a colonial homestead in the center of those woods. The house caught fire but put itself out. A few years later however, another fire burned it down for good. The house is no more. Here's below a story from an interesting web page describing Old House Woods along with many stories submitted by users. ▼ I grew up in the area and have driven by it several times but always during the day. As a local I was always told by the adults not to venture into the Old House Woods, but as a college student I really wanted to. I brought some friends back to Tidewater Va to show them around. One of my friends asked if I knew of any haunted places and so I took them here. Upon entering the woods I noticed an immediate drop in temperature. After an hour of trampling around we decided to head back to the car. As we made our approach we heard someone trampling through the woods. Up ahead a figure started to appear walking toward us, as it came near we realized it wasn't on the ground but about a foot over. It was a man it military regalia, 18th Century British, who looked lost, he walked right between us. One of my friends began to cry he was scared so badly, I myself was truly believing what I had just seen. The Middle Peninsula is a haunted place steeped in a rich history. - Read the other stories here --> LINK Here's below another interesting story taking place in Old House Woods. ▼ In the summer of 2006, I went to Old House Woods. I have a friend who has a house very close to the woods itself. My friend (Dylan), my sister (Brandy) and her husband (David), another friend (Mike), and I had heard of all of the stories of ghosts and we wanted to see if they where true. A little while past midnight, we walked down Old House Woods Rd armed with cameras to see if we could find anything. As soon as we stepped onto the road, we felt an angry presence that we couldn't shake. We saw nothing with the cameras and nothing with our own eyes, but something much creepier happened. ... (continue reading by click the link below)- Read the rest of the story here --> LINK Photo courtesy of http://lifeinmathews.blogspot.com/ [Note that Old House Woods is apparently privately owned and the owner, or a person living close to it will call the cops if you trespass.]
3- Freetown State Forest
Southeastern Massachusetts, USAFreetown State Forest
Photo from www.masscrossroads.com Freetown was purchased in 1659 from the Wampanoag Tribe and became a town in 1683. It is part of what paranormal investigators call the "Bridgewater Triangle".▼ The Bridgewater Triangle is an area of about 200 square miles (520 km2) within southeastern Massachusetts in the United States.[1] Since colonial times the area has been a site of alleged paranormal phenomena, ranging from UFO and "black helicopter" sightings (including many with multiple points of corroboration including police and a local news team), to poltergeists and orbs, balls of fire and other spectral phenomena, various "bigfoot" sightings, giant snakes and "thunderbirds", as well as the mutilation of cattle and other livestock. Although known for centuries[2] as an area of unusual and unexplained activity, the specific boundaries of the Bridgewater Triangle were first defined by paranormal researcher Loren Coleman in his book Mysterious America.[3] The Triangle encompasses the towns of Abington, Brockton, Rehoboth and Freetown at the points of the triangle, and Norton, Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, Middleboro, Dighton, Berkley, Raynham, Easton, Lakeville, Seekonk, and Taunton inside the triangle. A similar but lesser-known area exists in neighboring Vermont called the Bennington Triangle.- Wikipedia.org, Source But it is the Freetown State Forest that hosts the bulk of the paranormal activities. Not very surprising when you look at the history of this forest. The Native Americans believed the land the be highly sacred and when it was sold by Wamitta, the Wampanoag Tribe might not have backed the deal. Because of it, it is believed that the forest is cursed. On top of containing several Indian burial grounds, the forest has also been the location of several murders, crimes and satanic rituals. Perhaps the most famous case involving the forest revolved around a local pimp and the killing of several local prostitutes. In the late seventies and early eighties Carl Drew ran his business out of Fall River and was implicated in the murder of at least three women under him. One of the victims was dumped in the forest and the initial investigation pointed to more cult activity. Several witness stepped forward saying Drew was the leader of a satanic cult and that the killings had been part of his need for human sacrifice. - Massachusetts Paranormal Crossroad, Source UFO sightings, bigfoot, ghosts, military activities, animal mutilations, pukwudgies (troll-like creatures), etc.. this is a very active paranormal site. Here's below a post from an interesting message board thread where people are discussing Freetown Forest and sharing experiences.▼ I belong to a paranormal research society. I have had more than my experiences in the Freetown state forest. I have seen spirit/ shadow people, A large white wolf, and a Spirit of a little girl near the sight where they found Mary lou Arruda's body in 1978. I didn't know the history of the forest until after researching the sitings I had. I recently spent the entire night in the forest with my group. We had some people feel like they were pushed. We heard laughter in the woods. occasionally we heard groans, breathing and screams. We walked 2.5 miles in the woods. ending at the top of the Ledge. Many time seeing lights glowing like softball size fireflies at the top of the trees. On from our group swore she saw some one jumping from tree to tree but unverified via film. Still need to go over evp recording and Hi 8 Video. - Read the entire thread here --> LINK
2- Aokigahara Forest
Mount Fuji, JapanMahmoud Ahmadinejad
©ajari Aokigahara Forest, bordering Mt. Fuji, is also known as "Death Forest", "Suicide Forest" or "Sea of Trees". Every year, around 30 people go there to commit suicide and around 500 have died there since the 1950's. A few Japanese books describing Aokigahara Forest as "The perfect place to die" have contributed greatly to the problem. It is not uncommon if you visit the forest to find bodies hanging from the trees and skeletons on the ground. But Aokigahara Forest has been a place where people go die for much longer than just half a century: In lean years gone by impoverished local inhabitants would bring those that could not feed themselves to the forest to die. The elderly and infirm, the young and disturbed would die long, drawn-out demises starving to death, their unheeded cries stifled by the notorious denseness of the trees.- Source Paranormal phenomena have been reported by many local residents as well as visitors. Many even consider Aokigahara Forest as Japan's most haunted spot: Aokigahara is considered the most haunted location in all of Japan, a purgatory for yurei, the unsettled ghosts of Japan who have been torn unnaturally soon from their lives and who howl their suffering on the winds. Spiritualists say that the trees themselves are filled with a malevolent energy, accumulated from centuries of suicides. They don't want you to go back out.- SourceHere's an interesting story told by a man who visited this ancient and haunted forest with his girlfriend: "anyway I was looking for a thrill and wanted to hike so we went into Aokigahara the day after....and boy oh boy.....it was the CREEPIEST place ever. (...) At this point my girlfriend felt very uncomfortable and wanted to leave so we backtracked....and thats when I stumbled on some bones. I freaked out, it was still wearing decaying jeans and Nikes. I f***ing started running. The more we ran the more the forest seemed to envelop us....I started freaking out some more thinking paranoid thoughts about how we might die in the forst. we ran around desperately I started to see things. No straight up ghostly apparitions....but a few times I could have sworn I saw somebody standing next to a tree but when I looked back there was nothing." ... (continue reading by clicking the link below)- Read the entire story here --> LINK
1- Hoia-Baciu Forest
Transylvania, RomaniaHoia-Baciu Forest The Hoia-Baciu forest, also known as the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania has become famous since 1968 when biologist Alexandru Sift captured a photo of a disc-shaped UFO flying above it. However, the locals have known all about the forest for much longer. They considered it an evil, cursed place and it was viewed as a taboo subject. The forest is viewed as one of the most haunted spot in the world and over the years, many ghost hunters, paranormal investigators and parapsychologists have been attracted to it. One of those people is Dr. Adrian Patrut, a chemistry professor at the local university and parapsychologist.▼ Dr. Adrian Patrut, a chemistry professor at the local university, claims that though there are many places around the world with unexplained phenomena, the “Hoia-Baciu Forest is one of the best due to the intensity, variety and complexity of its manifestations.”Patrut is president of the Romanian Society of Parapsychology and since the early ’70s he has been studying occurrences in the forest such as unexplained splotches of light and luminescent orbs hovering in the sky. He says that when you spend too much time in the HBF, you can experience symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, excessive thirst, nausea, vomiting and headaches. - Metro News, Source Some researchers have claimed that this forest is a portal to another dimension or spirit world. Locals warn that if you enter the forest, you may never return. Destination Truth, a SyFy channel show decided to go to Hoia-Baciu Forest and investigate. What they found is a place with an abundance of paranormal activities. Here's a blog entry describing very well what happened during that episode.▼ Evan is sent out to do the next isolation session. He hears female voices from the woods behind him. Then he seems to suddenly vanish in a flash of light.The team rushes to the clearing and finds him lying on the ground several feet from where he had been sitting, somewhat unresponsive and in shock. He has numerous with fresh linear scratches “like clawmarks” up his arms, which had been covered by sturdy sleeves. When he finally recovers he says that “it felt like wind just blew at me,” and suddenly pushed him across the clearing. Replaying the footage frame by frame shows Evan caught in a split second with his arms blown up and out behind him, as though he had just been hit by an invisible force.- Read the full summary of the show here --> LINKHoia-Baciu Forest is truly a mysterious place that may look like something out of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. The trees are spooky, wraped and crooked.
