Real-Life 'Vampires' Did Exist, and This Is What Happened to Them

By Stuart Wolf - May 27, 2025

All around the world, for thousands of years, vampires have haunted our dreams and been a folklore staple. But they’re just stories, right? Well, history is full of people returning from the grave to suck blood, from Vlad the Impaler and the New England Vampire Panic to psychotic modern day bloodsuckers. So, fangs for joining us as we delve through the centuries to discover that real-life vampires do exist.

Vampire Folklore

The first known vampires appear on Ancient Persian pottery shards depicting demons sucking blood from men. The Babylonians and Assyrians told tales of the mythical bloodsucker Lilitu. The Greco-Romans had Empusa, a female demon who feasted on blood. India had stories of Vetalas, ghoul-like beings that inhabit corpses.

Wikimedia Commons // The Vampire by Philip Burne-Jones // Public Domain

The Vikings had soulless creatures called Draugr. In West Africa, the Ashanti feared the iron-toothed and tree-dwelling Asanbosam. Chinese vampires called Jiangshi steal people’s life force. Cherokee wraiths steal people’s hearts. But modern vampires originate in Eastern European folklore...

Vlad the Impaler

Let’s begin with the Drac Daddy of all vampires, Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula. He was a tyrannical, bloodthirsty Romanian ruler who led a reign of terror across Europe between 1456 and 1462. According to legend, he commanded his armies to impale defeated enemy soldiers on spikes and would dip bread into the blood of enemies at his Bran Castle.

Wikimedia Commons // Unknown Artist // Public Domain

Although Slavic folklore had vampire myths for centuries, Irish writer Bram Stoker used Vlad as his inspiration for Dracula, kicking off the modern vampire trend.

The Shoemaker of Breslau

In 1591, Polish shoemaker Weinrichius slit his own throat. He was buried the next day, but his ghost climbed into townsfolk’s beds, gripping their arms and legs, leaving finger-shaped bruises. After seven months, the locals exhumed Weinrichius’s body and found his skin tight ‘like a drum’ and he had a rose-shaped witch’s mark on his foot.

Triff // Shutterstock

The villagers reburied the corpse under some gallows, but vampiric Weinrichius continued terrorizing Wrocław. Eventually, they cut out his heart, burned the body, and scattered the ashes in the river.

Johannes Kuntze

The next year, in Pentsch, not too far from Breslau, local Polish dignitary Johannes Kuntze was kicked in the privates by his horse. Johannes became delirious and saw ghostly visions, so the townsfolk believed he was in league with the devil.

Helen Hotson // Shutterstock

Moments before he passed away, a black cat burst into the room and pounced on the alderman, scratching his face to shreds. Johannes was buried near the altar of his local church. But soon, the locals reported he had risen from the grave and was wreaking havoc.