Vampire

Epic card · No. 4945

A vampire is a mythical creature with a human-like appearance that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (usually the blood) of humans. In European folklore, vampires are undead humanoid creatures that visit loved ones and cause mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited while they were alive. They wear shrouds and are often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, contrasting with the modern gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early 19th century. Vampiric entities have been recorded in cultures around the world, but the term vampire was first popularized in Western Europe following reports of an 18th-century mass hysteria drawing on a pre-existing folk belief in Southeastern and Eastern Europe. This delusion led, in certain cases, not only to individuals being accused of vampirism, but also to the corpses of such suspected vampires being pierced with stakes. Local variants in Southeastern Europe were also known by different names, such as shtriga in Albania...

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