The World's 7 Most Haunted Forests Will Make You Never Try Camping Again Posted by Tommy DePaoli 14:30 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 360
Growing up in New England, I was surrounded by shadowy forests that seemed to go on forever. As I got older, I began to discover bits and pieces of local lore that trickle down into campfire tales and scary bedtime stories. It seemed to me that every forest had enough history to be haunted, which led to me having a Blair Witch Project reaction any time anyone suggested camping.
Now that I'm a bit older, I can see that while these spots may have had their own merits, they didn't have anything on the really haunted forests in the world. Here are the seven most spine-tingling, scream-inducing woods across the world that you should never, ever step foot in.
7. Old House Woods, Virginia
Let's start this list off with something nearly every haunted forest requires: a violent history. Old House Woods in Virginia was home to many a gruesome battle during the Revolutionary War and American Civil War. As a result, people have reported the ghosts of soldiers and slaves between the trees, searching for a way out.
Adults tell local children not to venture into the woods, lest they never return. Those who were lucky enough to come back reported precipitous drops in temperature, spectral figures in military regalia, and misty women floating before disappearing completely. Apparently, these woods are privately owned, and the owner will call the police on trespassers if he sees one. Could he be protecting folks from an even darker force hidden in the forest?
6. Screaming Woods, United Kingdom
Outside of Pluckley, also known as the "most haunted village in Britain," are the Dering Woods. Despite having a normal name, most people refer to them as the Screaming Woods due to the fact that most visitors who happen upon them are bombarded with blood-curdling, banshee-like screams that are far from simply human.
These screams are said to go all the way back to the 18th century, when a highwayman named Robert Du Bois was captured by villagers and brought to the woods to be killed with a sword. Du Bois continues to harbor a grudge against those who find him in the woods. If you're there and hear the sound of footsteps with no discernible body attached, run back the way you came.
5. Ballyboley Forest, Northern Ireland
Based on the circular trenches and distinctive stone arrangements, Ballyboley Forest in Northern Ireland is considered to be an ancient Druid site. From 1400-1700, this forest was notorious for the disappearances of several individuals without any explanation. The freakiness has only become more pronounced with time.
Very few people are willing to enter these woods, but those that did explore them have reported billows of black smoke and disembodied screaming voices in the distance. In one particularly terrifying episode, two men thought they heard a lady howling in pain. Leaving the path to attempt to find her, they discovered a tree dripping with thick strokes of blood. As they fled from sounds that started to encroach on them, one man turned around to see human-like figures in the forest, motionless and watching in brown head coverings. Stories like these have led people to believe that Ballyboley is a gateway to the Celtic "Otherworld."
4. Freetown State Forest, Massachusetts
Part of the Bridgewater Triangle area known for a bevy of paranormal activity, the Freetown State Forest is where most of the haunting occurrences take place. Its haunted status goes all the way back to colonial times, when settlers purchased the land from the Wampanoag Tribe. This deal was dicey at best because the Native Americans believed the forest to be sacred (housing multiple American Indian burial grounds), and some consider this exchange to have driven it to be cursed.
The curse lives on into modern times as the area became synonymous with Satanic cults and murderous rituals. One famous case involved a local pimp named Carl Drew who slaughtered women as a sacrifice for his occultist leader. In an especially sadistic show, Drew ripped out a woman's hair and fingernails before removing her head to kick around like a ball with his followers until he ended the ritual by raping her headless corpse. These dark forces continue to haunt the forest, leading visitors to feel pushed and prodded among sounds of heavy breathing and screams.
3. Devil's Tramping Ground, North Carolina
In horror movies, pets and other animals are often the first to recognize an otherworldly presence, but humans rarely heed their warning. In real life, things aren't much different. Dogs are said to flee from the forest clearing known as the Devil's Tramping Ground in North Carolina, a burnt, lifeless circle of ash where nothing ever grows.
The local legend goes that the circle of devastation is caused by the Devil, who uses this area to "tramp" and contemplate ways to destroy all of humanity. No vegetation or wildlife thrives in this circle, and scientists have taken samples to study this baffling phenomenon to no avail. Those who have tried to spend a night there either don't last until sunrise or go mad. Stranger still, any inanimate objects placed in the circle overnight are thrown outside its limits by dawn, a result of the Devil brushing aside anything in his wake.
2. Hoia-Baciu Forest, Romania
In an area often referred to as the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania, the Hoia Baciu Forest is notorious for unexplainable paranormal activity. Though locals have long been terrified of entering those woods, the forest became notorious in 1968 after a biologist named Alexandru Sift recorded a UFO-like object hovering overhead.
Supposedly, the creepily curved trees grew normally for decades, until a supernatural presence warped them. Those brave enough to enter the forest have reported rashes, nausea, vomiting, migraines, and intense, debilitating anxiety while roaming the forest, especially the constant sensation that they were being watched. The most disturbing but repeated theory is that Hoia-Baciu is home to an interdimensional portal, which causes people to disappear and have no concept of how much time has passed.
1. Aokigahara Forest, Japan
The well-known "Suicide Forest" borders Mt. Fuji in Japan and has a depressingly accurate nickname. Since the 1950s, an estimated 500 people have journeyed to Aokigahara to end their lives, and the forest continues to beckon people to die. Those who have visited the forest as tourists have come across rotting bodies swaying from tree branches and skulls and bones littering the ground.
Due to the sheer amount of tragic death, the forest has become something of a purgatory, filled with ghosts known as yurei who howl with suffering for their lives that were ended too soon. Some say that the trees themselves are filled with a malevolent energy that wants to keep you in the forest, possibly explaining why so many choose to commit suicide there. Indeed, even those who have just gone to check it out have admitted feeling a sense of permanence, like they were bound to the forest for the rest of their lives.
Blood Bars... Found on the web...14:28 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 362
A fairly popular topic throughout the Vampyre Community is the subject of "Blood Bars." Many will insist that they do not exist, while others will quite confidently make proclamations of their definitive existence.
Well, I'm here to tell you that they are real, albeit a bit uncommon.
Blood Bars usually double as your fairly average nigthclub, with the exception that they have blood on the menu. More often than not, this blood is taken from pigs or other such animals from the local butcher shop. Pigs' blood seems to be the most common. In some rare cases, they may serve human blood from willing Donors; however due to the amount needed and the risks involved therein, this practice is relatively uncommon.
The blood is typically served in shot glasses, and tends to run a bit on the expensive side, unfortunately. Of course, you could always see if the patrons are feeling...'generous.' *sly grin*
Jokes aside, doing so without a prior blood test of some form is very risky, and by participating in such careless actions you are accepting the fact that you may or may not be exposing yourself to harmful diseases/illnesses. In lay man's terms: Stupid.
Blood Bars and Goths
A common trend in Blood Bars is that they are often more "goth-oriented" than not, which has its advantages and its disadvantages. On the plus side, there are a lot of "goths" that ingest blood regularly due to whatever blood fetishes they may have; therefore the sight of a vampyre doing so as well is not so shocking. Also on the plus side is the fact that since most "goths" tend to gravitate more towards the 'darker' aspects of life, you don't have to worry too much about bright lights and the like (the music, on the other hand, will probably be quite loud).
The downside to this is that regardless of whether or not you tend to present yourself in this manner (that is, goth), people will relate you to such individuals; therefore further damaging the public representation of vampyres as "goth posers."
Associations with Covens and Havens
Blood Bars may operate separately from Covens/Houses/whatever, or they may operate as a part of them. Regardless of their 'official' associations, some may be what are known as "Havens" as well.
