Once he passed away, his vampire reincarnate was blamed for the deaths of nine villagers.

Peter Plogojowitz: With an eerily similar backstory, this fellow Serbian also reported a run-in with the living dead.

Members of his village drove a dagger through his hardly-decomposed corpse and burnt his remains.

After his own death, however, four people stated that Arnold had attacked them, all of whom died shortly after. Arnold Paole: A member of the Serbian militia in the 1700s, Arnold allegedly encountered a vampire and claimed to have taken measures to dodge its curse.Deeming her the culprit, they cut out her heart and burned it. Once locals retrieved all three corpses, they discovered that Mercy's had remained mysteriously well-preserved. Mercy Brown: After Mercy and two of her family members died of tuberculosis in the late 1800s, townspeople in Exeter, Rhode Island, believed that one of the deceased had resurrected as a vampire.Vlad Dracula: Also known as Vlad the Impaler, he ruled Walachia, Romania, in the mid-1400s and was even believed to be the real-life inspiration behind Dracula.If you're planning a DIY Halloween costume for couples with coordinating vampire looks, you’ll both love our list of male and female vampire names that will make you feel straight out of Transylvania. Whichever route you choose, we’re bound to have the best vampire name that’s just your (blood) type for Halloween. Or, get inspired by pop culture vamps from your favorite werewolf movies and TV shows, whether you’re an avid True Blood viewer or plan to channel Tom Cruise’s Lestat de Lioncourt character from Interview with a Vampire. There’s no shortage of fang-tastic names to complete your vampire identity, including old-fashioned monikers that prove you’ve been roaming the Earth postmortem for ages.

If you’re pulling out the collared black cloak and fake blood for your Halloween costume this year, be it as an evil alter ego or a Halloween costume for kids, take things up a notch by completing your look with a delightfully batty vampire name-because there can also be so many vampires named Dracula out and about on October 31. It’s safe to assume that we’ve all encountered our fair share of fictional bloodsuckers both in the best vampire movies and vampire books, and there’s no better time than Halloween to take a cue from your favorite fanged creature. There’s good vampires, ruthless vampires, and even star-crossed lover vampires ( Twilight, anyone?).

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