Vampires in other countries: the Americas

Vampires in the Americas

We move on to the Americas now, this piece will mention vampire belief in the US and South America. 

The USA

It is very commonly believed that during the founding of the US many settlers from Europe brought their religions and cultures to the New World. Among these cultures was the belief and fear of vampires, though many English settlers arrived before the vampire belief was common in Great Britain. Certainly, Polish settlers from the Northern Kashab area of Poland brought and kept alive vampire beliefs in their Canadian settlements.

These superstitions became part of the American culture during the early founding century and even much later. 

As mentioned before in the 'New Orleans and Deep South' page the 'vampire capital' of America could be New Orleans. Most modern films tell us it is New York or San Francisco or even small towns in the state of Washington. Suffice to say, vampires live in America because they came with the settlers. There are legends among the Native American tribes of blood thirsty creatures, these tales were told before the coming of the white man. Several native tribes did not bury their dead quickly, they would first expose the body on mountains for the birds to devour it, they would then bury the bones. The blood-drinker would need a tangible body in order to drink blood or vital energy, so the dead person would be unable to rise if it's body is only a skeleton. This method would prevent dark forces from possessing a dead body, however dark forces could still work on the living just like the legend of the Wendigo.

The Wendigo legend  tells of two men who were out hunting one winter day and got lost in a blizzard. The snow was too thick and strong. They sought refuge in a cave and were trapped. Overcome with hunger one man killed  the other and ate his flesh, this violent and sacrilegious act transformed him into a giant skeletal and horned creature known as the Wendigo. It has an insatiable hunger for human flesh and hunts humans lost in forests. It is immortal and is often depicted like a humanoid deer-like creature. This legend served as a cautionary tale to the tribesmen to never resort to cannibalism. This legend is so popular that it has been mentioned in several films, TV and comics with the creature itself appearing. 

The first record of vampire activity in America dates back to 1778. A farmer named Stukely, father of many children, fourteen at least, lost them all one by one under mysterious circumstances. The children were weak, anemic and later died. After the sixth child died, the mother had strange dreams, she saw her first child, a girl named Sarah. The dream was more distressing than comforting and the six bodies of the dead children were exhumed and inspected.  To the parents' horror, the only one that was not decomposed was Sarah's. The corpse looked as it was in a state of preservation, eventually all the bodies had their hearts removed and the remains burned. After this was done the mother no longer plagued by dreams.The first account of this story was not published until 1888, a century after it occured. This case is extremely similar to the superstitions and body inspections that were done in Europe around the same century. As mentioned before the beliefs and customs of Europe were brought to the New World. 

The next stories are very similar with premature deaths in large families and body exhumations, these were part of a mass panic called 'The New England Vampire panic'.

New England

New England Vampire Panic

This piece will discuss strong vampire activity in a small hamlet in rural Rhode Island. This area contained a vampire tradition that was as long as several hundred years.

In the village of Coventry in Rhode Island in a cemetery there once stood a headstone with a chilling inscription: 'I am waiting and watching for you'. This is the headstone of the grave of Nelly Vaughan who died in 1889 aged 19. The headstone is no longer there today but  the legacy of Rhode Island's 'Vampire ladies' lives on, with Nelly being one of them. 

In 1889 when Nelly was buried, the notion of vampirism was already common. 

In the late 17th century, the Reverend Deodat Lawson, who was minister at the now infamous Salem Village, and author of the first printed account of the Salem witch Trials, gives one of the first accounts of a vampiric attack. While he was staying at the house of Nathaniel Ingersoll, Mary Walcott, one of the 'afflicted girls' came to see him. As she was standing by the door, she suddenly experienced a 'bite' on her wrist, as if to draw blood, and upon further inspection there was a visible mark on the flesh. It could have been an insect but the demonologist Montague Summers remarks that the girl experienced a prolonged loss of energy afterwards.

In the period between the 1890s, there was talk of vampire activity in a house on Green Street in Schenectady in the state of New York. A hideous human silhouette made of mold and fungus had appeared on the cellar floor. Despite scrubbing and sweeping the outline stain couldn't be removed. It gave off a strong musty smell. The figure looked like a reclining man, it's presence in the cellar generated a strong feeling of unease and fear among the inhabitants of the house. It was discovered that the house had been built on the side of an old Dutch burial site. The city was before a Dutch colony known as New Amsterdam. It was believed that sinful people and magicians had been buried during the governorship of Peter Stuyvesant. 

