Vampires have long captured mankind’s imagination; they exist in virtually all folklore globally. The vampire is a creature that survives by feasting on the essence of the living, and that essence is typically blood. The first mentions of the vampire date to ancient times, though the word “vampire” did not occur until later. Demons that drink blood or consume human flesh exist broadly across the ancient world (e.g., ghouls in Arabian culture, strix in Ancient Roman mythology, Estries in Jewish folklore, and more). However, the contemporary understanding of the vampire emerged in the 18th century during the European vampire panic that swept through much of Southern and Eastern Europe.

Some of the earliest examples of 18th-century mass vampire hysteria are Petar Blagojević and Arnold Paole, two Serbian men that were accused of returning as vampires after their deaths in the early-mid 1700s. Government officials from the Habsburg dynasty examined the bodies and investigated, while many scholars decreed that vampires did not exist. This, however, did not stop the hysteria from spreading, especially in rural communities. People dug up and staked the bodies of those they believed to be vampires. Some scholars believe that rabies or premature burial of still-alive people contributed to the continued prevalence of the vampire myth.