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WILLIAM SHATNER: Creatures of the night.
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They hide in the shadows.
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Ready to drink the blood
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and tear at the flesh
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-(wolf howling) -of their human prey.
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(screaming)
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For centuries, mankind has told frightening tales
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of bloodthirsty vampires and moon-crazed werewolves.
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But what is it about these two very different monsters
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that have made them such a large part of our nightmares?
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Is it because they're also...
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...part human?
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Could it be that the same gruesome urges
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they have reported to have also lurk deep inside ourselves?
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Well, that is what we will try and find out.
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♪
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SHATNER: Vlad the Impaler.
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Lycaon of Arcadia.
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Nosferatu.
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The Beast of Gévaudan.
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These are the names of grotesque and terrifying monsters.
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Unearthly creatures that, according to legend,
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thrived on human blood and feasted on human flesh.
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(snarling)
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But could they actually be real?
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(crickets chirping)
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SHATNER: Police arrive upon a gruesome scene.
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A local prostitute lies bloody and battered on the street.
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Her leg is shattered in three places.
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Based on eyewitness accounts, it's believed
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she intentionally leapt from a balcony 20 feet above.
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JONATHAN WEISS: She'd been with a wealthy man.
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He'd been friendly, generous, funny, kind.
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He'd made no advances, though he'd paid for her time.
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But then he attacked her.
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He moved upon her with unnatural swiftness
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and wrapped his arms around her, pulled her head to the side
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and began to, quote, "rip at her flesh."
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SHATNER: Her attacker was a man
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by the name of Jacques St. Germain,
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an affluent, well-known fixture in the New Orleans upper class
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who claimed to be a direct descendant
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of French nobility.
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Historical accounts described him
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as a charming ladies' man,
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celebrated throughout the French Quarter
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for his tales of adventure and elaborately catered parties.
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But curiously, his guests never see him partake
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of so much as a morsel of the food he serves.
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Instead, he reportedly got all of his sustenance
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from bottles that were thought to be filled with red wine.
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But when police went to question Jacques St. Germain
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about the murder of the prostitute,
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they found that his preferred wine
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was of a very unusual vintage.
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JOSEPH LAYCOCK: When they went to the house in the morning,
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it was entirely empty-- no furniture,
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everything was gone.
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Jacques had completely disappeared.
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However, on the second floor, according to the story,
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they found bottles of wine mixed with human blood.
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SHATNER: Bottles of wine
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mixed with human blood?
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Was Jacques St. Germain merely a demented killer
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who preyed upon a vulnerable woman?
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Or could his taste for blood
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have had a more disturbing explanation?
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KEN GERHARD: Jacques St. Germain resided in New Orleans
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in the early part of the 20th century.
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And one must look back in history
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at an eerily similar-looking figure named Count St. Germain,
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who lived in Paris, France over a century earlier.
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The similarities between the two gentlemen
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are pretty striking.
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LAYCOCK: Count St. Germain was known to the French court
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in the 1700s.
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He was a mysterious figure.
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He was rumored to be an alchemist,
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and he let the rumor slip that he had found the secret
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to eternal life through his alchemy.
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MARITA WOYWOD CRANDLE: He would speak as if
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he had lived in the 1500s,
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and he never looked a day over 40 years old.
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LAYCOCK: We have portraits of the original Count St. Germain
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when he's 40 years old.
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Jacques St. Germain was also 40 years old
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when he disappeared, and some people commented
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that he looked like the man in the portrait.
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WEISS: Early 40s,
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maybe five foot, six inches tall,
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140 pounds,
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pale skin and high cheekbones, thin lips, hawk nose,
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long, curling dark hair, large blue-gray eyes.
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He's elegant, he's charming, he's French.
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He spends money like it's water.
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Many people say that Jacques St. Germain
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and the Count St. Germain are the same person.
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SHATNER: Jacques St. Germain and the Count de St. Germain:
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one in the same?
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If so, that would have made him almost 170 years old
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at the time of his disappearance from New Orleans in 1903.
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That is, if he ever really disappeared.
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CRANDLE: Even down to modern times,
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there have been sightings of St. Germain
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wandering our streets late at night.
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People will say that they have encountered him,
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-and now and then, one of them disappears. -(scream)
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This is actually an account from some people I know fairly well.
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A few years ago, at Halloween,
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they were in the middle of the crowd on Bourbon Street,
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when the crowd just parted itself,
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almost of its own accord...
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...and there was a man standing by himself
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in the middle of the crowd.
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Maybe five-foot-six, somewhat slight of build,
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with a long, dark coat and sunglasses on at night.
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He raised his head up like he's sniffing the air.
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The crowd kept parting around him.
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And then they said that he just vanished.
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They swear that actually happened,
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and in New Orleans, how can I not believe it?
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LAYCOCK: What do we make of people
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still seeing someone of this description
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in the French Quarter in New Orleans today?
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That's hard to say.
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These stories speak to, uh, the idea that many people hold
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that, walking among us, our neighbors even,
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could actually be super creatures who never die.
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In the French Quarter in New Orleans at night,
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those stories don't seem as silly
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as they might otherwise.
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SHATNER: Whether he's called the Count or Jacques,
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there are many who believe that the vampire
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who haunted the streets of New Orleans for over a century
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still walks the streets at night.
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If true, could it mean that other
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seemingly absurd tales of undead creatures
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-living among us are also true? -(eerie shriek)
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DAVID SKAL: Vampires are just part of the human imagination,
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going back to time immemorial.
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In folklore, there are so many different ways
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to become a vampire or to destroy a vampire
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or to avoid a vampire.
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The idea of the wooden stake,
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the recoiling from the crucifix,
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the destruction by sunlight.
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Vampires like the night, because they could skulk around
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and cover their terrible deeds in the shadows.
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In Eastern Europe, we think that vampire legends are very old.
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In the Middle Ages and the early modern period,
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vampires were seen as satanic figures
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and enemies of the church.
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We continually find graves
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where people have put stakes through the corpses
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and things like this, to make sure
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that the dead stay dead.
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But our idea of the vampire really comes from a moment
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in the 1700s; and this was a time
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when you had vampire panics going on in Eastern Europe,
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where you would have entire towns
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digging up their cemeteries hunting for vampires.
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GERHARD: Even in China,
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we have vampire-like legends.
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Creatures known as the jiangshi,
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or hopping vampires,
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said to be very stiff-bodied with outstretched arms.
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SKAL: These stories come from the margins of the known,
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and the lore tells us that the boundary
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between the known and the unknown,
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life and death itself, might be traversed.
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Perhaps at great cost,
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or perhaps there is a way to live forever.
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HARVEY ROSENSTOCK: In Romanian, the word for a vampire
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includes the word "vârcolac,"
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which, uh, really means, uh, "werewolf."
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So you have werewolf, vârcolac, uh, vampyr,
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uh, vampire; so, sometimes, I can see how people
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can coalesce and come out with something that's a mixture.
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LAYCOCK: Every culture on Earth
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has stories of humans who can change into animals
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and about the idea of supernatural beings
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living among us.
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And so, instead of seeing an enemy or a nemesis,
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we see something of ourselves.
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The werewolf and the vampire merge and morph
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and inform each other.
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When Bram Stoker wrote his novel,
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Dracula had the power to become a wolf.
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He was a werewolf.
