The Gruesome History of Real Life Vampire Hunting

[@KazRowe]

Don't forget to check out Care/of, and let me know what sort of habits you're doing in your wellness routine to keep the vampires away~

[@SaintShion]

How many college roommates did you have? They keep coming

[@gaywizard2000]

Eat a lot of garlic but these days vampires are mostly found in KZbin comments, sniping and trolling, using all my energy on witty comebacks!

[@KazRowe]

@@SaintShion There's actually two more I haven't even shown yet hahahaha

[@Daniel-wr7yh]

Brush and floss daily and routinely dig up random corpses to make sure everything is on the up and up

[@mhm77887]

I make sure to stay pale, I also dont try to fix (or dont succeed at fixing) my sleep schedule to keep my dark circles, that way vamipres will think I am one of them and leave me alone.

[@MariaEduarda-uc6gt]

the part about medieval dead people getting up to do chores is killing me, imagine rising from the grave and the first thing you do is laundry

[@BeeLZBeeb]

I often link ironing to the phrase “over my dead body” If only I’d known it meant I’d be stuck catching up on it after death.

[@Ren_idk]

imagine visiting someone's grave and out of nowhere they just come out of the dirt and be like "I FORGOT TO THROW THE TRASH!"

[@AllegedlyHuman]

A muffled cry sounds from beneath the dirt. "Shit! I forgot to hang up the laundry!" you faintly hear before the ground begins to move, erupting in a shower of dirt as a hand emerges, filthy and pale. Transfixed, you can only stare in as your Uncle Bernard claws his way out of the soil. He died two months ago. "I *told* you, son. Bernie never was one to leave a job unfinished," your father says sagely, serene as can be with his pipe in his mouth, and you can only nod mutely in return. Apparently, 'over my dead body' was to be taken in the literal sense. Absently, you begin to wonder what task *you* should set for your own corpse...

[@jaymartin8273]

Zombie crawls of out grave, arms outstretched. "Taxes....must...file...taxes!" :=)

[@crg4183]

Laundry is important...too........... ❤❤😅

[@EnnameMori]

Quick explanation from me, a medievalist, about how these stories travelled. Contrary to received opinion, medieval people were really quite mobile. They went on pilgrimage (hundreds and thousands of them), trade routes, diplomats, crusades, etc. There were lots of story tellers moving too: trouveres, bards. Even preachers would travel, picking up folk stories and wrapping them into sermons. Word may still go slow, but it absolutely went! Medieval people LOVED a good story and were hot on for necromancy.

[@grimble4564]

This. Some portion of society has always been concerned with travel and connecting communities that were either close by or even far away. Even Neolithic Europe was shockingly well connected. Baltic amber made it all the way to the Mediterranean and tin mined in the British isles made it all the way to eastern Europe. Some of the people buried at Neolithic ritual sites in England were originally born on the continent. People have always got around.

[@k80_]

Yes! I watch welsh Jimmy quite a lot (must be a big overlap in audience between welsh Viking and kaz, they’re kinda the same “genre” of guy), and I love his focus on globalization and multiculturalism in the medieval period. Especially the influence of Islamic science in europe

[@kaypgirl]

@@k80_ Do you mean The Welsh Viking's channel, or is there some other Welsh guy named Jimmy with a history KZbin channel?

[@fennten8338]

thats the most pretentious fucking way to introduce yourself, calm your meDiEvAliSt ass down

[@EnnameMori]

@@fennten8338 Oh sorry, should I have gone with 'Professor of History' instead? Fuck off with your insecurities.

[@conwaytwittyer2667]

*I can't believe you forgot to mention the legendary vampire hunter, Abraham Lincoln. I mean they made a whole documentary about him and everything, I highly recommend it.*

[@littleman4810]

You can’t believe everything you read on the internet - Abraham Lincoln

[@conwaytwittyer2667]

@@littleman4810 Yes, I pronounce it psghetti, is there any other way to pronounce it!? - Ben Franklin

[@lyllydd]

You know he also went on to fight zombies, right?

[@joezar33]

Wtf ? Thought that was just some random Hollyweird movie ? Don't tell me that some weird ass Folklore myth that dates back around that timeline Lincoln was around ?

[@listenhere2006]

Abraham also was king of mars

[@pipers_river]

This was a fantastic video! I joke that I'm a vampire - I am literally allergic to sunlight. 🧛🏻‍♀ I have Solar Urticaria, a rare allergy to UV-A, UV-B, and probably Infrared and Visible light. I get itchy red hives when I expose my skin to sunlight (or fluorescent lights) along with other fun anaphylaxis symptoms: nausea, headaches, feeling weak, hand tremors and elevated heart rate. Basically, there is no safe level of sun exposure for me. I now have a large collection of vintage gloves to go with my late Victorian/Edwardian style shirtwaists. Sadly, this disorder does not give me the power to turn into a bat. 🦇 It makes so much sense that photosensitivity disorders like Solar Urticaria, Porphyria, and Polymorphous Light Eruptions are the basis of the idea that vampires burn or combust in the sun. My hives appear within about 2 mins of sun exposure. It certainly feels like my skin is sizzling even if it's not actually producing smoke. 😂

[@CordeliaWagner]

Greatings from a Gothic Lolita who just wants to be as pale as possible. I wear gloves because the delicate skin on the hands ages faster. Sunlight is so damaging for most people's skin. It leads to premature aging and I personally found tanned skin never appealing. Does Sunscreen with UV blockers help your condition?

