In this special Halloween episode of the Weird Medieval Guys podcast, Olivia and Aran take a look at the confluence of fact, fable and fear that created the medieval vampire myth. We then explore how that myth developed into the modern image of vampires that most people think of today, most notably how the titular character of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula came to be. Also discussed are why Dracula is better in the original Spanish, Aran's suspicious new roommate from Transylvania, and recipes for Blood.

For more on some of what we discuss, check out:

• Circumcising Dracula
  • www.jstor.org/stable/43308497
• William of Newburgh's ghost stories as urban legends
  • www.jstor.org/stable/48577687
• Modern legend and rumour theory
  • www.jstor.org/stable/3814160
• Medieval conceptions of blood
  • www.jstor.org/stable/42001729