Vampire Secrets

Vampire Secrets

2006, Mystery  -   87 Comments
7.50
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Ratings: 7.50/10 from 20 users.

Vampire SecretsVampire Secrets is a 2006 docudrama about the mythology and lifestyle of vampires, produced by Indigo Films for the History Channel, and narrated by Corey Burton.

The documentary features the history of vampires from Indian (Hindu goddess Kali), Greek, and Chinese origins, and references to the Bible and ancient Mesopotamia.

At the mention of the word "vampire," images of bloody fangs, dark capes, and a man with a hideous, spooky laugh immediately come to mind.

These conventional images, born from countless vampire films over the years, are most commonly associated with Irish writer Bram Stoker and his iconic 1897 novel Dracula.

However, despite the popularity and influence of this celebrated nineteenth-century tome, the vampire myth dates back more than 1,000 years, long before Stoker ever put pen to paper.

In this fascinating journey through time, History® uncovers the ancient folkloric origins of blood-craving creatures from beyond the grave.

Learn how the vampire myth is strongly rooted in Eastern European lore, but how it has also played a prominent role in the ancient cultures of Greece and China.

From wooden stakes to garlic apotropes to ancient burial rituals, Vampire Secrets explores how this long-standing myth has been interpreted by different cultures around the world.

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Pachacouti
Pachacouti
3 years ago

Of course they are real, it's so blatantly obvious, Vlad the Impailer, known as Vlad Dracul, is the defacto queen mother's (deceased) great, great, great, great, great Grandfather!, this is FACT. Movies about real life Vampires? They are telling ou, and even showing you!!, even playing the part's of their 'ahem', brethren, hahahahaha, aint that right 'Brother's? Oh, look, I dont have a brother, phew !!! At birth, I bet you had a blood sample taken from the SOUL of your feet. When eventually the blood became corrupted, they made a plea for more that I'd like to point out:

When the current virus came out, it was called Corona Virus. Yeah, conspiracies everywhere regarding that matter, but how many thought of this? There is something FISHY going on. At the end of the age of 'Pisces' - Fish symbol, apparently a chinese man eat's raw fish. AT the end of the age of pisces, the fishy people are in abundance, so much so that mere mortal's are in peril, the balance clearly outweighed by the Vampire race of serpent's, currently ruling the world. Then this chinese man eat's a deep fried dried Vampire bat, yes, this species of bat EXIST. On the 3rd of Jan 2020, a man was attacked a bro called beefy, the bro unaware that his victim has a dangerous mind. The victim goes to sleep asking himself, how could he defeat this invisible army of ONE, in desperation. As he drift's off to sleep, he think's Vampire Virus, his dream see's him holding his front door closed, keeping the vampires from his door. . The question is, did he predict the man who had it in china, or did the man in china do his bidding.? The reason the virus is called the Corona virus, and why it's name was quickly hushed up by the english, is because Vlad Dracul is Vlad the impailer is the queen of england's great great great great great grandad! Yup, here in the uk, it is illegal to call covid-19 the Corona Virus. There's more to the truth in this post than you think!

Pavithira
Pavithira
3 years ago

Is vampire is real and when they found?There is any movie about real life story of vampire?

Chris knight
Chris knight
6 years ago

They use all this stuff to cover up vampires the government are pros at keeping things from the public so they use shit like this.

Dustin Parr
Dustin Parr
10 years ago

the mayans did not have "blood rituals" it was about the human heart beating outside of the body, one of many other references that are spun to support the idea of vampires that they say never existed in a true form anyway. Vlad "dracula" (please... :(....)
this docu is garbage.
:(
*for emphasis.

Jarrad Hurley
Jarrad Hurley
10 years ago

This isnt so much a documentary as a comedy. The fact that true vampires have never existed is nothing I needed a documentary to tell me. Fine for a bit of a laugh and some interesting facts but its overall pretty dumb, that guy with his little monocle in the skulls eye takes the cake

Carlyuvetrouble
Carlyuvetrouble
11 years ago

the video wont play for me...bummer!