[@pipers_river]

​@@CordeliaWagner Hi there. Love the gothic Lolita vibes!! Definitely watch out for Vitamin D deficiency if you're covering up all the time. My doctor put me on daily Vitamin D supplements a while ago because my levels were practically 0. 😂 Unfortunately and perhaps ironically, sunscreen doesn't really help me much. Basically, it helps me when the UV is below 5 but doesn't do anything when the level is above that. I get the rashes and other symptoms even when I'm covered in sunscreen and head to toe in denim or UPF50+ fabrics. Unhelpfully I am allergic to or irritated by about 80% of the sunscreens on the market. Most sunscreens make my skin sting or burn or my eyes red and puffy. Same thing with moisturisers and makeup. (Though I've managed to find a lot of things that I can wear). Despite this I do wear sunscreen daily! I found that covering up as much as possible with clothes and accessories helps with preventing the itchy rashes but not the burning pain. Autumn and Winter are definitely my favourite times of year! In winter the UV is so low that it doesn't hurt me. 😊 I had an epiphany earlier this year when I realised that the reason that other people get sunburnt so easily is because they don't feel it while it's happening. I feel the sun all of the time! I was like oh my goodness everything makes so much more sense now.

[@madeleinegulas2273]

I joke sometimes that my ex girlfriend is a vampire. Not in a mean way. She had an allergy to sunlight too. I myself developed a skin condition on my hands that made contact with anything water or liquid based highly uncomfortable for over a year. Thankfully it has resolved for the time being. Take care. Skin conditions can be quite a trial.

[@bananawitchcraft]

I have olive skin that's really hard to burn. I've had two sunburns in over 30 years of being alive. But it caused me to slack off on wearing sunscreen, and now I'm starting to regret that. I think medium skin tones are kind of in a danger zone, where you don't burn easily, but also don't have as much natural protection as those with dark skin.

[@user-fw6xs5ko6g]

Hey! I have the exact same symptoms and I can only go out with a sun umbrella, beetle juice has helped me A LOT because now I do not get the extremely weak feeling so fast. It takes longer now. But uh if we could exchange a bit of Information because I haven‘t really met someone with the same problems (if it is the same i am still unsure)

[@RavenDreamer]

I recently read in the book 'A Taste for Poison: Eleven deadly substances and the killers who used them' by Neil Bradbury, that arsenic may have contributed to the Vampire Myth, arsenic kills the bacteria that breaks down a body after death so corpses what take much much longer to break down if there was enough arsenic in the body

[@IfWiccanYouCan]

“People just can’t hold their arsenic” 😂

[@carna-9501]

Thats why it was used in embalming before formaldehyde was widely available

[@esmeraldaloschuetz9120]

Hey! Question: Would you recommend the book, was it a fun read? Sounds like a good gift for my morbid-leaning bestie.

[@jaketheripper7385]

​@@esmeraldaloschuetz9120Absolutely, they'll love it!

[@jaketheripper7385]

Quite true indeed. I wonder too if this same effect could be achieved if not otherwise greatly exacerbated purely due to arsenic levels in the surrounding soil in which a corpse had been buried/entombed. Almost all soil contains arsenic at some detectable level, but depending on the region it can contain some very high concentrations...

[@weirdandproudofit1]

I'm romanian and find anything surrounding Dracula very ... difficult to engage with but can I say how brilliantly you handled this. And well done for pronouncing moroi like you did!

[@euansmith3699]

The switch from misty Transylvanian mountains, to the foggy fields of New England, certainly gives a different feel to the Vampire nonsense 😊👍

[@hPnpeeble]

always love to see a fellow Romanian in a random yt comments section 🤝

[@Lazarus1095]

I'm still waiting for a great Romanian horror novel featuring George Washington as an inhuman monster. Don't disappoint me, weirdandproudofit!

[@merrittanimation7721]

@BK Beatty Are you sure you're not confusing that with the Whiskey Rebellion?

[@euansmith3699]

@@hPnpeeble "Random Rumanian" sounds like a great name for a garage band.

[@Miserycordya]

When my dad was a teenager in the 1960s, he left Portugal to be able to provide for his sisters and to get away from the dictatorship. He ended up living in France in a cramped apartment with a group of other Portuguese young men. There was an elderly French woman who constantly snarled at them, accusing them of being "vampire goats" (🤷‍♀️) - partly because they worked all night and slept all day in a cramped dark apartment, and partly because.. you know... foreigners.

[@froggywithaheart]

that's a completely different kind of racism lol

[@Mrgasdos]

Essa história foi muito boa kkkkkk

[@spookylittlebat]

Vampire goats 😆

[@micaelamorrigan2544]

​@spookylittlebat5208 yeah, where did the goat part come from? 😂

[@ash_eats_film]

It’s ILLEGAL how beautifully cinematic the beginning is ❤

[@jameshughes525]

Fanboy

[@sailorpsyched]

@@jameshughes525 who cares?

