BEFORE DRACULA: The Ancient Vampire Legends That Started It All
Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories
Darren Marlar
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 September 2025
⏱️ 82 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Read the full article: https://weirddarkness.com/dracula-origins-real-history/
Join the DARKNESS SYNDICATE for the ad-free version:Â https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate
Take the WEIRD DARKNESS LISTENER SURVEY and help mold the future of the podcast: https://weirddarkness.com/survey
IN THIS EPISODE: Everyone knows about Dracula. Most everyone has seen at least one film starring the undead blood-sucker, or has read the novel by Bram Stoker. But only the real fans of Dracula know about the real people and true stories that inspired Bram Stoker to create the character.
SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
BOOK: “Transylvania Superstitions” by Emily Gerard: https://amzn.to/3vsAqrs
BOOK: “Carmilla” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu: https://amzn.to/3cw291I
History.com, Ranker.com, AtlasObscura.com, InternationalHero.co.uk, HowStuffWorks.com, Universtiy of Iowa’s Victorian Wiki, Google Books, HistoryIreland.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mnrpdm36,
https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/eeypjjz3, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4et6ysvs,
https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5bcstakc, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/53vbu5dr, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/bhd6f7yv,https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/y36n7y9v, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2nc96tjx, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2848x4mk
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library.
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
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Originally aired: March 16, 2021
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/BeforeDracula
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
#DraculaOrigins #VampireHistory #TrueCrimeHorror #WeirdDarkness #GothicHorror
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, weirdos, as we get closer to Halloween and our 10-year anniversary of this podcast, |
| 0:04.8 | I'd love to get your opinions on how I'm doing, what you like, what you don't like, |
| 0:09.2 | what you'd like to see more of, what you'd change if you were in charge, well, you get the idea. |
| 0:14.5 | I have a new Weird Darkness survey on the website so you can send me your opinions, and it's |
| 0:19.0 | completely anonymous, so you can be completely |
| 0:21.4 | honest. This is a new survey, so even if you did give your opinion before, you can do so again, |
| 0:27.0 | and I'd appreciate you doing so. Visit weirddarkness.com slash survey. That's weirddarkness.com |
| 0:33.4 | slash survey. Hey, weirdos, just wanted to let you know that on the Weird Darkness YouTube channel recently, |
| 0:39.1 | we've been having fun doing a live chat each weeknight at 10.30 p.m. Central Time. |
| 0:43.9 | I set up the YouTube channel to premiere a video at that time, usually the podcast episode for the |
| 0:48.7 | day, and then during the premiere, we all hang out in the YouTube live chat. |
| 0:52.5 | Even if you've already heard that day's |
| 0:54.2 | episode here in the podcast, you're still welcome to join us for the YouTube chat. It's every |
| 0:58.6 | weeknight at 10.30 p.m. Central Time. And sometimes I do it over the weekends, too, because I have |
| 1:04.9 | no social life whatsoever. You can find my channel at weirddarkness.com slash YouTube. That's Weirddarkness.com slash YouTube. |
| 1:16.4 | In the world of entertainment, the creatures known as vampires have transformed from frightening, |
| 1:27.0 | monstrous beasts to well-groomed |
| 1:30.3 | glittery hunks. |
| 1:32.3 | However, could regarding vampires as solely fictitious creatures be somewhat inaccurate? |
| 1:39.3 | Maybe so. |
| 1:40.3 | The truth is, some historical people were well known and feared for their real-life vampire |
| 1:46.0 | tendencies. And among criminals, there has been a long-standing tendency to believe they |
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