A Haven is simply a "safe place" (thus the name) for vampyres to get together and chat. This could be the local diner, coffee shop, or perhaps the nearest Blood Bar – it could be anything, really, and just depends on the individuals.
When they have an agreement with a Coven of some sort, that Blood Bar is typically that Coven's "official" Haven. The Coven members will get free perks from time to time, as well as the occasional allowance of individuals slightly under the age restrictions to enter. Those that are younger than the minimum age usually permitted in a bar are watched by the older members to ensure that they do not consume alcohol or get into any potentially dangerous situations.
Where can I Find a Blood Bar?
Regardless of all of this, you're certainly now wondering, "How do I find one?
Well, another site has done some wonderful work with just that information. This information is updated when changes are seen fit, and are based off of a categorical system by "Country => State/Territory => City => Bar."
Here is the link: http://vampirewebsite.net/vampirebarsclubs.html
Blood Substitutes... From Awake and Drink...
14:19 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 363
While nothing truly replaces blood, itself, there are many every day food items that will reduce the bloodlust, even if only temporarily. After scouring every corner of the Net years ago in search of these items, recipes, and techniques, I am setting out to once more discover these things and bring them to you.
Oh yes, we've all been through it. So you've got yourself a good system going for you to obtain blood –or at least a regular pattern by which you comply with–, and the next thing you know you have to unexpectedly leave for a while.
What do I do?
If it is just a matter of days, then it is no big deal, but if it is a matter of weeks or if those days are particularly stressful, then you may find yourself with the very compelling urge to Feed off of anyone and everyone that you set eyes upon. Of course, when one person in particular is causing you stress, this becomes even more difficult to deal with, as we all know how patient we are when we're Hungry (not).
Sure, you could try auto-vampyrism, but what if you are in a situation in which it is difficult to get away and have some time to yourself? Well, this list should help with that quite considerably.
Substitutes for Blood
This article can be tried out one-at-a-time, memorized, or even printed out as a shopping list if you so wish it to be, but what I am going to do is simply make a list – a list of all things alleged to 'sedate' the Hunger.
Note: Some of these (or a lot) will contradict each other, and that is O.K. Why? Because it differs slightly from person-to-person. A lot of these do not work for me, but they might work for you so have at 'em.
Rare or Medium-Rare Steaks
Fruits and Vegetables (Particularly vegetables, and preferably raw.)
V8 Fusion – not the "vegetable juice" type; the kind with actual juice flavors (such as pomegranate).
Light blue Gatorade (Glacier Freeze) for whatever reason does wonders.
Meditation (One would be quite surprised by the sheer power of conscious decision and serenity.)
This one goes without saying, but maintaining a good diet, and giving yourself a healthy amount of rest does wonders.
Another common sense thing is if you're feeling like it's getting the better of you, go out for a jog – do some exercising.
Something that helps me (Zane) a lot is pomegranate juices. The other flavor in it doesn't seem to matter much, but if you can find some pomegranate-based juice you should be pretty set. The heavenly abilities of pomegranate to sedate the "Thirst" is anything short of a godsend.
The last thing I would like to mention before showing what others believe work for them, is Psi-Feeding. Although real vampyres need blood, do not underestimate what Energy can do for a "quick fix." Obviously it's not going to be anywhere near as helpful as blood, but depending on how much you take, it should be able to get you by for anywhere from a half hour to a few hours.
Chocolate*
Chocolate Milk*
Yogurt*
Red Wine*
Semen*
Fresh Pineapple*
Suck on Clean Pennies*
Blood Supplements (i.e. iron supplements, etc.)*
Coffee**
Orange Juice**
Soda**
"...red Gatorade mixed with a little bit of orange juice and beef broth and liquid multivitamins. (Try it, it tastes almost like blood and it's VERY nutritious.)"**
"...buy some larger rodents they sell at pet shops to feed snakes with, and feed from those."**
Chocolate Syrup**
Tomato-based products (i.e. Ketchup, Tomato Soup)**
Hot sauce**
Spicy foods**
Tobasco Sauce**
Hot peppers**
Beef broth**
Beef bouillion**
Half-set Jell-O**
Green tea**
Pulpy Orange Juice**
Chicken**
Beef liver (cooked)**
Bananas***
Sugar***
Cinnamon***
NesQuik Powdered Strawberry Milk Mix***
"I have found a drink that actually really helps stop the craving for blood but not altogether; it at least takes some of the "pain" of it off. High Pulp Orange Juice: it's thick, filling, easy to get, and everyone's happy because you are drinking something "normal" and healthy..."**
Smoothies**
Czernina****[4]
Blood-Wine****[4] [Just visit the link ([4]****) at the bottom of the page for this and the prior.]
Cheese, Yogurt, other bacterial foods*****[5]
Milk (Fresh)*****[5]
Kool-Aid******[6]
Tea******[6]
"look, here's what I do. It may help you, it may not. Boil beef broth, and mix with v8 and orange juice. Taste like blood, has almost all of the vitamins and minerals you need."******[6]
Hot Apple Cider******[6]
Syrup******[6]
Tuna******[6]
Grapes*******[7]
Raisins*******[7]
Canteloupe*******[7]
Watermelon*******[7]
Granola*******[7]
Rice*******[7]
Breads*******[7]
Honey*******[7]
Pasta*******[7]
Gatorade*******[7]
Raw fish*******[7]
Sushi*******[7]
Molasses*******[7]
Pickles*******[7]
Ice cream*******[7]
Cherry syrup********[8]
Cooked insects********[8]
Cranberry Juice********[8]
"Fresh Berries of any kind (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, etc...)"********[8]
Chamomile********[8]
Ginger********[8]
Mint********[8]
Energy Drinks (i.e. Red Bull, etc.)********[8]
"Geritol Liquid (taken 3 times a day)"********[8]
"Sports water (the kind with added oxygen)"********[8]
"Raw liver (beef or calf only and even then you risk illness)"********[8]
"bear,rabit and goat blood also make good 2eds"********[8]
Brewer's yeast*********[9]
Sea salt*********[9]
Kelp*********[9]
Colloidal materials*********[9]
Chlorella*********[9]
Spirulina*********[9]
Bluegreen Algae*********[9] [Zane Note: Some people are allergic to chlorella, spirulina, and bluegreen algae]
Table salt*********[9]
Self-hypnosis*********[9] [Zane Note: While there usually are not any complications regarding this, I strongly urge everybody to do their research from all perspectives before delving into this as there have been some, albeit very few, negative health reports regarding this.]
Recipes
From Anonymous:
1. Steak
Another method of cooking that I regularly use. Heat an oven to 150°C (about 300°F) with a baking tray in it. When it is up to temp slap your steak (seasoned as you like) on the baking tray. Cook for 2 min a side at most. Just enough to seal the outside and warm the inside to body temp. Cooking too long is a waste of blood, too long and you risk an upset stomach. Fresh is WAY better than frozen.
2. Blood sausage
Don't know if you can get it in other countries, but here in England we have black pudding, a sausage made from pigs blood. It is sliced and fried for breakfast. Got more iron than chewing on nails, plus feeds us in ways we need to be fed. ;)
3. Oil of Clove
My old emergency remedy. Oil of clove can be bought from herbal remedy shops and some pharmacies (drug stores to you Americans). It is used as a dental anesthetic and rubbed on gums helps with wisdom teeth and the likes. Get a glass of ice cold water and put 2-3 drops of clove oil in it (aka a tincture). Drink slowly in sips and give the water time to swill around your mouth. By numbing the tongue you will reduce the thirst drastically. Oil comes in little bottles, so easy to keep in your backpack or handbag. Anyone asks, its for your tooth pain**[2]
Contributed by: Liz from this site.
Duck or goose blood soup or czarnina (also known as czernina) is a Polish favorite and originated as a way to use up every part of a slaughtered duck or goose.
If you don't have access to a freshly slaughtered duck or goose and its blood, you may be able to purchase the blood at a Polish deli and duck parts from a butcher (or blanched pork neckbones). If blood isn't available or distasteful, try slepo (blind) czarnina, which is blood free.
