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Visions of fiends rising from their graves to prey on the living have long haunted humanity. The most notorious of these figures is the vampire, a nocturnal creature with an unnatural hunger. This book, originally published in the early twentieth century, was the first serious study of vampirism in the English language. Dudley Wright, a folklorist and specialist in ancient religions and occult beliefs, compiled a fascinating mix of science and the supernatural from a wealth of references and records.Wright examines the body of evidence and discusses vampirism as an observable phenomenon with distinct scientific, sociological, mythic, and literary elements. The result is an excellent introduction to the subject. His fascinating, highly readable account of legends about vampire behavior, from all time periods and all countries, extends from ancient Assyria and Greece to areas of the Far East. Readers will discover that tales of vampires were whispered not only in the quiet villages of Central Europe, but also in Russia, the Middle East, India, the British Isles, and even America.