Everyone loves a good vampire, and it seems everywhere you look, they are out there. 

Channel 4 has just brought the excellent True Blood to our screens, the Twilight series of books are some of the hottest around and The Vampire's Assistant has just hit cinemas in the UK.  This Hallowe'en Skyscanner brings you a guide to vampire legends from around the world.

Dracula, Romania

The obvious one to start with, Transylvania was made famous by Bram Stoker's novel which immortalised (even further), the infamous Count.  There are supposed links to Vlad III Dracul of Wallachia who lived in the fifteenth century, and had unsavoury habits involving impaling his victims on stakes.  Dracula has been the star of numerous films, and doubtless his legend will live on forever. 

Jiang Shi, China

The Chinese vampire is created when a person's soul fails to leave the body due to an improper death.  Naturally, they then leap around killing living humans to absorb the life essence to compensate for this.  Rather than the sleek, handsome vampires we usually think of, this lot are mouldy in complexion, smell bad and have long white hair. Make sure that really is gran at Christmas lunch! 

Cihuateteo, Mexico

As the sun sets in the west, these vampire-witches appear, for reasons best known only to themselves, at crossroads where they steal children and cause seizures and madness.  They are thought to be the spirits of women who died in childbirth, and are sometimes considered envoys of the world of the dead.

Baobhan Sith, Scotland

Legend has it that these vampires take the form of beautiful young women, seduce young men with their looks and invite them to dance before eventually feeding on them (Premier League footballers will attest to their skills).  Their choice of attire is a long green dress to hide their cloven feet, and they favour the countryside and open spaces.

Loogaroo, Caribbean

Once again, these are female vampires, and they are required to give blood to the devil.  If they do not provide any, he takes theirs and they die.  They can leave their skin and float around as a blue ball of bright light as they search for victims.  Interestingly, they have OCD, so a defence is to leave a pile of sand or rice outside your door which the Loogaroo obsessively count, thereby distracting them from their true aims. 

Vrykolakas, Greece

Greek folklore has these undead creatures closely aligned with vampires of neighbouring Slavic countries.  Blood-sucking is of marginal interest to them, but what they really like to do is go around knocking on people's doors and if answered, the person will die just a few days later.  All Trick or Treaters are Vrykolakas, and should be viewed with the utmost suspicion.

Mulo, Serbia

These vampires apparently usually appear as people wearing white clothes (Wimbledon and the Ashes will never be the same again), and they can also change into sheep and horses.  They not only feed on the blood of their victims, but they eat them as well.  White does not seem a practical colour for such bloodthirsty creatures.

Asanbosam, West Africa

These African vampires eschew the whole coffin business and live in trees deep in the forests.  They have a human form but have iron teeth and hooks instead of feet.  Anyone walking past an Asanbosam is likely to swept into the trees and devoured. 

Rakshasa, India

An Indian vampire this time, which can appear as an animal with human features, or a human with animal features.  The name translates as the "injurer" which seems wholly appropriate given their fondness for eating the flesh of their victims and drinking their blood.  They have the traditional weakness of sunlight though, but if it's a cloudy day, grab a passing exorcist to help you out.

Vampire Bats, Brazil (and other countries)

And finally a genuine bloodsucker...vampire bats attack after dark, and use one set of teeth to shave any hairs or fur out of the way, before the razor sharp canines come into action. 

Their saliva contains an anticoagulant which means the blood does not clot, so they can feed to their hearts content.  They have been known to feed off humans, and since they carry rabies, this vampire, above all others, is one to take precautions against. 

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