Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Vampires

  • The smartest vampire story

    Alice Theibault Rochester, New York, United States   181. Silhouette of traditional Japanese grave markers, found on Flickr Creative Commons. Nachans, June 28, 2011. There is something uniquely terrifying about vampires. The concept of a nocturnal creature showing up at one’s home to suck their blood is enough to make just about anyone uneasy, and…

  • Vampires and blood trafficking: The International Red Cross campaign against third-world plasma collection in the 1970s

    William Schneider Indianapolis, Indiana, United States   1986 photo of Hantchef and successors as head of IFRC Blood program (Cropped) left to right: Evelyn von Steffens (technical adviser), Juhani Leikola (Hantchef’s successor), Polly Dussan (secretary to Leikola), Tony Britten (Leikola’s successor) and Zarco Hantchef. Source: Juhani Leikola One of the cornerstones of the WHO Blood…

  • Preparing for a zombie apocalypse

    Larry Kerr Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States   Pieter Bruegel the Elder created this apocalyptic view of a world in 1562 unprepared to handle a pandemic. The painting has been in Museo del Prado in Madrid since 1827. What can we learn from a Zombie Apocalypse? The first thing to learn? It could happen. Anyone who…

  • Taking the bat out of Hell

    Tajri Salek Birmingham, UK   Fig. 1 The Destruction of Job’s Sons, from Illustrations of the Book of Job, 1825–26. Engraving by William Blake. Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Copyright: Public Domain, Universal (CC0 1.0). “Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!” ― Bram Stoker, Dracula   If you…

  • Consumption and vampires: Metaphor and myth before science

    Gregory Rutecki Cleveland, Ohio, United States   Illustrations of vampires. Provided by author.     “In New England . . . It is believed that consumption is not a physical but a spiritual disease . . . as long as the body of a dead consumptive relative has blood in its heart it is proof…