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The Disturbing CULT Of Modern Day Vampires · The conspiracy

0:03
Speaker 1: Hello, my dear.
0:04
Speaker 2: I am Kristoff the Vampire, and you are looking extra
0:10
Speaker 2: delicious today. And I regret to inform you that you
0:14
Speaker 2: will be my lunch. But you should probably take that
0:18
Speaker 2: as a compliment, because I'm a very picky eater. Okay?
0:22
Speaker 1: But I'm going to make it painless, all right? I'm
0:24
Speaker 1: just going to pop you.
0:26
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0:27
Speaker 1: I'm going to pop you on the head, and then
0:29
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0:43
Speaker 1: have any last words? Really? Those are going to be
0:48
Speaker 1: your last words. All right. Yes, I made a good choice.
0:58
Speaker 1: you'll do just nicely. Crime, conspiracy, serial killers, cults, and murder,
1:04
Speaker 1: all things that I love to consume, and I know
1:06
Speaker 1: you do too, you sick, beautiful-minded.
1:09
Speaker 2: Intellectual freak.
1:10
Speaker 1: And today, we are talking about, you guessed it, Vampires!
1:14
Speaker 1: And we're not just gonna talk about just about vampires,
1:17
Speaker 1: all right? We're gonna go into the ancient history of vampires.
1:20
Speaker 1: We're gonna get freaky nerdy with it up in his
1:22
Speaker 1: p * * *, all right? And we're also gonna
1:24
Speaker 1: talk about a little bit of murder, a little bit
1:26
Speaker 1: of serial killers, too. We're kind of getting into all
1:28
Speaker 1: facets right now. Even cults, actually. We're ticking off all
1:32
Speaker 1: the boxes. Conspiracy, murder, serial killers, cults. I forgot the
1:37
Speaker 1: other one. But we're gonna be talking about the history
1:39
Speaker 1: of of vampires, killers who claim to be vampires, folklore,
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Speaker 1: and modern day vampires, and how they might actually exist.
1:50
Speaker 1: Let's open your casket, get out vampire style, start sprinting
1:55
Speaker 1: Mach 5 on all fours, and jump off this cliff
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Speaker 1: into this vampire case together. Hey, yeah, I know we're
2:17
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3:22
Speaker 1: Without further ado, let's get back to the video. All right,
3:24
Speaker 1: so most of you probably know what a vampire is,
3:27
Speaker 1: thanks to Dracula and Twilight and whatnot. But do you
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Speaker 1: know where they originated from? And do you know the
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Speaker 1: very dark, dark following that has emerged because of them? Well,
3:40
Speaker 1: today we're gonna talk about just that. So for those
3:43
Speaker 1: of you, for some reason, who don't know what a
3:45
Speaker 1: vampire is, basically, the vampire is a mythical creature of darkness, blood,
3:50
Speaker 1: and immortality, that has captured the human imagination for centuries.
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Speaker 1: From ancient folklore to contemporary films and literature, the vampire
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Speaker 1: story is rich, multifaceted, and deeply tied to human history, fear,
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Speaker 1: and belief. But where did the legend of the vampire originate?
4:08
Speaker 1: And how did it evolve into the figures that we
4:10
Speaker 1: recognize today? I think we need to start from the beginning.
4:14
Speaker 1: which was in early Mesopotamia and Mediterranean civilizations. So the
4:18
Speaker 1: earliest known references to vampire-like beings come from the ancient
4:22
Speaker 1: civilizations of Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. And while these creatures
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Speaker 1: were not necessarily called vampires, They shared many traits associated
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Speaker 1: with later vampire legends. First up, we have Lilitu and
4:34
Speaker 1: Lamashtu in Mesopotamia. And the Sumerians and Babylonians had myths
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Speaker 1: surrounding Lilitu, a demon who preyed on newborns and pregnant
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Speaker 1: women by draining their life force. In Lamache II, another
4:46
Speaker 1: demon was similarly feared for her nocturnal attacks on infants
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Speaker 1: and mothers, leaving her victims weakened and sickened, evoking early
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Speaker 1: ideas of creatures living off others' vitality, a.k.a. their blood. Next,
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Speaker 1: we have umpase and lamaya, I'm probably saying those wrong,
5:03
Speaker 1: from ancient Greece. And in ancient Greece, the umpase were
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Speaker 1: shape-shifting demons who feasted on blood and seduced men. Slay.
5:11
Speaker 1: While Lamia was cursed to drink the blood of children.
5:14
Speaker 1: That's not as good. And these early Mediterranean myths laid
5:17
Speaker 1: the groundwork of the idea of female, seductive, and bloodthirsty entities,
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Speaker 1: a common theme among vampire mythology, aka what basically bred
5:27
Speaker 1: the sexy vampires you see in today's media. And then
5:29
Speaker 1: we have the early Chinese and Indian beliefs. The Vatala
5:32
Speaker 1: was an undead spirit that inhibited corpses preying on humans
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Speaker 1: by possessing their bodies. Though not a vampire in the
5:39
Speaker 1: modern sense, the Vitella's association with death, possession, and malevolence
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Speaker 1: echoes vampire traits. And the Jiangshi in China, which also
5:48
Speaker 1: I'm probably pronouncing that wrong and I apologize, or otherwise
5:51
Speaker 1: called the hopping vampire, was a reanimated corpse that drained
5:55
Speaker 1: the life essence of its victims, otherwise known as Qi.
5:59
Speaker 1: And like later European vampires, the Jiangshi was often depicted
6:03
Speaker 1: as a creature that preyed on the living to sustain
6:05
Speaker 1: its unnatural existence. Which brings us to the European vampire,
6:10
Speaker 1: otherwise known as the Middle Ages to early modern period.
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Speaker 1: So the modern conception of the vampire as a reanimated
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Speaker 1: corpse that drinks blood of the living owes much to
6:19
Speaker 1: the folklore of Eastern Europe, particularly the Slavic regions. The
6:23
Speaker 1: strugoi in Romania was an undead being that returned from
6:27
Speaker 1: the grave to feed on the blood of the living. So, like,
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Speaker 1: just that classic, like, out of the grave, bust through,
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Speaker 1: go kind of like a zombie, almost like a zombie.
6:36
Speaker 1: And the Sergoy was thought to be created through, like,
6:38
Speaker 1: a violent death or an improper burial, and could be
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Speaker 1: dispatched only through specific rituals, such as decapitation.
