Fascinating Nouns Ep. 263: The First Vampire w/ Noah Charney

It is Halloween again, and what is more iconic at this time of year than vampires, werewolves, and witches? I thought it was about time we dedicate a whole episode to them, so Noah Charney is back on the show to discuss their origins. It turns out that these creatures first appear in Slavic myths around the 4th century and the werewolf & the vampire are actually the same creature! It wasn’t until very modern stories started to separate them into two different monsters. Still we see the origins that eventually become legendary parts of the story: A wirey, tall, gaunt undead creature that is nocturnal, can only be killed with silver bullets, they drink blood to reproduce, can only enter a house when invited, and can turn into a wolf or a swarm of black butterflies (later bats). This creature smelled like garlic and was not repulsed by it, but that plant still plays a prominent role in the story. Listen to original stories from the part of the world that used to be called Transylvania!