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He was a bloodsucking vampire as well.
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And, uh, it was the kind of arbitrary grab bag
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of characteristics that he chose
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that we are still mostly playing with today.
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SHATNER: But are vampires merely the figments of myth
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and imagination?
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Perhaps the answer to that question can be found
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by investigating not those vampires
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who hide in the shadows
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but those who thrive by daylight
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and who dwell right next door.
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SHATNER: After a difficult and dysfunctional childhood,
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15-year-old Rod Ferrell finds solace in death,
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the occult and blood-drenched horror films.
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At his local high school,
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Rod discovers a group of kindred spirits,
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among some outcasts who also enjoy
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his favorite vampire role-playing games.
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SKAL: In the '90s, people stopped being afraid of vampires.
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They started identifying with them, sometimes very intensely.
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And I think it was the beginning of a world in which
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the boundaries between imagination and reality
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were going to become increasingly blurred.
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And, uh, that can be a dangerous place to be.
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Anne Rice resurrected what had become kind of a stale
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popular culture cliché.
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She brought back the romanticism,
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the idea of the vampire as an antihero.
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LAYCOCK: I think modern people, when they think of vampires,
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think of Anne Rice's vampires.
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They think of sexy, dark, aristocratic,
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tragic characters who live forever
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and have supernatural powers.
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CRANDLE: Vampires have become protectors
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rather than just predators in fiction.
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You have this very powerful creature
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that desires you so much.
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And they don't want you to die,
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but they're willing to kill for you.
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LAYCOCK: Rod Ferrell did not grow up with his father around much.
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He has alleged that his grandfather sexually abused him.
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Add to that that he was experimenting with LSD
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and other kinds of psychedelic drugs,
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and this is a recipe for extreme behavior.
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BROWNING: He was part of this vampire coven,
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over which he was sort of the elder, or master.
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He knew about vampire lore through the game
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Vampire: The Masquerade.
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And he began to believe he was some sort of, uh, embodiment
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of some vampire god.
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LAYCOCK: Rod often told them that he was
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a 400-year-old vampire named Vesago.
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That he could help them cross over,
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which means to become a vampire through rituals
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that sometimes involved cutting each other
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and drinking each other's blood.
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SHATNER: Despite the red flags in her son's behavior,
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Rod's mother, Sondra, appeared supportive
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of his new group of friends.
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Some even claim that she expressed a desire
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to be initiated into her son's coven.
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LAYCOCK: His mother was fascinated
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by this vampire role that he had assumed
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for himself and for, uh, his friends.
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She wanted to play, too.
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And in this case, instead of guiding her son,
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there was this kind of game going on between them,
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which ultimately became toxic.
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SHATNER: In order to protect each other from a world
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00:12:56,740 --> 00:12:58,644
that didn't understand their obsessions,
260
00:12:58,710 --> 00:13:02,147
Rod and his coven formed a sacred pact,
261
00:13:02,212 --> 00:13:04,849
and then sealed it in blood.
262
00:13:07,418 --> 00:13:10,020
ROSENSTOCK: To belong to a gang, there has to be
263
00:13:10,054 --> 00:13:12,824
some kind of ritual that distinguishes you
264
00:13:12,857 --> 00:13:14,325
from everybody else.
265
00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,029
You're taking a vow
266
00:13:18,062 --> 00:13:20,698
that from this point, forever, irreversible,
267
00:13:20,731 --> 00:13:22,900
I'm a member of this gang.
268
00:13:22,967 --> 00:13:27,805
And when we get to the vampire-type thinking,
269
00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:32,277
there always has to be blood involved.
270
00:13:32,309 --> 00:13:33,811
We're gonna cut my wrist.
271
00:13:33,846 --> 00:13:35,813
The other member's gonna suck the blood
272
00:13:35,846 --> 00:13:41,886
so that each one is consuming the blood of the other person,
273
00:13:41,953 --> 00:13:45,190
so that now we're all one blooded family.
274
00:13:51,096 --> 00:13:52,998
SHATNER: Over the course of the next year,
275
00:13:53,030 --> 00:13:56,501
Rod would move with his mother to Eustis, Florida.
276
00:13:57,668 --> 00:13:59,203
After forming a close friendship
277
00:13:59,236 --> 00:14:02,973
with one of his new classmates, a girl named Heather Wendorf,
278
00:14:03,008 --> 00:14:05,844
the pair spent their weekends at the local graveyard,
279
00:14:05,876 --> 00:14:08,847
engaging in bloodletting rituals.
280
00:14:13,085 --> 00:14:17,822
There are some people who adhere to a delusion.
281
00:14:17,855 --> 00:14:20,891
A delusion is a belief, in psychiatry,
282
00:14:20,958 --> 00:14:24,896
that you accept something in spite of facts to the contrary.
283
00:14:26,498 --> 00:14:29,267
And therefore, they start to really believe
284
00:14:29,301 --> 00:14:32,237
that they have these extraordinary powers.
285
00:14:32,269 --> 00:14:35,473
Many people, for example, can easily,
286
00:14:35,506 --> 00:14:38,776
in a form of autohypnotic suggestion,
287
00:14:38,844 --> 00:14:42,781
transform themselves into an imaginary person,
288
00:14:42,813 --> 00:14:45,817
animal, creature that accomplishes
289
00:14:45,884 --> 00:14:48,387
what they cannot do in real life.
290
00:14:48,419 --> 00:14:50,121
And they go with it.
291
00:14:54,993 --> 00:14:56,995
SHATNER: During a series of tearful phone calls,
292
00:14:57,028 --> 00:15:00,698
Rod listens as Heather describes a miserable home life,
293
00:15:00,731 --> 00:15:04,302
culminating in alleged abuse at the hands of her father.
294
00:15:04,336 --> 00:15:07,940
Enraged that his close friend has been mistreated,
295
00:15:07,972 --> 00:15:12,377
Rod and three members of his clan rush to her aid.
296
00:15:14,144 --> 00:15:18,515
When the group arrived at the home of Heather Wendorf
297
00:15:18,582 --> 00:15:19,951
in Eustis, Florida,
298
00:15:19,985 --> 00:15:23,055
Rod and one of his companions went inside.
299
00:15:23,087 --> 00:15:26,591
They came in through the garage, where Rod found a crowbar,
300
00:15:26,624 --> 00:15:28,159
which he took with him.
301
00:15:30,028 --> 00:15:32,865
When he went inside, he found Heather's father
302
00:15:32,898 --> 00:15:35,000
asleep on the couch.
303
00:15:39,203 --> 00:15:41,973
And he beat him to death with the crowbar.
304
00:15:44,009 --> 00:15:46,912
He also encountered Heather's mother,
305
00:15:46,945 --> 00:15:50,015
who splashed, uh, coffee on him in self-defense,
306
00:15:50,048 --> 00:15:52,985
and he beat her to death as well.
307
00:15:58,690 --> 00:16:01,193
SHATNER: In the aftermath of the horrific killings,
308
00:16:01,225 --> 00:16:04,028
Rod was convicted of first-degree murder.
309
00:16:04,096 --> 00:16:06,697
LAYCOCK: Sociologists who study adolescent crime
310
00:16:06,731 --> 00:16:11,135
have framed this as a kind of game that gets out of hand.
