“Why does he have copies?” Alex asked.
“Dante often does research about vampires. He is very curious about where they come from and other…beings.”
“There are others?”
“Oh yeah,” said Michelle eagerly, turning the laptop around to Alex. “Here, read from page ten.”
…According to ancient histories, the Sidhe (Celtic word for what today we know to call vampires) once dominated Ireland, existing in such great numbers that there were armies of them. Existing in relative peace and harmony with various other people that passed through their land, these people opened their territories freely to the Tuatha De Denaan, a race of powerful human magic practitioners and warriors. Conflict arose between the two races, and war broke out. The Tuatha De Denaan used their powers to place four curses upon the Sidhe. Only two of the curses are known, subsequently because they are known to have been associated with vampires ever since. The first caused the light of day to scorch their skin and burn their eyes, making them sleep during the day. The other allowed no water to quench their thirst.
The Tuatha De Denaan won the battle, but they lived in fear that they had created monsters that would eventually destroy them. They fled from the land, and the descendants of Scota, the legendary Gallic queen who took the island to create a kingdom, became the current residents of Ireland. Some believe the Sidhe made a deal with Queen Scota to take the island for her in exchange for being allowed to live there in peace and solitude. Later-era legends describe the Sidhe as a tall, powerful and beautiful people. Their fair skin earned them the name “fairies” and they were most seen strolling along the beach or dancing in forest clearings in the twilight hours.
“Seriously? Fairies?” Alex asked, passing the laptop back.
“Apparently. Read on,” Michelle said, twisting the laptop around again.
…The peoples of the region of Eastern Europe near the Carpathian Mountains are known for their folktales, the most famous of which are about vampire-creatures they call the Strigoi. The Strigoi Vii, sometimes called Moroii, are thought to be a race similar to humans, but different in their need to consume human energy through blood. According to the travelling Roma people, the Strigoi Vii were a tall, beautiful, pale, strong, intelligent, well-mannered, regal and often wealthy people.
The Strigoi Vii primarily fed upon the life energies of humans in their social circle, picking a single volunteer to feed from for a length of time. The gypsies and vampires of the region practiced a tradition they referred to as lording, whereby one gypsy, usually a female volunteer, would be chosen to go live with the Strigoi for the time her family was on the land. The vampire was allowed to feed upon her at his leisure, and her family was protected in return...
“So that’s where the donor tradition began?” Alex said.
Michelle nodded. “Anyway, that’s what I meant by myth and legends. These people they are writing about existed thousands of years ago, but still some of the basics are there. Fairies, demons, ghosts, all the things our parents told us didn’t exist are in here. There are heaps of examples and explanations, all offering a slightly different view of vampire origins and where their power came from. No one really knows, but a few of the stories are similar.”
“Carpathian Mountains…” Alex said, thinking. “Romania? So, like Dracula?”
“Yep. Not only was the character of the ‘original vampire’ based on a knight who impaled his victims and drank their blood, but there were legends about vampires there long before Vlad the Impaler was even thought about.” Michelle took some more pasta before continuing. “It goes on about ceremonial blood drinking in hundreds of cultures too, tribes who would drink the blood of the dead because they believed they inherited strength. In those days there was no such thing as sterilisation or acceptable hygiene. Some people believe a disease would’ve been inevitable, which would’ve changed the mentality of those who drank, perhaps making them crazy, turning them beastly. Or something else.”
Alex poured over the information. The texts were fascinating. Vampires seemed to be everywhere throughout history. In Ancient Rome, one in particular had heard about the planned assassination of Julius Caesar. Neos Victus, who loved Caesar, informed his wife Calpurnia Pisonis to keep him away from the senate during the day, a time when he could not protect him, but alas she failed.
King Henry VIII had brought an unknown vampire into his circle towards the end of his reign, when his mood swings became terrible. This vampire was known to hypnotise, and influenced Henry as an advisor on many unusual choices.
There were even Nazi sympathisers that began a vampire civil war in Europe during the rise and fall of Hitler.
“Jeez, how far back do they go? What about Australian history?” Alex asked, checking through the titles of the other books.
“Oh you don’t need a book for that, just ask me. You can even find it on Wikipedia if you know what to look for.”
“Wiki doesn’t have stories about them in Australia, surely?”
“No, but if you understand the history you can read between the lines and see for yourself what went on. As you know many Europeans, particularly the English, came over here on the convict ships. Most though came decades later, when news was brought back to England that Australia was a decent place for a fresh start.”
Alex nodded, remembering the history she taught to her students. “Right. There was a massive increase in population at the time.”
“Both in terms of human and vampire,” continued Michelle. “That’s where the whole smallpox epidemic started.”
“Yes, that’s right. This is in the curriculum for my class this term. The settlers gave it to the Aborigines,” Alex said.
“But they didn’t,” Michelle replied.