One theory stated that the outline was a vampire trying to leave its grave. This belief came about when several of those living in the house would feel weak and sick. The fact that the vampire could not take physical form was because legend said it was prevented by a spell that was placed on the ground. The house was demolished but rumors stated that the vampire was still there. This story was much talked about and most certainly inspired the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft in writing his story 'The Shunned House' where a sinister outline also appears on a cellar floor. 

In Rhode Island and the surrounding states, the belief in vampires became stronger and persistent.

New England, with its idyllic rural and wooded landscape can be seen as eerie in winter as if time stood still. Twisting little roads lead through the woods to some secret house or a hollow. The trees move with the wind as if they are alive. In Rhode Island the air is heavy with the pungent smell of woodsmoke and apples, giving the area quite a, as mentioned in Gothic literature, a sublime feeling.

Rhode Island is sinister in winter, with the grim history of revolution, the woods were shelter to colonial troops and British Redcoats that fought viciously. Old colonial houses, especially the abandoned ones are overrun by nature, mold and decay. These houses are hidden away in shady hollows. Small overgrown cemeteries surround those houses. In such an eerie and haunting environment it is no wonder that stories of the undead came about.

Between the 18th and 19th centuries, superstitions and diseases were prevalent. Tuberculosis or consumption as it was known at the time spread quickly, it spread in communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island during the late 1800s. This disease caused people to waste waste and fade away. The symptoms corresponded with a vampire attack- loss of strength and appetite, the coughing up of blood that remained around the edges of the mouth, a very pale and white complexion and a feeling of heaviness on the chest while resting. 

An artistic depiction of  tuberculosis as the spirit of death.

There were various fundamentalist religious sects in the region at the time, groups such as Shadrack, Ireland's 'Brethren of the New Light' placed their dead not in coffins but in vast underground stone chambers beneath the rural hillsides where they would wait for the Great Day of Judgement. These practices and the lack of  medical knowledge formed the basis of a vampire belief throughout Rhode Island that lasted more than 100 years.

Sarah Tillinghast

Sarah Tillinghast was the daughter of the previously mentioned Stukley Tillinghast, an apple farmer. Sarah was considered the first 'vampire lady' of the mass panic, the vampire activity was only just starting and was going to get worse. The couple had by 1798 eight daughters and six sons. Stukley had vivid dreams of his daughter Sarah calling to him. He sought guidance from the local pastor who simply told him to pray. Rhode Island at the time was in a state of unease. Though the Revolutionary War was over, many Americans still feared a new British take over. Paranoia and rumors of British sympathizers living in Rhode Island were common.Fear as well as diseases quickly spread, it was even believed that the illnesses were caused by poisoning of wells by British agents. 

Sarah was a lovely girl of 19 who loved reading poetry in churchyards, one day as she returned home she fell ill with a fever, she died weeks later of consumption. In the following weeks, the son James felt ill and complained of a weight on his chest. He said he had dreamed of Sarah and felt her sitting on his bed. The boy died a few days later. Two more children died after, they had similar symptoms and dreams of Sarah. Stukley began to believe that the spirit of Sarah had returned to steal the life from the remaining members of the family. He even believed that the dream he had when she was alive was a prophetic vision. Their eldest daughter who was marred and lived in another town came to visit, she too felt ill, expressed a feeling of being watched and died. The wife Honour started having vivid dreams of Sarah and the son Ezra fell ill. Desperate to act and feeling the pressure from the community, he went to the graveyard. As mentioned before, Sarah's body was still preserved, Stuktley removed her heart and burnt it. When he returned home, Ezra succumbed but Honour recovered. Sarah Tillinghast was now resting in peace but the vampire panic in Rhode Island was just beginning and would emerge around 1827. 