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Speaker 2: Okay.
6:47
Speaker 1: Or driving a stake through the heart, which I'm sure
6:49
Speaker 1: a lot of you have heard of. That wooden stake
6:52
Speaker 1: through the vampire's heart. It's the only way to kill
6:54
Speaker 1: a vampire. Turns out, it's not. Allegedly. And then we
6:57
Speaker 1: have Nosferatu in Transylvania, later made famous by Bram Stoker's Dracula.
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Speaker 1: Nosferatu was a plague carrier and was believed to spread
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Speaker 1: death and disease through the nocturnal feeding. And these vampires
7:09
Speaker 1: could be repelled by garlic, You heard that one. Holy
7:13
Speaker 1: water and or a crucifix, elements that became staples in
7:16
Speaker 1: later Western vampire myths. So let's talk a little bit
7:19
Speaker 1: about the role of religion and superstition in vampire beliefs.
7:23
Speaker 1: And a lot of that stemmed from the Black Death.
7:26
Speaker 1: The Black Death being the bubonic plague, which decimated Europe
7:30
Speaker 1: in the 14th century. And it gave rise to the
7:33
Speaker 1: fear of death and the undead. Mass graves, unburied bodies,
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Speaker 1: and the rapid spread of disease led people to attribute
7:40
Speaker 1: these tragedies to supernatural causes, naturally. And the reports of revenants,
7:45
Speaker 1: corpses that return to the dead to terrorize the living,
7:47
Speaker 1: were common during the plague years. Which like, yeah, that
7:50
Speaker 1: makes sense, you know? You got nothing else going on.
7:52
Speaker 1: There's like snake oil doctors and witches and stuff. Why
7:56
Speaker 1: wouldn't you believe in some dude coming up from the
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Speaker 1: dead and drinking your blood and giving you the plague
8:00
Speaker 1: at night? I mean, that's what would fuel me, honestly.
8:02
Speaker 1: And then we obviously have the Christianity influence as well.
8:05
Speaker 1: Because in Christian Europe, vampires were often associated with hearsay, sin,
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Speaker 1: and the devil. The idea of the vampire as a
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Speaker 1: creature damned for eternity and trapped between life and death
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Speaker 1: resonated a lot with religious fears of eternal damnation. So
8:20
Speaker 1: the use of holy symbols like crosses, holy waters, and
8:23
Speaker 1: the consecrated ground to ward off vampires reflects the deep
8:26
Speaker 1: ties between vampire folklore and Christian belief. And then we
8:30
Speaker 1: jump ahead to the vampire panic of the 18th century.
8:33
Speaker 1: In the 18th century, vampire hysteria gripped Eastern Europe, particularly
8:38
Speaker 1: in regions such as Hungary, Poland, and Serbia. Exhumations of
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Speaker 1: suspected vampires became common, and grisly rituals to prevent their return,
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Speaker 1: including decapitation and driving stakes through the heart, were participated widely.
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Speaker 1: That's crazy. That's like you're just digging your mom up
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Speaker 1: because you think she might've been a vampire and just,
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Speaker 1: re-killing her somehow, that's like, I guess there was not
9:01
Speaker 1: a lot to do back then either. So like, again,
9:04
Speaker 1: why not, I guess. And the reports of vampire attacks
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Speaker 1: circulated in newspapers across Europe, further fueling the panic. And
9:10
Speaker 1: this is also when vampirism would transition from folklore to
9:14
Speaker 1: literature in the 18th and 19th century. a shift that
9:17
Speaker 1: would lay the groundwork for the modern vampire archetype. Books
9:21
Speaker 1: such as The Vampire, written in 1819, written by John Polidori,
9:26
Speaker 1: was one of the first works of vampire fiction in
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Speaker 1: the English language. And Polidori's vampire, Lord Ruthven, was a
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Speaker 1: sophisticated aristocratic figure who preyed on high society, contrasting with
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Speaker 1: the crude, peasant vampires of folklore. And this portrayal would
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Speaker 1: influence the refined and seductive image of vampires in later literature,
9:46
Speaker 1: like Twilight. I'm making fun of it, but I literally
9:50
Speaker 1: love Twilight. Okay? Team Edward all the way. And this
9:52
Speaker 1: next one, Carmilla, was written in 1872 and is fire.
9:56
Speaker 1: all right? It was written by Sheridan Lefanus, and Carmilla
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Speaker 1: is introduced as the first significant female vampire to Western literature. Carmilla,
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Speaker 1: a beautiful and seductive vampire, preys on young women, intertwining
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Speaker 1: themes of eroticism, death, and the supernatural. Basically, everything I
10:14
Speaker 1: know you like, I know you do. I'm looking at you.
10:17
Speaker 1: You're gonna read this book after I know it. and
10:18
Speaker 1: Carmilla would become an important precursor to later vampire literature,
10:22
Speaker 1: particularly with its exploration of lesbianism and seduction. Again, slay.
10:27
Speaker 1: And then we obviously have Bram Stoker's Dracula, written in 1897.
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Speaker 1: No discussion of vampires is ever complete without Bram Stoker's Dracula,
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Speaker 1: which solidified many of the traits associated with vampires today.
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Speaker 1: Count Dracula, a Transylvanian nobleman turned vampire, embodies both the
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Speaker 1: fear and fascination with immortality, bloodlust, and sexuality. Dracula not
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Speaker 1: only cemented the vampire's place in pop culture, but also
10:54
Speaker 1: created a template for countless vampire stories to come. So
10:57
Speaker 1: let's move into the modern vampire, the 20th century to
11:00
Speaker 1: present vampire. The 20th century saw that the vampire myth
11:04
Speaker 1: evolved dramatically as it moved into film, television, and later
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Speaker 1: a global pop culture consciousness. Nosferatu in 1922 was a
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Speaker 1: silent German film made by F.W. Murnau, don't know if
11:17
Speaker 1: I said that right, and remains to be one of
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Speaker 1: the most iconic portrayals of a vampire. Count Orlok, the
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Speaker 1: central character, is a far more monstrous version of Dracula.
