She drinks the life-blood from the veins.
The following legend is related in vol. ii. of Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, and is referred to in a footnote to Southey’s Thalaba the Destroyer (p. 108, ed. 1814):—
In the year 1058 a young man of noble birth had been married in Rome, and during the period of his nuptial feast, having gone with his companions to play at ball, he put his marriage ring on the finger of a broken statue of Venus in the area, to remain while he was engaged in recreation. Desisting from the exercise, he found the finger on which he had put his ring contracted firmly against the palm, and attempted in vain either to break or disengage the ring. He concealed the circumstances from his companions, and returned at night with a servant, when he found the finger extended and the ring gone. He dissembled the loss and returned to his wife; but when he attempted to embrace her he found himself prevented by something dark and dense, which was tangible if not visible, interposing between them; and he heard a voice saying: “Embrace me! for I am Venus, whom this day you wedded, and I will not restore your ring.” As this was constantly repeated, he consulted his relatives, who had recourse to Palumbus, the priest, skilled in necromancy. He directed the young man to go at a certain hour of the night to a spot among the ruins of ancient Rome where four roads meet, and wait silently till he saw a company pass by, and then, without uttering a word, to deliver a letter which he gave him to a majestic being who rode in a chariot after the rest of the company. The young man did as he was directed, and saw the company of all ages, classes and ranks, on horse and on foot, some joyful and others sad, pass along; among whom he distinguished a woman in a meretricious dress, who, from the tenuity of her garments, seemed almost naked. She rode on a mule; her long hair, which flowed over her shoulders, was bound with a golden fillet; and in her hand was a golden rod with which she directed her mule. In the close of the procession a tall, majestic figure appeared in a chariot adorned with emeralds and pearls, who fiercely asked the young man what he did there. He presented the letter in silence, which the demon dared not refuse. As soon as he had read, lifting up his hands to heaven, he exclaimed: “Almighty God! how long wilt Thou endure the iniquities of the sorcerer Palumbus!” and immediately despatched some of his attendants, who, with much difficulty, extorted the ring from Venus and restored it to its owner, whose infernal banns were thus dissolved. This legend was made the foundation of Liddell’s poem, The Vampire Bride.
Dion Boucicault wrote and produced a vampire play entitled The Phantom, the scene of which was laid in the ruins of Raby Castle. Anyone remaining in these ruins for one night met with certain death before the morning. The only sign of violence to be found was a wound on the right side of the throat, but no blood was to be seen. The face of the victim was white and the gaze fixed, as though the person had died from fright.
In April 1819 a story entitled “The Vampyre” appeared in Colburn’s New Monthly Magazine, which was attributed to Lord Byron, but which was really from the pen of Dr John William Polidori (uncle of William Michael Rossetti), who was for a time Lord Byron’s travelling physician. The work was also published separately, but the authorship was denied by Lord Byron. Polidori immediately claimed responsibility for the work, and the correspondence and statement of facts published in Rossetti’s Diary of Doctor John William Polydori show how the mistake occurred.
The following poem appears in the Life of James Clerk Maxwell, by Lewis Campbell and William Garnett, and was written by Maxwell in 1845, when he was fourteen years of age:—
THE VAMPYRE
Compylt into Meeter by James Clerk Maxwell
Thair is a knichte rydis through the wood,