We’ve all seen the headlines “Nasa confirms the Earth will experience 15 days of total darkness in June 2017.” While this is a relatively old bit of fake news that started circulating back in 2015, it still makes you wonder. What would happen if the world was plunged into total darkness?

What would happen if the world was plunged into total darkness?

Whether it is an astronomical event between Venus and Jupiter, a meteor shower, or a man-made catastrophe. Would it be like 30 days of darkness? Would vampires come out and wipe out those not able to find hiding spots? Are vampires even real? While the 15 days of darkness is not legitimate, the possibility of vampires is.

History of Vampires

Every culture that has ever kept a recorded history has had vampire myths and legends, whether in their folklore or religion. Judeo-Christian’s have Lilith and her daughters the Lilu, while other cultures have Dracula, or the “Blood Countess,” Countess Elizabeth Báthory. While Dracula’s existence is debated, the countess was a real person who lived during the 14th century and early 15th century. It is said that she is responsible for the death of over 600 people. She would bite the flesh off the face and hands of her victims and sexually torture them. Perhaps, the most bizarre of all her atrocities is that she would bathe in the blood of virgins in hopes of retaining her youthful beauty. Historians disagree on what crimes if any the Countess Elizabeth Báthory was actually guilty of.

Origins

Due to the appearance of vampires in one form or another thought out every civilization it is impossible to pinpoint their exact origins. However many people credit the modern day vampire to Romania. Scientists believe that it may have been people’s misunderstanding of the changes a body goes through after death that started the belief. Other doctors have accredited vampire lore to be a result of people suffering from late-stage rabies. Rabies can cause hypersexuality, disruptions in sleep patterns, causing someone to become nocturnal, cause a bloody foaming at the mouth, and cause someone to have the urge to bite another. While psychologists of the Freudian field of thinking believe that vampires represent the darker side of human nature and these myths and legends are manifestations of secret human desires.

Modern Day Vampires

Despite their darker origins vampires have become a pillar in world culture. There is actually an entire subculture dedicated to vampires. The people often partake in drinking blood, or sometimes the life energy (psychic vampirism) of other people. There are also sects of society at the other end of the spectrum. These people are so strong in their beliefs that even as recently as 2004 a family dug up their son, Toma Petre’s corpse, cut out his heart and burned it. They then mixed the ashes with water and drank it.