Makes about 10 servings of Polish Czarnina
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
Blood from a freshly killed duck or goose (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup vinegar
Duck or goose parts (or 3 pounds blanched pork neck bones)
10 cups cold water
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon marjoram (cloves, allspice are optional)
Salt and pepper
2 cups dried fruit (prunes, raisins, pears, apples)
2 cups half-and-half
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Preparation:
Mix fresh blood with vinegar so it won't clot, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Or you can buy the blood already mixed with vinegar at some European specialty stores.
Place dressed duck pieces in a large pot. Cover with at least 10 cups cold water. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Add a stock sachet, if desired, marjoram and other spices, if using, and salt and pepper to taste. Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour.
Add the dried fruit and cook another hour. Remove meat from bones and return to the pot. Let the soup cool and refrigerate to make skimming off the fat easier, and prevent curdling once the blood and half-and-half are added.
When ready to serve, in a large bowl, cream the soup by fork blending flour into half-and-half. Add 3 ladles of cold soup and blood-vinegar mixture and whisk until smooth. Transfer to pot with remaining soup and heat gently until soup is thickened and the raw flour taste is cooked out, about 20-30 minutes. Adjust seasonings, vinegar and sweetness, if necesary. Serve with soup kluski or potato dumplings.
Contributed by: Liz from this site.
By: BARB VAN ARKEL
"This is an old Polish recipe that was used at Easter time. This recipe is traditionally served with home made noodles. If desired the fruit can be removed, leaving broth to serve with noodle. If you do not know where to purchase a duck, contact a local farmer or butcher. If you prepare your own poultry be sure to add 1/2 cup vinegar to duck blood to prevent coagulation."
Ingredients
1 (4 pound) wild duck, whole
4 cups duck blood
8 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 stalk celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 sprig chopped fresh parsley
1 cup heavy cream
5 whole allspice berries
2 whole cloves
16 ounces pitted prunes
1/2 cup raisins
1 tart apple - peeled, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions
Cover whole duck with water in large stock pot. Add salt, and bring to a boil. Skim off foam.
Place celery, parsley, allspice, and cloves in a cheese cloth bag, and add to stock pot. Cover and cook over low heat until meat is tender, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
Remove cheese cloth bag from stock pot. Remove duck. Discard bones, cut up meat, and return to the broth.
Mix in prunes, raisins and apple. Simmer for 30 minutes.
In a medium bowl, beat flour and sugar into cream until smooth. Beat in duck blood gradually. Add 1/2 cup hot soup stock to blood mixture, blending thoroughly. Pour mixture slowly back into stock pot, stirring constantly until soup comes to a boil. Season to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice and vinegar.
Sources
If anybody has anything to add to the list, feel free to shoot me an email.
Bibliography
[1]* http://www.sanguinarius.org/articles/CG_solitary-vampyres.shtml
[2]** http://www.sanguinarius.org/guide/blood/bloodthirst.shtml
[3]*** http://www.sanguinarius.org/teen-vampires/t-surprises.shtml
[4]**** http://www.sanguinarius.org/guide/blood/cooking.shtml
[5]***** http://www.vampires.nu/pages/forums.cfm/action/viewmessages/PageID/10/Forum/25/Topic/26105
[6]****** http://www.vampires.nu/pages/forums.cfm/action/viewmessages/Forum/25/Topic/19407/PageID/10
[7]******* http://www.house-eclipse.org/hex/hex_plugins/content/content.php?content.74
[8]******** http://vampires.nu/pages/Forums.cfm/action/viewmessages/Forum/25/Topic/14079/PageID/10
[9]********* http://sarasvati.sanguinarius.org/bbcfamine.html
References/Further Reading:
How to cook steak http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org/articles/sc-meat.html
How to cook steak http://www.sanguinarius.org/guide/blood/bloodthirst.shtml
Cooking with blood http://www.sanguinarius.org/guide/blood/cooking.shtml
Blood-Ingredient-Recipes http://sarasvati.sanguinarius.org/recipies.htm
Things to help the Thirst http://www.angelfire.com/home/darkrealms/recipes.html
Somebody else's list (with recipes) http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org/articles/sc-substitutes.html
PRIVATE ENTRY
14:00 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 364
• • • • PRIVATE JOURNAL ENTRY • • • •
Vampires Online and Bats...https://vampirelegends.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/vampires-online-and-bats/13:58 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 365
Hi bloodsuckers,
I’m here to say that the blog is having a very nice moment, with a lot of views in a day and a lot of visitors. I guess it’s moment to give you more information than I’m already doing. So I made a Twitter and there you can find more notices, quick infos and fun, direct from the deepest abyss.
So follow Vampire Legends on Twitter @vampirewords and keep visiting the blog for great and big reports about the real true vampires.
Thank you!
Now a quick post about the vampire bats.
Vampire bats are bats whose food source is blood, a dietary trait called hematophagy. There are three bat species that feed solely on blood: the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus), the Hairy-legged Vampire Bat (Diphylla ecaudata), and the White-winged Vampire Bat (Diaemus youngi). All three species are native to the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. They generally have small ears and a short tail membrane. Their front teeth are specialized for cutting and their back teeth are much smaller than in other bats. Their digestive system is adapted to their liquid diet, and their saliva contains a substance, draculin, which prevents the prey’s blood from clotting. The vampire bats do not suck blood, but rather lap the blood at the site of the haemorrhage (where the prey is bleeding). The common vampire bat also has specialized thermoreceptors on its nose, which aids the animal in locating areas where the blood flows close to the skin of its prey.
Vampire bats hunt only when it is fully dark. Like fruit-eating bats, and unlike insectivorous and fish-eating bats, they emit only low-energy sound pulses. The common vampire bat feeds mostly on the blood of mammals (including humans), whereas both the hairy-legged vampire bat and white-winged vampire bat feed on the blood of birds. Once the common vampire bat locates a host, such as a sleeping mammal, it lands and approaches it on the ground.
Only 0.5% of bats carry rabies. However, of the few cases of rabies reported in the United States every year, most are caused by bat bites.
The Vampire bat is often used in horror movies about Vampires. Fictional vampires also consume blood, usually in order to survive. As influenced by the actual vampire bat the most common method is piercing a hole in the victim’s neck with sharp fangs and sucking blood from the pierced area. Fictional vampires are also commonly nocturnal, and rarely come out during the day, similar to vampire bats. Other attributes include, but are not restricted to, the ability to transform into a vampire bat and animal-like senses of sight and hearing.
Draculin is a very fun named substance. The name came, naturally from Count Dracula. It is a glycoprotein found in the saliva of vampire bats. It is composed of 411 amino acids. It functions as an anticoagulant, inhibiting coagulation factors, keeping the blood of the bitten victim from clotting while the bat is drinking. This anticoagulant is a hundred times stronger than any other known anticoagulant and is prescribed for heart attack and stroke patients.
https://vampirelegends.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/vampires-online-and-bats/
Arnont Paule
13:56 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 366
The Arnont Paule (Arnold Paole or Arnaut Pavle, as you can also find) was the man who brought up the Eighteenth century vampire controversy… Or, how should I say, 99% of the modern vampires are based on his not so sucessfull life.
Arnont was a Serbian hajduk who was believed to have become a vampire after his death, initiating an epidemic of supposed vampirism that killed at least 16 people in his native village of Meduegna, located at the Morava river near the town of Paraćin, Serbia. His case, became famous because of the direct involvement of the Austrian authorities and the documentation by Austrian physicians and officers, who confirmed the reality of vampires. Their report of the case was distributed in Western Europe and contributed to the spread of vampire belief among educated Europeans. The report and its significance for the subsequent Eighteenth century vampire controversy are nowadays explained with the poor understanding of the process of corpse decomposition at the time.
His first outbreak is only known from Flückinger’s report about the second epidemic and its prehistory. According to the account of the Medveđa locals as retold there, Arnold Paole was a hajduk who had moved to the village from the Turkish-controlled part of Serbia. He reportedly often mentioned that he had been plagued by a vampire at a location named Gossowa (perhaps Kosovo), but that he had cured himself by eating soil from the vampire’s grave and smearing himself with his blood. About 1725, he broke his neck (stupid.) in a fall from a haywagon. Within 20 or 30 days after Paole’s death, four persons complained that they had been plagued by him. These people all died shortly thereafter. Ten days later, villagers, advised by their hadnack (a military/administrative title) who had witnessed such events before, opened his grave. They saw that the corpse was undecomposed “and that fresh blood had flowed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears; that the shirt, the covering, and the coffin were completely bloody; that the old nails on his hands and feet, along with the skin, had fallen off, and that new ones had grown”. Concluding that Paole was indeed a vampire, they drove a stake through his heart, to which he reacted by groaning and bleeding, and burned the body. They then disinterred Paole’s four supposed victims and performed the same procedure, to prevent them from becoming vampires.