[@certaindeathawaits]

@@jameshughes525 It's called a compliment

[@jameshughes525]

@@sailorpsyched 😁

[@GwydionFrost]

The Vampyre, a short story by Dr. John William Polidori, predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by nearly a century, and is considered by many to be the inspiration for that novel. Fun fact: it came into being over the same weekend of debauchery that spawned the novel Frankenstein, when the Shellys came to visit Lord Byron.

[@CordeliaWagner]

This circle of people had such a deep influence on literature. I had a fictional novel about Byron being a vampire himself. It was a great build up, beautifully written. Sadly a rushed not rewarding ending. But the good thing is all stories leave room for personal interpretationand can fuel your own fantasy.

[@GwydionFrost]

@@CordeliaWagner That novel still sits on my bookshelf. And I agree with your critique of it.

[@sarahrobertson634]

They did a bunch of drugs and had a bunch of sex that weekend, and got all inspired and literary and shit.

[@deirenne]

I so so so love both the eerie and surreal background for their literary challenge and the novels that very born in it, both about surprisingly similar [animated corpse and what makes a human human] yet so different premises

[@Pepperthecory]

I’ve heard the same about Carmilla as well

[@fitandhappy42]

To anyone who’s not seen it yet I fully recommend Caitlin Doughty’s “The American Vampire Panic” as a great accompanying video to this one, it goes into more detail about the New England cases, as well as having additional information on the role played by decomposition in these stories. One little titbit it had that didn’t come up here, Mercy Brown died during winter, so not only was her burial much more recent than the other women, she had basically been held in cold storage within a stone tomb to wait for the ground to be soft enough to bury her at all.

[@eireduchess]

Absolutely loved this video. The New England vampire 'crisis' slash tuberculosis epidemic is a fascinating time in world history and it's so easy to see how those thoughts and beliefs have become our 'popular' vampire lore today. Especially when you look at how Bram Stoker influenced popular culture and how Dracula is still our go to for vampire lore. Ask a Mortician has a video on the New England Crisis as well for anyone who wants to learn a little more about it in particular

[@cloudsombrero]

No link?

[@missvioletnightchild2515]

@@cloudsombrero kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpapdINsbtmlhas there ya go

[@k.s.k.7721]

All of Caitlin's videos on death, dying, burials, etc are excellent - she also has 2 TED talks and has written 3 books on the subject.

[@meganf35]

Came here to mention Caitlyn’s video it’s so good!!

[@sweettooth_dragon9501]

A Kaz and Caitlin crossover would be such a dream team.

[@strawmanarmy152]

I am laying here recovering from a motorcycle accident involving a deer and this made my day so much better. Always look forward to your content!

[@jessicaclakley3691]

Oh man, sorry about your accident! Sending you healing thoughts

[@SaintShion]

Hope you have a full recovery!

[@universal_stupidity]

man I'm sorry, deer are dangerous

[@marigold_____]

Oh my god i hope your better now. That is horrible ❤❤❤❤

[@BloodyVulnona]

A Deer on a motorcycle?!

[@Karragh]

This was honestly a lot less grim than I was expecting. "real life vampire hunting", I was really worried this was going to be a history of innocent people being murdered under suspicion that they were vampires or something.

[@thelestrangelair]

Ah well, maybe next time, lol.

[@MillieBee11]

Absolutely WILD to me that people are passing off those vampire hunting kits as genuine antiques. I've only ever seen them as novelty/decorative items at steampunk craft stalls. Even funnier when you consider that, in Dracula, none of the characters have or use a vampire hunting kit. The closest equivalent is Van Helsing's medical bag, which is essentially a first aid kit with a hammer and stake hastily stuffed inside.

[@ollie5396]

now i know this might sound stupid, but when you gave Rroma the representation we need by talking about the racial background of europeans associating rroma/ jewish with Dracula and vampires i nearly cried. thank you :)

[@sofdemi8042]

💕

[@KylaRen]

same

[@alicemirga2435]

This! Just hearing someone use the word "roma" is so refreshing being an American

[@matrixiekitty2127]

Someone PLEASE make a horror short film around Mercy Brown! Not just because of the horrifying thought that these people believed she was a vampire, but I don’t think we dwelled enough on the horror of her brother LITERALLY EATING THR ASHES OF HER HEART AND LIVER!! I can’t even imagine how horrifying it is to not only be dying, but then have your dead family exhumed by your paranoid town, your sister being pinned as a vampire sucking your life force, and then you have to eat her remains as a cure for the illness. WTF!!

[@thelestrangelair]

I'd be surprised if there weren't books, now I need to go look. But I'd totally watch a show.

[@sofie3221]

What I find so interesting about this is the fact that most, if not all of the ways dead bodies were considered to be vampires were just the really weird funky ways in which the human body decomposes. Like the body making a noise when they stabbed it: putrefaction. The hair and nails growing longer: also putrefaction. Our bodies are kinda gross when they decompose, and I’m sure the everyday reaction to such a gross unknown was to double down on preexisting myths.

[@zoh9322]

As a Rhode Islander, it was really cool to see the Mercy Brown vampire story covered!

