Journal of Geek Studies

jgeekstudies.org

The biology of vampires

João Pedro O. Krizek & Marcus Vinicius D. V. Muller
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]

Vampires are mythological and folkloric vampire bites a human, if the victim does not
creatures that have been catching people’s die, they become a vampire. A possible ex-
attention for centuries (Fig. 1). They (fortu- planation for this is that, upon contact with
nately or unfortunately) do not exist in the the victim’s blood, a vampire’s contaminat-
real world, but our intention in this article ed blood or saliva can transmit the NHV.
is to conduct a scientific interpretation of
vampires as if they were real. Here, we ex-
amine some possible scientific explanations
for vampirism, if it existed, particularly by
looking at the biology of these fascinating
creatures and proposing explanations based
on real-world scientific knowledge.
In the first section, we discuss what could
be the cause and origin of vampirism in hu-
mans. In the second section, we analyze
different aspects of the vampire phenotype,
such as aversion to garlic, sensitivity to sun-
light, anticoagulant and anesthetic produc-
tion, aversion to religious symbols, and oth-
ers. In the third section, we look at how the Figure 1. Vampire, by Edvard Munch (1895). Public
fear of vampires and other imaginary crea- domain.
tures might be related to the evolutionary
history of our species. Finally, in the fourth Based on the biology of real viruses, we
section, we approach vampirism from the hypothesize that the NHV is approximate-
perspective of criminal psychology, briefly ly 90 nanometers in diameter. Its genetic
discussing the biography of three real-life material is made up of double-stranded
murderers who have their atrocities relat- DNA composed of 666 genes. The capsid
ed to vampirism: The Impaler, The Blood – the protein coat that surrounds the viral
Countess, and The Vampire of Sacramento. genome – has a complex shape, resembling
an inverted cross. A membranous envelope
surrounds the capsid of the NHV. Viruses
recognize, and subsequently infect, host
THE CAUSE AND ORIGIN OF VAM- cells by a “lock-and-key” fit between viral
PIRISM IN HUMANS envelope proteins and specific receptors
on the outside of cells (Reece et al., 2015).
Vampirism, in humans, could be a syn- The viral envelope of NHV can contain nu-
drome caused by a virus, which we shall call merous proteins, which function as “mas-
NHV (Nosferatean Human Virus). When a ter keys” and, therefore, allow this virus to

79
Krizek & Muller

recognize and infect practically any human viral species is transmitted through the
cell, especially the host’s neurons. exchange of contaminated body fluids, by
provoking bloodlust in humans, the NHV
The origin of the vampire virus could increases its chances of spreading. The abil-
have happened through a natural process ity of the NHV and other parasites to act as
called spillover. This is a process in which a puppeteers of their hosts’ behavior is sim-
pathogen – a disease-causing being – passes ply a way that parasites have evolved to
from one host species to members of anoth- increase their survival and reproduction
er species; after this event, the pathogen can rates (Ricklefs & Relyea, 2014). Parasites can
thrive, undergo adaptations, and propagate control the behavior of different animals.
among the individuals of the new host spe- Carpenter ants (Camponotus leonardi), for
cies (Quammen, 2012). Thus, our hypothe- example, live in nests in the forest canopy
sis is that the NHV is a modified version of a in Thailand. Ants sometimes move from the
virus that remained trapped for a long time canopy to the ground, where they can be
in an extinct species of vampire bat, and that infected by the zombie-ant fungus (Ophio-
managed to migrate and adapt to human cordyceps unilateralis). Then, an infected ant
hosts. In real life, by the way, bats are one of moves into the understory vegetation, ap-
the main reservoirs for viruses that are po- proximately 25 cm from the ground. Here,
tentially terrible to humans. Hendra virus, the “zombie ant” clings to a leaf and dies.
Marburg virus, the rabies virus, most likely Then the fungus produces a reproductive
the Ebola virus, Nipah virus, and the SARS structure outside the ant’s body, where the
virus are all examples that appear to have “spore rain” occurs and contaminates oth-
originated from bats (Quammen, 2012). er ants on the forest floor (Andersen et al.,
In biology, we use the term “genotype” 2009; Ricklefs & Relyea, 2014).
to designate the genetic makeup of an or-
ganism. “Phenotype” is used to refer to the
totality of observable characteristics of an
organism, which are the result of the inter- THE VAMPIRE PHENOTYPE
action of its genotype with the external envi- In this section, we analyze different as-
ronment. Pale skin, sharp teeth, red mouth, pects of the vampire phenotype.
aversion to garlic, and thirst for blood are all
examples of characteristics that make up a Aversion to garlic. The fact that garlic
vampire’s phenotype. The phenotype is the works as a repellent against vampires is
external manifestation of a “hidden” geno- part of traditional knowledge. This could
type. However, much of a vampire’s pheno- happen due to the presence of some chem-
type seems to be caused not by the manifes- ical substance that occurs in this plant. Sci-
tation of the genetic makeup of their human entifically, compounds produced by plants
cells, but by the manifestation of the genetic are classified into two groups: primary and
makeup of the NHV “overwriting” parts of secondary metabolites (Evert & Eichhorn,
the human genotype. In other words, pale 2013). Primary metabolites are molecules
skin, sharp teeth, red mouth, aversion to found in all plant cells and are essential for
garlic, and thirst for blood are all character- all plant life – examples include proteins
istics that occur after NHV infection and are and nucleic acids, DNA and RNA. Second-
caused by it. Vampirism, therefore, proba- ary metabolites, in turn, are restricted in
bly is a case of extended phenotype (Daw- their distribution, both within a plant and
kins, 2016): the characteristics of vampirism between different plant species, and con-
are programmed into the NHV genotype, fer different benefits to the plants in which
but extend beyond its viral body and mani- they occur. Some secondary metabolites are
fest in its human hosts. known as alkaloids, which are pharmaco-
logically important substances that exert
Through its extended phenotype, the remarkable physiological and psychologi-
NHV can manipulate its hosts’ brain cells, cal effects in humans. Examples of alkaloids
making them thirsty for blood. Since this