311
00:16:11,169 --> 00:16:13,837
I think that Rod Ferrell and his friends had a kind of game
312
00:16:13,904 --> 00:16:16,807
where they played the role of vampires
313
00:16:16,841 --> 00:16:19,577
until they reached irrevocable consequences
314
00:16:19,610 --> 00:16:22,447
when Rod Ferrell sort of got caught up in his role
315
00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,216
and murdered the Wendorfs.
316
00:16:24,249 --> 00:16:27,819
This is a little bit like putting on a Halloween mask
317
00:16:27,851 --> 00:16:30,990
and then discovering that you can never take it off.
318
00:16:37,294 --> 00:16:41,132
If you still don't believe that vampires really do exist,
319
00:16:41,166 --> 00:16:45,003
then what would you say to someone who drinks human blood?
320
00:16:45,070 --> 00:16:48,473
Not only because he has a strange desire to do so
321
00:16:48,539 --> 00:16:51,909
but also because he claims he needs it
322
00:16:51,942 --> 00:16:53,946
to stay alive.
323
00:16:59,851 --> 00:17:01,986
(indistinct chatter)
324
00:17:05,757 --> 00:17:07,659
ASHANTISON: My name is Belfazaar Ashantison.
325
00:17:07,692 --> 00:17:09,360
Most of my friends call me Zaar.
326
00:17:09,428 --> 00:17:10,995
WOMAN: Hi, Zaar. Whoo!
327
00:17:11,061 --> 00:17:12,263
Hi, guys.
328
00:17:12,297 --> 00:17:14,164
54 years old.
329
00:17:14,199 --> 00:17:16,468
I've been drinking blood since I was 11.
330
00:17:16,500 --> 00:17:18,470
And a sanguine vampire.
331
00:17:18,502 --> 00:17:19,837
How you doing, brother?
332
00:17:19,871 --> 00:17:22,007
-I'm good. How are you? -Good, good, good.
333
00:17:22,039 --> 00:17:25,475
At 11 years old, things started changing for me.
334
00:17:25,509 --> 00:17:29,048
I was short, round and always sickly.
335
00:17:29,114 --> 00:17:33,085
And one of my uncles that was big and tall and strong
336
00:17:33,117 --> 00:17:35,921
was picking on us-- me and my sister.
337
00:17:35,988 --> 00:17:39,457
And something snapped, and I went charging.
338
00:17:39,490 --> 00:17:41,025
And he was bigger and stronger,
339
00:17:41,058 --> 00:17:44,395
and he pinned my arms down to my side.
340
00:17:44,429 --> 00:17:49,101
And then I just kind of reared my head back and bit him.
341
00:17:52,336 --> 00:17:54,405
He was wearing a coat.
342
00:17:54,439 --> 00:17:57,442
I bit through the coat, through his shirt,
343
00:17:57,474 --> 00:18:02,179
and into his flesh enough that I could actually taste blood.
344
00:18:02,212 --> 00:18:04,950
Like, lots of blood.
345
00:18:05,017 --> 00:18:09,086
Once that blood hit my tongue, it was like
346
00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,790
I suddenly came alive.
347
00:18:15,626 --> 00:18:17,461
I really need the blood.
348
00:18:17,528 --> 00:18:19,396
I do.
349
00:18:19,430 --> 00:18:21,099
And I've gone without
350
00:18:21,132 --> 00:18:24,169
for lengths of time just to see what would happen.
351
00:18:24,201 --> 00:18:27,573
I'm the kind of person that it physically shows on.
352
00:18:27,605 --> 00:18:28,906
WOMAN: Hi!
353
00:18:28,940 --> 00:18:30,942
ASHANTISON: My skin will get ashy.
354
00:18:30,976 --> 00:18:33,979
My eyes will be dull and glazed.
355
00:18:34,011 --> 00:18:37,548
It literally physically shows on me.
356
00:18:37,582 --> 00:18:39,851
(man shouts indistinctly)
357
00:18:39,884 --> 00:18:43,355
So, what are some of the common misconceptions?
358
00:18:43,387 --> 00:18:45,756
How about: Holy water gets me wet.
359
00:18:45,789 --> 00:18:48,859
Garlic tastes good on pizza.
360
00:18:48,893 --> 00:18:50,528
Stick a stake through anything's heart,
361
00:18:50,561 --> 00:18:52,463
and it will die.
362
00:18:52,529 --> 00:18:53,964
I do not sleep in a coffin.
363
00:18:53,999 --> 00:18:55,901
I have a king-size bed, thank you very much.
364
00:18:57,869 --> 00:18:59,436
SHATNER: Unlike mythical vampires,
365
00:18:59,503 --> 00:19:01,438
who can turn themselves into bats,
366
00:19:01,471 --> 00:19:05,209
modern-day vampires admit to having to obey physical laws.
367
00:19:05,242 --> 00:19:07,846
Because he can't exactly fly in
368
00:19:07,878 --> 00:19:09,947
through someone's bedroom window for a quick bite,
369
00:19:09,981 --> 00:19:12,950
Belfazaar has devised sanitary methods
370
00:19:12,983 --> 00:19:15,686
to suck blood from his victims.
371
00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:19,958
He finds victims... who are willing to feed him.
372
00:19:21,759 --> 00:19:23,760
-Well, hello. -I'm here.
373
00:19:23,795 --> 00:19:26,398
I like to think I have a pretty good grasp
374
00:19:26,464 --> 00:19:30,368
on human vampirism after now ten years of doing field work.
375
00:19:30,402 --> 00:19:34,338
But I realized very quickly that the only thing
376
00:19:34,373 --> 00:19:36,774
that real vampires are more secretive about than themselves
377
00:19:36,807 --> 00:19:38,009
are their donors.
378
00:19:38,042 --> 00:19:39,910
They have to hide in the shadows
379
00:19:39,943 --> 00:19:42,413
because almost no one ever believes them
380
00:19:42,446 --> 00:19:44,048
when they say that they feel the need
381
00:19:44,082 --> 00:19:45,750
to consume human blood.
382
00:19:45,784 --> 00:19:48,520
I began to realize that if I want to get
383
00:19:48,553 --> 00:19:50,755
some of my research done, it might just be
384
00:19:50,788 --> 00:19:53,325
easier for me to sort of volunteer myself.
385
00:19:53,357 --> 00:19:54,826
ASHANTISON: I'm gonna go grab my doctor's bag.
386
00:19:54,858 --> 00:19:56,327
I'll be right back.
387
00:19:56,394 --> 00:19:58,262
I use a clean technique.
388
00:19:58,328 --> 00:20:00,331
I'll clean the area on the donor.
389
00:20:01,665 --> 00:20:05,069
Honestly, alcohol swabs always leave
390
00:20:05,103 --> 00:20:07,371
a funny taste afterwards.
391
00:20:07,404 --> 00:20:12,076
I make sure that the blade is new every time.
392
00:20:12,109 --> 00:20:14,512
-Ready? -Ready.
393
00:20:14,546 --> 00:20:17,749
More often than not, I'll use the back side of the shoulders.
394
00:20:20,184 --> 00:20:22,953
I poke a series of holes, and those holes actually
395
00:20:23,020 --> 00:20:24,623
provide me enough.
396
00:20:24,690 --> 00:20:26,091
There we go.
397
00:20:26,124 --> 00:20:27,425
-You ready? -Yeah.