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Speaker 1: He's badass, basically, capturing the terror and grotesque nature of
11:31
Speaker 1: the vampire myth. Highly recommend watching it. And Universal's Dracula,
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Speaker 1: made in 1931, portrayed Count Dracula. I'm sure most people
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Speaker 1: know who that is. And this became the definitive image
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Speaker 1: of what a vampire is for decades to come. With
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Speaker 1: the classic slick-backed hair, thick Transylvania accent. Uh, uh, uh.
11:54
Speaker 1: Count on Sesame Street, shout out. And evening attire. And
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Speaker 1: Lugosi's Dracula was both menacing and mesmerizing, creating an indelible
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Speaker 1: cultural image. And as the 20th century progressed, vampires became
12:06
Speaker 1: more nuanced figures in the media. With the publication of
12:10
Speaker 1: Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire in 1976, and the
12:12
Speaker 1: film adaptation in 1994, Vampires were no longer just monsters,
12:19
Speaker 1: but tragic, tortured beings grappling with their immortality and moral dilemmas.
12:24
Speaker 1: I don't know if I hate this movie or love it.
12:28
Speaker 1: I think I love it. I think it just dragged
12:30
Speaker 1: on a bit. I think I love it. I rewatched
12:32
Speaker 1: it a few years ago. I gotta revisit it. But
12:34
Speaker 1: it's got Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in it. You
12:36
Speaker 1: can't really go wrong with that. And, uh... I think
12:39
Speaker 1: Little Kirsten Dunst, is that her name? It's pretty good though.
12:41
Speaker 1: And in the 21st century, we saw a new wave
12:45
Speaker 1: of vampire narratives that blended horror, romance, and social commentary. Yes,
12:50
Speaker 1: I'm talking about Twilight. I know all you want to
12:52
Speaker 1: hear about is Twilight, and I don't really need to
12:54
Speaker 1: explain it, but Twilight is Stephanie Meyer's book published in 2005.
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Speaker 1: And the series re-imagined vampires as brooding, immortal teenagers. And
13:04
Speaker 1: the romance between a human girl and a vampire with
13:07
Speaker 1: a moralized conflict over blood lust brought the vampire myth
13:11
Speaker 1: into the mainstream for younger audience, sparking a global pop
13:15
Speaker 1: culture phenomenon. Phenomenon doesn't even begin to explain what this
13:21
Speaker 1: did to culture, what it did to me. I think
13:23
Speaker 1: Twilight shaped me into the person I am today, I think.
13:27
Speaker 1: Did it shape you? If not, that's probably for the best.
13:30
Speaker 1: I still like watch the movie back and I feel
13:32
Speaker 1: things that I probably shouldn't feel, but I do. so.
13:35
Speaker 1: And then we have shows like True Blood in 2008
13:37
Speaker 1: and 2014, and The Vampire Diaries from 2009 to 2017.
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Speaker 1: And these television shows explore the themes of desire, identity,
13:45
Speaker 1: and power, with vampires as metaphors for societal issues like
13:49
Speaker 1: civil rights, sexuality, and alienation. And these genres just continued
13:54
Speaker 1: to evolve, not just focusing on the horror of vampirism,
13:57
Speaker 1: but on the complexity of relationships, communities, and politics in
14:01
Speaker 1: the supernatural world, which isn't We also have movies like Blade, Underworld,
14:05
Speaker 1: 30 Days of Night, which I cannot recommend enough. I
14:08
Speaker 1: think it's so fun and awesome. It's basically this horror
14:11
Speaker 1: film based off a graphic novel. And it's set in Alaska,
14:14
Speaker 1: where vampires descend on a small town during a month
14:16
Speaker 1: of complete darkness. And the film focuses on survival horror
14:19
Speaker 1: and depicts vampires as ruthless, monstrous predators. And those are
14:22
Speaker 1: like my favorite kind. Besides Twilight, of course. But... Give
14:26
Speaker 1: it a watch if you like horror. And then you
14:27
Speaker 1: got shows like Poppy the Vampire Slayer, which I never
14:30
Speaker 1: really got into, but I hear it's good. And What
14:32
Speaker 1: We Do in the Shadows. Cannot recommend that enough either.
14:34
Speaker 1: It is so awesome and funny. If you don't know
14:37
Speaker 1: What We Do in the Shadows, there's a show and
14:40
Speaker 1: there's a movie. So good. I don't even really want
14:43
Speaker 1: to explain it, but it's like comedy meets vampires. Yeah,
14:46
Speaker 1: that's basically it. But it's like ancient vampires in modern
14:50
Speaker 1: day Staten Island, and it's so good. So funny. And
14:54
Speaker 1: now that we covered the basic history of vampires, we're
14:57
Speaker 1: going to talk about the grim outcome of the fascination
15:02
Speaker 1: with vampires, and that is vampire killers. Because we couldn't
15:05
Speaker 1: do a deep dive without talking about killings, could we?
15:08
Speaker 1: Probably not. Well, probably could, but didn't want to. But
15:10
Speaker 1: vampire criminals or vampire killers or psychopathic vampires are people
15:17
Speaker 1: who commit murders and drink blood of their victims. And
15:20
Speaker 1: in order for a crime to be considered a vampire crime,
15:24
Speaker 1: which I didn't know existed, but now I do, the
15:26
Speaker 1: drinking of blood or the desire to drink blood must
15:30
Speaker 1: be a major motive. So the three reasons why we
15:32
Speaker 1: know a vampire crime has been committed are hematomania, which
15:37
Speaker 1: is deriving the pleasure from drinking blood, Gross. Renfield syndrome,
15:42
Speaker 1: the belief that a person is actually a vampire, which
15:45
Speaker 1: turns out there's a lot. There's a lot. And I
15:47
Speaker 1: was one of them. And when I was a kid,
15:49
Speaker 1: wasn't killing people, wasn't doing any of that, any of
15:51
Speaker 1: that nonsense. It was more just like running around the forest,
15:54
Speaker 1: just screaming and like. If you know, you know. If
15:57
Speaker 1: you watched my TikToks from like four years ago, that
15:59
Speaker 1: was funny for you, nobody else. Or the involvement in
16:02
Speaker 1: satanic type rituals. Not me, that's just one of the
16:05
Speaker 1: three reasons if you're committed to vampire crime. Anyway, but
16:07
Speaker 1: the vampire subculture as a whole does not associate themselves
16:11
Speaker 1: with these individuals, stating that they are not real vampires
16:15
Speaker 1: and that the subculture does not promote violence or crime
16:19
Speaker 1: in any form. And we'll get into this subculture in
16:22
Speaker 1: a bit. I know this deep dive is quite literally
16:24
Speaker 1: all over the place. It's kind of an ADHD deep dive.