Journal of Geek Studies 9(2): 79-90 (2022).

 The biology of vampires

include morphine, cocaine, caffeine, and Nocturnal habit. In addition to avoiding

nicotine. Garlic and onions are part of the exposure to sunlight, nocturnal habits can
botanical family Amaryllidaceae. Plants in have other advantages for vampires (Craw-
this group produce “amaryllis” alkaloids ford, 1934). In nature, nocturnal habits al-
(Judd et al., 2008). Our hypothesis is that low animals to avoid daytime predators.
this different type of alkaloid triggers some Harvestmen, crickets, beetles, moths, ants,
exacerbated immune response in vampires, bats, rats, and mice are animals that can
causing headaches and sensory overload. find in nocturnal activity a way to avoid
Therefore, the different species of Amarylli- many daytime enemies. Similarly, vam-
daceae are important weapons of protection pires could avoid human hunters. Second-
against vampires. ly, a nocturnal habit allows for capturing
prey more easily. Uncontaminated humans
Sensitivity to sunlight. Vampires are are typically diurnal, and they are more
quite sensitive to sunlight. A possible ex- vulnerable to being preyed upon at night
planation for this is that these creatures during sleep; besides, human eyes do not
have a blood disorder called erythropoiet- see as well in the dark. Alligators, anacon-
ic protoporphyria. The most visible symp- das, vipers, owls, most bats, raccoons and
toms of erythropoietic protoporphyria in female mosquitoes prefer to hunt at night
humans are lesions and blisters formed on for the same reason. Thirdly, a nocturnal
the skin caused by contact with light (Le- habit makes it easier to detect victims by
cha et al., 2009); the same could happen smell. Millipedes, cockroaches, and beetles
with vampires. To alleviate the symptoms are creatures with a well-developed sense
of this disease, vampires usually only leave of smell, and odors linger longer in the air
the house at night, which explains the fact at night, due to the higher humidity and
that they are pale. Carriers of erythropoietic the relative absence of updrafts; similarly to
protoporphyria are also chronically anemic, these animals, vampires must have a devel-
which would justify their blood-rich diet, oped sense of smell. Furthermore, nocturnal
and have reddened mouth and teeth due to vertebrates have eyes with a retina rich in
irregular production of the heme pigment, rods – cells sensitive to low-intensity light.
which gives erythrocytes (red blood cells) Bats, dogs, cats, crocodiles, and lemurs also
their color. have the tapetum lucidum (Latin for “bright
Superhuman strength. Vampires are tapestry, coverlet”), a membrane positioned
stronger than uncontaminated humans. inside the eyeball that acts as a retroreflec-
This could probably be due to muscle struc- tor increasing the light available to the rods
ture: a vampire’s skeletal muscle could (Crawford, 1934). Due to their nocturnal
have longer fibers than the human equiv- habit, vampires are also expected to have a
alent. Furthermore, in real life, geneticists rod-rich retina and a tapetum lucidum.
have identified some genes that contribute Production of carmillin. Animals that
to the development of certain muscles in feed on blood produce anticoagulant sub-
primates, such as chimpanzees, and found stances. For example, leeches produce
that they are turned off in humans, exclud- a substance called hirudin (Markwardt,
ing exceptional athletes. Maybe the same 2002) and vampire bats produce a sub-
is true for vampires. For example, the gene stance called draculin (Apitz-Castro et al.,
called MYH16 contributes to the develop- 1995). Therefore, we assume that vampires
ment of large jaw muscles in primates. In produce something similar to the draculin
humans, MYH16 is disabled; however, in found in bats, which we call carmillin, se-
vampires, MYH16 could become activated. creted in their saliva. It’s probable that, like
Several humans have also lost another mus- draculin, carmillin is formed by molecules
cle-related gene called ACTN3. People with of glycoproteins – proteins bound to one or
two functional versions of this gene are su- more carbohydrates (Fernandez et al., 1998).
per speedsters (Hawks, 2009) – which could
include vampires. Production of vampirin. In addition to