Yashwanthi Kumari
Yashwanthi Kumari
12 years ago

vampire where they live and where they found

Adrian
Adrian
12 years ago

Vlad's real story is far more interesting then this vampire nonsense, he was a Romanian born into the order of the dragon whose father gave him to the Turks as a peace treaty, his father then broke the treaty but instead of the Turks killing him they raised him, anyway long story short he returned to Romania and defended it against the Turks who he ditched and hated all along, it's Romanian folk law that there was a golden cup in the poor villages but no peasant would dare to steal it, there was no crime. apart from the mass killings. Hollywood would rather make movies about boxing robots. unbelievable,

Shelby Rockella Mansour
Shelby Rockella Mansour
12 years ago

That countess was hideous, how did she expect to preserve beauty if she was ugly?

Guest
Guest
12 years ago

total load of bs

Xbow
Xbow
12 years ago

New York Vampires thats too damn funny. Little hedonistic punks in complete delusional fantasy mode.

elvis13
elvis13
13 years ago

What's wrong with psychic vampires and hippies? Oh my, you are judgemental!

Connie
Connie
13 years ago

@ Achems,
Me jealous ? You mean the Queen of the Nile river Of whom love floweth thru her veins ? Be jealous ?, Ha! It would take more than a barbaric slave under my feet to be Jealous.Why the world bows down to me as I command ! Why would I be Jealous of anything or anyone?
Go ahead indulge in your Rotted aged blood bathes and feast on dead blood.Meat rotting in the grave is what you get.Hardly a thing to be Jealous of :-)

Achems Razor
Achems Razor
13 years ago

@Connie:

My, you are jealous! Ha,Ha, nice try by the way. Love women fighting over me (LOL)

Connie
Connie
13 years ago

@ Achems Ok I changed my mind. perhaps I do like this Doc afterall and want to suck somebodies blood !

Good thing you are too old ! Bald, fat ! and toothless or else I would be jealous already :-)

Achems Razor
Achems Razor
13 years ago

@pixiechick:

Thank you very much for that kind compliment.

I try to keep my comments as toned down as possible though,(cough,cough), thousands of people on this great site.

Love your name by the way!

pixiechick
pixiechick
13 years ago

The discussions in here are 100% better than the doc LOL. @Achems Razor: you always have evilly intelligent things to add, and there is a great deal that hints to me that you are well-educated (whether through school or self-taught) on a great variety of subjects and have obviously held an interesting job or two. I enjoy reading your comments thoroughly, and find myself looking forward to reading them each time I look for a new doc. Thanks for the insight and the giggles!

fifimsp
fifimsp
13 years ago

If I were James Spalding my ass would have been outta there. I wouldn't have walked back to the town that tried to kill me. What an idiot.

Antin
Antin
13 years ago

Simon TheSorcerer, yes, Bathory was Hungarian, but since when Vlad Tepes was Hungarian? He was 100% Romanian. Unless you discovered different roots, which i doubt.

Anonymus
Anonymus
13 years ago

@ duck
Oopppsyyyy =))
Yeah we do have those, they do suck us dry, but not our blood.
It's our money =))

duck
duck
13 years ago

@ Anonymus

Are you saying there are no lawyers, bankers, and politicians in Romania... Wow, you are vampire free............

Anonymus
Anonymus
13 years ago

Oh god...Just Drop it......

I'm Romanian, and I can tell you, we have no vampires here.

Vlad Dracula is not accurate.

Vlad Dracul he was called actually.And he was the father of Vlad Tepes, a Transilvanian ruler in the medieval period.

Vlad Tepes actually was a terrible man in eyes of most because he would give severe punishments for even the smallest of crimes.

Also the Turkish people were afraid of him because each time they sent armies against him, he would defeat them easily and usually the generals were impaled horrifically and displayed by Vlad's Castle as a reminder.

On a side note, Bram Stoker based his novel loosely around the character of Vlad Dracul's Son.

And seriously, in Romania for lots of people at the countryside, the dark ages seem to still linger they believe in dead coming back to life and s@$%. Yeah kinda like a vampire but they call it Strigoi.

It's natural for a country that was kept under USSR rule until 1989 to still have fears like this.I mean I can litterally take you guys by the hand and show you.It will blow your mind how superstitious they sill are about stuff like this.

whodat
whodat
13 years ago

Question...

