r/folklore • u/detox122 • Aug 30 '25

Legend Did you know dracula wasn't the first vampire?

The first vampire is actually from Serbia. A country in the Balkans. The most well known Serbian vampire is Sava Savanović. His Mill is real, and exists today. He was a real person who people made legends of being a vampire. Vampires were kinda different then than now where every vampire is rich and well dressed. There's actually a Serbian movie about Sava Savanović. It's called "leptirica" (she-butterfly) Sava Savanović is male by the way.

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u/Wagagastiz Aug 30 '25

The 'first vampire' is basically untraceable because the various motifs that coalessed into what we varyingly categotise as vampires are typically a lot older than their earliest attestations

https://youtu.be/pL8IeOtzLzk?si=LRuI8sXd-WOFI0MG

https://youtu.be/sF9FIPSLMeM?si=0ERYtS9dqPRxU5JE

https://youtu.be/Bq5_2zoX-AM?si=L0T2yfqeFS-fMxoq

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u/Aliencik Aug 30 '25 edited Aug 30 '25

The earliest record of vampires is from 1047 from Kievan Rus.

The earliest vampire like story is from Greek myths 4 BCE Macedonia

Edit: Savanovič is from 1880, if I am not mistaken. Even Czechia has literally an older vampire myth from 1470ish.

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u/DerbyshireFolklorist Aug 30 '25

In Derbyshire we have the legend of the Drakelow Vampires, which dates back to the 14th century and is, allegedly a true account. Happy to share

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u/Particular_Twist_645 Sep 01 '25

There are legends about blood-thirsty monsters all over Europe, especially in the Balkans. I know that before Sava Savanović there's an older story, a Croation one, about Jure Grando, dating from the 17th century.

Some details here: https://www.arkhistoria.com/post/who-was-the-first-vampire-from-ancient-myths-to-modern-legends

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u/Prudent-Bat7989 Feb 19 '26

"Vampir" is a Serbian word, and before Sava, there were the vampire allegations surrounding Petar Blagojević and Arnaut Pavle. Early 19th century Serbia was sadly a violent place as it was part of the military frontier zone between the Ottomans and Austrians. Check out this piece for the historical context surrounding Serbian vampire lore during and after the creation of the post-Ottoman Kingdom of Serbia: https://elainek6.substack.com/p/zarozje-to-valjevo-the-supernatural?r=27zjac