81
Krizek & Muller

anticoagulants, leeches and vampire bats carbohydrates, providing very low levels of
produce other substances in their saliva, vitamins and lipids (Zepeda Mendoza et al.,
including anesthetics – to stop the victim 2018). In this way, vampires probably have
from feeling pain – and vasodilators – to numerous important physiological adap-
increase the diameter of the victim’s blood tations to this hyperproteic feeding habit.
vessels and increase blood flow. We assume In mammals, energy flow, protein metabo-
that human vampires produce a special lism, and renal excretion processes consti-
type of anesthetic, which we call vampirin. tute a set of closely related functions. The
In addition to removing pain, vampirin can formation of urine begins with the filtration
produce euphoric sensations and hypnotic of body fluid in the kidneys. Nephrons are
states in victims. the functional units of the kidneys. Each
nephron consists of a single long tubule and
Production of dracu-telomerase. The a ball of capillaries called a glomerulus. The
cells of any animal’s body are constantly blunt end of the tubule, expanded in the
being renewed. Old and worn-out cells are shape of a cup, is called Bowman’s capsule
replaced by new cells through the process and surrounds the glomerulus. The filtrate
of cell division – when a cell separates into is formed when blood pressure forces fluid
two daughter cells (Alberts et al., 2013). from the blood in the glomerulus into the
When animal cells are grown in the labora- lumen of Bowman’s capsule (Reece et al.,
tory, however, they stop replicating and die 2015). When proteins and nucleic acids are
after a few generations (except for cancer metabolized, they produce carbon dioxide,
cells). This happens because, with each cy- water, and urea (Schmidt-Nielsen et al.,
cle of cell division, the ends of the chromo- 1997). High-protein diets raise the concen-
somes, called telomeres, undergo shorten- tration of urea in the blood. This compound
ing. In this way, telomeres tend to decrease can be toxic to cells and tissues, so it should
in size as an individual gets older, putting not accumulate in the body. Thus, hema-
a limit on their longevity. However, there tophagy in animals has over time selected
is a dilemma: if the chromosomes of germ for evolutionary specializations that would
cells – those that produce sperm and eggs solve the problem of renal failure. Similar
– became shorter with each cell division, mechanisms must be in place in vampires.
essential genes would end up being delet- Some studies show that high-protein diets
ed in the sex cells produced. This does not reflect on the size of the kidneys, making
happen because an enzyme called telomer- them larger, due to the greater workload
ase promotes the elongation of telomeres in received by the organ, a consequence of
germ cells, restoring their original size and increased filtration of protein metabolites,
compensating for the loss that occurs during especially urea (Gopal, 2013; Linhares et
cell division (Reece et al., 2015). Except for al., 2021). In this sense, vampires’ kidneys
germ cells, telomerase is inactive in most might be proportionately larger, relative
human cells; however, we hypothesize that, to body size, compared to uncontaminated
in vampires, a special type of telomerase is humans’ kidneys. Additionally, both the
found in all cells, which we call dracu-telo- glomerular area and volumetric density of
merase. This very efficient enzyme enables glomeruli are probably greater in vampires.
the great longevity of vampires.
Vampire microbiota. In addition to
Diet and physiology. Vampires seem morphophysiological adaptations, host-as-
to be obligate hematophagous, meaning sociated gut microbiota may play an ad-
that they necessarily feed on the blood of ditional, possibly equally important, role
other animals. Blood is a challenging nu- in the evolution of vertebrate dietary spe-
trient source because it consists of a liquid cialization (Ley et al., 2008). Microbiota is a
phase, called plasma, which corresponds symbiotic relationship between various mi-
to approximately 78% of the blood, and a croorganisms and their hosts. This microbi-
solid phase – constituted by the blood cells ota contributes to the health and well-being
–, composed of 93% protein and only 1% of the host by generating microbial prod-

Journal of Geek Studies 9(2): 79-90 (2022).