About 5 years later, in the winter of 1731, a new epidemic occurred, with more than ten people dying within several weeks, some of them in just two or three days without any previous illness. The numbers and the age of the deceased vary somewhat between the two main sources.
Glaser’s report on the case states that by 12 December, 13 people had died in the course of 6 weeks. Glaser names the following victims (here rearranged chronologically): Miliza (Serbian Milica, a 50-year-old woman); Milloi (Serbian Miloje, a 14-year-old boy); Joachim (a 15-year-old boy); Petter (Serbian Petar, a 15-day-old boy); Stanno (Serbian Stana, a 20-year-old woman) as well as her newborn child, which Glaser notes was buried “behind a fence, where the mother had lived” due to not having lived long enough to be baptized; Wutschiza (Serbian Vučica, a 9-year-old boy), Milosova (Serbian Milošova, actually “Miloš’s wife”, a 30-year-old wife of a hajduk), Radi (Serbian Rade, a twenty-four-year-old man), and Ruschiza (Serbian Ružica, a forty-year-old woman). The sick had complained of stabs in the sides and pain in the chest, prolonged fever and jerks of the limbs. Glaser reports that the locals considered Milica and Stana to have started the vampirism epidemic. According to his retelling, Milica had come to the village from Ottoman-controlled territories six years before. The locals’ testimony indicated that she had always been a good neighbour and that, to the best of their knowledge, she had never “believed or practiced something diabolic”. However, she had once mentioned to them that, while still in Ottoman lands, she had eaten two sheep that had been killed by vampires. Stana, on the other hand, had admitted that when she was in Ottoman-controlled lands, she had smeared herself with vampire blood as a protection against vampires (as these had been very active there). According to local belief, both things would cause the women to become vampires after death.
According to Flückinger’s report, by the 7th of January, seventeen people had died within a period of three months (the last two of these apparently after Glaser’s visit. He mentions Miliza, an unnamed 8 year old child; Milloe, Stana (a 20-year-old woman, died in childbirth after a three-day illness, reportedly said that she had smeared herself with vampire blood) as well as her stillborn child (as Flückinger observes, “half-eaten by the dogs due to a slovenly burial”), an unnamed 10-year-old girl, Joachim, the hadnack’s unnamed wife, Ruscha, Staniko, Miloe, Ruscha’s child (18 days old), Rhade, the local standard-bearer’s unnamed wife, apparently identical to Milošova in the other report along with her child, the 8-week old child of the hadnack and Stanoicka. According to her father-in-law Joviza (Jovica), Stanoicka had gone to bed healthy 15 days previous, but had woken up at midnight in terrible fear and cried that she had been throttled by the late Miloe. Flückinger states that the locals explain the new epidemic with the fact that Miliza, the first to die, had eaten the meat of sheep that the “previous vampires” (i.e. Paole and his victims from five years prior) had killed. He also mentions, in passing, the claims that Stana, before her death, had admitted having smeared herself with blood to protect herself from vampires and would therefore become a vampire herself, as would her child.
The villagers complained of the new deaths to Lieutenant Colonel Schnezzer, the Austrian military commander in charge of the administration. The latter, fearing an epidemic of pestilence, sent for Imperial Contagions-Medicus Glaser stationed in the nearby town of Paraćin. On 12 December 1731, Glaser examined the villagers and their houses. He failed to find any signs of a contagious malady and blamed the deaths on the malnutrition common in the region as well as the unhealthy effects of the severe Eastern Orthodox fasting. However, the villagers insisted that the illnesses were caused by vampires. At the moment, two or three households were gathering together at night, with some asleep and others on the watch. They were convinced that the deaths wouldn’t stop unless the vampires were executed by the authorities, and threatened to abandon the village in order to save their lives if that wasn’t done. Failing Glaser consented to the exhumation of some of the deceased. To his surprise, he found that most of them were not decomposed and many were swollen and had blood in their mouths, while several others who had died more recently were rather decomposed. Glaser outlined his findings in a report to the Jagodina commandant’s office, recommending that the authorities should pacify the population by fulfilling its request to “execute” the vampires. Schnezzer furthered Glaser’s report to the Supreme Command in Belgrade (the city was then held by Austrian forces). The vice-commandant, Botta d’Adorno, sent a second commission to investigate the case.
The new commission included a military surgeon, Johann Flückinger, two officers, lieutenant colonel Büttner and J.H. von Lindenfels, along with two other military surgeons, Siegele and Johann Friedrich Baumgarten. On the 7th of January, together with the village elders and some local Gypsies, they opened the graves of the deceased. Their findings were similar to Glaser’s, although their report contains much more anatomical detail. The commission established that, while five of the corpses (the hadnack’s wife and child, Rade, and the standard-bearer’s wife and child) were decomposed, the remaining twelve were “quite complete and undecayed” and exhibited the traits that were commonly associated with vampirism. Their chests and in some cases other organs were filled with fresh (rather than coagulated) blood; the viscera were estimated to be “in good condition”; various corpses looked plump and their skin had a “red and vivid” (rather than pale) colour; and in several cases, “the skin on hands and feet, along with the old nails, fell away on their own, but on the other hand completely new nails were evident, along with a fresh and vivid skin”. In the case of Miliza, the hajduks who witnessed the dissection were very surprised at her plumpness, stating that they had known her well, from her youth, and that she had always been very “lean and dried-up”; it was only in the grave she had attained this plumpness. The surgeons summarized all these phenomena by stating that the bodies were in “the vampiric condition” (das Vampyrenstand, german). After the examination had been completed, the Gypsies cut off the heads of the supposed vampires and burned both their heads and their bodies, the ashes being thrown in the Morava river. The decomposed bodies were laid back into their graves. The report is dated 26th of January 1732, Belgrade, and bears the signatures of the five officers involved.
On the 13th of February, Glaser’s father, Viennese doctor Johann Friedrich Glaser, who was also a correspondent of the Nuremberg journal Commercium Litterarium, sent its editors a letter describing the entire case as his son had written to him about it already on the 18th of January. The story aroused great interest. After that, both reports (especially Flückinger’s more detailed version) and the letter were reprinted in a number of articles and treatises.
So, in the end, Arnont Paule brought uo the “Vampirism” Pathology Theory. Where people sometimes suspected vampirism when a cadaver did not look as they thought a normal corpse should when disinterred. However, rates of decomposition vary depending on temperature and soil composition, and many of the signs are little known. This has led vampire hunters to mistakenly conclude that a dead body had not decomposed at all, or, ironically, to interpret signs of decomposition as signs of continued life. Corpses swell as gases from decomposition accumulate in the torso and the increased pressure forces blood to ooze from the nose and mouth. This causes the body to look “plump,” “well-fed,” and “ruddy”, changes that are all the more striking if the person was pale or thin in life. Darkening of the skin is also caused by decomposition. The staking of a swollen, decomposing body could cause the body to bleed and force the accumulated gases to escape the body. This could produce a groan-like sound when the gases moved past the vocal cords, or a sound reminiscent of flatulence when they passed through the anus. After death, the skin and gums lose fluids and contract, exposing the roots of the hair, nails, and teeth, even teeth that were concealed in the jaw. This can produce the illusion that the hair, nails, and teeth have grown. At a certain stage, the nails fall off and the skin peels away, the dermis and nail beds emerging underneath could be interpreted as “new skin” and “new nails”. Folkloric vampirism has been associated with clusters of deaths from unidentifiable or mysterious illnesses, usually within the same family or the same small community. The epidemic allusion is obvious in the classical cases and in the vampire beliefs of New England generally, where a specific disease, tuberculosis, was associated with outbreaks of vampirism. As with the pneumonic form of bubonic plague, it was associated with breakdown of lung tissue which would cause blood to appear at the lips.