[@Gargoyle_Guy]

i believe ask a mortician also did a video on it

[@cruizlee214]

Stand anywhere in rhode island. Throw a football in any direction. That football landed on a vampire grave, a dunkin donuts, or both.

[@mcjohn5420]

The thinly-disguised replacement theory of "Dracula" has always bugged me. Stoker was true-blue Irish and supported Irish independence, but spent pretty much the entirety of his [non-literary] career living and working in England. That the Irish had been horribly mistreated under English rule, and blamed for the oppression their overlords lavished on them, cannot possibly have escaped the consciousness of anyone in Western Europe with at least two working brain cells. So... why the stereotypes about the poor oppressed people of Eastern Europe? Was Stoker trying to shift homicidal bigotry off the shoulders of his own countryfolk onto the immigrant population? Did he think Eastern Europeans were muscling in on the jobs in England that the Irish had taken half a century to haul their way into? Did he want to look more English than the English? Kapo? Enforcer? Consigliare? Wannabe? What gives here, Bram?

[@brushdogart]

Perhaps it is better to look at Dracula as a representation of a corrupt aristocratic class that lives off of the blood of others, literally. In that view Dracula serves a double purpose in both pointing the finger at the blood sucking aristocrats who were sucking Ireland dry and a bit of vengeance in having Dracula target the very aristocrats who were causing so much suffering. Having Dracula be from an eastern European kingdom could be seen as both a nod to the origins of the vampire mythology and yet another dig at the English aristocratic class. Think of how the English upper class welcomes Dracula into their homes and social circles as an exciting curiosity. This was an accurate depiction of how the English treated "lesser nobles" from "backwards kingdoms" and it was not unheard of for con-men to pretend to be eastern European nobles in order to gain access to the inner circles of English society.

[@00muinamir]

The kyriarchy is a helluva drug.

[@sofdemi8042]

Some great food for thought. My take is that just because an individual has faced discrimination doesn't mean they can't perpetuate stereotypes & discrimination onto others. This is especially true if the person isn't consciously aware of how discrimination affects themselves & others. We also have to remember that being aware & actively opposed of such things is much more common nowadays than it was in the past.

[@peterwindhorst5775]

There is a little clue -> if you are a famous Irish author, there is a 90% chance you don't live in Ireland long, usually moving to London.

[@iggysmice3087]

There's a phenomenon you see across US immigration history, and immigration to colonizer nations in general in which populations of immigrants and their kids become markedly more bigoted than their peers in the home country ever were once they immigrate. Usually they target a group that they can "other" and who the dominant culture already dislike. In the US it was usually Irish or Chinese immigrants becoming extremely anti-black. It might be a similar case here- an attempt to fit in by becoming outspokenly oppressive towards other marginalized groups, to sort of "shift the blame" onto them. Basically, Stoker probably tried to get in the English social "good books" despite being an Irishman by openly disparaging the "barely even white" Romanians. This never works to improve the immigrants' statuses as their lack of bigotry was never the problem to start with, especially in the case of any nonwhite immigrant group, and Irish were not considered white at the time, but almost every one of them tried. Assimilation via Oppression, I've heard it called.

[@drewjay8940]

I grew up in Erie, PA and we had our own vampire story. There's a crypt in the local cemetery with a V above the door, and supposedly no one knows what it stands for. People have filled in that it's because there's a vampire inside. The story goes that one teenager made a bet that his friend was too scared to go inside. The second friend took the bet, went in, and immediately left because of the smell. The body wasn't in a casket, it was just laying on a slab in the middle of the floor. The went back in, and to prove he had done it, he took a ring from the vampire's finger. The next day, they found that kid dead of shock with a look of terror on his face. The ring was gone, and so was his entire ring finger.

[@d00dlep00dle]

I’ve heard of this!!!! Scrolled down and got jumpscared with my hometown lol. I actually don’t even think I got told the full story, just that a vampire lived there and he was missing a finger lol. I live pretty close to the cemetery but have never actually gone far enough inside to see that crypt-the mystique around it does make me wanna walk by at some point.

[@Thelastunicornlover]

Hello there, fellow Erieites!❤

[@autumn7809]

Kaz has been producing so much lately, I hope they're not overworking!

[@miss.l.1563]

I love how she always has tutter the mouse in the background. 👍😂💕.

[@ariannahernandez4745]

I don't know which indigenous community in mexico my family is from but my grandma told me that her grandma told her bodies used to be buried far away from the village for at least 3 years before their remains were moved from the first grave to be closer to home. It was believed that the first few years after death, the spirit may not have made it to the land of the dead yet and they could become frustrated and play tricks on villagers if they were too close to homes and farms!

[@merrittanimation7721]

13:45 This tangent has made me think of a hypothetical story where some unlucky medical students end up with a stolen body that turns out to be a vampire. That'd be interesting.

[@miab-p6874]

May I introduce you to Penny Dreadful? (There is a part where a medical student finds a vampire, even though the main story isn't specifically about them.)

[@thelestrangelair]

Would make a fun t.v series and these days we really need a good one.