398
00:20:31,863 --> 00:20:35,232
The lore tells us that vampires live forever.
399
00:20:35,266 --> 00:20:38,201
At least, as long as they have a victim.
400
00:20:38,236 --> 00:20:40,572
That, of course, is a great human desire.
401
00:20:40,605 --> 00:20:43,508
So part of the power and fascination of the story is:
402
00:20:43,540 --> 00:20:45,076
How do I live forever?
403
00:20:45,108 --> 00:20:46,977
Is there some secret here?
404
00:20:47,010 --> 00:20:48,646
Well, yes.
405
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,315
Drink the blood of others.
406
00:20:50,382 --> 00:20:53,418
Steal the life force from others.
407
00:20:54,952 --> 00:20:57,454
That's not bad.
408
00:20:57,521 --> 00:21:00,759
Sweeter taste-- you've been getting fatty acids again.
409
00:21:00,791 --> 00:21:02,126
Oh, that's good.
410
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:03,394
ASHANTISON: I can tell when people
411
00:21:03,461 --> 00:21:05,497
are a little bit low
412
00:21:05,529 --> 00:21:07,531
on their magnesium and potassium.
413
00:21:07,565 --> 00:21:10,902
I can tell when they're not getting enough fatty acids.
414
00:21:12,037 --> 00:21:14,372
And, because of the flow,
415
00:21:14,405 --> 00:21:17,475
I can also tell if they're not drinking enough.
416
00:21:19,109 --> 00:21:21,645
YOUNG: As a psychologist, I think we're talking
417
00:21:21,679 --> 00:21:24,015
about people caught up in a story,
418
00:21:24,048 --> 00:21:27,985
caught up in a kind of melodramatic ritual.
419
00:21:28,019 --> 00:21:30,520
People will go into cosplay
420
00:21:30,587 --> 00:21:33,624
and other, uh, dramas, because it's creative
421
00:21:33,657 --> 00:21:36,993
and it makes them feel special and it is very imaginative.
422
00:21:37,060 --> 00:21:39,062
So, the rewards are great,
423
00:21:39,096 --> 00:21:42,400
even though the activity may be in a way meaningless,
424
00:21:42,432 --> 00:21:45,470
that it-it isn't an actual transfer of energy
425
00:21:45,502 --> 00:21:49,508
from one body to another, as in the old vampire stories.
426
00:21:49,574 --> 00:21:52,576
LAYCOCK: In the Bible, in the book of Leviticus,
427
00:21:52,611 --> 00:21:54,946
God tells the Israelites, "You may not drink blood,
428
00:21:54,979 --> 00:21:56,681
because blood is the life."
429
00:21:56,714 --> 00:22:00,018
And the assumption in the ancient Israelite religion
430
00:22:00,050 --> 00:22:03,153
was probably that when things run out of blood, they're dead.
431
00:22:03,188 --> 00:22:05,355
And so, there must be something important
432
00:22:05,388 --> 00:22:07,357
and supernatural, uh, about blood.
433
00:22:07,392 --> 00:22:09,693
It's a mysterious substance, and this is why
434
00:22:09,728 --> 00:22:12,263
it would've been offered to the gods in animal sacrifices
435
00:22:12,329 --> 00:22:13,730
in ancient cultures.
436
00:22:13,763 --> 00:22:16,266
And, presumably, this is also why vampires
437
00:22:16,300 --> 00:22:18,403
and similar creatures would want it,
438
00:22:18,435 --> 00:22:20,471
because it has that power.
439
00:22:20,505 --> 00:22:24,176
At any given time, I can drink from...
440
00:22:24,209 --> 00:22:26,210
an ounce to six ounces, depending.
441
00:22:26,277 --> 00:22:28,112
The whole process, start to finish,
442
00:22:28,179 --> 00:22:30,482
usually takes...
443
00:22:30,548 --> 00:22:32,349
maybe 20, 25 minutes,
444
00:22:32,384 --> 00:22:33,884
depending on how much I need to feed.
445
00:22:35,153 --> 00:22:37,556
-You good? -Yeah.
446
00:22:37,588 --> 00:22:40,892
BROWNING: When Zaar was feeding on blood from me--
447
00:22:40,925 --> 00:22:43,326
it couldn't have been more than a couple of teaspoons--
448
00:22:43,361 --> 00:22:45,564
I suddenly felt incredibly weak.
449
00:22:45,630 --> 00:22:47,866
Like I had gone from someone with stamina and energy
450
00:22:47,898 --> 00:22:50,567
to someone who just had the life drained out of me.
451
00:22:50,601 --> 00:22:51,803
ASHANTISON: All right.
452
00:22:51,836 --> 00:22:53,171
I only usually feed
453
00:22:53,204 --> 00:22:55,138
two to three times a week, and I have
454
00:22:55,173 --> 00:22:56,575
four different donors, so I alternate.
455
00:22:56,641 --> 00:22:59,644
I don't want to take too much from any one person.
456
00:22:59,710 --> 00:23:01,444
-Thank you, thank you. -All right.
457
00:23:01,511 --> 00:23:03,347
SHATNER: Belfazaar claims that drinking blood
458
00:23:03,381 --> 00:23:06,451
helps him feel energized and alive.
459
00:23:06,518 --> 00:23:08,952
Without regular feeding, he believes that he,
460
00:23:08,986 --> 00:23:12,056
and those like him, would not be able to survive.
461
00:23:12,088 --> 00:23:15,492
But is Belfazaar simply
462
00:23:15,526 --> 00:23:19,331
the delusional product of some kind of Dracula fixation?
463
00:23:19,364 --> 00:23:23,000
Or is there an actual physiological benefit
464
00:23:23,034 --> 00:23:25,069
to his consumption of human blood?
465
00:23:25,103 --> 00:23:26,238
BROWNING: There have been some
466
00:23:26,304 --> 00:23:28,773
medical conditions that people have thought
467
00:23:28,807 --> 00:23:32,376
or theorized maybe this is where we get human vampirism from.
468
00:23:32,410 --> 00:23:34,579
Like people who have porphyria-- they are anemic,
469
00:23:34,645 --> 00:23:37,347
or they need blood to sustain themselves, but they also have
470
00:23:37,381 --> 00:23:39,951
this skin condition where they can't be out in the sun.
471
00:23:39,983 --> 00:23:42,853
And that will cause some major defects.
472
00:23:42,886 --> 00:23:44,989
ROSENSTOCK: In some of the studies
473
00:23:45,022 --> 00:23:48,091
about why someone would seek blood,
474
00:23:48,159 --> 00:23:51,229
the closest that we can see medically
475
00:23:51,261 --> 00:23:55,032
is they have iron-deficiency anemia,
476
00:23:55,066 --> 00:23:57,067
and so, theoretically,
477
00:23:57,101 --> 00:24:00,672
if I could get some source of iron heme,
478
00:24:00,704 --> 00:24:03,040
that I would feel stronger
479
00:24:03,074 --> 00:24:06,177
instead of feeling without any energy.
480
00:24:06,210 --> 00:24:09,881
That makes some kind of sense at some level.
481
00:24:12,150 --> 00:24:14,486
The hunger never fully goes away.
482
00:24:16,453 --> 00:24:19,723
The thirst, whatever you want to call it...
