The Vetala
1870
Sir Richard Burton, a famous British explorer and writer, had just returned from India with a new book full of various tales and stories he had heard while abroad. The book, Vikram and the Vampire, contained several stories of a devilish trickster demon known as “The Vetala”. This demonic half man half bat hybrid had sunken eyes, large wings made of skin, and sharp teeth and claws. In addition to its malevolent appearance, the Vetala could also impose its will on others and walk up and down walls.
Burton, content with his achievement in compiling these stories and writing his book, had no idea what he had just set in motion for the future of macabre storytelling. See, the writings of Burton were a favorite of another writer of the era, someone who wrote a book that would achieve legendary status based off of the contents of Vikram and the Vampire. A writer named Bram Stoker, the author of…
Dracula
Intro Music: Moonlight Hall - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)