[@Snips.Snails.Fairytales]

My first and only run in with those vampire hunting kits was at a local antique store about a year ago. Given that there were like six of them sitting next to a "zombie hunting kit", I kind of figured they were fun art progects being sold for way too much. Everything in that store was being sold for way too much so it wasn't all that surprising. I'm more surprised that people have bought and sold them for thousands of dollars. Any quick research into vampire history would tell you that vampire hunting wasn't exactly a career. Even Van Hellsing in Dracula is really a doctor with some weird interests.

[@fenorlex1126]

The closest job I could think of to be related to vampire hunting would be something like a gravedigger, grave robber or mortican. If you're handling the dead, beware of vampires.

[@charliespleen7280]

That first poem hit different for me and really caught me off guard. There’s a certain pain in losing your twin flame and knowing they wouldn’t want you to suffer but suffering anyway, because how could you not without them. I can understand feeling haunted on a deep level but not enough to probably exhume my 8 year dead lover because I thought they were a vampire.

[@amberlaw5639]

I found Kaz’s content around 1 month ago, fell in love and binged all the videos they have. The videos are so beautiful and Kaz is so beautiful.

[@ainoruoste9338]

Thank you for another great video! I just read a novel about a real "Santa Claus riot" that happened in Finland in the late 1940s. So many curious events that have turned into myths or disappeared into history.

[@theoneandonlyzer0113]

I really appreciate all the work you put into your videos, i love how you match the backround and your outfit to the theme. It really is a work of art

[@DJCashEel]

Shoutout to Kaz for making me choke on my dinner upon hearing my own neighborhood in Chicago be a center of vampire lore

[@seraphinasullivan4849]

My grandma died before i was born and my mom inherited a lot of her catholic decor that I grew up with even though i wasn't raised catholic (my mom kinda fell out of the faith by the time i was born). One of these decorative pieces was a crucifix with a brass jesus figure and small medallions depiting mary and either simon peter or john the baptist hanging from it. It's hollow so it can hold holy water and there's a thing on the back so you can read last rights. I thought of it as a Vampire Hunting Crucifix and we always called the wall it hung on the "jesus wall" I don't know if grandma would have considered vampires worth fighting though, since her entire position on monsters and evil spirits was "don't let them scare you, tell them to leave you alone" I wish i could have met her, but then again we are inupiat and i have her eskimo name so there's that whole reincarnation deal

[@maxmccullough8548]

If your grandmother's cross was intended for a layperson to give someone last rites in the absence of a priest the reservoir was probably for holy oil not water, those are actully pretty rare usually only seen among catholic communities in very rural/remote areas.

[@seraphinasullivan4849]

@maxmccullough8548 that checks out honestly. She was from a small Inupiaq village.

[@rayb401]

ALWAYS AT MY DARKEST MOMENTS KAZ POSTS AND SAVES ME FROM THE ABYSS

[@SaintShion]

Jillezabethmade me laugh for no reason, Kaz always has away of cheering me up too

[@euansmith3699]

If you stare too long in to the Abyss; you will see Kaz Rowe winking back at you. 😍

[@StarPlatinum7912]

Imagine dying of tuberculosis and having your heart and liver set on fire only to become a pokéstop 120 years later

[@sydneygorelick7484]

Not just a pokestop, a whole poke GYM!

[@andjelan7490]

It felt so surreal when you mentioned Arnold Paole! My dad comes from the same village where Paole lived! Growing up I never really knew about him but I'm sure it would have freaked me out at a younger age since I already found my great grandparents house creepy

[@curator3539]

I think one of my favorite "ways to stop a vampire" is the idea that if you throw a bunch of rice the vampire will have to stop and pick up each grain and count it. I don't remember where I read that from but I always liked the idea!

[@sesfilmsllc]

I’m not sure this counts, but this made me think of the urban legend of the Hollywood Cemetery Vampire in Richmond in 1925.

[@sesfilmsllc]

It turned out to actually be a guy named Ben Mosby who was disfigured in a firebox accident. He died of his injuries.

[@loralouise3865]

I love how you artfully merge feminine and masculine fashion. As one who has studied the history of fashion world, I’m proud of my collection of vintage and antique jewelry and clothes. I also sew clothing from different eras in history. Your “androgynous style is simply awesome and inspiring to me. You are a true timeless style icon that has inspired me and I admire that. Even before the LGBTQ+ community became fairly mainstream, I was always one to enjoy androgynous clothing. I have a smoking jacket that is reversible and I love it. I got it years ago in London and it is simply timeless. It can be feminized or masculine. I love how it’s easier to express your style from day to day, whether feminine or masculine! The more choices we have to express ourselves, through clothing and fashion, as well as past times and hobbies, is just awesome! Still looking for a great black top hat. My new obsession is either finding, or creating a Tommy Shelby worthy costume/outfit, with the signature cap! Loved that series. Finally, yes, Food for the Dead by Michael Bell, is an absolutely great book which I have read more than once, it’s worth getting! You seem to like so many of the same things that I do!! I’m so glad that I found your channel! Thanks! I feel like we would have so much in common! Great work!! I’m interested in the history of people and movements and cultural events in history that could be linked to the history and precursor of the LGBTQ+ community. Everyone begins as a female and then, later on, develop into males, or continue developing their female selves. Kinda makes one wonder, huh? Marlena Dietrich was an early fashion icon as well as Katherine Hepburn that really perfected the androgynous style! You nail that look, impeccably. Thanks so much for your interesting content. I’d love to see you cover some of these androgynous styles in history. I also love the military type jackets from the 1700’s, with their fancy trim and buttons. May have to create that myself!

