What was it about Eastern Europe in the 1700s that brought about so many stories of Vampires? Some scholars note that Western European countries like Britain might have enjoyed these legends because they could make people feel civilized — those “eastern places” were rural, Catholic, superstitious, and backward in the minds of nationalist Brits.
However, there might be an additional explanation based in the history of disease. And here I am talking about “Porphyria,” which is a blood disorder caused when red and purple pigments called porphyrins accumulate too much. When the body makes “heme” (a part of hemoglobin, responsible for oxygen transfer), it does so in steps that require different enzymes. Porphyria happens when these steps do not take place. And the effects can be alarming.
For one, the skin can take on great sensitivity to light. Blistering and burning can occur. (As with the hands of this poor sufferer shown here.) It can even mess with the brain, causing hallucinations and seizures. (Fun fact: King George III of England had that.) Some severe cases of porphyria result in scarring of the face, loss of fingers, and even blindness.
All of these conditions might have marked individuals as monstrous, perhaps leading to accusations about Vampirism. Indeed, one of the treatments of the disease could technically be drinking blood — the “heme” in blood can get absorbed from the intestine and provide relief. Cases severe enough to have such manifest markers have been very rare, probably only surviving in small populations with limited genetic diversity. Such communities did exist in 18th-century places like Transylvania, however, where Vampire stories generated . . .
Source(s): _Scientific American_, “Born to the Purple: the Story of Porphyria,” Nick Lane, Dec 16, 2002.
