Animals Associated with Vampires

The main association between vampires and animals are the vampiric abilities to transform into animals, and to command them. There are also rare cases of animal vampires.

## Animals in Vampire Folklore

The ability of a vampire to transform into animals and/or command them started off as a minor aspect of them which has become more prominent over time. Vampires have, though, been associated with other creatures, such as werewolves, who most notably could transform into animals. *Chiang-shih* are a type of Chinese vampire who can transform into wolves.

In Western Europe and many other places, vampires would prey on animals' blood, often that of a village's cattle herd. Unexpected cattle deaths would be attributed to a vampire attack. Agnes Murgoci noted that a person's livestock suddenly dying was considered a sign they were a vampire. Sir James Frazer recorded that in Bulgaria there was a practice of, when there was a suspected vampire attack on cattle (which happened surprisingly often), the cattle would be herded between two bonfires made at a nearby crossroad frequented by wolves, and afterwards the coals from the fires would be used to light all the village's fires.

In Japan, the kappa lived at the water's edge and would try to drag cattle and horses into the water.

Cats and horses are often associated with vampires. In many parts of Eastern Europe, there was a belief that a cat jumping over a corpse before a funeral meant the person would become a vampire. This was linked to the idea of proper care for the body by the deceased's loved ones. Horses were believed to be able to locate vampire resting places, refusing to cross over the grave of a vampire.

## Dracula's Animals

Dracula is shown from the start of Bram Stoker's *Dracula* being able to command animals, dismissing a pack of hungry wolves with a wave of his arm while disguised as Jonathan Harker's driver to Castle Dracula. Harker later discovers Dracula has an association with wolves, who refers to their howling as music. When in London, he called Bersicker, a wolf from the zoo, to break the windows of the Westenra home so he could enter and get to Lucy.

In the novel, Abraham Van Helsing warns the others that Dracula could control the weather and command rats, owls, bats, moths, foxes, and wolves. When they broke into his home in Carfax, he had swarms of rats attack them.

## Transformation

In Bram Stoker's *Dracula*, Dracula is shown to already be inhuman in his depiction of crawling down the castle wall. When he causes the *Demeter* to be wrecked at Whitby, he left the wreckage of the ship in the form of a dog, and later on is seen by Dr. Seward in the form of a large bat outside Renfield's window at the asylum.

In the novel, vampires were associated with South American vampire bats, with the bite of a vampire being mistaken for a vampire bat bite by a doctor.

## Animals and Modern Vampires

While adaptions of *Dracula* haven't really used the titular character's ability to control or transform into animals beyond what is shown in the novel, these abilities have become very prominent in other vampire stories.

In *Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Garuens*, Graf Orlock commands plague-carrying rats, arriving in new settlements with them, with the accompanying pestilence being a sign of his presence, stopping when he is killed.

One of the most common vampiric abilities in modern pop culture is their ability to transform into bats, with *Bram Stoker's Dracula* having the transformation as one of its most impressive uses of special effects.

On the flip side, owing to how unbelievable transformation into an animal is, a number of authors, such as Anne Rice and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, have decided not to grant vampires in their works this ability.

In many modern works, vampires are often seen in a somewhat more sympathetic, if not outright heroic light. In order to get around the issue of these characters preying on humans, they often live off animal blood instead, as with Louis in *Interview with the Vampire*. If they do not live off animal blood, then there will generally at least be a discussion as to why not. Alternatives to animal blood are commonly donor blood and blood substitutes.

## Animal Vampires

Animal vampires appear in stories dating back to at least 1810, with stories of sheep being drained of blood on the England-Scotland border. Similar killings were recorded near Caven, Ireland, in 1874. At both sets of killings, canine tracks were found near the dead animals. The offending animals were shot, but then there were more attacks, and thus more dogs being killed. Eventually people gave up killing dogs, especially when similar attacks started being reported in Limerick, and the attacks eventually stopped. A similar event took place near Badminton, Gloucester, in 1905. In all these instances, it was a vampiric canine that was blamed for the attacks due to it only being the blood that was consumed.

Similar events have taken place in America, and are commonly attributed to UFOs instead of vampiric animals. One which *is* occasionally attributed to a vampiric animal is the throat-cutting of Snippy the horse in Colorado, September 1967.

Modern fiction also includes a number of vampiric animals, with Ken Johnson's *Hounds of Dracula* (adapted as *Zoltan: Hound of Dracula*) being one of the most famous examples. In children's books and comics, there are also Bunnicula the vampire rabbit, and Count Duckula, both of whom are vegetarian vampires.

## Further Reading

* *Dracula*, Bram Stoker
* *Lo!*, Fort, C.
* *Strange Creatures from Time and Space*, Keel, J.

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Melton, J. G. (1999). *The Vampire Book*. 2 ed. p.15-18