Vampires May Have Been Real People With A Blood Disorder

A team of scientists at Boston Children’s Hospital now says a rare genetic mutation could have caused some people to display the stereotypical traits of vampires. Thought to be fictional until now, a blood disorder could give vampiric qualities to those with the gene.

They are allergic to daylight and garlic and a crucifix will keep them away from you. But perhaps the most feared trait of vampires is the blood sucking of innocent people. Now, according to AOL, it’s as simple as a doctor’s explanation.

Well, the skin’s sensitivity to light has an explanation anyway. The doctor explained to the United Kingdom paper The Sun, there is actually a condition called erythropoietic protoporphyria or EPP. It’s a blood disorder that affects kids and makes their skin sensitive to light. They could even get disfiguring blisters if they are in the sun too long, all because their iron levels are too low. It’s basically like being “chronically anemic.”

Of course, this medical condition still doesn’t explain where exactly the “vampires have no reflection” idea stems from, but nonetheless, can explain at least a few of the most typical stereotypes.

The condition anemia results when there are not enough healthy red blood cells in the body. There are many types of anemia and all are very different in their causes and treatments. Iron-deficiency anemia, the most common type, is very treatable with dietary changes and iron supplements. The condition EPP affects the body’s ability to make heme, which helps make hemoglobin – part of our blood that helps carry oxygen. Like anemics, it means that those who suffer from this condition have iron levels that are way too low.

The researchers who have begun studying EPP said, that unlike anemia, in ancient times drinking animal blood and coming out only at night may have actually been used to achieve the same effect as a blood transfusion. Dr. Barry Paw of the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center explained, “It makes them feel very tired and look very pale with increased photosensitivity because they can’t come out in the daylight.”

So vampires may have been real. Maybe not in the sense that they become immortal and suck the blood of others. But simple blood condition may have helped propel the stereotype.