claim: Vampires frequently paid visits to loved ones.
evidence: A vampire is a being from folklore that subsists by feeding on the life essence -LRB- generally in the form of blood -RRB- of the living .. folklore. folklore. life essence. energy ( esotericism ). blood. blood. In European folklore , vampires were undead beings that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive .. folklore. folklore. European folklore. European folklore. undead. undead. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance , markedly different from today 's gaunt , pale vampire which dates from the early 19th century .. Vampiric entities have been recorded in most cultures ; the term vampire , previously an arcane subject , was popularised in the West in the early 19th century , after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent , such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe ; local variants were also known by different names , such as shtriga in Albania , vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania .. recorded in most cultures. Vampire folklore by region. Balkans. Balkans. Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe. shtriga. shtriga. Albania. Albanian mythology. vrykolakas. vrykolakas. Greece. Greece. strigoi. strigoi. Romania. Folklore of Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses being staked and people being accused of vampirism .. mass hysteria. mass hysteria. In modern times , the vampire is generally held to be a fictitious entity , although belief in similar vampiric creatures such as the chupacabra still persists in some cultures .. chupacabra. chupacabra. Early folk belief in vampires has sometimes been ascribed to the ignorance of the body 's process of decomposition after death and how people in pre-industrial societies tried to rationalise this , creating the figure of the vampire to explain the mysteries of death .. decomposition. decomposition. Porphyria was also linked with legends of vampirism in 1985 and received much media exposure , but has since been largely discredited .. Porphyria. Porphyria. The charismatic and sophisticated vampire of modern fiction was born in 1819 with the publication of The Vampyre by John Polidori ; the story was highly successful and arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century .. The Vampyre. The Vampyre. John Polidori. John William Polidori. Bram Stoker 's 1897 novel Dracula is remembered as the quintessential vampire novel and provided the basis of the modern vampire legend .. Dracula. Dracula. Bram Stoker. Bram Stoker. vampire novel. vampire literature. The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre , still popular in the 21st century , with books , films , and television shows .. genre. genre. films. vampire films. The vampire has since become a dominant figure in the horror genre .. genre. genre. horror. horror fiction