Nowadays we know that Arnont Paule, Glaser, Flückinger and the Eighteenth Century Vampire Controversy were wrong, and that all those symptoms are caused by decomposition. All of the phenomena described are normal characteristics of corpses at certain stages. Ruddiness is common, non-coagulated blood is often present and may be seen escaping from the orifices, and both nails and the outer layers of the skin peel off.
Human Vampiric Virus... One Theory from History...
13:55 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 368
This Human Vampiric Virus was suposed by an Italian scientist called Ludovico Fatinelli in the year 1616. He wrote his thesis about Vampirism in a book called Treatise on Vampires, in which he speculated that vampirism was caused by a microscopic pathogen. His thesis included the results of the work of countless dedicated men and women. Well… After that he was condemned for heresy and burned… But science never gave up ;D…. Though Fatinelli was gone, his research lived on. For years after his death, illicit copies of his banned treatise made their way through Europe’s scientific communities and helped pave the way for important work by scientists like the Englishman Edward Jenner, who created the first vaccine in 1795.
fatinelli
Ludovico Fatinelli
The Virus:
fleaThe virus was called Human Vampiric Virus and he speculated that this virus had a natural host, a flea commonly found on cave-dwelling bats, especially the vampire bat, this flea was called Xenopsylla cheopsis . Like Rabies, HVV belongs to the order Mononegavirales, viruses with a nonsegmented, negative-stranded RNA genome.
Commonly, a bat which has been bitten by the flea passes the virus on to livestock and humans through a bite.
While in theory HVV infection is possible through any exchange of bodily fluids, transmission occurs through the bite of an infected person in virtually every case.
Stages of the Disease:
1- Infection:
Within hours of being bitten, the victim develops a headache, fever, chills and other symptoms as the body tries to fight off the infection. These symptoms can be easily confused with more common viral infections, although the presence of bite marks on the body are usually enough to confirm the diagnosis. This stage generally lasts between six and twelve hours, during which the vaccine is 100 percent effective.
2 – Vampiric coma:
oldvampWithin 24 hours of being bitten, the victim will slip into a vampiric coma. During this phase, the pulse slows, breathing is shallow and the pupils are dilated. The large numbers of people mistakenly buried alive while in vampiric comas gave rise to the myth that vampires sleep in coffins. While it is commonly thought that anyone infected with HVV turns into a vampire, in fact only a small percentage of people survive vampiric comas. Generally, the young, the old and the feeble never come out of their vampiric comas and eventually die. The vast majority of people who survive vampiric comas are males between the ages of 18 to 35. Vampiric comas last about a day; the victim usually comes out of the coma the night after its onset. The vaccine is 50 percent effective when administered during this stage of the infection. The longer the victim has been in the coma, the less effective the vaccine.
3 – Transformation:
A bite victim who survives the coma will awaken fully transformed into a vampire. An acclimation period follows, characterized by confusion, despondency and paranoia. Most vampires begin to hunt within 24 hours of transformation. The vaccine is of no use at this point.
Mathematic Scepticism
Untill today some people still believe in the exsistence of the HVV. To destroy the mythological virus, the american magazine Skeptical Inquirer published a mathematic calculation to prove that there is no vampires living in earth.
This calculation is simple: each person that has been bitten by a vampire turns into a new vampire. In this way, the vampire population grows up in a geometric progression and the human population begins to disapear in the same way. If the first vampire came up in 1600 AD, when the world had 563 million of people, and they really had fed themselves with human blood one time in a month, then just 30 months would be necessary untill the whole humanity turns into vampires.
I’ll keep believing that they’re here between us ;D……
The First Ones All vampire tales have their own legends. All the worlds have their own creators.
13:53 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 369
Long time no see, bloodsuckers… And I’m back from Disneyland to tell you a bit more about The Legend Of The First Ones. Or the Ones with no creator.
Anne Rice’s Akasha and Enkil
Akasha (or Akash, Aakaashá, Ākāśa, आकाश) is the Sanskrit word meaning “aether” in both its elemental and metaphysical senses. The name may represent the basis and essence of all things in the material world, the smallest material element created from the astral world, the conception of the cosmos or the Fifth Element. A good name for the first vampire-devil on Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles.
As known as Those Who Must Be Kept, Akasha and Enkil are the progenitors of all vampires who are also regarded as the King and Queen of the Vampires. Originally King Enkil and Queen Akasha of Kemet (now Egypt circa 5,000 BC), became the first vampires when an evil spirit named Amel was able to enter the body of Akasha through a wound and fuse with her flesh. Akasha then turned Enkil into a vampire by drawing out nearly all of his blood and then allowing him to drink nearly all of hers. The term “Those Who Must Be Kept” was coined by the vampire Marius referring to the fact that what befalls Akasha and Enkil also befalls all vampires, if they are injured, so are their children, if they die, so do all vampires.
Actually their blood contains the real “thing”that must be kept, so the power of the first can be passed to others. They are so old that they remain seat and looking like real statues.
In the book The Vampire Lestat it is specifically spelled out that Enkil and Akasha were made into vampires at the same time by a demonic infusion but it is later explained in Queen of the Damned that Akasha made Enkil into a vampire, after she was first made by demonic infusion, in order to save him from the wounds inflicted upon him by citizens of Kemet. At numerous points in the canonical history of Rice’s books, Enkil rises from his throne to defend Akasha from being drained of her powerful blood. Marius rescues Lestat from being destroyed by Enkil after he rises and hits him away while he is drinking from Akasha, despite (or possibly because of) the fact that Akasha appears to have summoned Lestat to her. We see, then, that Enkil is not merely Akasha’s guardian and consort, but that he maintains his own will and emotions, including jealousy….
Akasha was pretty good played by Aaliyah, in the movie The Queen Of The Damned. The movie was sadly Aaliyah’s last big work, after that, she died in an airplane accident.
Vampire: The Masquerade’s Cain and Lilith
In the Hebrew Bible and in the game, Cain and Abel (Hebrew: קין ,הבל, Hevel, Qayin) are two sons of Adam and Eve.
In the Greek New Testament, Cain is referred at least in one translation as “from the evil one”, while others have “of the evil one.” Some interpreters take this to mean that Cain was literally the son of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Cain is a crop farmer and his younger brother Abel is a shepherd. Cain is portrayed as sinful, committing the first murder by killing his brother, after God has rejected his offerings of produce but accepted the animal sacrifices brought by Abel. God declares that Cain must sacrifice his most beloved thing, that are not the plantations he has. Facing this declaration, Cain assassinates his own brother, that was supposed to be his most beloved thing. God judges this act as envy and condemns Cain into the eternal darkness with no pleasures and just pain.
Cain starts his journey through the dark world, unable to see the sun, to eat food and to touch the fire. He meets Lilith that is the first wife of Adam and mother of all demons .While in the Land of Nod she encounters another exile, Cain and offers him shelter. She awakens the power in him and is betrayed by Cain for her efforts, who, after leaving her, returns with his descendants to destroy her garden and slaughter her children.
The so-called Dark Mother was exiled from Eden before the creation of Eve, she was the first to taste the fruits of the tree of knowledge. Using her knowledge she created her own gardens, hoping to imitate Eden, she failed in her imitations and still longed for the paradise from which she had been exiled.
Worshiped by the Bahari & Lilitu, Lilith is said to impart her secrets to those who imitate her, choosing to challenge the established order and explore the limits of their own sensations.
The original Book of Nod did not have Lillith cursed in this way, it was her murdering Adam’s wife and children that got her cast out of the light of Eden’s garden, in subsequent books things may have been retconned for game purposes but it was not the original story.
The bulk of Cain’s history is covered in the Book of Nod, theErciyes Fragments, the Lilithian, and the Luciferian. These books conflict on Cain’s motives, but all agree he killed his brotherAbel. Days of Fire describes how Caine gave himself a “gift,” and the gift was delusion. Using this gift, he thought he killed Abel in an act of love when it was really an act of hate. He used this gift to make pride out of shame, which resulted in being outcasted.