Would a cannibal eat Soylent Green?

duck
duck
13 years ago

Actually, there are true vampires scouring the world today...

They are called politicians, lawyers, and bankers.......

Achems Razor
Achems Razor
13 years ago

@Charles B:

And even as this doc. suggests, eating the flesh and drinking the blood of "Christ" is vampirism and cannibalistic!!
So there you have it!

Achems Razor
Achems Razor
13 years ago

@Charles B:

Why would resident evil or this vampire doc. be at all scary to you Charles, have you not been acclimatized yet from all the horror stories that are prevalent in your "Bible's"??

Resident evil nor this doc. would not hold a candle compared to your so called "good books"??

Charles B.
Charles B.
13 years ago

Mr Razor:

"Achems Razor10/09/2010 at 07:23 Ha,Ha, not scary at all, nothing really scares me, have worked in blood, guts, body parts, dead people, corpses, grey matter brains leaking out through skull fractures, has anyone here smelled the rotting corpses of a human being? it is a smell no one would soon forget!!

This doc. is a cake walk! (LOL)"

I sure hope you're talking about you job as a parmetic and not like . . . . anything Ted Bundy . . . . ish! Leaking brains is one thing, but if you start talking about eating any, . . . . . well I'd just have to blame it on a viral infection caught from Randy! (yeah, I've seen "Resident Evil" but I hated every minute of it! Way to scary for me!)

Ok. I bite! [ pun intended :-) ]. . . I have 50 minutes before I have to head back to classes tonight. Let's watch this poorly made doc now!

LisaP
LisaP
13 years ago

@ randy - I will of course take your book suggestion on board as well!!

Re:Twilight - I have read, own and like the series but just ignore all the vampire things they stuffed up (imho). I also actually enjoyed a non sexual vampire story for a change! I do hate the movies, however....Sad, pop culture spam :(

All the history discussions here are very interesting and Google is getting a good work out from me at the moment!! Thanks for the inspiration, folks :)

ez2b12
ez2b12
13 years ago

@ Greenbee

I agree with your assertion that we should not view characters from the past in the light of the present. I also agree that this does no good for Hitler or Stalins image. But we have to ask ourselves why a whole nation of mostly decent and moral people followed these men. In Hitlers case we need look no further than the treaty of versailles.

If a more fair and ethical treaty had of won the day Germany would not have been so in need of a savior or someone to restore thier national pride. In my opinion much of Hitlers sucess at home was due to the fact that he was reclaiming what should have never really been taken from Germany. We can not leave a country in such a shape and destroy thier means to improve themselves without the danger of some charismatic person like Hitler taking control and promising them survival again.

I mean we have to admit what he did for the German economy was brilliant. He gave them back thier pride and a means to make a living without suffering humiliation. When one can do this he can get away with horrible attrocities and his citizens will tend to overlook the evil peaking from around the edges of thier new found wealth and prosperity.

That said I did think your comment was just a little condescending. Maybe I just read it that way, if so I am sorry. But not everyone finds this topic so interesting and to say that this was intended for a more simple audience than yourself, well I am sure that made others that happened to enjoy it feel a little put off. Everyone has thier forte and some of these guys are really sharp when discussing things relevant to thier interests. I think maybe I misundertsood the intent behind your comment though, I hope so anyway.

GreenBee
GreenBee
13 years ago

I liked this documentary, it had history, folklore, etc, but they (who ever they may be..) cut out the part about the teen "vampire" who killed his girlfriend's parents. In part 8 of 11 when they are explaining about him the doc jumps to another bit which is something like a short overview. I wander if it was intentional.
I have been interested in vampire folklore (from the superstition stand point) and the topic of superstition in general for many years, and in my opinion they could have delved into that deeper instead of concentrating as much as they did on modern "vampires" of all sorts and kinds.

