Fact Monster's Menacing Monster Guide News Weather Horoscopes E-mail Visit our sponsors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A vampire is a corpse that is not really dead. It arises at night to drink the blood of the living to replenish itself. The word itself originated as the Slavic word obyri or obiri , which evolved into the Bulgarian vampir . Another word for vampire, nosferatu , comes from the Greek nosophoros , plague-carrier.
Vampires fear light, have pale skin, and grow fangs.
Doctors believe there may be a medical explanation for the proliferation of vampire stories in Eastern Europe. Porphyria, a hereditary blood disease, was once widespread among the aristocracy. Patients were sensitive to light, developed brownish teeth, and had skin lesions. They were often told to drink blood from other people to replenish their own. Rabies also causes vampire-like symptoms, insomnia, delirium, and strange behavior.