Nancy Young

Nancy Young was the eldest daughter of Captain Levi Young, a military man from the remote area of Foster. Not a native of Rhode Island, Young came from Sterling in Connecticut. After leaving the Army, marrying and purchasing land in a heavily wooded district, he was settled by 1807. He became a prosperous farmer with a loving family of 8 children. Nancy was 20 and was a smart girl who ran the farm very well until in 1827 she fell ill with what was deemed a severe cold. Suffering a fever she died on April 6 1827 of consumption, according to the doctor. The events that had plagued the Tillinghast family 30 years ago this time plagued the Young family. Shortly after Nancy's death the sister Almira fell ill, she told her parents that she saw Nancy in her dreams. Perhaps Levi Young knew of the Tillinghast story or not, he anyway, was convinced that a supernatural force was responsible. The community leaders stated that his house was being tormented by a demon, probably from the forest. They consulted a local 'witch doctor' who treated people with herbs and potions. He had great knowledge of ghosts and demons. He confirmed that there was indeed a dark spirit that was drawing life from the family. He gathered all the men and instructed them to gather firewood, they all walked to the graveyard. A large pile of wood was formed and the witch doctor said that the coffin of Nancy should be placed on it. This was done and the fire was lit, the family members were asked to stand close to the fire as per the witch  doctor's instructions this would wash away the evil. However, less than a year later, Almira died and several other of Levi's children died as well. The vampire panic gain lay dormant waiting to rise up again.

Juliet Rose

In 1874 William G. Rose lost his daughter Juliet to a mysterious illness, she was the daughter of his first wife Mary who had also died eight years prior. By then the cases of the Tillinghast and Young families were known and William was convinced that it was a vampire attack. Several months after Juliet's death, 7 year old Rosalind fell ill. William sought advice from the local priest who simply told him to pray. William's second wife Mary Griswold had previously been married to a Thomas Tillinghast who was now dead, it was thought, though not confirmed, that Thomas was a direct descendant of Stukley Tillinghast. The family of the late Thomas had knowledge of vampires and agreed to help William. Mary instructed William to exhume Juliet's grave and destroy the body.  That evening, as he made his way to the cemetery, William contemplated the sacrilegious act he was about to commit, he saw a figure in the mist moving slowly toward him calling out 'papa, I'm cold!' Rather than running to embrace her, William regained his senses and dug up Juliet's grave. Opening the coffin, he saw to his horror that she was still preserved but with blood around her mouth. He cut out the heart and as he did, he heard a loud sigh coming from the corpse. He burned the heart once he returned home. The vampire panic was gone but only for a few years. 

Mercy Brown

Mercy Brown was one of the daughters of George and Mary Brown, they lived in Exeter. The family suffered from Tuberculosis. In 1883 the mother Mary died of the disease, during the spring of 1884 Mary Olive, the eldest daughter fell ill as well, she died in June. For a few years the family experienced some peace with no sickness, during this time, the son Edwin married and moved away. Five years after Mary Olive's death, in 1889 Edwin fell ill, he traveled to Colorado springs for treatment. In 1892, when he was away, Mercy fell ill, Edwin traveled back to Rhode Island, but he arrived too late. Her body was placed in a crypt as the ground was too hard and frozen to dig up. As the family grieved Edwin, who had felt a bit better in Colorado, began to feel the symptoms reemerge. He was visited by elders from the community who told him the stories of Juilet Rose, Nancy Young and Sarah Tillinghast. Edwin refused to believe that but later began to wonder. There had always been belief in a supernatural entity lurking in the woods. Edwin began to have frightening dreams of Mercy. With the help from a local doctor Edwin had the bodies examined, nothing suspicious was found on his mother or sister Mary Olive. Early in the morning on March 18 1892 Edwin and a small group of men went to the crypt, they opened the coffin and found Marcy's body still preserved. The doctor cut out her heart and liver, a strange sound like a sigh was heard.  The organs were burnt.  

Though the belief of vampires was common, the use of the word 'vampire' was not.The belief in vampires in that area was not the same belief as the one in Eastern Europe as was previously thought. George R. Stetson, who was the first scholar to examine the stories stated that the belief in vampires in New England was very different than in Europe. The belief may not have been in vampires but in revenants.

