People lived in fear of vampires even in Ancient Mesopotamia
The fear of vampires did not begin with Dracula; several thousand years earlier, the ancient Mesopotamians had already recorded a number of vampire-like stories. According to the world’s earliest civilisations, spirits became particularly dangerous when a life had ended suddenly or unfinished – especially if the deceased was a young woman.
The vampires of modern pop culture – from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Edward Cullen of the Twilight series – are now everyday figures of the horror genre. Yet the fear of the dead returning to the living world stretches far further back than the roots of Gothic literature.
The world’s first civilisations, including those of ancient Mesopotamia, had already set down their beliefs about dangerous spirits in writing, according to History Extra.
Vampire myths have ancient origins
Archaeological findings show that even prehistoric people feared the return of the dead. Prehistoric graves reveal burial practices that seem intended to prevent bodies from rising again – skeletons pinned down with stones, tightly bound corpses and even decapitated remains have all been found over time.
However, the belief systems of various peoples only became known with the emergence of writing. The earliest documents come from Mesopotamia – in what is now Iraq, and parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran – where the cities of Uruk, Ur and Babylon once flourished. Cuneiform writing was born here, along with texts that already contain references to the undead and to blood-seeking entities.
The first written records come from Mesopotamia
By the 7th century BC, during the Neo-Assyrian Empire, detailed records outlined what to do if the dead were believed to be walking among the living again. These texts offered priests guidance in cases where a corpse posed a spiritual threat – meaning that fear of the undead was not merely a myth but part of religious practice.
Ancient Mesopotamians believed that a peaceful death in old age allowed life-force to disperse properly. A sudden, premature death, however, left things unfinished and trapped the life-force within the body. This idea fed later vampire traditions, which often held that those who died unnaturally would remain restless.
Young women were considered especially dangerous spirits
In Mesopotamian beliefs – as in many other cultures – young women were thought to be the most dangerous dead. The lives of women aged 15 to 25 often ended early: they might die in childbirth or had lower chances of surviving serious illness. These unfinished fates made it more likely, people believed, that they would return as harmful spirits.
Some cultures taught that young women possessed particularly strong spiritual energy, which, if they died prematurely, remained trapped in the body, further intensifying fears of their return.
Female demons of Mesopotamian mythology also follow this pattern. Lilitu was childless and preyed on the children of others, while Lamashtu attacked infants and pregnant women. Though not vampires, these figures fit into the broader tradition of dangerous female spirits.
Why did these beliefs spread so widely?
Mesopotamia was the cultural heart of the Near East, and its beliefs travelled far, merging into newer cultures over centuries. Greek myths, Hellenistic magical texts, Roman tales of the reanimated dead, and early Christian warnings about improper burials all contain similar elements.
The Mesopotamian legacy, therefore, was never lost: it endured, transformed, and ultimately culminated in vampire literature and modern horror films.