[@dabbeatles]

I really like their style too. Vintage anything is so cool.

[@nikoniko_3044]

I’m so excited to watch this. I just told a coworker earlier today that I was in a big vampire mood

[@floatingawayfromreality4390]

Seeing a new video of yours always brings a smile to my face and you don’t have to (like, at all) but could you please do a video on the history of homosexuality in pirates? I always loved learning about pirates themselves and something about your voice and way of organizing everything makes it so much easier to listen and retain information.

[@nicoleKerry23]

Kaz touched a bit on this topic in the Stede Bonnet/Blackbeard video but I vaguely remember them saying they were going to do a whole video on it

[@cicadetta]

the tale of mercy brown is so popular here in rhode island that a soda company based out of here made its own flavor for her (i think it’s blood orange). poor mercy

[@williambond2267]

The shrek crucifix had me in tears 😂 0:42

[@Asal181]

I love how I dont believe in ghosts but Kaz getting freaked out in two video's really got me questioning lmao

[@jagoda3714]

as a Slav: please fear me I'm very vampiric and evil and will bite you

[@okiedokieartichokie772]

Food for the dead was one of my absolute favorite books as a teen. Ive been wanting to reread it again recently. The tombstone that says "I'll be waiting and watching for you" has lived rent free in my mind. Also...i cant help but say: Obviously, we have a Vampire in Lincoln Park. Hide ya kids. Hide ya wife, cause they draining every body out here.

[@thatgoblin5739]

New England is just full of wild stuff and I love it. It's also fascinating to me that I'm finding content on Mercy after visiting her almost a decade ago. I'm from the Midwest so it was definitely a culture shock, but having gone around Boston, Salem, Falls River, and a few other places, it's so nice to see it getting more in depth exposure than just 'spooky scary! Gotta think of the witches burned at the stake!' Kinda deal.

[@danettecherry5003]

I accidentally happened upon your channel one day, and I have become enthralled. You are an intellect, a storyteller, and an historian whose channel has fast become a favorite. Thank you for all the hard work you do to enrich our lives.

[@sirsplintfastthepungent1373]

Cassidy from Preacher is my favorite vampire. If you haven't seen, I highly recommend.

[@cassandramiller4477]

It's interesting how Patton's delusions seem to have been an influence on a lot of Weird Fiction in the first third of the 20th century. The geometric/non-geometric shapes, the weird spirits, etc. This was a fantastic video!

[@SherlockPL]

Have you seen the new Interview with the vampire TV series? 👀 It tells a story of queer vampires Louis and Lestat, and honestly it's one of the first of the vampire pieces that have so much unapologetic queerness in them. Vampires have always been intertwined with queerness but it's honestly so refreshing to see a TV series fully embracing it. Anyway! Great video :>

[@DracowolfieDen]

Plus it has been in the works for many many years by both Anne Rice and her son who is a screenwriter. So it’s extra nice that this is what the author intended this time around! I don’t have a source, but I read that Anne was upset that the old movie cut out any queer subtext that the book has. (I read the book while in college and it certainly seemed queer to me, even if not using the words)

[@BananLord]

Yeah, but I would've liked it if they stuck to the book canon, as in keep the time period and character background the same.

[@sannalopperi-vihinen233]

@@DracowolfieDen even in the 90s film there seemed to be some sort of sexual tension between the characters, but it probably wasn't intentional. It's just two hot guys biting each other and adopting a child to save a failing...whatever they meant it to be in that version.

[@whitneyochs234]

Very interesting! I remember hearing about Mercy Brown and how people would open up Graves and see the corpses with blood around their mouths and see that the teeth, hair, and nails were growing. Thanks for the video!

[@sarahwatts7152]

10/10 ability to talk with vampire teeth. The cannibalism part is always that part that skeeves me out, particularly as I'm not sure why it's supposed to be effective

[@Da800mbruh]

Wow! Snuffy Stukeley might be one of the best names we’ve gotten from a video and we get some pretty good ones! 😂

[@Safetytrousers]

It was a nickname apparently.

[@cammm_.]

I've been reading Dracula this month and entering into a heavy vampire phase and your videos have been super helpful in understanding the context and history of vampirism, thank you! :))))

[@lydianoack4552]

Same here, I've been sliding into a very enjoyable autumnal vampire phase, so this is very welcome indeed. It's really fun to think about the fears behind the myth, especially with Halloween coming around 👻🖤

[@mikem7900]

Kaz Rowe you are such a phenomenal story teller! Ty so much! I’m blown away by this vid

[@boudicaastorm4540]

I only read about half of the original Dracula because there were some problematic things that really got on my nerves, and I noticed one of them was a persistent xenophobia in the narrative, so what you said about the problems with that IRL really explains that. Very cool video, thank you! I also just have to say, I'm only just getting started on your videos, but I've been seeing a lot of your thumbnails, and I absolutely love your hair and outfits

[@mme.veronica735]

In 150 years they're going to be selling antique Zombie Hunting kits that were authentically used in the 21st century

[@heehoopeanut420]

I love that you mentioned the Romani people along with Jewish people. I very recently learned a lot more about the history of their people, and i find it sad yet very interesting. I think anything we can do to preserve that culture and keep their history alive is great! I never even noticed how little they are talked about accurately in historical context until i started watching a roma creator on here. Its crazy!

