What is vampirism?

什麼是吸血鬼迷信？

The dictionary definition is that it refers to the habits and characteristics of vampires.

吸血鬼迷信在字典裡的定義是指吸血鬼的習慣和特徵。

We might think that that means rising from the dead to prowl through the night while wrapped in a voluminous black cloak, and possessing long, sharp canine teeth with which to bite the necks of victims and suck their blood.

我們可能會認為這意味著半夜里從墳墓爬出來、披著黑色厚重斗篷、擁有又長又尖可以咬穿脖子的獠牙並吸取人血。

But modern vampires are less likely to be found in graveyards than in books and films such as the Twilight series, or in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

但就現代而言，吸血鬼不太能在墓園裡被找到了，而是經常出沒在小說或電影，如《暮光之城》系列或《吸血鬼獵人巴菲》。

When the term first emerged, though, things were rather different.

但這個詞初次出現時，情況可大不相同。

Vampires were first discovered in the early 18th Century at the borders of Austria-Hungary.

吸血鬼初次被發現時是在 18 世紀的奧地利和匈牙利邊界。

Reports of witches, ghosts, and various demons sucking human blood go back to earliest times, but it was not until 1725 that vampires first appeared, in a report written by an army medical officer on the activities of Serbian soldiers.

關於女巫、鬼魂和各種嗜血惡魔的報導可以追溯回很早以前，但是直到 1725 年，在由陸軍軍醫撰寫的關於塞爾維亞士兵活動的報告中，吸血鬼才首次出現。

Over the course of eight days in that year in the village of Kisilova, nine people had been strangled and then had their blood sucked.

那年在 Kisilova 村八天的時間裡，有九個人被勒死且被吸血。

The man believed responsible had been dead and buried for ten weeks, but he had apparently risen from the grave to do so.

被認為是兇手的人其實是已經死亡且埋葬十週的人，但很顯然他是從墳墓中爬出並下了毒手。

The soldiers dug up his corpse and found it to be quite fresh with blood in its mouth.

士兵們將他的屍體挖出來並發現屍體狀態還算新鮮且嘴裡有鮮血。

They drove a stake through his heart, and cremated the body.

他們在他的心臟上釘上木樁並焚燒了屍體。

It was the first reported case of vampirism.

這是第一起關於吸血鬼的報導。

A newspaper in Vienna carried the report, and the phenomenon spread.

一家維也納的報社報導了這件事，這個事件從此身名遠播。

Within a few years, vampirism seemed to be rife in Eastern Europe.

在幾年內，吸血鬼似乎在東歐開始盛行。

The Emperor sent teams of military surgeons to investigate and perform autopsies, and they found that the cases were remarkably consistent.

皇帝派遣軍事外科醫生團隊進行調查並進行驗屍，而他們發現這些案件非常一致。

Dozens of articles and books were published on the subject by medical researchers, and vampires became a hot topic of debate in the Enlightenment.

醫學研究人員發表了數十篇關於吸血鬼主題的文章和書籍，而此主題也成為啟蒙運動中辯論的熱門話題。

Vampirism was a recognised condition attested by large numbers of witnesses and had characteristic signs and symptoms, such as corpses having fresh blood running through their veins.

吸血鬼被大量目擊證人證實了其存在，並有著象徵性的跡象和症狀，例如屍體血管內留有新鮮血液。

Some researchers put the appearances down to mass trauma and delusion.

一些研究人員將這種現象歸結為大規模的創傷和妄想。

Some to diet or accidental drug use causing hallucinations.

有些是歸因於節食或意外攝取毒品而產生幻覺。

Some to unusual chemicals in the earth affecting decomposition.

有些是因土壤裡不正常的化學物質導致影響了腐敗過程。

Some to highly contagious diseases.

有些認為這是具有高度傳染性的疾病。

Others, however, argued that the phenomenon really was rampant and needed to be dealt with by the authorities.

然而有些人認為這真的是相當普遍的現象，需要由當局加以處理。

Theologians joined the fray, arguing that vampires were physical beings that proved the existence of an afterlife.

連神學家都加入了戰局，認為吸血鬼證明了死後世界的存在。

Philosophers meanwhile were concerned as the widespread evidence supporting the existence of vampires cast the whole value of testimony and eyewitness verification into doubt.

而同時哲學家關注的點在於，支持吸血鬼存在的證據都讓證詞和目擊證據有些站不住腳。

Having begun among Serbian villagers, vampirism now spread through European society as a way to describe politicians, landlords, businessman, and even theatre critics--it was as if vampires were moving up the social scale.

吸血鬼一說起源於塞爾維亞的村民，如今卻在整個歐洲社會裡廣泛流傳並用於形容政客、地主、商人甚至是劇評家，吸血鬼似乎上升到了社會的層面。

It was not until a century had passed that the aspiring writer Dr. John Polidori wrote the first vampire tale in English.

直到一個世紀之後，一位心懷抱負的作家 John Polidori 博士才寫下第一個英文吸血鬼故事。

He made the vampire an aristocrat, and paved the way for Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula, published 78 years later.

他將吸血鬼設定成一位貴族，並為 78 年之後 Bram Stoker 所發表的經典小說《德古拉》鋪路。

It is to Polidori and Stoker, and dozens of Victorian vampire tales, that we owe the fanged and stylish creature familiar to us today.

我們要歸功於 Polidori 和 Stoker 以及數十個在維多利雅時期發表的吸血鬼故事，我們才得以熟悉這種長著獠牙又優雅的生物。

But remember that vampirism was first investigated by doctors, government officials, and philosophers.

但請記得，吸血鬼最初可是被醫生、政府單位和哲學家們所調查呢！

It therefore has much to teach us about what it is--and is not--to be human.

因此它也教了我們很多關於什麼是人類，而什麼又不是人類。

About how far we are simply flesh and bone and blood.

而我們再怎麼樣也只是由血肉和骨頭所組成的存在。

About exploitation and bleeding others dry.

關於剝削以及將別人榨乾。

And how we should treat those who, despite appearances, may be not like us at all …

還有我們該如何對待那些外表跟我們不盡相同的人…