Also, 'Rafa', you should have made sure of what "Drakul" and "Drakula" actually mean before posting your translation. I've had an interest in Vlad Drakula "tepes" - the impaler, for a long time, and have done research on him and his life. The truth of the fact is, that his father was called Drakul, meaning dragon in Romanian, because he was part of the Order of the Dragon (Drakul wasinvested into it on Nov 8 1431 in Nuremberg, Germany). Vlad himself, was called Drakula, or son of Drakul - dragon, because he was his father's son and because he too was in the order. In fact the name of his whole familu tree is Drakulesti (of Wallachia).

Those who after watching the part of this doc describing and depicting Vlad's unusual activities, here's some information that might explain some of his more grotesque inclinations. Vlad was born and grew up in a time when savage acts were much more prevalent than today. Case in point is the untimely unfortunate and gruesome endings of his own father and elder brother Mircea (also known as Drakula). Drakul was seized by the traitorous boyars and beheaded, and Mircea was buried alive by the same lot.

I am not saying that Vlad was not cruel and a torturer, he undoubtfuly was. But it is obvious when one looks into Wallachia of his and his father's time that horrendous violence was common. The boyars had after all used it against his own family. Vlad probably had to resort to the atrocious acts he is known for, to keep his rule stable against both boyars (look what happenned to Drakul and Mircea when they lost control over same boyars) and Ottoman Turks (here we have a religion factor as well - Ortodox Christianity versus Islam), to both keep them in line (control them) and intimidate them (fear, remember, is a powerful weapon and tool of control).

What I am trying to say here is that if you want to pass jugement on an Vlad or any other person in history than do so in the context of and from the perspective their own time, and not through the "eyes" of the present. (tis does not include fiends like Hitler and Stalin, because there is no justification for what they have done, fear and keeping in control had nothing to do with their acts of violence).

Anyhow, the doc was nice but a bit too sensational for my taste. It could have been much more serious and in depth in my opinion, but then it was not meant for people like myself who look at this seriously from the historical and anthropological point of view. It was meant for te general audience, inform a little, to entertain a lot.

Cheers, from the GreenBee.

Reasons Voice
Reasons Voice
13 years ago

Lol. Getting cash from me, Randy, would be as simple as Dracula sucking blood from the statue of Venus. I will check out your book selection.
Ont he twilight deal yep sad that the once predatory nocturnal nemesis has become sparkling ab blasting metrosexuals.

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

@LisaP

Oh, but "The Historian" was not a good tip?

You simply rejected my suggestion?

Very nice. I know that RV is sweeter than I am, but, I'm just sayin'

He owes me alot of money!

LisaP
LisaP
13 years ago

@ Reasons Voice

Thanks for the Tom Holland Tip. I am always out for something new to read and those books look very interesting :)

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

Don't even get me started on The Twilight...

Vlad Dracul would tear those little pretty boys up and make them cry.

Plus, it is full of mormon trivia...

Holy Batman, I hate it...

Anyways, @RV you should read "The Historian" a very accurate account of Vlad with some nice fictional touches, (ala Bram Stoker and the Vampire thing...)

A great book.

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

The Twilight series is written by a bored mormon housewife that isn't getting any from her husband.

Sparkly Vampires? Please...

Do not even mention it to me...

"I'm a Vampire, but I'm also a fairy!"

Please...

Reasons Voice
Reasons Voice
13 years ago

thats Tom Holland. not sure where that a came from. stupid spastic fingers!

Reasons Voice
Reasons Voice
13 years ago

@LisaP; If you enjoy the vampire geanra look into Toma Hollands two books. Lord of the Dead and Slave to my Thirst. Both a great read. They are Historical vampire fiction. Meaning it is fiction that uses real historic figures.
Not sure how I feel about the whole vampire sexuality thing, possibly because the latest in that group would be twilight series which to me reads like a 15 year olds fantasy fiction written on her trapper keeper. Then again I had an ex that used to bite and claw alot and still, ten years later, recall her fondly....

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

Yes, EZ, exactly so.

However, Thomas Harris inculcated many other charaters from history in his dissertations.

Ted Bundy used the old, "I have a cast and I am trying to get a couch in the van..." Women! Just walk away from these guys! Do NOT be nice to men!