16:27
Speaker 1: I apologize. I wrote it and... It's a bit all
16:29
Speaker 1: over the place. We're gonna talk about crimes and then
16:31
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about the subculture. And we're gonna kinda
16:33
Speaker 1: work from oldest to newest as best I can. And
16:35
Speaker 1: we're gonna start with the infamous Vlad the Impaler. So
16:39
Speaker 1: Vlad the Third, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler, was
16:44
Speaker 1: active and alive from 1431 to 1476 or 77, we're
16:49
Speaker 1: not quite sure. But he is one of the most
16:52
Speaker 1: iconic historical figures tied to vampirism, largely because of his
16:56
Speaker 1: influence on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. And while Vlad
17:01
Speaker 1: himself was never believed to have actually engaged in vampirism,
17:05
Speaker 1: his brutal and blood-soaked reign as a 15th century prince
17:10
Speaker 1: of Wallachia, Wallachia, Wallachia? hope I'm saying that right, which
17:14
Speaker 1: is now modern day Romania, left an indelible mark on history,
17:18
Speaker 1: blending with regional folklore to inspire the archetype vampire figures.
17:23
Speaker 1: So Vlad was born in 1431 in Transylvania, in the
17:26
Speaker 1: city of Sigisora, sorry if I said that wrong, which
17:30
Speaker 1: was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. And his father,
17:32
Speaker 1: Vlad II Dracul, was a member of the Order of
17:36
Speaker 1: the Dragon, which sounds awesome, because if there's anything I
17:40
Speaker 1: love more than vampires, It's dragons, all right? Let me
17:42
Speaker 1: know if you want a deep dive on dragons, because
17:44
Speaker 1: I'll f * * * ing do it. But the
17:45
Speaker 1: Order of Dragons was founded to protect Christendom from the
17:48
Speaker 1: Ottoman Empire. Whatever that means. And the name Dracul means
17:52
Speaker 1: dragon in Romanian, or devil in more modern interpretations. I
17:57
Speaker 1: was just going to say, oh, I'm going to name
17:58
Speaker 1: my firstborn that. Probably not. I like dragon. Not so
18:01
Speaker 1: much the devil. And Vlad III, otherwise known as Vlad
18:04
Speaker 1: the Impaler, earned the name Draculea, which means son of
18:08
Speaker 1: the dragon. That's cool. Maybe my firstborn will be named. No,
18:11
Speaker 1: probably I shouldn't name it after an infamous serial killer.
18:14
Speaker 1: Probably shouldn't do that. Nevermind. And this is the origin
18:16
Speaker 1: of the name Dracula, which Stoker later borrowed from his
18:19
Speaker 1: vampiric count. And Vlad's life was shaped by the constant
18:22
Speaker 1: warfare between Christian Europe and the expanding Ottoman Empire. And
18:26
Speaker 1: at some point during these wars in 1442, Vlad and
18:29
Speaker 1: his younger brother Radu were sent as political hostages to
18:33
Speaker 1: the Ottoman court to secure their father's loyalty to the Sultan.
18:37
Speaker 1: And this period of captivity profoundly influenced Vlad's later life,
18:41
Speaker 1: fostering a deep hatred for the Ottomans and the desire
18:45
Speaker 1: for vengeance against those who wronged his family. Guy holds
18:48
Speaker 1: a grudge, basically. And Vlad is most famous for his
18:51
Speaker 1: three reigns as the Prince of Wallachia, particularly in his
18:55
Speaker 1: second reign, which ranged from 1456 to 1462, when he
19:00
Speaker 1: earned his notorious reputation. And the infamous method of punishment
19:04
Speaker 1: employed by Val, Val?
19:07
Speaker 2: Who's Val?
19:08
Speaker 1: Employed by Vlad was, you guessed it, impalement. Victims would
19:12
Speaker 1: be seated on long, sharpened wooden stakes, which were driven
19:16
Speaker 1: through their bodies, often taking hours for them to die,
19:20
Speaker 1: even sometimes days. And this practice became so widespread that
19:24
Speaker 1: Vlad earned the nickname Vlad the Impaler. And according to
19:27
Speaker 1: historical accounts, he killed tens of thousands of people during
19:33
Speaker 1: his reign, including Ottoman prisoners, boyar rebels, and common criminals.
19:38
Speaker 1: His use of impalement served both a deterrent to his
19:41
Speaker 1: enemies and a form of psychological warfare. No shit. And
19:44
Speaker 1: there's a place called the Forest of the Impaled, which
19:47
Speaker 1: is one of the most chilling stories from Vlad's reign,
19:50
Speaker 1: which in 1462, during a confrontation with the Ottoman Sultan,
19:54
Speaker 1: Vlad ordered the impalement of 20,000 Ottoman soldiers and civilians.
19:59
Speaker 1: And this would naturally cause his enemies to flee and
20:03
Speaker 1: leave the scene because they're like, that shit, I'm out.
20:07
Speaker 1: But anyway, though Vlad the Impaler was never a vampire
20:10
Speaker 1: in the literal sense, his blood-soaked legacy became intertwined with
20:15
Speaker 1: vampire mythology, particularly through Bram Stoker's Dracula. The connection between
20:19
Speaker 1: the historical Vlad and the fictional Count Dracula is complex
20:22
Speaker 1: and somewhat symbolic. And this brings us to our next
20:25
Speaker 1: vampire serial killer, and that is the famous or infamous,
20:30
Speaker 1: Elizabeth Bathory, otherwise known as the Blood Countess. So Countess
20:34
Speaker 1: Elizabeth Bathory was alive from 1560 to 1614 in one
20:39
Speaker 1: of history's most infamous figures associated with vampirism. Known as
20:42
Speaker 1: the Blood Countess, she was Hungarian noblewoman who allegedly tortured
20:46
Speaker 1: and killed hundreds of young women, primarily from the lower classes,
20:50
Speaker 1: over the span of decades. She basically just made it
20:53
Speaker 1: her hobby. And her reputation as a vampire figure stems
20:57
Speaker 1: from macabre legends that claimed that she bathed in the
21:00
Speaker 1: blood of her victims to preserve her youth and beauty.