 The biology of vampires

ucts and inhibiting the growth of patho- spite this, we believe that vampires have an
gens. In contrast, the host provides several aversion to any object made of silver, in-
microenvironments that allow microbial cluding religious symbols made of it. This is
growth. Colonization begins as animals are probably because silver triggers an allergic
exposed to microorganisms from birth. An response in these creatures. An allergy is an
animal’s body is not a uniform environ- exaggerated response to a particular antigen
ment. Each region of the body differs chem- – a molecule, generally considered foreign
ically and physically from each other, being by the body and which induces the forma-
a selective environment, where the growth tion of antibodies. In vertebrates, mast cells
of certain microorganisms is favored or not produce histamine and other molecules that
(Madigan et al., 2014). Although the func- cause inflammation in response to infection
tional role of the gut microbiota of vampire and in allergic reactions. An acute allergic
bats has not been studied in detail, analy- response can trigger a life-threatening reac-
ses with hematophagous invertebrates have tion called anaphylactic shock. Here, sub-
shown that the gut microbiota contributes stances released by mast cells trigger the
to the digestion of consumed blood, supply contraction of the bronchioles in the lungs
of nutrients absent in the blood (Graf, 2001), and the dilation of peripheral blood vessels,
and immune protection (Indergand & Graf, causing a sudden drop in blood pressure
2000; Zepeda Mendoza et al., 2018). In hu- and inability to breathe. In this way, death
mans, the composition of the gut microbi- can occur in a few minutes. In humans, bee
ota and diet influence the type and num- venom, penicillin, peanuts, and seafood are
ber of compounds produced. Among these some substances that can cause anaphylac-
products are vitamins B12 and K, which are tic shock. In vampires, silver could be one
essential and not synthesized by humans, such substance. People with severe hyper-
being produced by the intestinal microbiota sensitivities often carry syringes containing
and absorbed from the colon (Madigan et the hormone epinephrine, which quickly
al., 2014). One study has isolated bacteria of counteracts the allergic response (Reece et
the species Aeromonas hydrophila from fecal al., 2015).
samples of vampire bats. These bacteria are
hemolytic and thus, can aid in the digestion
of blood (Hanning & Diaz-Sanchez, 2015).
Studies also suggest that bacteria species of FEAR OF VAMPIRES
the genus Helicobacter help in the produc-
tion of the urease enzyme, necessary in the The roots of most vampire stories go
metabolization of urea that is concentrated back to the superstitions around the world.
in vampire bats (Song et al., 2019). We hy- In Eastern Europe, we can find stories of the
pothesize that the composition of the mi- reanimated dead known as revenants (Fig.
crobiota of human vampires is not entirely 2), who came out of the grave to torment
different from that of humans. Both must their relatives and neighbors. In Norse my-
share some species, but at the functional lev- thology, there are stories of creatures known
el, they can be almost completely distinct. as draugr, beings of superhuman strength
Thus, it’s probable that the gastrointestinal who smelled foul and looked hideous, and
tract of human vampires has a microbiota who returned from the grave to haunt the
composed of microorganisms capable of dreams of the living. In Greek mythology,
assisting in the metabolization of ingested there is the myth of Empusa, daughter of
blood proteins, producing some nutrients Hecate, who attracted young men at night
absent in the blood, and generating protec- and feasted on their blood and flesh. An-
tion against pathogens. other Ancient Greek story involves Lamia
(Fig. 3), lover of Zeus, cursed by his wife
Aversion to religious symbols. We as- Hera and doomed to become a child-eat-
sume that the idea that vampires have an ing demon. In Mesopotamian and Judaic
aversion to religious symbols – such as holy mythology, there is the myth of Lilith (Fig.
water and crucifixes – is a superstition. De- 4), supposedly the primordial she-demon,

83
Krizek & Muller

who was often depicted as subsisting on the alone – situations that endangered our an-
blood of babies (Mahnke, 2017). cestors. Fear is the emotion that enabled
our ancestors to deal with the dangers they
might encounter (Pinker, 1997).

Figure 2. Drawing of an undead that rose from its

tomb. Unknown author (ca. 1500). Public domain.

The fear of vampires does not reflect

empirical reality, but the psychology of
our ancestors. Many of our fears bear lit-
tle relation to the objective dangers of the
modern world but are remnants of our spe-
cies’ evolutionary history. Many people are
afraid of flying, although traveling by car is Figure 3. The Kiss of the Enchantress, by Isobel Lilian
Gloag (1890), depicts Lamia as half-serpent. Public
eleven times more dangerous (Lewis, 1990).
domain.
Some people are afraid of sharks, although
they are four hundred times more likely to
drown in their bathtub (Ropeik, 2010). Ac-
tivists rightly fight for a ban on pesticide In his book The Descent of Man, Darwin
residues and food additives, even though (1871: 43) reported how captive-bred mon-
they pose minimal cancer risks compared keys exhibit a strong instinctive fear of
to the many natural carcinogens that plants snakes: “I then placed the stuffed [snake] speci-
have evolved to stop herbivory (Ames et al., men on the ground in one of the larger compart-
1990). Such risks are misestimated because ments. After a time all the monkeys collected
they stem from our innate fears of heights, round it in a large circle, and staring intently,
confinement, predation, and poisoning presented a most ludicrous appearance. They be-
(Pinker, 2002). Other common fears are came extremely nervous; so that when a wooden
storms, large carnivores, darkness, blood, ball, with which they were familiar as a play-
strangers, deep water, and leaving home thing, was accidently moved in the straw, under

Journal of Geek Studies 9(2): 79-90 (2022).

