E X T E N S I O N BATS, VAMPIRES AND DRACULA Ever wondered which came first the bat or the vampire? How did bats become so closely associated with Count Dracula? Is it all the fault of that Irish writer Bram Stoker and his novel Dracula (1897)? Hopefully, the following paragraphs will answer these (and other) questions. As all bat lovers know, A vampire bat there is a species known as the vampire bat . Found only in Mexico and parts of Central and South America, they feed primarily on the blood of livestock1. A vampire bat will bite its prey2 with razor-sharp teeth while the prey is sleeping. As for vampires (those blood-sucking monsters of fiction and film), these have existed since ancient times in the folklore and mythology of most cultures both in Europe and elsewhere. It appears that when the blood-drinking bats were first observed by Spanish explorers in Central and South America (their natural habitats), they were given the label vampire because of the fact that, unlike all other species of bats, these live thanks to the blood of their prey. Bats were associated with the mysterious and the supernatural long before Stoker s novel appeared in print. But it is Bram Stoker s novel that cemented3 the connection between bats and the vampires of folklore. While he was working on his novel in the 1890s, Stoker came across an article in a New York newspaper concerning vampire bats. Stoker s major contribution to the association of vampires with bats was his introduction of the idea that a vampire could transform into the shape of a bat (as well as a wolf or mist). For example, in his pursuit4 and seduction of Lucy, Count Dracula frequently disguises5 himself in the form of a large bat which flaps at her window. In Stoker s novel such a vampire bat is, of course, quite capable of attacking and draining6 humans. (From Elizabeth Miller, Reflections on Dracula, 1997) 1. livestock: animals kept on a farm. 2. prey: animal that is hunted, killed, and eaten by another. 3. cemented: reinforced. 4. pursuit: act of following or chasing somebody. 5. disguises: changes his appearance so that people cannot recognize him. 6. draining: taking the liquid (in this case blood) from a body. 55