21:03
Speaker 1: Though the story has been heavily debated by historians. But
21:07
Speaker 1: Elizabeth Bathory was born to a very powerful aristocratic family
21:11
Speaker 1: in Hungary with relatives that held very significant political influence.
21:14
Speaker 1: Her uncle, Stephen Bathory, was the King of Poland and
21:17
Speaker 1: her family's wealth and prestige shielded her from scrutiny for
21:21
Speaker 1: many years. Hence why she got away with killing hundreds
21:23
Speaker 1: of women. And when she got married at the age
21:25
Speaker 1: of 15, gross, in 1575, her husband would often be
21:29
Speaker 1: away at war, leaving Elizabeth in control of the vast
21:33
Speaker 1: estates and overseeing the day-to-day affairs of the household, which
21:36
Speaker 1: included the lives of the peasants and servants who worked
21:39
Speaker 1: for her family. And the legend of Elizabeth's crimes and
21:42
Speaker 1: cruelty began with rumors of her cruelty towards her servants,
21:46
Speaker 1: particularly the young girls. And she reportedly used her status
21:49
Speaker 1: to escape any sort of repercussion for her actions. Over time, however,
21:54
Speaker 1: the stories of her brutality grew darker and darker and
21:57
Speaker 1: more widespread. According to witnesses and later accounts, Bathory lured
22:01
Speaker 1: young women to her castle, often under the pretense of
22:04
Speaker 1: offering them work or schooling, only to subject them to horrific...
22:09
Speaker 1: and eventually murder. And the common accusations included, but were
22:12
Speaker 1: not limited to severe beatings and like being whipped, burned
22:17
Speaker 1: or cut, freezing or starvation. She would love using needles
22:21
Speaker 1: or scissors, scissors, what? scissors, do with that information what
22:26
Speaker 1: you will. And she was a big fan of bloodletting
22:29
Speaker 1: and ritualistic elements. And this is where the vampire myth
22:33
Speaker 1: kind of comes in. Because witnesses later claimed that Elizabeth
22:36
Speaker 1: drained the blood from her victims and in more sensational accounts,
22:39
Speaker 1: bathed in the blood of virgins specifically, believing that that
22:43
Speaker 1: was going to rejuvenate properties in her skin. She's basically
22:46
Speaker 1: doing what Kim Kardashian did. is doing now with the
22:49
Speaker 1: blood facials or whatever. I don't know. It's weird. That's
22:52
Speaker 1: not the same. It's not the same. I'm, I get
22:55
Speaker 1: uncomfortable talking about this stuff sometimes and I gotta say
22:57
Speaker 1: other stuff. So I, I know it was a long
22:59
Speaker 1: time ago, but I hope this bitch is burning in
23:01
Speaker 1: hell is what I'm trying to say. And despite the
23:03
Speaker 1: overwhelming evidence against Elizabeth, she was never actually formally tried.
23:07
Speaker 1: And some historians suggest that that was because of her
23:09
Speaker 1: noble status and a public trial could have caused embarrassment
23:12
Speaker 1: to her powerful family. But instead she was just imprisoned
23:15
Speaker 1: eventually in a small room within her castle. She was
23:18
Speaker 1: basically grounded, where she would remain until her death in 1614.
23:22
Speaker 1: At least there were some repercussions. Which brings us to
23:24
Speaker 1: our next killer, Bela Kiss. Sounds like a nice name,
23:27
Speaker 1: isn't it? It's not. Otherwise known as the Vampire of
23:30
Speaker 1: Sincota or Kincota. I'm sorry if I'm saying that wrong.
23:33
Speaker 1: But Bela Kiss was a Hungarian serial killer active in
23:36
Speaker 1: the early 20th century and is one of the more
23:39
Speaker 1: chilling real-life figures whose grisly crimes have contributed to the
23:43
Speaker 1: vampire mythos. His methodical and ritualistic killings, especially his apparent
23:49
Speaker 1: obsession with blood, have earned him the place in the
23:52
Speaker 1: annals of criminal history, and his story has taken on
23:55
Speaker 1: an almost mythological quality due to the eerie details and
23:58
Speaker 1: the mystery surrounding his fate. Bela Kiss was born in
24:01
Speaker 1: 1877 in Hungary. A lot of vampires coming out of Hungary.
24:04
Speaker 1: And he would live most of his life in a
24:06
Speaker 1: small town, Sinkoda. Again, sorry if I'm saying that wrong.
24:09
Speaker 1: Near Budapest. And he led an otherwise unremarkable existence. Working
24:13
Speaker 1: as a tinsmith and cultivating a respectable reputation in the
24:16
Speaker 1: local community. He was described as intelligent, well-spoken, and unassuming.
24:20
Speaker 1: A trusted member of the town who concealed his darker
24:23
Speaker 1: side from the public view. So in 1912, Kiss's wife
24:26
Speaker 1: would run away with another man. Tsk, tsk. Or, probably
24:29
Speaker 1: justified since this guy's a- And the betrayal is probably
24:33
Speaker 1: the thing that triggered his violent tendencies. Because soon after this,
24:36
Speaker 1: he began placing personal ads in a local newspaper, seeking
24:40
Speaker 1: companionship and promising marriages to lonely women. And these ads
24:43
Speaker 1: primarily targeted women who were widowed or unmarried and often
24:47
Speaker 1: in a vulnerable financial situation. However, Kiss's true intentions were
24:51
Speaker 1: far more sinister than finding a new spouse. So over
24:55
Speaker 1: several years, Bellicus lured numerous women to his home in Kincota.
24:59
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna call it Kincota. where he promised romance,
25:02
Speaker 1: financial stability, and marriage. But once they were isolated, he
25:06
Speaker 1: would strangle them, drain their blood, and preserve their bodies
25:09
Speaker 1: in large metal drums. That escalated very fast, I'm sorry.
25:13
Speaker 1: And it is believed that Kiss murdered up to 24 women,
25:16
Speaker 1: though some estimates suggest that it is far four more.
25:19
Speaker 1: And the bodies would be discovered in 1916, during World
25:22
Speaker 1: War I, when Kiss had already been conscripted into the
25:25
Speaker 1: Austro-Hungarian army. His house was being requisitioned by the military
25:29
Speaker 1: for war efforts. And workers would find several metal drums
25:33
Speaker 1: on his property. And they would naturally open them and
25:36
Speaker 1: see the preserved bodies of the women that he killed.