 The biology of vampires

which it was partly hidden, they all instantly served that, despite the fear, “One of the
started away. These monkeys behaved very dif- monkeys immediately approached, cautiously
ferently when a dead fish, a mouse, and some opened the bag a little, peeped in, and instantly
other new objects were placed in their cages; for dashed away”. The ape was taken by curiosi-
though at first frightened, they soon approached, ty, in the same way that humans are drawn
handled and examined them.” to horror, provided they are safe – for ex-
ample, within fiction. Fear and fascination
intertwine when there is no real danger.
Our attention is preferentially captured by
evolutionarily relevant dangers, and horror
fiction monsters such as vampires capital-
ize on this tendency. It is obvious that such
creatures did not exist in ancestral environ-
ments, but vampires represent an imagina-
tive combination of threats that existed in
prehistoric times – such as the threat posed
by mammalian predators with sharp teeth
and thirst for blood (Clasen, 2014).
The fascination that many people feel
with vampires is likely the result of an
adaptive tendency to pay attention to these
dangerous creatures and learn about their
behavior. This is the idea of the “Juras-
sic Park hypothesis” proposed by Barrett
(2015). According to it, the modern horror
story functions as a technology that in-
volves monstrous beings that allow us to
exploit an adaptive motivational system to
learn about danger and to calibrate our re-
sponses to it. Consuming horror stories has
all the benefits of learning about dangers
and responses to it but without the risk of
actual harm (Clasen, 2012). This probably
also explains why horror story fans have
shown themselves to be more psychologi-
cally prepared when facing the COVID-19
pandemic (Scrivner et al., 2021).
Figure 4. Lilith, by John Collier (1889). Public domain.
Most vampire stories have their genesis
in our psychology and the human need to
Similar to Darwin, Hebb (1946) found explain what we don’t understand. For ex-
that chimpanzees scream when they see a ample, ancient Europeans used the vampire
snake for the first time. These behavioral myth to explain why a corpse didn’t de-
responses are ingrained in these primates. compose at the normal, expected rate. Be-
The best evidence that fears are adaptations fore the development of modern medicine,
– and not just errors of the nervous system – porphyria and rabies were diseases used as
is that animals that evolve on islands with- an explanation for the growth of vampire
out predators (like dodos and kiwi) lose mythology, because of the similarities be-
their fear and are easy prey for any invader tween these diseases and vampiric charac-
(Pinker, 1997). teristics. Today, we have a much deeper sci-
entific understanding of how these diseases
In his account, Darwin (1871: 43) ob- work, and what happens to the body after a

85
Krizek & Muller

person dies (Mahnke, 2017). However, the

answers don’t dispel all the myths. Vam-
pire stories refuse to die, and the fascination
and fear of these creatures will always live
within us.

REAL-LIFE VAMPIRES
In folklore and literature, the term
“vampire” describes supernatural beings
that conjure up the image of bloodthirsty
“undead”. In the field of psychology and
criminology, however, “vampirism” has
a very different meaning: it is a paraphilia
in which people derive intense sexual plea-
sure from the act of drinking human blood
(Schechter, 2003). As perverse as such sex-
ual practice may seem, not all vampires are
psychopathic criminals. Despite this, some
Figure 5. Vlad Ţepeş, the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia.
of the most famous serial killers in the his- Unknown author (16th century). Public domain.
tory of criminology possibly have practiced
vampirism in addition to other abomina-
tions (Schechter, 2003). Three of these serial When impaling his enemies, Vlad dis-
killers have their biographies summarized played bewildering creativity. Using the
here: The Impaler, The Blood Countess, and weight of his victims as they slid down an
The Vampire of Sacramento. The three are oily, spiky stake, he impaled them through
historical figures linked to vampirism, who the mouth, anus, heart, or navel. Blinding,
broke with previous folk versions and pro- burning and scalping his victims were also
moted the modernization of these creatures some of his methods. According to legend,
in the media and literature. on April 2, 1459, in Brasov (Transylvania),
he ordered the impalement of thousands of
Saxons, with the stakes arranged around a
table on which he calmly dined around the
Vlad III, The Impaler (1431–1476) carnage (Schechter, 2003).
The most prominent figure linked to the Modern historians, however, have dis-
modern idea of the vampire is Vlad III (Fig. credited this hideous image of Vlad as a
5), who ruled the Romanian principality major slanderous critique exaggerated by
of Wallachia, south of Transylvania, from his enemies and argue that Vlad’s actions
1456 to 1462. His father was known as Drac- must be interpreted in the proper historical
ul, which in Romanian means “dragon”. context. Despite being a remarkable lead-
Vlad’s nickname, Draculea, means “son of er, Vlad was likely cruel but no more so
Dracul”. Although he was not a true seri- than other aristocratic warriors of his time
al killer, Vlad killed his enemies with im- (Schechter, 2003).
mense sadism. He became known as Vlad
Tepes, which means “Vlad, The Impaler”
because he preferred to execute his enemies
by impaling them on stakes. It is Vlad’s ma- Elizabeth Báthory, The Blood Countess
levolent reputation that impressed Bram (1560–1614)
Stoker and motivated him to use The Impal- Born on August 7, 1560, at the foot of the
er as inspiration for his legendary vampire Carpathian Mountains, Elizabeth Báthory
(Mahnke, 2017). (Hungarian name: Báthory Erzsébet) (Fig.

Journal of Geek Studies 9(2): 79-90 (2022).