483
00:24:19,757 --> 00:24:21,592
that hunger is always there.
484
00:24:21,659 --> 00:24:23,662
(indistinct chatter)
485
00:24:26,230 --> 00:24:28,932
SHATNER: Is it possible that folklore about vampires
486
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,236
originated because of misunderstood
487
00:24:31,269 --> 00:24:34,172
or undiagnosed medical conditions?
488
00:24:34,204 --> 00:24:37,574
Or is a vampire's insatiable appetite for blood
489
00:24:37,642 --> 00:24:40,612
due to a supernatural hunger?
490
00:24:40,644 --> 00:24:44,748
Perhaps the answer can be found not by examining vampires
491
00:24:44,781 --> 00:24:47,351
but a different, and related,
492
00:24:47,384 --> 00:24:49,854
type of human monster.
493
00:24:49,921 --> 00:24:50,988
(growls, howling)
494
00:24:51,021 --> 00:24:52,823
Werewolves.
495
00:25:03,666 --> 00:25:07,137
SHATNER: Here, on 512 acres of rugged land,
496
00:25:07,171 --> 00:25:10,040
lies a remote cattle ranch.
497
00:25:11,142 --> 00:25:13,544
But according to local legend,
498
00:25:13,576 --> 00:25:16,381
this desert landscape is also home
499
00:25:16,413 --> 00:25:20,451
to a creature of unspeakable evil.
500
00:25:20,518 --> 00:25:23,188
A creature known as...
501
00:25:23,221 --> 00:25:25,757
the skinwalker.
502
00:25:25,789 --> 00:25:27,625
(man chanting)
503
00:25:27,659 --> 00:25:30,361
GERHARD: There are whisperings by the local Ute tribe
504
00:25:30,394 --> 00:25:32,864
that the region is essentially been cursed
505
00:25:32,930 --> 00:25:34,432
by the Navajo people.
506
00:25:34,465 --> 00:25:39,002
And that it is home to several skinwalkers,
507
00:25:39,037 --> 00:25:40,404
the yee naaldlooshii.
508
00:25:40,471 --> 00:25:42,507
They're typically witches or shaman
509
00:25:42,539 --> 00:25:46,144
that use black magic and evil arts
510
00:25:46,210 --> 00:25:49,847
in order to transform into the forms of various animals.
511
00:25:53,951 --> 00:25:56,119
(howling)
512
00:25:56,153 --> 00:25:58,756
The Utes to this day are very respectful.
513
00:25:58,788 --> 00:26:00,290
They're very mindful.
514
00:26:00,324 --> 00:26:02,027
Matter of fact, they stand at an arm's length
515
00:26:02,059 --> 00:26:03,994
from this ranch.
516
00:26:04,061 --> 00:26:07,197
They firmly believe that this ground is cursed
517
00:26:07,265 --> 00:26:10,201
and that this concentration of this phenomenon,
518
00:26:10,233 --> 00:26:13,537
this host, is on the Skinwalker Ranch.
519
00:26:13,570 --> 00:26:17,875
SKINNER: A skinwalker is a shape-shifter.
520
00:26:17,907 --> 00:26:21,311
It can become many things-- a fox, a coyote, a wolf.
521
00:26:21,345 --> 00:26:22,480
(snarling)
522
00:26:22,547 --> 00:26:24,649
There are these recorded stories
523
00:26:24,715 --> 00:26:27,251
of bipedal creatures that are walking around
524
00:26:27,285 --> 00:26:28,653
with wolflike heads.
525
00:26:28,686 --> 00:26:31,288
The locals on the reservation, they won't talk about it
526
00:26:31,321 --> 00:26:33,724
because even mentioning the name of the skinwalker
527
00:26:33,790 --> 00:26:35,692
invites these things in.
528
00:26:35,726 --> 00:26:38,429
(growling)
529
00:26:38,461 --> 00:26:40,364
SHATNER: Skinwalkers.
530
00:26:40,397 --> 00:26:42,966
Shape-shifting werewolves who dwell
531
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,804
not in remote forests of Eastern Europe
532
00:26:45,836 --> 00:26:50,375
but in the remote desert regions of North America.
533
00:26:57,015 --> 00:26:59,483
Experienced ranch hands Terry and Gwen Sherman
534
00:26:59,549 --> 00:27:01,685
purchase the ranch and the surrounding area.
535
00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:05,256
Almost immediately, they find themselves face-to-face
536
00:27:05,288 --> 00:27:07,858
with something they would later describe
537
00:27:07,892 --> 00:27:10,394
as pure evil.
538
00:27:10,428 --> 00:27:12,564
SKINNER: One day, Terry had gone up
539
00:27:12,596 --> 00:27:15,400
to check on his cattle and noticed this extremely large
540
00:27:15,432 --> 00:27:18,470
what appeared to be a wolf walking around his property.
541
00:27:18,536 --> 00:27:21,339
It grabbed one of the calves by the snout
542
00:27:21,372 --> 00:27:22,906
and began to tear at it.
543
00:27:22,940 --> 00:27:27,144
So he pulls out his .357 Magnum
544
00:27:27,178 --> 00:27:29,747
and shoots point-blank,
545
00:27:29,813 --> 00:27:31,549
and the wolf doesn't react.
546
00:27:31,615 --> 00:27:33,417
It doesn't appear fazed at all.
547
00:27:33,451 --> 00:27:36,421
So he grabs his deer hunting rifle
548
00:27:36,453 --> 00:27:38,588
and shoots the wolf to knock it down.
549
00:27:38,622 --> 00:27:40,224
(gunshot)
550
00:27:40,257 --> 00:27:43,394
A piece of fur and flesh flies off of the wolf.
551
00:27:43,461 --> 00:27:46,497
And again, completely unfazed,
552
00:27:46,564 --> 00:27:49,367
and at this point the wolf is kind of trotting off
553
00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:51,634
into the distance, casually.
554
00:27:51,669 --> 00:27:53,336
SHATNER: Leveling his rifle,
555
00:27:53,403 --> 00:27:56,707
Terry cautiously followed the wolf's trail,
556
00:27:56,740 --> 00:28:00,612
only to discover it had disappeared.
557
00:28:02,813 --> 00:28:04,882
In the days and weeks that followed,
558
00:28:04,914 --> 00:28:06,550
the Shermans began to wonder
559
00:28:06,616 --> 00:28:09,153
if what they encountered was a normal wolf
560
00:28:09,186 --> 00:28:11,955
or something more.
561
00:28:11,990 --> 00:28:14,025
(distant howling)
562
00:28:14,057 --> 00:28:16,394
SKINNER: In the case of the bulletproof wolf, what's interesting
563
00:28:16,426 --> 00:28:18,596
is that wolves are not native to the state of Utah
564
00:28:18,630 --> 00:28:20,798
for, I think, the past hundred years or so.
565
00:28:20,830 --> 00:28:22,366
(growling)
566
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:24,369
GERHARD: The werewolf of legend
567
00:28:24,402 --> 00:28:26,671
is described as looking very much
568
00:28:26,703 --> 00:28:29,605
like a regular wolf, except much larger.
569
00:28:29,673 --> 00:28:31,776
And, oftentimes, it is said to be
570
00:28:31,843 --> 00:28:34,245
sort of bloodthirsty and cunning.
