That walkis in this lone wood:
Beware of that deceitfull spright,
The ghaist that suckis the blude.
Mr Reginald Hodder, in The Vampire (William Rider & Son, Ltd.), has developed a theory which is a novel one in the annals of vampirism. The principal character is a living woman, a member of a secret sisterhood, who is forced to exercise her powers as a vampire to prevent loss of vitality. This power, however, is exercised through the medium of a metallic talisman, and the main thread of the story turns on the struggle for the possession of this talisman. It is wrested ultimately from the hands of those who would use it for malignant purposes, but its recovery is only accomplished by means of a number of extraordinary—though who would dare say impossible?—occult phenomena.
CHAPTER XII
FACT OR FICTION?
While some writers, belonging mainly to what is popularly known as the orthodox school of theology or professing a materialistic philosophy, have expressed an entire disbelief in the alleged phenomena, others, on the other hand, accepting generally the spiritistic or spiritualistic philosophy, have admitted the possibility of the phenomena, though not pledging their acceptance of all or any of the many stories told concerning the deeds, or rather the misdeeds, of the apparitions.
Dr Pierart, the well-known French savant, maintained that “the facts of vampirism are as well attested by inquiries made as are the facts of catalepsy,” and that “the facts of vampirism are as old as the world,” and pointed to the fact that Tertullian and St Augustine spoke of them.