 The biology of vampires

6) belonged to one of the oldest and noblest ple shared a common interest in torturing
Protestant families in the Kingdom of Hun- young maids. Supposedly, the earl once
gary. Heiress to absurd wealth, Elizabeth covered a young girl with honey so that
received a classical education, being fluent she would be mercilessly bitten by insects.
in Hungarian, Slovak, Greek, Latin, and He even presented the countess with a sort
German. of clawed glove, which she used to cut the
flesh of her servants. It is therefore undeni-
able that the Black Knight was a strong in-
spiration for the psychopathic and impres-
sionable young Elizabeth. Another possible
influence on the countess was Anna Darvo-
lya, a mysterious woman who came to stay
at the castle in 1601 and who was reputed to
be a witch (Telfer, 2017).
Between the time of her marriage and
imprisonment in 1610, there are estimates
that Elizabeth may have been responsible
for up to 650 murders. Most of her victims
were peasant women lured to the castle in
search of employment. Additionally, sever-
al maids were constantly dying on Elizabeth
and Nádasdy’s property, but the authorities
didn’t care. For the ruling classes, the lives
of young peasants did not have much val-
ue. At the time, the Hungarian legal code
called Tripartitum limited the rights of peas-
ants and serfs to next to nothing, while pro-
tecting the nobility who mistreated them
Figure 6. Copy of the original (lost) portrait of Count-
ess Elizabeth Báthory. Unknown author (probably (Schechter, 2003).
16th century). Public domain.
According to legends, Elizabeth culti-
vated the habit of killing virgin prisoners,
filling a bathtub with their blood and bath-
Some rumors claim that as a child, Eliz- ing in it, as a way of preserving her youth.
abeth suffered from terrible epileptic sei- Supposedly, this cruel habit began when a
zures. It is also likely that she witnessed maid made a mistake while bathing Eliza-
various acts of violence during her child- beth, the countess slapping the girl so hard
hood, including mistreatment of servants that a little blood splattered her face. After
and occasional public executions. At the cleaning it, Elizabeth would have noticed
age of ten, she became engaged to Count that her skin looked more youthful, pro-
Ferencz Nádasdy, a warrior and member ducing her habit of bathing in the blood of
of another powerful Hungarian family, and virgins. However, apparently, this is not
moved into his castle, which had a torture true. In Elizabeth’s trial transcripts, none of
dungeon. On May 8, 1574, the bride and the servants who testified made any men-
groom were married. Nádasdy, a lover of tion of the alleged bloodbaths (Telfer, 2017).
battles, spent little time on their property. Despite this, the Blood Countess made fre-
Because of his cruel reputation, he has been quent use of whips, scissors, pliers, needles,
nicknamed the Black Knight of Hungary. red-hot branding irons, and peg-lined cag-
Due to her husband’s travels, Elizabeth es, though she especially liked to tear off
and Nádasdy barely saw each other, and pieces of flesh from victims with tweezers
it took ten years for the couple to have or with her teeth (Schechter, 2003).
their first child. When they met, the cou- In 1604, Nádasdy fell ill and died, with

87
Krizek & Muller

Elizabeth experiencing a prolonged peri- Renfield’s syndrome worsens through

od of stress. Around this time, the Blood four stages (Casoy, 2017). In the first stage,
Countess became even more fanatical about due to an incident, the child associates the
torturing and killing. For this, she had the taste or sight of blood with something at-
help of Anna Darvolya, her guest; Ilona Jó, tractive; in adolescence, there is a correla-
her children’s nurse; Dorka, a friend of Ilo- tion between this attraction and sexual mat-
na Jó; Katalin, a washerwoman; and Ficzkó, ters. In the second stage, the person drinks
a disfigured young man (Telfer, 2017). their own blood (hematophagy), often in
self-harm. Then, the person drinks the
Like many of the serial killers who fol- blood of animals (zoophagy). Finally, the
lowed her, Elizabeth became a reckless and person drinks human blood, usually stolen
disorganized killer. With the depletion of from hospitals or laboratories; in rare cas-
young peasants in the region, Elizabeth be- es, the person kills to achieve his goal. Such
gan attacking the daughters of the gentry, compulsion is associated with a strong sex-
attracting the attention of the authorities. ual component.
Condemned to be walled up alive in her
castle, she probably died of starvation in Diagnosed as a paranoid schizophren-
1614. ic and after spending several years living
in mental institutions, in December 1977
Chase shot and killed his first victim, Am-
Richard Chase, The Vampire of Sacra- brose Griffin, a middle-aged man who he
mento (1950–1980) encountered on the street. Then, he start-
ed breaking into houses. In January 1978,
Born in Sacramento, California, Richard Chase killed a pregnant woman, Teresa
Trenton Chase already manifested, at age Wallin, at her home, dismembered her
of five, the three factors of the Macdonald body, and drank her blood using an emp-
(1963) triad (important danger signs con- ty yogurt cup. Circles of blood were found
sidered predictive of, or associated with, around the victim’s body as if a wet bucket
violent tendencies, particularly concerning had been moved around the corpse. Four
serial offenses): enuresis (bed-wetting), py- days later, he murdered Evelyn Miroth,
romania (setting fires), and early sadism her six-year-old son, and a visiting friend.
(usually in the form of cruelty to animals). The autopsy revealed that the woman was
As a child, Chase tortured and killed small sodomized; a large amount of sperm was
animals – birds, cats, and dogs – drank found in her rectum. After Miroth died,
their blood, and devoured their intestines. Chase stuffed her mouth with animal fe-
He also occasionally injected rabbit blood ces (Casoy, 2017). Chase also kidnapped
into his veins. He believed that the blood Miroth’s nephew, who was 22 months old.
of these animals would prevent his blood The child’s corpse was found in an aban-
from turning to dust (Schechter, 2003). doned box in a vacant lot.
Chase was affected by the rare Renfield’s A classic disorganized offender, Chase
syndrome, so named by psychologist Rich- left footprints and several clues wherever
ard Noll (1992) in reference to Dracula’s as- he went. When the police found his apart-
sistant who fed on live animals: “My homi- ment, they found everything covered in
cidal maniac is of a peculiar kind. I shall have to blood, including the blenders that Chase
invent a new classification for him, and call him used to prepare drinks with blood and
a zoophagous (life-eating) maniac. What he de- guts. The Vampire of Sacramento was then
sires is to absorb as many lives as he can, and he indicted for six murders and sentenced to
has laid himself out to achieve it in a cumulative death in a gas chamber. He told the FBI
way. He gave many flies to one spider and many criminalists that he killed to preserve his
spiders to one bird, and then wanted a cat to eat own life. He claimed that he needed to re-
the many birds. What would have been his later plenish his blood, which was turning to
steps?” (Stoker, 1897: 59). sand after being poisoned by his mother.

