englishMonsters or Victims?
We all know the basic horror and fictional creatures like a mermaid, werewolf, vampire or a dwarf. Many think that they're made up. But what if they're not? Let's start with the most famous blood sucking vampires.
Vampires appeared in many books and movies over the years and the theme became popular. In the old days when there were Slavic and German tribes, the people believed that a person became a vampire when he died in a dark way or was into dark magic. They believed that a child could be born a vampire if its parent was a witch, wizard or a demon. Vampires also appeared through the Middle Ages and maybe are among us even now. But scientists explain that people who were believed to be vampires were actually the victims of the Porphyria disease. Such a person is sensitive to light, the skin is damaged. Blisters and scars appear. The teeth and urine become slightly red and brown and gums recede making the teeth look big. But people who had plague were also probably considered as vampires. However the disease is an inherited metabolic disorder. You can't catch it in a street.
Werewolves are also very popular horror characters. A werewolf was a person that turned into a dangerous wolf when there was the full moon or just at night. But again, the people who were considered werewolves were victims of another horrible disease. The disease is called Lycanthropy. Such a person has vivid hallucinations and thinks that he is an animal. They start howling, growling or even crawling. The person starts to have disorganized behavior and speech. Also he can be very aggressive and may attack others. So in the end, these people were not monsters - they were just victims. People feared them instead of helping them and that makes me think that the creatures were the victims. And these diseases still exist.