Birth of the Vampire
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a... vampire? In today’s age, vampires are known as immortal creatures with fangs, who prey on humans by consuming their blood. Often seen in media or books etc. Often given supernatural abilities like super strength, flight, extreme speed etc.
The word vampire has its roots in the Mediterranean languages. The earliest reference to the word arises in the slavonic Magyar from vam, meaning blood, and pir or monster. Or the words dham 'tooth' and pir 'to drink
Medical Cannibalism
But who would believe that shit? In the 1700s, human blood was believed to possess medicinal qualities, and it was widely consumed as medicine throughout Europe and the Americas by people at all levels of society. Today, historians call this medicinal cannibalism.
The idea of a humanoid creature needing blood to survive was considerably less far-fetched when the general populace with consuming human blood for presumed medical benefits. If anything, this piece of context validated the today outlandish nature of vampires.