David Farrant, at least since about 1991, has been publicly emphatic about his view that the alleged supernatural being that haunted Highgate Cemetery was definitely not a vampire:
The sighting of a tall, black figure in April on Swains Lane makes me think the vampire is active again.¹
Thankfully, he has a far more rational explanation for such phenomena:
As for my concept of a vampire, it is necessary to mention the existence of the incubus and succubus, male and female demons respectively (I prefer to call them psychic entities) that visit sleeping people by night and supposedly have sex with them. Reports about the existence of these phenomena date back for centuries and the symptoms of the visitations are invariably the same. People are suddenly awakened in the night to find themselves completely paralysed, often with a tremendous pressure on their chest that 'pins' them to the bed. They are unable to move, even scream, and can only lie helpless completely subject to the entity's will. These visitations often occur with persistent frequency and victims often find themselves growing physcially weaker, becoming anaemic and developing an aversion to bright sunlight. They also become prone to bouts of sleep-walking either soon before, or not long after, the 'attacks'. I am quite convinced that stories of vampirism actually derived, or were based upon reports about the well known existence of these malevolent phenomena; in fact, it is highly likely that Stoker himself could have been aware of such accounts when he wrote his fictional novel, Dracula²
Take that, science!
¹ Mullen, Marc. "Highgate Vampire at it again!!". Pentacle Magazine. Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 02:58 PM.
² "Interview with the Real Vampire Hunter". David Farrant.
The sighting of a tall, black figure in April on Swains Lane makes me think the vampire is active again.¹
Thankfully, he has a far more rational explanation for such phenomena:
As for my concept of a vampire, it is necessary to mention the existence of the incubus and succubus, male and female demons respectively (I prefer to call them psychic entities) that visit sleeping people by night and supposedly have sex with them. Reports about the existence of these phenomena date back for centuries and the symptoms of the visitations are invariably the same. People are suddenly awakened in the night to find themselves completely paralysed, often with a tremendous pressure on their chest that 'pins' them to the bed. They are unable to move, even scream, and can only lie helpless completely subject to the entity's will. These visitations often occur with persistent frequency and victims often find themselves growing physcially weaker, becoming anaemic and developing an aversion to bright sunlight. They also become prone to bouts of sleep-walking either soon before, or not long after, the 'attacks'. I am quite convinced that stories of vampirism actually derived, or were based upon reports about the well known existence of these malevolent phenomena; in fact, it is highly likely that Stoker himself could have been aware of such accounts when he wrote his fictional novel, Dracula²
Take that, science!
¹ Mullen, Marc. "Highgate Vampire at it again!!". Pentacle Magazine. Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 02:58 PM.
² "Interview with the Real Vampire Hunter". David Farrant.
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