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Kathleen McAuliffe’s articles, many featured on covers, have appeared in over a dozen national magazines, including Discover, The New York Times (both the Sunday Magazine and newspaper), US News &[…]
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Perhaps the most iconic Halloween costume is that of the vampire. Its long black cape, shiny medallion, powdery complexion, and long, white fangs are the result of a legend that stretches hundreds of years back to eastern Europe. And its fangs in particular betray a similarity to bats and dogs — animal forms which the vampire was thought capable of taking on, explains science journalist Kathleen McAuliffe.


The vampire myth has a fascinating origin story, and while no single source of the legend can be confirmed, there are indications that it was originally inspired by the viral disease of rabies.

Known for being extremely sensitive to light, vampires share the characteristic of being hyper sensitive to stimuli with rabies patients. “And if you think about vampire legend,” says McAuliffe, “vampires hate light that’s why they’re nocturnal.” One potential guard against the vampire threat in 18th century eastern Europe was to pour water around the grave of an individual who might rise up and become a vampire. This bears a remarkable similarity to individuals infected with rabies, who are hydrophobic, meaning they are frequently tormented by the sight or sound of water.

Of course myths change over time and vampires are now sometimes thought of as eternal creatures, at least if they manage to find a continual source of nourishment, i.e. human blood. But when societies believed vampires were real, it was thought they lived for just 40 days — the same lifespan of someone once they had become infected with rabies.

Kathleen McAuliffe’s book is This Is Your Brain on Parasites: How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our Behavior and Shape Society.


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