571
00:28:34,278 --> 00:28:37,448
We have lots of interesting legends around the world.
572
00:28:37,513 --> 00:28:39,283
For example, in Russia,
573
00:28:39,317 --> 00:28:42,386
they're known as the vârcolac■ or the bodark.
574
00:28:42,452 --> 00:28:45,423
In France, you have the
575
00:28:42,452 --> 00:28:45,423
loup-garou;
576
00:28:45,455 --> 00:28:46,990
in Scotland, the wolver;
577
00:28:47,057 --> 00:28:50,326
and in South America, the lobizon.
578
00:28:50,394 --> 00:28:52,596
And even in countries where you don't traditionally have wolves,
579
00:28:52,630 --> 00:28:54,465
you have similar legends.
580
00:28:54,498 --> 00:28:57,668
For example, in India, there are weretigers.
581
00:28:57,701 --> 00:29:01,204
And in Africa, wereleopards and werehyenas.
582
00:29:01,239 --> 00:29:04,575
And even in Mexico, werejaguars.
583
00:29:04,608 --> 00:29:06,810
We have to acknowledge that the notion
584
00:29:06,876 --> 00:29:10,147
of a shape-shifter, like a werewolf,
585
00:29:10,181 --> 00:29:12,482
something that combines the elements of human
586
00:29:12,517 --> 00:29:14,818
and animal together into one single body,
587
00:29:14,852 --> 00:29:18,189
from a scientific perspective, is quite troubling.
588
00:29:18,222 --> 00:29:19,890
(growling, roars)
589
00:29:19,923 --> 00:29:22,426
But the fact that these legends are so widespread
590
00:29:22,460 --> 00:29:23,694
is quite intriguing.
591
00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,029
SHATNER: An enormous,
592
00:29:26,063 --> 00:29:28,766
bloodthirsty, cunning wolf
593
00:29:28,799 --> 00:29:31,634
that also happens to be bulletproof.
594
00:29:31,701 --> 00:29:34,337
Is it possible that the Shermans encountered
595
00:29:34,371 --> 00:29:36,307
one of the werewolves that may have been
596
00:29:36,339 --> 00:29:39,309
haunting Skinwalker Ranch for centuries?
597
00:29:39,343 --> 00:29:43,648
And if so, what physical evidence is there
598
00:29:43,681 --> 00:29:46,650
to support such a fantastic notion?
599
00:29:46,682 --> 00:29:50,253
SKINNER: There has been numerous reports of cattle mutilations
600
00:29:50,319 --> 00:29:52,423
that occur not only on Skinwalker Ranch
601
00:29:52,455 --> 00:29:54,424
but the entire Uinta Basin.
602
00:29:54,459 --> 00:29:55,727
GERHARD: Many of the accounts
603
00:29:55,759 --> 00:29:58,596
of animal mutilations from Skinwalker Ranch
604
00:29:58,630 --> 00:30:00,598
describe animal carcasses that have
605
00:30:00,631 --> 00:30:03,534
almost been surgically dissected.
606
00:30:03,567 --> 00:30:07,270
Certain large cats can make very clean, precise wounds.
607
00:30:07,304 --> 00:30:09,774
Things like mountain lions.
608
00:30:09,807 --> 00:30:12,844
But it is notable that you have so many accounts
609
00:30:12,911 --> 00:30:17,148
of weird livestock mutilations from Skinwalker Ranch.
610
00:30:17,181 --> 00:30:22,653
It's very hard to explain in terms of the natural world.
611
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:26,857
SHATNER: With so many accounts of cattle mutilations
612
00:30:26,924 --> 00:30:31,128
and sightings of unusually large and ferocious wolves,
613
00:30:31,162 --> 00:30:34,832
it is difficult to escape the notion that something strange
614
00:30:34,865 --> 00:30:37,602
is prowling the grounds of Skinwalker Ranch.
615
00:30:37,634 --> 00:30:40,269
But, according to some scientists,
616
00:30:40,304 --> 00:30:43,040
that doesn't necessarily mean
617
00:30:43,073 --> 00:30:45,676
that people are seeing a werewolf.
618
00:30:45,742 --> 00:30:48,511
One of the really fascinating theories
619
00:30:48,546 --> 00:30:52,182
that relates to these monstrous wolves from Skinwalker Ranch
620
00:30:52,215 --> 00:30:55,619
is that these could, in fact, be surviving representatives
621
00:30:55,653 --> 00:30:59,256
of a species known as dire wolves, Canis dirus.
622
00:30:59,288 --> 00:31:02,826
These were very robust wolves that lived
623
00:31:02,859 --> 00:31:06,830
during the Pleistocene epoch up until about 11,500 years ago,
624
00:31:06,865 --> 00:31:09,032
and they were very prevalent in North America.
625
00:31:09,066 --> 00:31:12,903
They were certainly much larger and stockier than modern wolves.
626
00:31:12,970 --> 00:31:15,506
So it's not beyond the realm of possibility
627
00:31:15,539 --> 00:31:17,942
that a species from 11,000 years ago
628
00:31:18,009 --> 00:31:20,510
may have survived in small pockets
629
00:31:20,544 --> 00:31:23,514
in certain remote areas of North America.
630
00:31:23,548 --> 00:31:26,017
Perhaps the most powerful story
631
00:31:26,049 --> 00:31:29,721
I have personally experienced at the ranch:
632
00:31:29,753 --> 00:31:31,988
I came out with another researcher.
633
00:31:32,022 --> 00:31:34,858
We had gone out there for almost two weeks straight.
634
00:31:34,892 --> 00:31:37,528
We found nothing each night.
635
00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:39,996
And then we peeked over the ridgeline.
636
00:31:40,064 --> 00:31:42,466
It's called Skinwalker Ridge.
637
00:31:42,499 --> 00:31:45,169
There was these balls of light in the field.
638
00:31:45,236 --> 00:31:47,371
They were glowing and shrinking down.
639
00:31:47,438 --> 00:31:50,207
And suddenly a ball of light exploded.
640
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:54,679
And from the light, a very, very large wolf came towards us.
641
00:31:54,711 --> 00:31:57,213
This thing is literally right in front of us.
642
00:31:57,248 --> 00:32:00,518
It seemed very comfortable, almost as if it was studying us.
643
00:32:00,550 --> 00:32:03,053
And then it casually turned around
644
00:32:03,086 --> 00:32:05,623
and walked around this boulder and vanished.
645
00:32:05,656 --> 00:32:08,425
It was gone.
646
00:32:10,094 --> 00:32:12,763
This is an actual creature that haunts the property
647
00:32:12,796 --> 00:32:14,132
and the surrounding area.
648
00:32:15,666 --> 00:32:17,769
It's out there.
649
00:32:17,801 --> 00:32:19,836
(wolf growls)
650
00:32:19,903 --> 00:32:23,907
If the skinwalker does exist,
651
00:32:23,941 --> 00:32:27,411
could it be just some kind of rare breed of canine
652
00:32:27,478 --> 00:32:29,547
that simply hasn't been identified yet
653
00:32:29,579 --> 00:32:31,081
by mainstream science?
654
00:32:31,147 --> 00:32:34,183
Or could it be exactly
655
00:32:34,250 --> 00:32:37,153
what those who've encountered one insist it is,
656
00:32:37,186 --> 00:32:39,490
a shape-shifting werewolf?
