Vampires subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures. In folkloric tales, they often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the areas they inhabited when they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale Vampire which dates from the early 1800s. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in most cultures, the term Vampire was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of Vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where Vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to what can only be called mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked.
The Vampire, a creature once feared above all others has now become a mere shadow of its former self. It is now more a literary creation than a thing to be feared. But do not be fooled. The Vampire is nothing, if not durable.
This was my very first "Halloween Special" episode. I actually received some good reviews and I'm still quite proud of all the research that I put into this episode. It originally aired on Live365 on October 22, 2004.