Due to my fascination with vampires, below you will find a collection of true British vampire reports that have been recorded throughout history from the British Isles in the UK. Reference is given below each case.
The Vampire of Alnwick Castle – (Northumberland)
This incident dates back to the 12th century and was recorded by the English chronicler William of Newburgh.
One night while spying on his adulterous wife, the former ‘Lord of the Estate’ slipped from the roof and died before the morning. He was given a Christian burial, but soon afterwards, there were reports that he had risen from the grave to claim his victims and spread a nasty plague.
The once populated town was now nearly empty and some of the remaining villagers decided to take a stance. They dug up the vampire from his shallow grave within the cemetery to find the decomposing body. When they pierced the bloated body, blood poured everywhere which caused the villagers to believe that this indeed was a vampire. Terrified, they burned the body and by co-incidence, the plague and deaths stopped.
(Reference – The Vampire Encyclopedia by Matthew Bunson)
The Vampire of Berwick
Thanks to William of Newburgh who once again recorded the case of the wandering un-dead in the town of Berwick.
This tale is very similar to the Vampire of Alnwick Castle where an evil man dies and soon after burial, he is spotted walking amongst the living. The townsfolk fearing the onset of a plague, dig up the dead man and cut his body to pieces.
(Reference – The Vampire Encyclopedia by Matthew Bunson)
Buckinghamshire Vampire
Again recorded by William of Newburgh and reported to have happened in 1196.
This vampire was not very powerful and he was easily repulsed by his wife and family when he tried to abuse them. Off he went to abuse nearby animals, but what was particularly alarming to the local villagers was that they seen him during the day. The bishop was called and he didn’t want to burn the body so instead he placed an absolution on the corpse that laid him to rest.
(Reference – The Vampire Encyclopedia by Matthew Bunson)
Vampire of Croglin Grange – Cumbria
Many years ago, Croglin Lower Hall, in Cumbria was inhabited by two brothers and their sister Amelia (In some versions she is Anne).
One night as Amelia was preparing to sleep she was aware of a sensation of being watched. She glanced through her leaded window and thought she saw a pair of evil eyes glittering from the darkness of a clump of trees. At first she put it down to her imagination, but when she looked again a grisly dark figure was making its way across the lawn to her… she was transfixed as it pressed up against the window and began picking the lead away with a bony finger. She was too afraid to scream, and by all accounts it was a hideous thing, shrivelled flesh and huge malevolent eyes. It lifted the latch on her window, bounded in and seized the girl by her hair as it sank its teeth into her throat. At this point she screamed, and the thing fled, but it had vanished by the time her brothers ran to her aid.
Some nights later, Amelia woken by a familiar scratching at the window, and sure enough the Vampire had returned. Her shrieks brought the brothers into the room in time to see the direction in which the creature fled.
They tracked it to the local cemetery. They marked the tomb and returned at daylight, whereupon they broke into the grave and burned the vampire to ashes.
(Reference – Vampire Forum by DestinyDefiled)
Click on the URL for more information. http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/cumbria/croglin.html
Another tale that was recorded by William of Newburgh.
The Hundeprest Vampire of Melrose Abbey
When living, this vampire was the chaplain to a lady of high rank and his nickname was Hundeprest which meant Dog Priest due to his horse hunting activities.
Shortly after his death, reports were made that he could be seen trying to gain entry into the Melrose Abbey without success. One night however, he appeared at the bed of his former employee shrieking and moaning. She summoned a senior member of Melrose Abbey who proceeded to hunt down the vampire. One night, when the senior member’s companions left him alone at his post, he watched the vampire rise from his grave. He managed to ward off the vampires attacks and the next morning the vampires coffin was opened to reveal a corpse that was covered in black blood. The vampire was taken to an area outside of the abbey and burned.