Journal of Geek Studies 9(2): 79-90 (2022).

 The biology of vampires

He also claimed that he was being pursued Dawkins, R. (2016) The Extended Phenotype:
by Nazis who were associated with un- The Long Reach of the Gene. Oxford Univer-
identified flying objects, who telepathically sity Press, Oxford.
commanded him to kill. On Christmas 1980, Evert, R.F. & Eichhorn, S.E. (2013) Raven Biolo-
Chase died by suicide by overdosing on gy of Plants. W.H. Freeman, New York.
Sinequan, a medication to treat depression Fernandez, A.Z.; Tablante, A.; Bartoli, F.; Be-
and hallucinations (Schechter, 2003). guin, S.; Hemker, H.C.; Apitz-Castro, R.
(1998) Expression of biological activity of
draculin, the anticoagulant factor from vam-
pire bat saliva, is strictly dependent on the
REFERENCES appropriate glycosylation of the native mol-
ecule. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1425(2):
Alberts, B.; Bray, D.; Hopkin, K. Johnson, A.; 291–299.
Lewis, J.; Raff, M.; et al. (2013) Essential Cell Gopal, P.K. (2013) Morphological adaptations
Biology. 4th ed. Garland Science, New York. in the kidney and urine concentrating abil-
Ames, B.; Profet, M.; Gold, L. S. (1990) Dietary ity in relation to dietary habitat in the three
pesticides (99,9% all natural). Proceedings of species of bats. World Journal of Zoology 8:
the National Academy of Sciences 87: 7777– 198–205.
7781. Hawks, J. (2009) How strong is a chimpan-
Andersen, S.B.; Gerritsma, S.; Yusah, K.M.; zee? Slate. Available from: https://slate.
Mayntz, D.; Hywel-Jones, N.L.; Billen, J.; et com/technology/2009/02/how-strong-is-a-
al. (2009) The life of a dead ant: the expression chimpanzee-really.html (Date of access: 27/
of an adaptive extended phenotype. Ameri- Jul/2022).
can Naturalist 174: 424–433. Hebb, D.O. (1946) On the nature of fear. Psy-
Apitz-Castro, R.; Beguin, S.; Tablante, A.; Bar- chological Review 53: 259–276.
toli, F.; Holt, J.C.; Hemker, H.C. (1995) Puri- Judd, W.S.; Campbell, C.S.; Kellogg, E.A.; Ste-
fication and partial characterization of drac- vens, P.F.; Donoghue, M.J. (2008) Plant Sys-
ulin, the anticoagulant factor present in the tematics: A Phylogenetic Approach. 3rd ed.
saliva of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus). Sinauer Associates, Massachusetts.
Thrombosis and Haemostasis 73: 94–100.
Hanning, I. & Diaz-Sanchez, S. (2015) The func-
Barrett, H.C. (2015) Adaptations to predators tionality of the gastrointestinal microbiome in
and prey. In: Buss, D.M. (Ed.) Handbook of non-human animals. Microbiome 3: 1–11.
Evolutionary Psychology. Wiley, New York.
Pp. 200–223. Lecha, M.; Puy, H.; Deybach, J.C. (2009) Eryth-
ropoietic protoporphyria. Orphanet Journal
Casoy, I. (2017) Arquivos Serial Killers: Louco of Rare Diseases 4: 19.
ou Cruel? & Made in Brazil. Darkside Books,
Rio de Janeiro. Lewis, H.W. (1990) Technological Risk. Norton,
New York.
Clasen, M. (2012) Monsters evolve: a biocultural
approach to horror stories. Review of General Linhares, B.S.; Ribeiro, S.P.; de Freitas, R.M.P.;
Psychology 16: 222–229. Puga, L.C.H.P.; Sartori, S.S.R.; Freitas, M.B.
(2021) Aspects regarding renal morphophys-
Clasen, M. (2014) Evil monsters in horror fic- iology of fruit-eating and vampire bats. Zool-
tion: an evolutionary perspective on form ogy 144: 125861.
and function. In: Packer, S. & Pennington, J.
(Eds.) A History of Evil in Popular Culture: Macdonald, J.M. (1963) The threat to kill. The
What Hannibal Lecter, Stephen King, and American Journal of Psychiatry 120: 125–130.
Vampires Reveal about America. Vol. 2. Prae- Madigan, M.T.; Martinko, J.M.; Bender, K.S.;
ger, Santa Barbara. Buckley, D.H.; Stahl, D.A. (2014) Brock Bi-
Crawford, S.C. (1934) The habits and charac- ology of Microorganisms. 14th ed. Person,
teristics of nocturnal animals. The Quarterly London.
Review of Biology 9: 201–214. Mahnke, A. (2017) The World of Lore: Mon-
Darwin, C.R. (1871) The Descent of Man, and strous Creatures. Penguin Random House,
Selection in Relation to Sex. John Murray, New York.
London.