The family dying one by one could logically, according to friends and neighbors be from a dead relative who came back from the grave. If  vampires were responsible then it would have been a psychic vampire who does not suck blood but life force Obviously there was no medical knowledge at the time and body decomposition was not well known either, the explanation for Mercy's preservation was because her body was kept in a freezer-like condition in a crypt two months after her death, so the decomposition process was slowed down.

This  was the best reported vampire lady story and featured in several newspapers. Bram Stoker's widow found clippings of this story among her husband's things, he must have collected them when he traveled with his actor friend Sir Henry Irving who toured in America. This event most probably inspired him in creating the character of Lucy in his novel Dracula. 

After this story, the vampire panic ended, but it left a terrifying legacy that inspired horror stories. 

Because of lack of medical knowledge and the fast deadly rate of Tuberculosis several families in the area copied each other in trying to find a solution, they exhumed bodies and burned the organs. The practice of destroying corpses disappeared in the early 20th century due to the beginning of medical knowledge. 

Though I've mentioned Nelly Vaughan and her eerie tombstone engraving, no information about her could be found. Undoubtedly she suffered from tuberculosis as well and her body destroyed just like the others. But what does the engraving mean?  Perhaps simply a message to her family or sweetheart, to others the meaning was darker. Occultists became quite interested in the gravestone and in the 1990s it had to be removed to prevent fundamentalists, vampire hunters or vampire fans from desecrating it. 

South America and Latin America

We now travel down to the Latin side to Central and South America where several stories of witches, demons and vampires can be found.

South America doesn't have as many legends and stories as in Europe, however, the fact that the vampire bat is native to the continent suggests that the belief in vampirism would have appeared in the continent's folklore. 

Before the coming of the conquistadors there were tales among the natives. 

Aztec Vampire Deities

The mighty Aztec, lived in Mexico, built big cities with tall pyramids, they were known to perform human sacrifices where the victim would have it's heart ripped out and the blood would trickle down the pyramid.This gave the impression that the many gods they believed in were bloodthirsty. Among the gods there are several vampire figures in the mythology to include Camazotz, the cave god of the underworld, who was more of a soul demon than a vampire. 

Vampire goddesses related to the 'earth lady' Tlalteuctil, personified the rock and soil on which humans live. Tlalteuctil was a terror-producing figure that was pictured as a huge toad with blood covering her jaws instead of a woman.

The female figures that surrounded the earth lady were known as Chihuapipiltin or princesses. Of all the vampiric deities, the Chihateteo was the most vampiric. They originated from women who died in childbirth. They wandered at night and attacked children. Sunlight would kill them so people would leave lots of food at crossroads for them to feast until dawn and the sunrise would kill them.

A similar creature called the Civatateo, it was a servant of the moon gods. This creature was also once a noblewoman who died during childbirth. They attacked children, drinking their blood until the children grew weak and died. They were known to mate with human men and give birth to vampire children. To kill them, the same method as mentioned above was used, cakes were left for them in the shape of butterflies.

Mexico

The rich and beautiful culture of Mexico is full of legends, despite it being a deeply Catholic country the beliefs and culture mixed with some of the native culture.  Many legends and superstitions  can be found in this country. Among these beliefs are monsters and vampires.

Chorti

This creature can be found in Guatemala as well. It is described as a wild man who lives in the wilderness, in remote places such as caves and forests. It is large, hairy with feet facing backwards, it also has claws that can tear through flesh. Some say that is not dangerous and acts as a forest guardian. When threatened it will rip a person to shreds and feed on the blood and skin leaving only bones. They mostly attack men.

El Chupacabra

The most famous vampire creature of Mexico is the Chupacabra or 'goat sucker'. Since 1975 several farm animals were found dead drained of blood. There were tales of small little men who lived in the hills and fed on blood. They would only feed on the blood of goats. The creature is part of the world's unexplained mysteries as it was never fully described in details.  No one knows if it is a spirit or an unidentified animal. The latter would be acceptable as it is said that new species are discovered every day. The theory that it could be an extraterrestrial has of course been brought forward.

Despite several photos of the creature have been found, most were dismissed as fakes. 