25:39
Speaker 1: And the corpses would be preserved in alcohol, which actually
25:41
Speaker 1: preserved them remarkably well. And each bore distinct puncture wounds
25:45
Speaker 1: in their neck, leading investigators to suspect that Kiss had
25:48
Speaker 1: drained their blood. And while there is no conclusive evidence
25:50
Speaker 1: that Kiss actually drank the blood of his victims, the
25:53
Speaker 1: fact that he drained it at all was particularly alarming.
25:55
Speaker 1: Because this evoked traditional vampire lore, which was very prevalent
25:59
Speaker 1: at the time. And the deliberate... act of bloodletting and
26:02
Speaker 1: then preserving the bodies kind of added to the ritualistic
26:05
Speaker 1: element to his crimes, which led some to speculate about
26:07
Speaker 1: vampiric motives. And that brings us to more recent vampire killers. Yay!
26:13
Speaker 1: Not yay, these people are sick. And the first guy
26:15
Speaker 1: is Fritz Harman, otherwise known as the Vampire of Hanover.
26:18
Speaker 1: And Fritz Harman was a German serial killer active in
26:21
Speaker 1: the early 20th century and is one of the most
26:24
Speaker 1: infamous examples of criminal engaging in vampirism. Between 1918 and 1924,
26:30
Speaker 1: Harmon was responsible for the murders of at least 24
26:33
Speaker 1: young men and boys in Hanover. And Harmon's modus operandi,
26:37
Speaker 1: otherwise known as MO, involved luring the boys to his
26:40
Speaker 1: apartment where he would end their lives by biting through
26:43
Speaker 1: their throats in a vampiric manner.
26:47
Speaker 2: It's just bad.
26:48
Speaker 1: And the grotesque act of this gave him the nickname
26:51
Speaker 1: the Vampire of Hanover. And after killing his victims, he
26:54
Speaker 1: would often get rid of them by If you know
27:01
Speaker 1: what I mean. Though there was no confirmed evidence that
27:04
Speaker 1: he actually drank their blood. I'm gonna safely assume he
27:08
Speaker 1: probably did. And then we have the other POS called
27:11
Speaker 1: John George Hay, otherwise known as the Acid Bath Murderer.
27:16
Speaker 1: John was an English serial killer active in the 1940s,
27:19
Speaker 1: best known for dissolving the bodies of his victims in
27:22
Speaker 1: sulfuric acid. However, John also exhibited vampiric-like tendencies. as he
27:26
Speaker 1: reportedly drank the blood of some of his victims. He
27:29
Speaker 1: was specifically fascinated with the idea of immortality and believed
27:33
Speaker 1: by drinking the blood, he could attain eternal life. Newsflash,
27:37
Speaker 1: he's dead. Guess it didn't work. But this is a
27:39
Speaker 1: theme commonly found in vampiric folklore. And John's murders were
27:43
Speaker 1: involved with wealthy people whom he lured with the promises
27:46
Speaker 1: of business deals and financial opportunities. And after killing them,
27:49
Speaker 1: he would extract their blood and dispose of their bodies
27:52
Speaker 1: in the acid, leaving zero forensic evidence behind. And his
27:55
Speaker 1: fascination with blood and immortality strongly suggests that he had
27:59
Speaker 1: a delusional component that was likely rooted in narcissism and psychopathy.
28:03
Speaker 1: And then we have Richard Chase, the vampire of Sacramento.
28:07
Speaker 1: And he was active in the 1970s. And he is
28:10
Speaker 1: quite literally one of the most extreme and horrifying examples
28:13
Speaker 1: of criminal participating in vampirism, as if the other ones
28:16
Speaker 1: weren't bad enough. And Chase was severely mentally ill, diagnosed
28:20
Speaker 1: with paranoid schizophrenia. And he believed that he did need
28:22
Speaker 1: to drink blood to prevent his heart from shrinking. And
28:25
Speaker 1: this is a delusion that fueled his violent killing spree.
28:28
Speaker 1: Chase would murder six people in the span of one
28:31
Speaker 1: month in Sacramento, California. After killing his victims, he would
28:34
Speaker 1: drink their blood in whatever way he felt best. And
28:37
Speaker 1: in some cases, he would also consume some of their organs,
28:41
Speaker 1: aka cannibalism. I don't know if cannibalism is if you
28:44
Speaker 1: drink blood, is that cannibalism? I feel like you have
28:46
Speaker 1: to eat it. Oh. Why are you listening to this?
28:49
Speaker 2: You're sick. It's okay.
28:51
Speaker 1: We all are. But basically his crimes were motivated by
28:53
Speaker 1: his intent, psychosis, and belief that consuming blood would cure
28:57
Speaker 1: his imagined physical ailments. And then there's quite literally so
29:01
Speaker 1: many more cases. We'd be here forever. There's Andrei Chikatilo,
29:05
Speaker 1: the butcher of Rostov, who killed at least 52 women
29:08
Speaker 1: and children between the years 1978 and 1990, who would
29:09
Speaker 1: also drink his victim's blood, And then we have Tsutomu Miyazaki,
29:15
Speaker 1: the Itaku killer, who was also known as the little
29:18
Speaker 1: girl murderer.
29:19
Speaker 2: What the f * * k?
29:19
Speaker 1: Who was a Japanese serial killer that targeted young girls
29:22
Speaker 1: in the late 1980s, who would also drink his victim's
29:25
Speaker 1: blood and also ate part of them as well. I
29:28
Speaker 1: don't want to talk about it. And then we have
29:30
Speaker 1: Marcelo Costa de Andrade, who was a Brazilian serial killer
29:33
Speaker 1: who was active in the 1990s and murdered 14 young boys.
29:37
Speaker 1: And again, drank the blood of his victims because he
29:39
Speaker 1: thought it would grant him power or strength or something.
