Vampire.(by lysa whyte.)

According to legend, the victims of a vampire either dies or becomes a vampire. Vampires could also be made in a variety of ways: a child born under certain omens, a cat or other animal jumping over a dead body, someone who committed suicide, and practising witchcraft are some activities thought to be the cause of vampirism. Even inanimate objects and animals were thought to be able to become vampires: pumpkins, watermelons and other fruit that was left out past a certain amount of time, latches that were left unlatched too long, dogs, horses, sheep and snakes are among the objects with vampiric potential in older superstitions of the Slavic gypsy community.

Vampires were thought to be able to take the form of a bat, or many other animals, as well as a mist. They were able to control creatures like rats and wolves, and the elements were at their command. Some kinds of vampires were thought to be endowed with the ability to fly. Most all vampires of legend slept either in coffins, or returned to the earth to sleep in their grave. Among other superstitions, vampires were supposed to need to return to the earth from their homeland each night, could not cross running water, could not see their reflection in a mirror, could not enter a place uninvited, and could not tolerate the symbol of the Christian crucifix.

In order to protect yourself from a vampire, the cross or crucifix was thought to be very powerful in the Christian countries. Little is known of how holy symbols were used as vampire protection before the Christian era, however, folk-cures were often employed. Garlic was the most popular vampire repellent, as well as hawthorn and the mountain ash (rowan). Another defense was scattering seeds - vampires were supposed to become so involved in counting every single seed that they would either lose interest, or be caught counting even as the sun came up. Surprisingly, silver was not as traditional a protective metal as supposed in popular fiction - iron was the material of choice. Iron shavings were placed beneath a child's cradle, a necklace with an iron nail was worn, and other iron objects were placed strategically around the place needing protection.