Hellsing’s Alucard
Volume 8 presents flashbacks of when he was human. Dracula starts his career by fighting the Ottomans, believing that God does not reward prayer, but instead wants mortals to show their faith visibly. However, when his army is defeated and he is about to be executed, Vlad gives up on God, thinking that God deserted him and so turns his back to God in turn. It is not explicitly shown or stated how he became a vampire, but in one scene he drinks blood from the floor in front of an executioner.
The series mentions the events of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but deviates at the point of Dracula’s defeat. In Hellsing, he was staked in the heart but not destroyed. It is unknown if he was forced into servitude or was willing, but he became a servant of the Van Helsing family. He, along with a young Walter C. Dornez, were sent to Warsaw, Poland to stop Millennium’s vampire production program.
The Vampyre’s Lord Ruthven
Lord Ruthven appeared as the titular character in the 1819 short story The Vampyre. This had been written in 1816 by Dr. John William Polidori, another acquaintance of Byron’s. It was published in the April 1819 edition of The New Monthly Magazine. The publishers falsely attributed the authorship to Byron. Both Byron and Polidori disputed this attribution.
In the story, a young Englishman Aubrey meets Lord Ruthven, a man of mysterious origins who has entered London society. Aubrey accompanies Ruthven to Rome, but leaves him after Ruthven seduces the daughter of a mutual acquaintance. Aubrey travels to Greece where he becomes attracted to Ianthe, an innkeeper’s daughter. Ianthe tells Aubrey about the legends of the vampire. Ruthven arrives at the scene and shortly thereafter Ianthe is killed by a vampire. Aubrey does not connect Ruthven with the murder and rejoins him in his travels. The pair are attacked by bandits and Ruthven is mortally wounded. Before he dies, Ruthven makes Aubrey swear an oath that he will not mention his death or anything else he knows about Ruthven for a year and a day. Looking back, Aubrey realizes that everyone who Ruthven met ended up suffering.
Aubrey returns to London and is amazed when Ruthven appears shortly thereafter, once again alive. Ruthven reminds Aubrey of his oath to keep his death a secret. Ruthven then begins to seduce Aubrey’s sister while Aubrey, helpless to protect his sister, has a nervous breakdown. Ruthven and Aubrey’s sister are engaged to marry on the day the oath ends. Aubrey writes a letter to his sister revealing Ruthven’s history and dies. The letter does not arrive in time. Ruthven marries Aubrey’s sister, kills her on their wedding night, and escapes. His character is one typical vampire. His character is alluring and sexual, but is also linked with horror and supernatural terror.
Abraham Van Helsing... The Inside... I’m back from the dead, my beloved blood suckers.13:52 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 370
And today I bring you some information about Van Helsing… There are a lot of vampire legends in the world, and also a lot of people who hunt those vampires.
Dracula got his own hunter, maybe so famous as he is, Professor Abraham Van Helsing is, probably, the most famous vampire hunter in the whole world.
Created by Bram Stoker, Van Helsing is a Dutch doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: “M.D., D.Ph., D.Litt., etc.”
In the novel, Van Helsing is called in by his former student, Dr. John Seward, to assist with the mysterious illness of Lucy Westenra. Van Helsing’s friendship with Seward is based in part upon an unknown prior event in which Van Helsing suffered a grievous wound and Seward saved his life by sucking out the gangrene. It is Van Helsing who first realizes that Lucy is the victim of a vampire and he guides Dr. Seward and his friends in their efforts to save Lucy. Van Helsing also appears in the Dracula 2000 Movie and in the The Tomb of Dracula Marvel Comics series, which was based on the characters of Bram Stoker’s novel, but the chronology slightly differs from Bram Stoker’s.
Abraham Van Helsing opened the doors to the creators, and, based on his existence, the other movie directors, writes, artists and producers created thousand of new vampire hunters.
It looks like any famous vampire in the world has his own hunter, except Edward Cullen. Even Lestat has the Talamasca (nor really hunters) to annoy him.
Based on Dracula, Nosferatu is another classic vampire. His hunter is named Professor Bulwer and appears only in a few scenes.
The Hammer movies had created a lot of versions to Van Helsing, sometimes with the same name. One of them is J. Van Helsing, as seen in The Brides of Dracula. In the series of Hammer Dracula films set in the 1970s, the character of Van Helsing is named Lawrence Van Helsing and is seen in the prologue (set in 1872) of Dracula AD 1972. These movies had Dracula being resurrected in the 1970s only to meet Lawrence’s grandson, Lorrimar Van Helsing, a “different” vampire hunter.
In 2004 Van Helsing became a movie. Hugh Jackman played Gabriel Van Helsing, the eponymous hero of Van Helsing, loosely based on Bram Stoker’s character. The name was changed from “Abraham” to “Gabriel” for two reasons: because the writer/director/producer, Stephen Sommers, did not feel that “Abraham” was an appropriate name for an action hero, and because Universal wanted copyright privileges to the character. The name change is accounted for in the story of the film, in which it is implied that Gabriel Van Helsing is actually the Archangel Gabriel in human form. Gabriel hunts monsters for the Catholic Church, and in the movie is sent to Transylvania to kill Count Dracula. When he arrives, Dracula tells Gabriel that they have already met and have quite a history together.
Normally, the hunters are associated with the church, but this is a Bram Stoker’s stigma.
Abraham Van Helsing has also made a cameo appearance in the Japanese manga Hellsing. The first time he appeared in one of Alucard´s dreams, Van Helsing made many allusions to Dracula when referring to Alucard e.g. “So what are you going to do now, No Life King?”. At the end of this dream, Alucard seems to cry blood. The second time Van Helsing appeared as a silhouette after Alucard transforms into the “Count”, this last one is the most direct reference to the novel in the manga, since this time besides Van Helsing, Alucard mentions Quincey Morris, Arthur Holmwood and Dr. Seward, although, mysteriously, not Jonathan Harker. He appeared for a third time in a flashback showing Alucard’s previous deaths. In the manga series, Alucard’s Master is called Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, and she owns an organization with her own name, Hellsing.
Name apparitions:
Comics
The comic book series, The Tomb of Dracula featured Rachel van Helsing, granddaughter of Abraham, as a major member of the principal hunters. Minor characters were Abraham’s wife Elizabeth and his brother Boris.
In the manga and anime, Hellsing, modern day descendant Integra Hellsing leads a British government strike force against supernatural menaces. The story also includes her father Arthur and uncle Richard.
The DC comic Night Force features Abraham’s granddaughter Vanessa Van Helsing.
Sword of Dracula is a comic book with Veronica “Ronnie” Van Helsing.
Helsing (not to be confused with Hellsing) is a Caliber Comics title about a Samantha Helsing and a John Van Helsing.
The Vampirella comic books feature father-son vampire hunters Conrad and Adam van Helsing.
Movies
Dracula 3000 features Captain Abraham Van Helsing (played by Casper Van Dien), a descendent of the original Van Helsing and the captain of a spacefaring salvage ship. A twist is that this Van Helsing is killed unceremoniously by Dracula mid-film.
Hammer Films’ Dracula series features a whole dynasty of Van Helsings: “J.” (equivalent to Abraham); Lawrence, older than J., relationship unspecified; J.’s son Leyland, Lawrence’s grandson Lorrimar, and Lorrimar’s granddaughter Jessica. Peter Cushing played J. in Horror of Dracula (1958), The Brides of Dracula (1960). Lawrence in a brief opening segment of Dracula AD 1972 (1972), and Lorrimar in Dracula AD 1972, The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974) and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974); Robin Stewart played Leyland in The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires; and Jessica was played first by Stephanie Beacham in Dracula AD 1972, then by Joanna Lumley in The Satanic Rites of Dracula.
In the Disney movie Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire, Malachi Van Helsing is hunting the vampire Dimitri, who is preying on the mother of the main characters.
In the comedy movie Love at First Bite, Dracula falls in love, and Jeffrey Rosenberg, grandson of Fritz Van Helsing tries to kill him.
2004 direct to video film The Adventures of Young Van Helsing depicts Abraham Van Helsing’s great grand son Michael saving the world from Simon Magus.
The 2006 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula’s Curse features a character named Jacob Van Helsing, who is inferred to be a descendant of the original Van Helsing, although this is never actually stated outright.
2004 film Van Helsing starring Hugh Jackman as Gabriel Van Helsing.