29:42
Speaker 1: It's so dumb. And I hope all these people are
29:44
Speaker 1: burning in hell. And then there's Rod Ferrell, otherwise known
29:47
Speaker 1: as the Vampire Clan Leader. He was the leader of
29:49
Speaker 1: a self-styled vampire clan and committed a gruesome double murder
29:53
Speaker 1: in 1996 in Florida. Ferrell, who was 16 at the time,
29:57
Speaker 1: believed himself to be a 500-year-old vampire named Visago. And
30:02
Speaker 1: Ferrell and his followers engaged in ritualistic behavior that involved
30:06
Speaker 1: bloodletting and drinking blood as part of their vampire identity.
30:10
Speaker 1: And the list goes on and on and on and on.
30:12
Speaker 1: There's so many cases. It is actually insane. I could
30:17
Speaker 1: talk forever about it. But let's get into a kind
30:20
Speaker 1: of more modern day in the, you know, 2000s kind
30:23
Speaker 1: of time with modern day vampires and the subculture. The
30:27
Speaker 1: less violent but still... consensually violent subculture of vampirism. And
30:32
Speaker 1: like I said before, there are a lot of shows
30:34
Speaker 1: that revolve around vampirism, but not just scripted shows, but
30:40
Speaker 1: also shows that show, I guess, that people walk about
30:45
Speaker 1: the earth thinking that they're a vampire for real. And
30:48
Speaker 1: not just like the crazy people who are killing people,
30:50
Speaker 1: but people that just consensually drink other people's blood by it.
30:54
Speaker 1: It's consensual. It's It's a lot, but it's very prevalent
30:59
Speaker 1: in New Orleans. There is quite literally a vampire subculture
31:02
Speaker 1: that live in New Orleans. And this subculture is composed
31:05
Speaker 1: of individuals who identify in various ways with vampirism, whether
31:10
Speaker 1: through symbolic practices, fashion, or even blood consumption. And they're
31:15
Speaker 1: kind of split up into groups. There are some that
31:18
Speaker 1: practice psychic vampirism, which these individuals believe that they can
31:22
Speaker 1: drain and absorb life energy from others. And this Energy
31:26
Speaker 1: transfer is consensual and considered part of the spiritual and
31:30
Speaker 1: metaphysical practice. And then there's Saginarians. Sanginarians? Sorry if I'm
31:35
Speaker 1: saying that wrong. And these individuals who consume small amounts
31:38
Speaker 1: of blood, typically from consenting donors, as part of their identity.
31:42
Speaker 1: And in New Orleans, specifically, there are strict protocols and
31:45
Speaker 1: safety measures for bloodletting within the vampire community. How do
31:49
Speaker 1: you get into this community? Who do you talk to?
31:51
Speaker 1: Do you just, like, walk down the street and, like,
31:53
Speaker 1: three o'clock at night and just say, I'm a vampire.
31:56
Speaker 1: And they all just, that would be sick. I'd join,
31:59
Speaker 1: wouldn't drink the blood, but that'd be cool. There's even
32:01
Speaker 1: a famous vampire themed night in New Orleans called the
32:04
Speaker 1: Endless Night Vampire Ball that's held annually around Halloween. And
32:07
Speaker 1: this lavish event draws thousands of attendees from around the world,
32:11
Speaker 1: all dressed in Gothic vampiric attire. And it takes place
32:14
Speaker 1: at various venues throughout the French quarter. And it's a
32:16
Speaker 1: celebration of vampire culture, complete rituals, dancing, and performances. Sounds
32:21
Speaker 1: kind of fun. I'm not going to lie. And there
32:23
Speaker 1: was even a show called The Life of a Modern
32:25
Speaker 1: Day Vampire, otherwise known as The Vampire Chronicles, that featured
32:29
Speaker 1: many different vampires that live in New Orleans, one of
32:32
Speaker 1: which is Balthazar. And Balthazar is... Interesting to say the least. Basically,
32:37
Speaker 1: he introduces himself as a 54-year-old Seguin vampire who has
32:41
Speaker 1: been drinking blood since the age of 11. And he
32:44
Speaker 1: recalls his first experience of tasting blood after an altercation
32:47
Speaker 1: with his uncle, which triggered his vampire instincts and awakened
32:51
Speaker 1: his need for blood. I can actually taste blood. And
32:54
Speaker 1: Balthazar explains how his body shows physical signs when he
32:58
Speaker 1: hasn't consumed blood for a while. He experiences pale skin,
33:02
Speaker 1: dull eyes, feels physically unwell, and the need for blood
33:05
Speaker 1: is essential for his wellbeing. And it's funny how he
33:08
Speaker 1: like humorously is just like kind of dismisses the traditional
33:11
Speaker 1: myths of vampires, like how garlic doesn't actually harm them.
33:14
Speaker 1: He actually enjoys it on pizza. Holy water just makes
33:17
Speaker 1: him wet kind of thing. It was kind of funny.
33:19
Speaker 1: And he also confirms that he does not sleep in
33:21
Speaker 1: a coffin, but he has a king size bed, which
33:23
Speaker 1: is kind of fire. And he also discusses how vampires
33:26
Speaker 1: nowadays don't have supernatural abilities necessarily. That's convenient. But instead
33:31
Speaker 1: they use sanitary methods to consume blood from willing donors.
33:35
Speaker 1: And it's so... I couldn't watch it. I couldn't watch it.
33:37
Speaker 1: It's kind of... It was weird. But he describes how
33:40
Speaker 1: he uses clean blades and alcohol swabs to ensure the
33:43
Speaker 1: process is safe for both him and the donor. Who
33:46
Speaker 1: is donating? Who is it? I don't know. You freaks
33:49
Speaker 1: out there, man. What the freak? And a psychologist even
33:51
Speaker 1: commented on the phenomenon in the show, describing how individuals
33:54
Speaker 1: like Balthazar may be drawn into vampiric behaviors due to
33:58
Speaker 1: the ritualistic and dramatic nature of the practice. It allows
34:01
Speaker 1: them to feel unique, which I think is just... our
34:04
Speaker 1: frigging culture nowadays. Everybody needs to be different or like
34:08
Speaker 1: have something wrong with them conveniently or like be a
34:10
Speaker 1: vampire or something. Like not all people, obviously, but I
34:14
Speaker 1: think it's just like, that is just, and it's, I
34:16
Speaker 1: think it is from very much being online. It's just like, okay,
34:19
Speaker 1: how can I be different? How can I stand out?
34:21
Speaker 1: And it's just like, you don't need to do all
34:22
Speaker 1: these things. You don't need to drink blood, Balthazar. My God,
34:26
Speaker 1: just eat your garlic pizza and sleep in your king bed.
