Vampires: The Science Behind the Myth
You've heard of vampires (pale, undead, sometimes sparkly), but did you know some of these myths have basis in scientific fact? We're conducting a survey of our viewers! If you have time,...
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Vampire stories have been popping up for centuries, and some of them are a lot scarier -- and less sparkly -- than others. The most common stories involve dead people walking the Earth with pale skin, a fear of sunlight, and a thirst for blood … but that myth might actually have some basis in scientific fact. Really. Most cultures have some sort of vampire-like story. In Chinese folklore, for example, there are evil spirits that drain your life away, and in India, there are legends about demons who used to be people, but weren’t cremated properly. Mainly, these myths probably came from a deep misunderstanding of how diseases spread. During epidemics like the plague, people were understandably terrified and needed an explanation for the apparent randomne...
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Vampire stories have been popping up for centuries, and some of them are a lot scarier -- and less sparkly -- than others. The most common stories involve dead people walking the Earth with pale skin, a fear of sunlight, and a thirst for blood … but that myth might actually have some basis in scientific fact. Really. Most cultures have some sort of vampire-like story. In Chinese folklore, for example, there are evil spirits that drain your life away, and in India, there are legends about demons who used to be people, but weren’t cremated properly. Mainly, these myths probably came from a deep misunderstanding of how diseases spread. During epidemics like the plague, people were understandably terrified and needed an explanation for the apparent randomne...
