Editing Vampire (section)

=== Modern beliefs ===
In modern fiction, the vampire tends to be depicted as a suave, charismatic [[villain]].{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=2}} Vampire hunting societies still exist, but they are largely formed for social reasons.{{sfn|Cohen|1989|pp=271–274}} Allegations of vampire attacks swept through [[Malawi]] during late 2002 and early 2003, with mobs stoning one person to death and attacking at least four others, including Governor [[Eric Chiwaya]], based on the belief that the government was colluding with vampires.<ref>{{cite news|first=Raphael|last=Tenthani|title='Vampires' strike Malawi villages|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2602461.stm|date=23 December 2002|access-date=29 December 2007|archive-date=18 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818193930/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2602461.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Fears and violence recurred in late 2017, with 6 people accused of being vampires killed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/mobs-in-malawi-have-killed-six-people-for-being-vampires/|title=Mobs in Malawi have killed six people for being "vampires"|date=19 October 2017|work=VICE News|access-date=2 January 2018|language=en|archive-date=2 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102020221/https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/j5jxnx/mobs-in-malawi-have-killed-six-people-for-being-vampires|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:VampireE3.jpg|thumb|upright|A vampire costume|alt=A woman showing teeth with fangs.]]
In early 1970, local press spread rumours that a vampire haunted [[Highgate Cemetery]] in London. Amateur [[vampire hunter]]s flocked in large numbers to the cemetery. Several books have been written about the case, notably by Sean Manchester, a local man who was among the first to suggest the existence of the "[[Highgate Vampire]]" and who later claimed to have [[exorcised]] and destroyed a whole nest of vampires in the area.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Highgate Vampire: The Infernal World of the Undead Unearthed at London's Highgate Cemetery and Environs|last=Manchester|first=Sean|year=1991|location=London|publisher=Gothic Press|isbn=978-1-872486-01-7}}</ref> In January 2005, rumours circulated that an attacker had bitten a number of people in [[Birmingham]], England, fuelling concerns about a vampire roaming the streets. Local police stated that no such crime had been reported and that the case appears to be an [[urban legend]].<ref name=guardian1>{{cite news|title=Reality Bites|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,1392607,00.html|date=18 January 2005|access-date=29 December 2007|location=London|first=Stuart|last=Jeffries|archive-date=15 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715154949/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/18/britishidentity.stuartjeffries|url-status=live}}</ref>

The ''[[chupacabra]]'' ("goat-sucker") of [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Mexico]] is said to be a creature that feeds upon the flesh or drinks the blood of [[domesticated animal]]s, leading some to consider it a kind of vampire. The "chupacabra hysteria" was frequently associated with deep economic and political crises, particularly during the mid-1990s.<ref name="trail">{{cite web|author=Stephen Wagner|url=http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa051898.htm|title=On the trail of the Chupacabras|access-date=5 October 2007|archive-date=19 September 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050919215215/http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa051898.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Europe, where much of the vampire folklore originates, the vampire is usually considered a fictitious being; many communities may have embraced the revenant for economic purposes. In some cases, especially in small localities, beliefs are still rampant and sightings or claims of vampire attacks occur frequently. In Romania during February 2004, several relatives of Toma Petre feared that he had become a vampire. They dug up his corpse, tore out his heart, burned it, and mixed the ashes with water in order to drink it.<ref>{{cite news|last=Taylor | first= T.|date=28 October 2007|title=The real vampire slayers|work=The Independent|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article3096920.ece|access-date=14 December 2007|location=London|archive-date=19 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219095645/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article3096920.ece|url-status=dead}}</ref>