Also, Hannible was Dracula.... did you get that? Plus, a little werewolf, but as I stated above, Vampires and Werewolves... same thing.

ez2b12
ez2b12
13 years ago

@ Achem

No Hannibal the cannibal was fictional literary charcater, but he was based on a real guy named William Coyne.
Harris once told a librarian in his home town, Cleveland, Mississippi, that Lecter was inspired by a murderer named William Coyne, who had escaped from prison in 1934 and gone on a rampage in Cleveland that included acts of murder and cannibalism. Coyne's exploits were the stuff of local legend when Harris was growing up. I grew up not far from Harris's home town and love his books, especially the Hannibal Lectre character. If you go to answerbag dot com believe it or not your exact question is one of the faq's listed on the first page.

LisaP
LisaP
13 years ago

@ Randy

...Just a nibble... I believe in sharing knowledge ;)

And gosh did you make me laugh with your post about your wife. Good to know some men jump with the crack of a whip! lol. She sounds like a heck of a woman!

...Well now I have watched the film I am half bored and half impressed. There was a lot of very good and comprehensive information mixed with the boring stuff being repeated over and over.
I was also able to recognize the authors being interviewed!! I have many of their books so that helped me to listen to the information more seriously. I have heard all the main stories before, but I did enjoy the fresh look at them.
Lilith is my favorite figure and I was glad they mentioned her.... Not happy at all about how much negativity was put on Vampire: The Masquerade.. Most role-players DO know the D20 is mightier than the sword...

For a documentary on vampires, it is probably the best I have seen :)

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

Speaking of women being evil, keep in mind, I have been married for 25 years.

Yesterday, my wife slapped me dizzy, took the computer away from me, and tore my clothes off.

As I was saying, "Wha? Huh?..." she was using me like a sex toy.

When it was over, she threw me a little towel and said, "Clean yourself up." as she walked out of the room.

Gosh! I love her so!

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

@LisaP

Yes, that is true.

You know? Your brain looks a little like it may be bulging out a little bit, because of the knowledge and smarts...

Perhaps Uncle Randy could help you relieve "the pressure" with his teeth...

C'MON!

LisaP
LisaP
13 years ago

@ Randy
I remember when I read Dracula for the first time, I had to re read that section a few times to ensure I was actually reading what I thought I was!... Surprised the heck out of me!

Vampires+Sex go hand in hand for me (thank-you anne rice!) so damn sexy. I love all things vampire and look forward to giving this a go. I have loved the comments so far, quite interesting.

oh, ps... with all the cannibalism talk here, has anyone seen the cannibalism movie done in the 70's as mentioned in another doc asking if snuff exists... That'd be trippy!! It looks very well done (man I wish we had Halloween in OZland)

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

@rich

Yes, sir. Vampire chicks do indeed rule!

If you read the orginal "Dracula" when Johnathan Harker is being slowly drained of blood by the "Three Sisters" Dracula's brides...

He is being orally raped by three women, a convention wholly despised by Victorian England at the time...

Bram Stoker's novel was quite ahead of it's time and very "evil-sexy"...

Which I love very, very much... I love my women very evil...

And I love my brains very young and fresh.... your brains are very young and powerful.... *slurp*

rich miller
rich miller
13 years ago

mmmm silver as lacanian Real

rich miller
rich miller
13 years ago

vampire chics rule.... the end

Achems Razor
Achems Razor
13 years ago

Where did all the religee's go, maybe this doc is hitting to close to home for them? eating the body and drinking the blood, and all?? Of the big JC, what?

Achems Razor
Achems Razor
13 years ago

Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter!! Anyone?? Was he real??

Could be he was a "Vampire"?

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

One of my very first thesis papers, (at 14 or so...) was on the similarities between Vampires and Werewolves...

(Which I know is anathema with those people, these days... sigh....)

But, if you think about it, they are both undead, they both eat human tissue to survive, and Vampires, in legend at any rate, often turn into wolves...

Silver is bane to both creatures, and my paper went into the aspect of Silver being a symbol of the Moon, (Goddess, feminity, etc... my MALE professor rejected the thesis... I ate him...)

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

@zero

Well, Vlad Tepes is one of my personal heroes... I know all about him, and I understand why the Great Romanian people revere him!

He is one of my favorite figures of history, with or without Bram Stoker's embelishments...