[@marisophi.01]

32:32 Right when Kaz stopped because of the clattering, my room's rooftop started making noices as well. That was the most paranormal part of the whole video. 😅

[@danielmoore381]

It also bears mentioning that a good portion of Mercy’s interment in the grave prior to exhumation was during the winter in which case she was basically in a freezer for most of it

[@AndaJulia]

Very interesting, I am from Transilvania, Romania and moved to the UK years ago. Xenophobia here towards eastern Europeans is still very high and Roma people are still very much the most discriminated againt minority group across Europe. I never thought about Draula as a moral panic against immigration; or the interview with a vampire as against homosexual people. It is not surprising as throughout history people always attempt to find scapegoats for their problems. Amazing video!❤

[@IsraelVargas-u6z]

KAZ You ARE MY FAVORITE VAMPIRE STORY TELLER Keep The STORIES COMING ⚰️🪦

[@grapeshot]

I like Abraham Lincoln's style of vampire hunting.

[@royce6485]

My health is doing me in but it could always be worse…i could be ill in the times of vampire hunting. I do look “drained of my life blood”

[@silyaren]

i’m partially through my third rewatch of what we do in the shadows so this upload’s punctuality is frightening!

[@ReverseKaizo]

amazing intro! the quality and care you put into your videos really shows, its amazing. i love your channel.

[@kinghenryxl1747]

Not long ago Kaz was getting 800 views per video, now its 100k! Keep going, girl. Great Channel.... Hair and makeup are on point😀

[@RenaissanceRockerBoy]

Kaz uses they/them

[@leahsanders798]

I noticed my husband had found them the other day, and I was like, "Hell yeah, I hope that means the algorithm is pushing their content."

[@Agent_6039]

@@RenaissanceRockerBoy You're insufferable.

[@grace-4072]

you’re so nice!! I just wanted yo let you know though Kaz uses they/them pronouns and probably isn’t comfortable with people calling them “girl”,, You could say homie instead or Thy Majesty 😅

[@Corviidei]

@@iinehstia ah yes the three genders, boy, girl, and homie

[@alaenamcdonald1877]

What could be more fascinating than the vampire trope and all its history? I would love to see a multicultural examination as done by Mx. Rowe as they mentioned may be forthcoming… the stories from Africa, India, China… a Jungian fundamental aspect of the human psyche. Once again, bravo!

[@corabranch266]

I just finished reading Dracula a few days ago. Perfect timing!

[@milx_]

i absolutely love how you go about all of the topics you cover, and how much research you put into them! i'm really glad you included the story about Arnold Paole (which is how he was named in the documents in german, in serbian he was called Arnaut Pavle) because i found it super interesting when i first learned of it a few years ago. his body was also apparently burned after they put a stake in his heart, and that wasn't the only time that happened here apparently!!

[@GeoffPlays]

I just discovered your channel today and now I know what I'm gonna be binging all week

[@dRite978]

Thank you so much for this video. I’m in the midst of writing a book about vampire hunting and your references are pure gold to me Keep up the good work. You’re helping a community far and wide

[@tiagopesce]

the amount or work and care you put in your documentaries is beyond immortal!

[@mikehawklong1599]

Hello Kaz, I know you probably wont read this but there's another interesting aspect of vampire culture and that's with the gypsies. My mummie(grandmother in romaness) used to tell stories of how my great grandfather would make deals with dracula, party with him, keep him company and wed off certain women to become his wife's. And he gave in return information, gold, and told their name across the vampire world to spread his name across to become more famous and have more power. She said he liked the gypsies so much that he would travel with the across the world to all different kind of places. I thought it would be interesting for you to know

[@prosquatter]

In my experience, Roma believe in a creature called chokhano. I don't know how close chokhano is to a vampire, but I know it scares them s*itless

[@mikehawklong1599]

@@prosquatter I'm an American gypsy so alot of the folklore was lost but chokano means ghost. There's different ways to say it but generally it kinda means the same thing. Idk if there's a famous story behind it, but my family has alot of experiences with chokhanay

[@marandaranda]

KAZ PLEASE DO ANOTHER VAMPIRE VIDEO PRETTY PRETTY PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE

[@sharlaidrey7898]

In Czechia the media report another vampire burial found under someone's house/garden/road every few years. The most talked about thing is the way they "stopped" the dead from rising but only if it's a "new" way, otherwise it barelly makes the local news. Recently there was a woman buried with a scythe on her neck, so that got some attention, otherwise it's just another location added to the list. There is so far the eldest vampire burial from the 9th century in Staré Město na Moravě in Moravia and the surprisingly numerous burials from 10th and 11th century in Čelákovice near Prague. But there are many legends about cruel people of power (aristocrats and so) that were rumored to be vampires during their life or returning after death, and they go from like the 12th to the 20th century. We had an entire course about witches and vampires at the uni (tought by doc. Giuseppe Maiello, Ph.D.). But even when it's such a big part of our past, it's barelly talked about in the wider historical circles, and you have to really seach to find some credible sources about this phenomenon.

