Vampires and Vampirism

A worldwide survey compiles folkloric and reported cases of revenants believed to prey upon the living, opening with definitions and historical attestations from ancient Near Eastern and classical sources. It traces regional variations across Europe, the Near East, Africa, and parts of Asia and Oceania, describing types that suck blood, spread disease, assume animal shapes, or manifest as living witches or detached heads. Chapters document funeral precautions and remedies proposed by communities, judicial and anecdotal investigations, literary treatments, and case studies labelled living revenants. The work concludes by weighing animistic, medical, and ritual explanations and provides a bibliography for further research.