89
Krizek & Muller

Markwardt, F. (2002) Hirudin as alternative an- Streicker, D.; et al. (2018) Hologenomic ad-
ticoagulant – a historical review. Seminars in aptations underlying the evolution of san-
Thrombosis and Hemostasis 28: 405–414. guivory in the common vampire bat. Nature
Ecology & evolution 2: 659–668.
Noll, R. (1992) Vampires, Werewolves and
Demons: Twentieth Century Reports in the
Psychiatric Literature. Brunner/Mazel, New
Acknowledgments
York.
Pinker, S. (1997) How the Mind Works. Norton, We would like to thank the team of the
New York. Journal of Geek Studies for extended sup-
Pinker, S. (2002) The Blank Slate: The Modern port and guidance.
Denial of Human Nature. Penguin Books,
New York.
Quammen, D. (2012) Spillover: Animal Infec- About the authors
tions and the Next Human Pandemic. W.W. João Pedro O. Krizek is a biologist interested
Norton, New York. in ecology, sociobiology, and the philosophy of
Reece, J.B.; Urry, L.A.; Cain, M.L.; Wasserman, biology. He likes horror movies and true crime
S.A.; Minorsky, P.V.; Jackson, R.B. (2015) books. Member of the Ecology Department at
Campbell Biology. 10th ed. Pearson, London. the International Center for Vampire Extermina-
tion and Control (ICVEC). Under the guidance
Ricklefs, R. & Relyea, R. (2014) The Economy
of Dr. John Van Helsing, he seeks an ultimate
of Nature. 7th ed. W.H. Freeman, New York.
cure for vampirism.
Ropeik, D. (2010) How Risky Is It, Really?: Why
Our Fears Don’t Always Match the Facts. Mc- Marcus Vinicius D. V. Muller is a biologist
Graw Hill, New York. interested in zoology, physiology, and ecology.
He likes horror stories. Member of the Physiol-
Schechter, H. (2003) The Serial Killer Files: The ogy Department at the International Center for
Who, What, Where, How, and Why of the Vampire Extermination and Control (ICVEC).
World’s Most Terrifying Murderers. Ballan- Under the guidance of Dr. John Van Helsing, he
tine Books, New York. investigates diversity, zoogeography and evolu-
Schmidt-Nielsen, K. (1997) Animal Physiology: tion of tropical vampires.
Adaptation and Environment. 5th ed. Cam-
bridge University Press, Cambridge.
Scrivner, C.; Johnson, J.A.; Kjeldgaard-Chris-
tiansen, J.; Clasen, M. (2021) Pandemic prac-
tice: horror fans and morbidly curious indi-
viduals are more psychologically resilient
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality
and Individual Differences 168: 110397.
Song, S.J.; Sanders, J.G.; Baldassarre, D.T.;
Chaves, J.A.; Johnson, N.S.; Piaggio, A.J.; et
al. (2019) Is there convergence of gut microbes
in blood-feeding vertebrates? Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society B 374: 1777.
Stoker, B. (1897) Dracula. Available from:
http://www.dominiopublico.gov.br/
pesquisa/DetalheObraDownload.do?select_
action=&co_obra=3495&co_midia=2 (Date of
access: 27/Jul/2022).
Telfer, T. (2017) Lady Killers: Deadly Women
Throughout History. Harper Collins, New
York.
Zepeda Mendoza, M.L.; Xiong, Z.; Escal-
era-Zamudio, M.; Runge, A.K.; Théze, J.;

Journal of Geek Studies 9(2): 79-90 (2022).