2005 film Way of the Vampire starring Rhett Glies as Dr. Abraham Van Helsing.[2]
2009 film Stan Helsing is a satire comedic film revolving around the descendant of Abraham Van Helsing.
Television
A humorous British TV series, Young Dracula, featured Mr. Eric Van Helsing — presumably the descendant of his more famous predecessor, though with none of his competence — trying to exterminate Count Dracula and his children, who had been chased out of Transylvania by an angry mob and were now living in rural Wales. Eric lives in a travel trailer with his son Jonathan. There are also references made to previous Van Helsing vampire slayers, such as Manly, Porphyria, Abraham III and Norris.
The 2009 ITV series Demons follows a modern-day teenage descendant of Van Helsing.
In Tales of the Slayer story “House of the Vampire”, part of an unofficial series of short stories based on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Peter Van Helsing (cousin to Abraham) is a Watcher (an advisor and trainer of vampire Slayers.) Within the Buffy canon, Dracula is a real vampire but a charlatan and Van Helsing is unmentioned.
The TV series Angel (TV series), a spin off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series) following the exploits of Buffy Summers’s vampire paramour Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) prominently features a 18th century human vampire-hunting antagonist, based on Van Helsing and named Daniel Holtz who relentlessly tracks Angel across Europe in order to avenge the death of his wife and children.
Books and Stories
The short story Abraham’s Boys by Joe Hill is about the retired Abraham Van Helsing and his two sons, and how he passes along his knowledge to them. The story is included in the anthology The many faces of Van Helsing.
The short story “Immortal Hunters” by Suz deMello features John Van Helsing as a reluctant vampire.
According to The Vampire Hunter’s Handbook, Abraham was not the first Van Helsing to encounter vampires. The book is supposedly written by Raphael Van Helsing in the eighteenth century. It has also been prequeled by The Demon Hunter’s Handbook by Abelard Van Helsing (sixteenth century) and The Dragon Hunter’s Handbook by Adelia Vin Helsin (fourteenth century). The supposed writers refer to each other (in the cases where it makes sense) and other Van Helsings.
Similar to the above mentioned handbooks is Vampyre: The Terrifying Lost Journal which is written by Mary-Jane Knight but credited to dr Cornelius Van Helsing. The book implies that Cornelius is the brother of Abraham.
Young Dracula by Michael Lawrence mentions a farmer named Dweeb van Helsing.
Audiobooks
Faith – The Van Helsing Chronicles is a German series of audiobooks by Simeon Hrissonmallis.[3] The main character is Faith van Helsing, daughter of Adam and Melissa van Helsing. Other van Helsings mentioned include Michael, John and Samuel.
Vampiric DNA... One Theory...13:48 Oct 02 2016
Times Read: 371
The genetics of vampires have been discussed many times in our various communities. And today we have a lot of possibilities of the genetic theory for vampirism.
There are many vampires who believe to come from the Nephilim, Aliens, or various god-like figures such as Caine, Lilith, Set or Osiris. All of these have one common theme: A line of descent from one or more progenitors to present day vampires. A line of descent implies a genetic reason for vampirism. This doesn’t rule out other reasons such as environmental or spiritual, but does indicate at least one part of vampirism is genetic.
If vampirism is genetic it has to be recessive. By this we can suppose that it is carried from generation to generation through a recessive gene as opposed to a dominant one.
A little bit of biology:
All genes come in pairs. These can be dominant/dominant, dominant/recessive, or recessive/recessive. Dominant genes always overpower the recessive ones. As such, a dominant feature (due to a dominant gene) is much more common to have as opposed to a recessive one. For more information on this, consult an upper level high school book on biology.
More specifically to humans and vampires:
If we make H = Dominant Human Gene
and we make v = Recessive Vampire Gene
How would a vampire be created through genetics? Let us explore the possibilities:
A man and a woman have children. The man and the woman have the possibility of the following gene combinations:
HH = Totally Human
Hv = Human but a carrier of the recessive vampire gene
vv = Totally Vampire
Let us now take 5 different couples:
Couple 1 is HH and HH (both parents are human)
Couple 2 is HH and Hv (one parent is human the other is a carrier of vampire dna)
Couple 3 is HH and vv (one parent is human the other is a vampire)
Couple 4 is Hv and vv (one parent is a carrier of vampire dna the other is a vampire)
Couple 5 is vv and vv (both parents are vampires)
(There are some areas of genetics that are only passed by one sex or the other. For now, let us just go with the idea that vampirism can be carried and instanciated by both men and women. As such the sex of the above couples is irrelevant.)
Now, let us see the offspring of each couple:
Couple 1 (HH and HH) would have the following offspring:
1stH + 1stH = Totally human
1stH + 2ndH = Totally human
2ndH + 1stH = Totally human
2ndH + 2ndH = Totally human
Here we see that totally human parents have a 100% chance of producing a totally human offspring.
Couple 2 (HH and Hv) would have the following offspring:
1stH + H = Totally human
1stH + v = Human who is a Carrier of Vampire dna
2ndH + H = Totally human
2ndH + v = Human who is a Carrier of Vampire dna
Here we see that this couple would have a 50% chance of producing totally human offspring and 50% chance of producing a human who is a carrier for vampire dna.
Couple 3 (HH and vv) would have the following offspring:
1stH + 1stv = Human who is a Carrier of Vampire dna
1stH + 2ndv = Human who is a Carrier of Vampire dna
2ndH + 1stv = Human who is a Carrier of Vampire dna
2ndH + 2ndv = Human who is a Carrier of Vampire dna
This couple has a 100% chance of producing a Human who is a carrier of vampire dna.
Couple 4 (Hv and vv) would have the following offspring:
H + 1stv = Human who is a Carrier of Vampire dna
H + 2ndv = Human who is a Carrier of Vampire dna
v + 1stv = Vampire
v + 2ndv = Vampire
This couple has a 50% chance of producing a carrier for vampire dna and a 50% chance for producing a real vampire.
Couple 5 (vv and vv) would have the following offspring:
1stv + 1stv = Vampire
1stv + 2ndv = Vampire
2ndv + 1stv = Vampire
2ndv + 2ndv = Vampire
This couple has a 100% chance of producing a vampire.
In summary we have the following potentials:
Couple 1: 100% Human
Couple 2: 50% Human, 50% Carrier
Couple 3: 100% Carrier
Couple 4: 50% Vampire, 50% Carrier
Couple 5: 100% Vampire
I would now like to address the three main types of vampires we seem to encounter:
Vampires who know what they are virtually from birth
Vampires who awaken themselves later on in life (usually around puberty)
Vampires who must be awakened (often said to be turned) by others
There’s a suggestion that those who are products of Couple 5 are much more likely to know what they are from birth.
Those who are products of Couple 4 are more likely to self-Awaken later on in life.
Those who are carriers, which can be from Couple 2, 3 or 4 are the ones that many call Latent Vampires, or those who are ‘turned’ by other vampires already Awakened.
(These Latent Vampires can also self-Awaken but are much less likely too in comparison to offspring with both recessive vampire genes as opposed to one recessive one.)
Based on this creed, we can find a lot of histories. Most of them are about ‘half-vampires’ or children from humans and vampires.
This theory that vampire can have children brought also another theory that the vampire incidence on the medieval age was stonger around Europe, because of the commom practice of consanguineous marriage. At this time was very common to marry anyone from your own fammily, specialy in the real families (Blood Countess case, maybe…) and consequentily more people with the recessive gene were born, brigging more and more vampires to life.
This consanguineous marriage was also very common around Romanian and in the Transylvanian territory, It mays also mean that Vlad III, the Impaler (OH GOD…!) can be a natual-born vampire too.
Many people really believe in the Vampiric DNA theory, and they also have two different ways of thinking. For exemple, there are some people who say that, based on the Vampiric DNA theory, now a days we all needed to have the vampire recessive genome. That means, a minimun of 90% of the actual population were needed to be Carriers of the Vampire Genome, or to be ‘half-vampires’, during the many years of reproduction.
There is also another theory, which says the vampire genome was extinct with the plague in the dark ages. And that this genome is able to come back, with mutations and another genome things… You may believe in whatever you want.
Source: Bloodlines.com (now, not working anymore….)
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