The only small details found to describe it are as follows: it has black eyes, dark grey skin, it can change color like a chameleon. It has small claw like hands and spikes on it's back. The most common description is that it looks like a dog or other canidae.

The creature was also spotted in Puerto Rico, sometimes all the way into Florida and California.

Over the years several strange dogs or wolf-like creatures were spotted killed or their bodies found. The scientific explanations stated that these were wild hairless dogs infected with mange because they had dark grey scaly skin. Other explanations say that they were hybrids from dogs mating with coyotes.

It still remains to this day an unidentified creature but luckily poses no threat to humans just their livestock and the farmers' livelihoods. The creature is part of popular culture, appearing in films, TV and books. 

                                                          A depiction of the creature.

Brazil

In the lush jungle of Brazil lives a feared creature called the Jaracaca, it's high-pitched coughing roar can be heard throughout the leafy canopy.

This is a curious form of vampire, it takes the form of a long snake that stealthily slithers into houses and creeps on nursing mothers. It feeds on both milk and blood, while the mother is not looking or sleeping, it positions itself between the breast and feeding infant, it pushes the baby away and feeds. To silence the baby, it puts its tail inside the infant's mouth. It leaves once it is satisfied and will return, depriving the baby of nourishment and leaving it thin and sick. It is believed that it can spit a terrible venom that can make people mad. Sometimes when milk is not available it will feed on sleeping men, coiling around the arm and biting. The victim wakes up the next morning completely mad. Prayers and incantations are often done before bedtime in order to deter it. Prayers are also said before a mother breastfeeds her baby for protection from the Jaracaca.

The Lobishomen

This vampire creature is a small humanoid who resembles a furry, bald-headed monkey with an evil face. It fed on women making them mad or causing them to commit adultery. Because of its greedy appetite it could become so full of blood that it would be sluggish and easier to catch. Once caught it had to be crucified on a tree. The name of this creature is odd, the word lobishomen actually means werewolf in Portuguese, it is not explained why that is. It was believed that it was a creature born out of witchcraft or from incestuous parents. The fact that it could shape shift and take the form of animals even dogs offers an explanation for its name.There was also the belief stemming from Portugal, that a man who was once a werewolf will become a vampire after death, this could be the case for this creature. It could be cut with steel.

The Lobishomen only attacks women but does not kill them, it only takes a small amount of blood. Because it's saliva turns women into sexual addicts either the men seek to destroy it or encourage it to come into their homes, knowing that it won't feed on them and help their 'marriages.

There is a similar creature in Southern Chile called the Piuchen. This creature can shape shift into many different animals and drain people of blood.

Peru

There is another peculiar vampire creature that lives in Peru, it can also be found in Brazil. The Pishtaco does not drink blood but on the fat and semen of sleeping men, it will sometimes feed on women.When it finishes drinking the fat then it will drink the blood. No description of this creature can be found, some people say that it can take the form of a bat. 

This creature appeared in the TV show Supernatural , Sam and Dean investigate a spa near a town where people have been killed by having their fat sucked out. The spa has a strangely effective slimming program. The boys find out that a brother and sister who work there are pishtaco, the sister being kind and helping people with the brother being greedy and more psychotic. 

The Asema and Witchcraft

Like in most parts of the world the fear and belief in witches is also very present in South America. In Brazil, witches or bruxas are believed to feed on the blood of people. The Asema was often described as an old man or woman who could become a vampire at night. It would remove its skin like a coat and become a shimmering ball of light. In this form it would enter houses and suck the blood or life force from sleeping people. It sucked blood until the victim was dead. It would fly away after feeding and put back its skin. Garlic was used as a protection, hung around windows and doors or rubbed on the skin. People could eat herbs to make their blood bitter and foul tasting to the Asema. Sesame seeds would be scattered around the house as the creature cannot resist counting or gathering them. While in human form it would count them until sunrise where sunlight would either kill it or reveal it for the people to kill it. When it is in the light orb shape, the skin can be found and burnt, this will kill it. 

References:

Curran, B (2000) Vampires: A Field Guide to the Creatures of the Night, New Page Books

Melton G. J (1999) The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead, Visible Ink Press

Sirgent J.  Le guide secret des vampires.