Research source

In all lands and epochs the grisly conception of the vampire has gained a strong hold upon the imagination of…

Date of account: Ancient traditions presented in a work published 1916
Source: Myths & Legends of Babylonia & Assyria
Reference: Myths & Legends of Babylonia & Assyria · selected passage 67
Rights: public_domain
Language: English synthesis of Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian material
Translation: Lewis Spence, with cited translations and retellings
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

In all lands and epochs the grisly conception of the vampire has gained a strong hold upon the imagination of the common people, and this was no less the case in Babylonia and Assyria than elsewhere

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

In all lands and epochs the grisly conception of the vampire has gained a strong hold upon the imagination of the common people, and this was no less the case in Babylonia and Assyria than elsewhere. There have not been wanting those who believed that vampirism was confined to the Slavonic race alone, and that the peoples of Russia, Bohemia, and the Balkan Peninsula were the sole possessors of the vampire legend. Recent research, however, has exposed the fallacy of this theory and has shown that, far from being the property of the Slavs or even of Aryan peoples, this horrible belief is or was the possession of practically every race, savage or civilized, that is known to anthropology. The seven evil spirits of Assyria are, among other things, vampires of no uncertain type.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This is a passage from a historical religious or interpretive text. Its genre, manuscript history, translation and place within its own tradition are part of the evidence and must remain visible.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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