657
00:32:39,522 --> 00:32:43,993
Perhaps the answer can be found by examining a group of people
658
00:32:44,027 --> 00:32:46,596
who are afflicted by a rare
659
00:32:46,663 --> 00:32:52,170
and mysterious condition known as "werewolf syndrome."
660
00:33:03,346 --> 00:33:05,950
SHATNER: After giving birth to five daughters,
661
00:33:06,017 --> 00:33:07,585
Parvatibai Patidor
662
00:33:07,617 --> 00:33:09,785
and her husband are overjoyed to find out
663
00:33:09,819 --> 00:33:11,855
that she is once again pregnant,
664
00:33:11,888 --> 00:33:15,358
this time with a boy.
665
00:33:15,392 --> 00:33:18,295
But when their son, Lalit, is finally born,
666
00:33:18,327 --> 00:33:20,830
the joy turns to shock
667
00:33:20,865 --> 00:33:23,634
because Lalit is very different
668
00:33:23,666 --> 00:33:25,435
from the couple's other children,
669
00:33:25,501 --> 00:33:29,473
and it's not because he's the couple's first male child.
670
00:33:31,209 --> 00:33:33,911
Lalit was born with a rare congenital condition
671
00:33:33,943 --> 00:33:35,878
known as hypertrichosis,
672
00:33:35,945 --> 00:33:40,317
a genetic mutation which causes excess hair growth
673
00:33:40,351 --> 00:33:42,520
all over the body.
674
00:33:42,553 --> 00:33:47,492
People have often referred to hypertrichosis by another name:
675
00:33:47,525 --> 00:33:50,094
"werewolf syndrome."
676
00:33:50,161 --> 00:33:52,429
ROSENSTOCK: In the case of hypertrichosis,
677
00:33:52,462 --> 00:33:56,099
you can have a tremendous amount of hair either on your face
678
00:33:56,166 --> 00:33:58,701
or on your arm or another part of the body
679
00:33:58,734 --> 00:34:00,471
that almost looks like fur.
680
00:34:00,503 --> 00:34:04,509
That is just a rare kind of mutation,
681
00:34:04,575 --> 00:34:07,311
and people would right away jump to a conclusion,
682
00:34:07,344 --> 00:34:08,378
this is a wolf.
683
00:34:11,648 --> 00:34:15,586
SHATNER: Could the age-old tales about werewolves
684
00:34:15,652 --> 00:34:18,188
simply be due to ancient ignorance
685
00:34:18,221 --> 00:34:20,257
about genetic mutations?
686
00:34:20,291 --> 00:34:24,094
GERHARD: Centuries ago, there were all types of monsters.
687
00:34:24,128 --> 00:34:25,896
These were generally people that were born
688
00:34:25,929 --> 00:34:28,566
with different genetic deformities
689
00:34:28,599 --> 00:34:30,468
or congenital defects.
690
00:34:30,501 --> 00:34:32,669
You have things such as atavisms.
691
00:34:32,702 --> 00:34:36,840
An atavism is an ancient trait that surfaces randomly.
692
00:34:36,873 --> 00:34:40,043
For example, there are humans that are born with tails.
693
00:34:40,077 --> 00:34:42,379
It's very rare, but it does happen.
694
00:34:42,411 --> 00:34:46,116
SHATNER: Some believe the reason we're so intensely fascinated
695
00:34:46,182 --> 00:34:50,420
by such physical deformities is that they give a face
696
00:34:50,454 --> 00:34:52,690
to our innermost fear.
697
00:34:52,722 --> 00:34:55,558
I think it's human nature for people to fear
698
00:34:55,592 --> 00:34:57,126
what they don't understand.
699
00:34:57,161 --> 00:34:59,929
So, in that respect, when someone encounters
700
00:34:59,963 --> 00:35:02,298
an individual with hypertrichosis,
701
00:35:02,365 --> 00:35:07,271
it's very easy to sort of build that person into a monster.
702
00:35:11,275 --> 00:35:14,711
SKAL: In the 19th century, the sideshow, the freak show,
703
00:35:14,744 --> 00:35:19,683
was a very big part of, uh, American popular culture.
704
00:35:21,318 --> 00:35:24,288
GERHARD: P.T. Barnum exploited many of these people
705
00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:26,690
that were born with different congenital defects.
706
00:35:28,659 --> 00:35:32,296
SKAL: When the first cases of werewolf syndrome showed up,
707
00:35:32,329 --> 00:35:35,666
these people were immediately put on, um, display.
708
00:35:35,699 --> 00:35:40,070
GERHARD: One of the most popular was named "JoJo the Dog-Faced Boy."
709
00:35:40,137 --> 00:35:41,806
Certainly easy to understand
710
00:35:41,838 --> 00:35:44,909
how people visiting these freak shows
711
00:35:44,942 --> 00:35:47,210
may have been inspired to believe
712
00:35:47,277 --> 00:35:50,413
that things like werewolves could exist.
713
00:35:50,447 --> 00:35:52,817
We like things to be orderly,
714
00:35:52,884 --> 00:35:56,186
and people that have unfortunate appearances...
715
00:35:56,219 --> 00:35:58,988
Well, is that man, or is it a woman?
716
00:35:59,021 --> 00:36:01,958
Is that a human, or is it a wolf?
717
00:36:01,992 --> 00:36:04,695
That is a very distressing thing for many people,
718
00:36:04,728 --> 00:36:07,498
and one of the things that comes out are stories.
719
00:36:09,032 --> 00:36:11,034
Folklore comes out of this kind of thing
720
00:36:11,101 --> 00:36:14,403
where we have a person that could shift back and forth
721
00:36:14,438 --> 00:36:17,175
between being a wolf and being an ordinary shop clerk.
722
00:36:18,608 --> 00:36:20,544
GERHARD: In terms of werewolf hysteria,
723
00:36:20,577 --> 00:36:22,612
one truly has to wonder if some of these
724
00:36:22,646 --> 00:36:25,516
could be monsters of the mind.
725
00:36:25,548 --> 00:36:29,085
For example, you have something called "clinical lycanthropy,"
726
00:36:29,119 --> 00:36:31,454
a very rare psychosis
727
00:36:31,487 --> 00:36:34,157
whereby an individual feels like
728
00:36:34,190 --> 00:36:36,959
they are actually transforming into an animal.
729
00:36:36,992 --> 00:36:41,163
ROSENSTOCK: You're operating as if you're an animal.
730
00:36:41,197 --> 00:36:43,333
Sexual instincts, sexual behaviors,
731
00:36:43,365 --> 00:36:45,402
and so on, attacking.
732
00:36:46,637 --> 00:36:49,640
It's a way of cooling down
733
00:36:49,672 --> 00:36:52,041
the engine of aggression,
734
00:36:52,074 --> 00:36:53,943
and it can be physical aggression,
735
00:36:53,976 --> 00:36:55,578
it can be sexual aggression,
736
00:36:55,612 --> 00:37:01,117
and it gets into contact with early, early primitive things
737
00:37:01,184 --> 00:37:03,853
that maybe we are carrying with us
738
00:37:03,887 --> 00:37:05,423
over many generations.
