DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   A group of vampires has variously been call a clutch, brood, coven, pack or clan. (a clan if their Scottish!) The Muppet vampire, Count von Count from Sesame Street, is based on actual vampire myth.  One way to supposedly deter a vampire is to throw seeds ( usually mustard) outside a door or place fishing net outside a window.  Vampires are compelled to count the seeds on the holes in the net, delaying them until the sun comes up. A rare disease called porphyria vampire like symptoms, such as an extreme sensitivity to sunlight and sometimes hairiness.  In extreme cases, teeth might be stained reddish brown, and eventually the patient may go mad. One of the most famous "true vampires" was Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) who was accused of biting the flesh of girls while torturing them and bathing in their blood to retain her youthful beauty.  She was by all accounts a very attractive woman. Vampire legends may have been based on Vlad of Walachia, also known as Vl