Samantha CarlettaComm. 100March 13, 2009Origins of the myths of vampires and werewolvesI. IntroductionA. "I could feel the soft, quivering touch of lips on the hypersensitive skin of my throat, and the hard bumps of two sharp teeth, just touching them and stopping there.1. I closed my eyes in ecstasy languorously and I waited – I waited with beating heart."2. Everyone knows the famous Dracula, even if only in passing. Like most people, stories about vampires and werewolves have always fascinated me.C. I began to wonder when, how and why these tales appeared, so I did a little research.D. Today I'm going to talk to you about the origins and core beliefs of vampire and werewolf myths, as well as the medical conditions believed to cause them.1. Let's start with the undead.II. BodyA. The exact origins of the term "vampire" are unknown, as is the exact origin of the myth, but in almost every country there are legends about these "blood-sucking monsters".1. Although the specifics of vampires vary from place to place, when we think of the term "vampire", it is the image depicted by Bram Stoker in Dracula that usually comes to mind.2. A vampire is a person who returns from the grave and steals the life force of a living creature in the form of its blood.a. A person can become a vampire: criminals, witches, the seventh son of a seventh son, or bitten by another vampire.b. Vampires are recognized by their aversion to sunlight and fire; they have neither reflection nor shadow; and in some tales, they can shapeshift into bats, wolves, or mist. 1.) Physical characteristics are deathly pale skin, a lithe build, "fangs" or very long upper canines, they do not age not and often possess supernatural beauty.2.) More importantly,...... middle of paper ......evil, usually, but not always a wolf.3. Rabies is an often fatal viral disease that affects the central nervous system of mammals.a. It is transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal.b. Shortly after being bitten, a person experiences a period of fatigue, headache, fever, cough and sore throat, followed by extreme irritability, inability to sleep, depression and hallucinations.c. A form of rage called "furious rage" results in strange behaviors, such as agitation, aimless wandering, biting others, and an uncontrollable fear of water.III. ConclusionA. Stories of vampires and werewolves have existed long before most recorded stories, and modern medicine is only just beginning to unravel the mysteries behind them.B. As Bram Stoker says: “There are mysteries which men can only guess at and which they can only partially solve, age by age.. ».”