ABSTRACT
ALTHOUGH there is some evidence that the Vampire was by no means unknown in England during Anglo-Saxon times, the allusions are accidental and occasional, rather than detailed and direct, that is to say pieces of folk-lore in the remoter countries, half-forgotten oral tradition (now almost entirely dying out), and the persistence of a few old customs, apparently meaningless, which are casually maintained owing to some vague idea of thereby warding off some indefinite illluck ; all these, severally petty and paltry in themselves, in their cumulative significance afford evidence of a widespread and deeply-rooted belief in Vampires, even if such manifestations were comparatively few in number, and occurred at long intervals.
