Welcome everyone. I intended for the next Ping File story to be about searching for Holger in the Jersey Pine Barrens. I then decided to go for something else. Enjoy and review.

Vampires Across the World

Brazil has the Bat People. In Mexico an ancient Mayan cult worshipped Camazotz. The rainforests of Java echo the cries of a bat creature called the "Athol." In Vietnam there are the Night Flyers. In Cameroon there is the Olitiau. In Senegal there is Guiafairo. In Ghana there is Sasabonsam. In Madagascar there is the Fangalabolo. In Indonesia there are tales of the Organ-Bati. These are all mysterious human-sized bats reported all over the world.

And vampires? In pre-industrial Slavic societies it was believed that a person's spirit lingered for forty days after death. Suicide victims, suspected witches, evil beings and unbaptized children were thought to have "unclean" spirits. According to this belief, a vampire was the manifestation of an unclean spirit possessing a decomposing body.

And then from Romania is the Strigoi. Believed to be the spirits of people who had led troubled lives, a Strigoi survived by drawing blood from people and would turn into either animals or poltergeists to cause chaos in the physical world. The Romanians blamed Strigoi for famine and disease.

All this Basil Hagen thought about as he sat in a theatre with his friends Lee Ping, Tina Kwee, Cam Martinez, Brandy Silver, Biff Goldstein and Kimmie McAdams. Holger Holgaart was there too, making him and Basil the only ones there without a significant other.

The film they were watching was "Nosferatu." As soon as the film ended the question of whether or not any one believed was popped by Cam.

"I am Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan." Said Basil. "The Celtic Nations speak of the baobhan sith from the Scottish Highlands and the leanan sidhe from the Isle of Man, Scotland and Ireland. Besides there are other folklores that speak of such monsters! What about that report of those soldiers in Nam that were attacked by—"

"Basil, that is enough!" said Tina. "That report gave me nightmares for a month! And as for you, Cam, the next time you suggest we go to see a movie let someone else choose."