August 2, 2002 (NTL World News) - A teenager has been found guilty of murdering his elderly neighbour and drinking her blood in a vampire ritual. Art student Mathew Hardman, 17, butchered Mabel Leyshon at her home in Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, last November. He has been jailed for a minimum of 12 years.

Our traditional image of the vampire, though born from literature, is based on this folkloric vampire, which dates back as early as the eleventh century, and was (until the 1700's) found exclusively in the Slavic countries of Eastern Europe.

I waved my love goodbye today,
As off to battle he rode.
His armour shone so brightly,
And his steed so proudly strode.

He is a brave and loyal knight,
And I am his bequeathed.
To most he is a fearsome sight,
But I see far beneath.

His heart is true and full of love,
With body strong and able.
His bravery comes from above,
Like the heroes of old fable.

The wedding is set for three months hence,
I will hardly stand the waiting.
Then celebrations will commence,
To sanctify our mating.

Vampire Princess DVD: $13.49 USD Dracula is a grim tale believed to be based on Romanian legend and the morbid imaginings of a Victorian novelist. Now archaeologists, historians and forensic scientists have evidence that the legendary vampire was not modeled on a medieval count from Transylvania, but on the fate of a real 18th century bohemian princess named Eleonore von Schwarzenberg. Bram Stoker's Dracula, in fact, once had a different first chapter indicating that he was inspired not by a man but by a woman. It opens with a spectacular vampire attack at the tomb of an Austrian princess. And rreferences in the origin...

September 15, 2008 (PRNewswire) -- Just in time for Halloween, the story of a real-life Vampire Princess is unearthed Oct. 14 on DVD from Infinity Entertainment Group and begins showings on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel(TM). Dracula is a grim tale believed to be based on Romanian legend and the morbid imaginings of a Victorian novelist. Now archaeologists, historians and forensic scientists have evidence that the legendary vampire was not modeled on a medieval count from Transylvania, but on the fate of a real 18th century bohemian princess named Eleonore von Schwarzenberg.

"I live in many countries, many languages, many cultures. I always find myself in the interstices, in places of passage. It's the only way of acting in this boring life." These sentences are taken from a singular (and most interesting) novel, The Dracula's Diary by Marin Mincu.