34:28
Speaker 1: And there's also a individual named Don Henry. I found him.
34:33
Speaker 1: He just- This is why this all stemmed from, he's
34:36
Speaker 1: a person that came across my, a vampire, sorry, that
34:39
Speaker 1: came across my feed somewhere and I saw a clip
34:42
Speaker 1: and I was like, what? That's why we're doing a
34:44
Speaker 1: special Tyra show vampire investigation. So let's meet a man
34:51
Speaker 1: known as the Vampire King, Don. Come on out, Don.
34:55
Speaker 1: But apparently, this has been a thing since 2004, he
34:57
Speaker 1: had a show called Mad Mad House on the Syfy channel,
35:00
Speaker 1: where he was one of the central figures, known as
35:03
Speaker 1: an alt of the group's individual with alternative lifestyles. And
35:07
Speaker 1: in the show, Henry represents the vampire subculture, which gained
35:10
Speaker 1: him the nickname the vampire and his calm demeanor, distinctive
35:14
Speaker 1: appearance and pale skin, long black hair and dark attire,
35:18
Speaker 1: along with his mystical persona, attracted attention from within the
35:22
Speaker 1: alternative community and from mainstream viewers like myself. And Don
35:25
Speaker 1: Henry is specifically a sanguinarian vampire, which we talked about before.
35:30
Speaker 1: meaning he claims to have a need to consume small
35:33
Speaker 1: amounts of blood, human blood, to maintain his physical and
35:36
Speaker 1: emotional well-being. And according to Henry, that is not driven
35:39
Speaker 1: by fantasy or myth, nay nay, but by what he
35:42
Speaker 1: describes as an actual physiological necessity. In various interviews, Henry
35:47
Speaker 1: has emphasized that his practice is consensual, involving donors who
35:50
Speaker 1: willingly provide blood in a safe and controlled environment. At
35:54
Speaker 1: least there's that. And beyond blood consumption, Henry also identifies
35:57
Speaker 1: as an energy vampire, or psychic vampire, a common belief
36:01
Speaker 1: in the vampire subculture. And energy vampires are said to
36:03
Speaker 1: feed off the life force or life energy, called prana
36:07
Speaker 1: or chi, of others to maintain their own energy levels.
36:10
Speaker 1: And this belief, while spiritual, is often metaphorical and represents
36:14
Speaker 1: a form of emotional and psychological exchange. And they do
36:17
Speaker 1: this in the show and it's interesting, to say the least.
36:20
Speaker 1: John Henry also lives a nocturnal lifestyle for the most part.
36:23
Speaker 1: He says that his senses are more heightened at night.
36:26
Speaker 1: Mine are. I'm as blind as a bat at night.
36:27
Speaker 1: I gotta wear glasses if I drive at night. Otherwise,
36:29
Speaker 1: I am veered off a bridge. And he also says
36:32
Speaker 1: that he has extreme physical discomfort being in the sun
36:35
Speaker 1: too long.
36:35
Speaker 2: Same.
36:36
Speaker 1: I'm just very pale. Man, I burn. I think that's normal.
36:39
Speaker 1: It's probably normal. I'm not trying to be disrespectful, by
36:41
Speaker 1: the way. Like, do you? I don't give a shit.
36:42
Speaker 1: As long as you're not hurting anybody and everything's consensual,
36:45
Speaker 1: I don't care. But like I said, Mad Mad House
36:47
Speaker 1: in 2004 was a reality competition series where contestants lived
36:51
Speaker 1: with five individuals from alternate lifestyles, known as the Alts,
36:55
Speaker 1: alongside Don Henry, who represents the vampire community. There were
36:58
Speaker 1: a witch, a modern primitive, a Wiccan, and a voodoo priest.
37:03
Speaker 1: That party would be lit. And the show's format included
37:07
Speaker 1: the alts challenging contestants to tests of endurance and understanding
37:11
Speaker 1: their respective lifestyles. I'm not the last vampire on the
37:15
Speaker 1: MC dot. Make it say, yo, vampire, and do the waltz.
37:18
Speaker 1: And if you think you can't outbite me, yeah, boy,
37:20
Speaker 1: I bet I never met another vampire who can do
37:23
Speaker 1: that yet. And Henry's role as a vampire brought significant
37:26
Speaker 1: attention from the vampire subculture, with audience intrigued by his calm,
37:30
Speaker 1: mysterious persona and the rituals he claimed to practice. And
37:34
Speaker 1: this basically made him like a spokesperson for the vampire community.
37:37
Speaker 1: He's like the president, or at least was. He was
37:39
Speaker 1: even on like Tyra Banks and a couple other interview shows,
37:42
Speaker 1: which is so interesting. And now people like thirst over
37:45
Speaker 1: him on TikTok. That's how I saw who he was.
37:48
Speaker 1: So basically he was like the vampire before like Twilight
37:51
Speaker 1: really was like a crazy massive pop culture phenomenon. But yeah,
37:56
Speaker 1: it's just interesting. You know, I think vampires specifically have
38:01
Speaker 1: like taken over our culture in so many ways, in
38:05
Speaker 1: a lot of negative ways, obviously. But also it's just interesting.
38:08
Speaker 1: It's interesting. I think how so many of us just
38:11
Speaker 1: want to be different or like have superpowers. And it's
38:14
Speaker 1: just like superheroes. I think for most people, it falls
38:17
Speaker 1: into that category. It's like, wow, that'd be really cool
38:19
Speaker 1: to like turn into a bat or like be sexy
38:21
Speaker 1: and read people's minds and not be able to sleep
38:23
Speaker 1: and go to an island and I don't know, have
38:25
Speaker 1: a vampire sleep with you or whatever. It's like the
38:28
Speaker 1: plot of New Moon or I can't remember which one.
38:30
Speaker 1: But yeah, I just find it interesting. I love these
38:32
Speaker 1: like mythological kind of slash real things that people have
38:37
Speaker 1: taken very seriously. Again, if you enjoyed the video, little
38:41
Speaker 1: history lesson, let me know down in the comments below.
38:43
Speaker 1: I'd love to deep dive into more stuff like this, dragons,
38:47
Speaker 1: question mark. But until next time, I will see your
38:49
Speaker 1: beautiful face in the next video. All right, bye.