[@laurineserveau2540]

imagine a movie about Mercy Brown and how she felt about the vampire thinggy and her dad being a lost soul and thinking shes the vampire of the family and seeing him burn the heart of her mother and all like i cant watch that in my head already !

[@Korosivv]

My hometown had a "vampire cult" who committed 2 murders. Also had a song about it made called "Blood on the Bluegrass"

[@golwenlothlindel]

A VAMPIRE CULT???? That sounds absolutely wild!

[@uglysongsforuglysouls]

By the legendary shack shakers???

[@Kaiiloveskiss]

Currently obsessed with learning about this stuff due to my class reading Dracula so thank youuu😻😻

[@sundownsahara]

Too funny that Exeter is literally right next to my hometown. I lived there for decades, but only heard about Mercy Brown a few years ago. It's not a widely circulated story locally, for some reason.

[@gameprose4293]

A couple days ago, your videos randomly showed up in my recommendations. Been on a binge watch through your channel since. I really like them, and they've been getting me interested in eras of history I normally don't pay attention to. Thank you for your videos.

[@natalies1624]

you always bring us the best content, and for that i am eternally grateful. Also, thank you for still promoting mask use. i still wear my mask , and i felt alone, but you made me feel less alone

[@katharina7898]

After a long day of studying, seeing Kaz upload a new video is just the best thing that can happen.🥺

[@magicknight13]

Another new video?!?! Omg we are truly blessed. Thank you so much for the consistent absolutely excellent content and please don't forget to rest and relax 💚

[@brinistaco1970]

My wife and I have been to Mercy Brown's grave many times. She loves cemeteries especially old New England ones. We lived in RI for many years and became very familiar with lore and legend of that area. Brown and Tillinghast are old RI family names as you may know. There was a Tillinghast that was an infamous RI mobster. RI has a special place in our hearts and if you read the "Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church,. State and the birth of American Liberty" you will love it as a student of history. Thank you for your interesting content.

[@mintjaan]

Snuffy is a name we should really bring back.

[@Safetytrousers]

It was a nickname apparently.

[@machiabaelli]

Thank you for mentioning the Manananggal from the Philippines! Was pleasantly surprised when I heard it! ❤️

[@keev3543]

Alnwick being pronounced Annick has never seemed weird to me until i heard it said out loud as Aln-Wick! That's not a complaint, its just that i had to write it down and stare at it for five minutes and think "why"

[@bib4eto656]

Language is funny like that; like the Belgian Aalst often being pronounced as "ulst". There's two "a"s in there and it's still pronounced with a different vowel lol

[@1-eye-willy]

i saw dracula the ballet, with a girl once. i was not expecting to have my breath taken away from a ballet. it was absolutely beautiful, and the pyrotechnics at the end when the dude kills dracula was the best part of the whole show. changed my whole perspective on ballet and theater

[@thebugbear]

Your videos are such a bright spot in my day!! Thank you for continuously publishing works of art. By the way, in many slavic languages, that C at the end of a name is actually a "ch" sound. It often doesn't make it through to English because we use special characters so when it gets translated Milošević gets turned into Milosevic.

[@zezzy3]

No Ripley’s possible deniability built in as it is “Believe it or not”! I love there showcases as they do actually tell you the truth about the objects as well as the back story’s of them. They hide nothing. I have been to several locations it’s really great fun, if you haven’t gone to one you should.

[@overtlybiased]

The real vampires are the friends we make along the way

[@briantruck2284]

& backstab u

[@jennag8544]

I’ve lived in ri my whole life and I had NO IDEA about the Exeter story!! Also your excitement about our weather was really fun to see!

[@LivvyGranger]

Have you seen Caitlin Doughty's Ask a Mortician video on America's vampire craze? If not, I think you (or anyone who enjoyed this video) would find it interesting.

[@allyribeiro]

I haven't even started watching the video yet, but can I just say you always pick THE BEST topics to talk about? Watching your channel is such a pleasure - it keeps me company in many drawing sessions

[@Diptera_Larvae]

The real vampires were the friends we made along the way.

[@amypeters1950]

currently using this video as a source in my university essay to explain how a cultures folklore/ mythology/ religion can be used to form a base argument of how that culture viewed other culture. thank you so much for including your sources in the videos, makes life so much easier.

[@nervoussmilk4986]

I always look forward to your videos! Thanks for making my day!

[@Lilguy_000]

idk if I was a dead person and got lifted from my grave i would probably rise to haunt people too

[@mikem7900]

Thanks for making spooky season so electric this year 🔥🔥

[@fantastical-whimsical5937]

My favourite modern case of vampire hunting in the UK was the 80s Highgate Cemetery Vampire Panic, two guys claimed to be exorcists and magicians, and so much damage was done to the cemetary the police had to get involved and a vault of a woman's corpse got beheaded and burned by people broke in if I remember correctly.

[@Safetytrousers]

Try watching the video before commenting.