Dr. Auerbach, who at one time taught a course on vampires at Penn, has had firsthand experiences with people who believe they are undead. She found their attitudes more terrifying than any work of fiction. They just sat there with dead faces, not even taking notes. I was extremely unsettled. I hated to think I'm teaching these Penn students with their lovely faces and their future before them who in their hearts know they're vampires.
Vampire buffs unable to separate fantasy from reality are nothing new.
For years, some scholars have claimed that Dracula was actually Vlad Tepes, who ruled Wallachia in the 15th century. But there was no evidence. In Stoker's notes, Vlad the Impaler is never mentioned. And Vlad the Impaler was quite unlike Dracula. In actuality, Dracula was based upon Bram Stoker's employer, Henry Irving, according to Dr. Auerbach.