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We all love a good monster movie, don’t we, even if it’s viewed with just one eye open from behind the safety of our sofas?

Year after year, Hollywood favourites such as Count Dracula and the Wolfman, and other classic fiendish figures continue to draw crowds of eager horror-movie-lovers. But when and where did our preoccupation with the "bogeyman" arise? Is there any basis in truth to the stories of mythical monsters?

Greg McDonald, director of forensic medicine at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, says that like many myths and scary stories, both Dracula and the Wolfman stemmed from a poor understanding of medical maladies.
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In many cultures, blood is considered to be the equivalent of the sacred life force, explaining its use in many historic religious rituals and ceremonies. In myths and legends, vampires were said to utilise the power of human blood, drinking large quantities from their living victims in order to obtain their life energy. Young virgins were said to be highly prized as prey due to the belief that they held the highest levels of life essence, possibly why it was rumored the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il injected himself with blood from healthy young virgins to slow the aging process.

But is there any truth in this? Surprisingly, science says "Yes"!
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As Halloween arrives again (and it’s time to put on that scary costume), it’s creepy to think that, just as cannibals are real, there are real vampires too (in the animal kingdom, at least).

Vampire Bats are the critters that most of us think about when we think about REAL vampires. They are found only in the Americas from Mexico down through Argentina. These bats feed exclusively on the blood of other animals. The common vampire bat typically goes for mammals, including domestic cows and horses, while the other two species prefer to feed upon birds. Human attacks are rare, but they’ve been known to occur. They can’t kill you, although their wounds CAN become infected.
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Vampires and zombies, both of which became a popular phenomenon in Victorian Britain, are all the rage. The female vampire Whitley wrote about in “The Hunger” and “The Last Vampire” has been voted one of the most popular vampires of all time by Entertainment Weekly Magazine. One English Professor believes this not just a pop culture trend, but rather a reflection of the strong parallels between that period in Britain and our own here in the US, when society was divided between the rich, who had all the money and power, and the poor.
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