739
00:37:07,724 --> 00:37:11,193
SHATNER: If it's true that monsters, like vampires and werewolves,
740
00:37:11,228 --> 00:37:14,130
really are just projections of the mind,
741
00:37:14,164 --> 00:37:17,134
what exactly is it about ourselves
742
00:37:17,166 --> 00:37:20,804
that we're so afraid of?
743
00:37:20,836 --> 00:37:24,173
Every human being has a primitive side.
744
00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:27,443
There is a beast, there is a wolf,
745
00:37:27,510 --> 00:37:32,182
there is a monster somewhere in all of our unconscious minds.
746
00:37:32,215 --> 00:37:35,751
YOUNG: We think of ourselves as distant from the beasts,
747
00:37:35,818 --> 00:37:38,221
but we're more beast than intelligence.
748
00:37:38,255 --> 00:37:42,092
We are creatures, we are animals, we are beasts,
749
00:37:42,125 --> 00:37:45,028
and the beast will come out.
750
00:37:45,061 --> 00:37:48,598
We have to be in touch with the inner werewolf.
751
00:37:50,867 --> 00:37:54,038
SHATNER: Is it possible that our morbid fascination
752
00:37:54,103 --> 00:37:56,505
with vampires and werewolves
753
00:37:56,539 --> 00:37:59,976
actually arises out of a fear that there's a monster
754
00:38:00,010 --> 00:38:02,580
lurking inside each of us,
755
00:38:02,646 --> 00:38:06,717
just waiting to break free at any moment?
756
00:38:06,784 --> 00:38:11,121
Perhaps, but there are many who claim that our attraction
757
00:38:11,153 --> 00:38:14,958
to these creatures isn't about fear at all
758
00:38:14,992 --> 00:38:17,862
but about desire.
759
00:38:27,905 --> 00:38:32,009
SHATNER: Bram Stoker's literary masterpiece Dracula
760
00:38:32,041 --> 00:38:33,911
is published to critical acclaim.
761
00:38:33,943 --> 00:38:38,949
It will go on to sell tens of millions of copies worldwide
762
00:38:38,983 --> 00:38:43,086
and redefine both vampire and werewolf legends
763
00:38:43,152 --> 00:38:45,455
for generations to come.
764
00:38:45,521 --> 00:38:48,391
According to some scholars,
765
00:38:48,458 --> 00:38:51,360
the reason it became so influential and successful
766
00:38:51,394 --> 00:38:54,097
wasn't because it was just selling horror
767
00:38:54,164 --> 00:38:55,966
but because it was selling...
768
00:38:58,467 --> 00:38:59,736
...sex.
769
00:39:01,338 --> 00:39:03,340
SKAL: Human beings have always needed
770
00:39:03,373 --> 00:39:07,443
fantasy constructs that can act out impulses
771
00:39:07,510 --> 00:39:09,980
that we would like to do ourselves
772
00:39:10,012 --> 00:39:12,817
but would rather just imagine ourselves doing.
773
00:39:14,952 --> 00:39:17,187
And that fantasy of being released
774
00:39:17,219 --> 00:39:20,690
from all constraints and strictures
775
00:39:20,724 --> 00:39:24,862
is something vampires get to do, and we are envious.
776
00:39:24,929 --> 00:39:27,298
CRANDLE: I think there are many reasons
777
00:39:27,364 --> 00:39:29,199
people want to identify as vampires.
778
00:39:29,233 --> 00:39:31,935
Definitely the sexual aspect, the eternal life.
779
00:39:32,001 --> 00:39:33,570
I mean, who wouldn't want that?
780
00:39:33,603 --> 00:39:35,806
And also the power that comes with it.
781
00:39:35,838 --> 00:39:40,409
It's a dangerous creature that's beautiful.
782
00:39:40,443 --> 00:39:43,313
LAYCOCK: Originally, you became a vampire
783
00:39:43,347 --> 00:39:48,051
if you did something like commit incest or witchcraft or suicide.
784
00:39:48,085 --> 00:39:52,155
Vampires were horrible, evil outsiders.
785
00:39:52,222 --> 00:39:54,592
But today, things have changed.
786
00:39:56,025 --> 00:39:58,428
We all feel misunderstood.
787
00:39:58,494 --> 00:40:01,797
We all feel like outsiders, just as the vampire is.
788
00:40:01,831 --> 00:40:03,933
So instead of becoming a-a demonic figure,
789
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,335
it's become a tragic one
790
00:40:06,369 --> 00:40:08,806
and, in some cases, even a glamorous figure.
791
00:40:11,175 --> 00:40:13,610
We have a need, a desire,
792
00:40:13,643 --> 00:40:16,545
for these sort of creatures of the night.
793
00:40:16,579 --> 00:40:20,115
Blood drinking is viewed as kind of a bonding experience,
794
00:40:20,182 --> 00:40:22,418
a way for people to interconnect.
795
00:40:22,452 --> 00:40:24,788
There is a degree of intimacy there,
796
00:40:24,822 --> 00:40:30,227
a sexuality in sharing one's vital life force, one's blood.
797
00:40:30,260 --> 00:40:32,530
There's a particular bond that can be forged there
798
00:40:32,596 --> 00:40:34,931
that is really beyond explanation.
799
00:40:34,965 --> 00:40:36,901
YOUNG: The fantasy that a human
800
00:40:36,934 --> 00:40:39,470
turns into a wolf and back again,
801
00:40:39,503 --> 00:40:42,905
well, it illustrates one key mythological truth:
802
00:40:42,972 --> 00:40:47,411
we are animals, we are beasts, and we're humans.
803
00:40:47,443 --> 00:40:52,282
We're both at the same time, and we live in that tension.
804
00:40:52,315 --> 00:40:54,952
SKAL: People are always asking me,
805
00:40:55,018 --> 00:40:57,822
"Why don't vampires reflect in mirrors?"
806
00:40:57,855 --> 00:41:01,324
And there's a very good and direct answer to that.
807
00:41:01,358 --> 00:41:04,961
If they did, we would see our own faces.
808
00:41:04,994 --> 00:41:07,297
GERHARD: It shows that,
809
00:41:07,331 --> 00:41:09,199
even if they are completely disproven,
810
00:41:09,233 --> 00:41:12,635
I think vampires and werewolves will always be with us
811
00:41:12,670 --> 00:41:14,704
because they're a part of who we are.
812
00:41:15,972 --> 00:41:17,507
SHATNER: For hundreds of years,
813
00:41:17,541 --> 00:41:19,676
they have been portrayed in literature and on film
814
00:41:19,708 --> 00:41:23,713
as fiercely intelligent, sexually powerful
815
00:41:23,746 --> 00:41:26,515
and immortal creatures.
816
00:41:26,550 --> 00:41:30,320
They have prayed on our innermost fears
817
00:41:30,353 --> 00:41:33,456
and haunted our darkest desires.
818
00:41:35,826 --> 00:41:40,130
Vampires promise us a future of never-aging immortality.
819
00:41:40,197 --> 00:41:43,465
That is, if we don't mind the taste of a little human blood.
820
00:41:43,500 --> 00:41:46,202
Werewolves represent our collective desire
821
00:41:46,268 --> 00:41:49,672
to break free of society's restrictions.
822
00:41:49,706 --> 00:41:54,711
And together, they remind us of the aspects of our own nature
823
00:41:54,744 --> 00:42:00,483
that we try to keep hidden and safely unexplained.
64619
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