Trick or Treat 5: Drained

For the final Trick or Treat episode of the season, we're taking a tour through some of the lesser-known vampire folklore around the world. But just because they don't fit the stereotype we've come to know and love does not mean these stories are any less terrifying. Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing and research by Alex Robinson, Harry Marks, and Alexandra Steed. ————————— Lore Resources: Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music https://www.lorepodcast.com/music Episode Sources: lorepodcast.com/sources https://www.lorepodcast.com/sources Join for Ad-Free Episodes: lorepodcast.com/support https://www.lorepodcast.com/support All the shows from Grim & Mild: www.grimandmild.com https://www.grimandmild.com ————————— To report a concern regarding a radio-style, non-Aaron ad in this episode, reach out to ads @ lorepodcast.com with the name of the company or organization so we can look into it. ————————— To advertise on this podcast please email: [email protected]. Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/lore ————————— ©2025 Aaron Mahnke. All rights reserved.

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• 1:06Aaron Mahnke?

  Welcome back to the final edition of our special Halloween bonus series, Trick or Treat. I know I've enjoyed sharing these extra tales with you, so I hope that they've done their job of keeping the spooky vibe going all throughout October. So, let's end on a bang, shall we? For today's theme, we are going back to the crypt. From Bram Stoker's brutal European count to Anne Rice's seductive Immortals and the bizarre roommates in What We Do in the Shadows, popular culture just cannot get enough of vampires. But there are so many more stories than the normal ones you typically meet. Here are four more powerful tales of bloodsucking monsters that defy the typical cinematic approach in glorious gruesome ways. I'm Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

• 2:06Aaron Mahnke?

  In the final decades of the 20th century, the East Asian film industry was catapulted into the international spotlight by Hong Kong's fast-paced martial arts films, a genre they are still known for today. But while movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon have since become cult classics, the more discerning film students might remember this era of cinema for a different reason: Hong Kong's growing collection of horror movies, and in particular, Jiangxi films. Between 1980 and 1990, Hong Kong produced dozens of these films. There's no denying that they were in high demand, and when you know what they were, you won't be surprised. Because Jiangxi films were, quite simply, vampire movies. But these weren't the blood-sucking vampires of Hollywood.

• 2:51Aaron Mahnke?

  These walking corpses were based on a Chinese folkloric monster that had been around for generations, called, unsurprisingly, the Jiangxi. Written records about the Jiangxi can be traced back to a Qing Dynasty scholar's writings in the late 18th century about reanimated corpses. And that's essentially all they were: evil zombie-like creatures. In fact, the word just translates to "hard corpse", which means that the original Jiangxi weren't very similar to modern-day vampires at all. But over time, folklore can take on a life of its own. And as the myth of the Jiangxi spread, more of its attributes changed. They were said to look grotesque, their visage ranging from a recently deceased body to a mangled, decomposing corpse.

• 3:35Aaron Mahnke?

  Their skin was tinged with green or purple, possibly from mold or bruising as their stagnant blood collected under the skin. They were typically depicted with long claw-like fingers, and in films, they're often dressed in traditional Qing Dynasty clothing. Some said that they glowed, while others said that they were impossibly strong. They almost always had stiff limbs from undergoing rigor mortis, stuck out in front of them like a Halloween monster. The rigor mortis impacted their legs, too, forcing them to hop everywhere as if they were stuck on a pogo stick. This rather unscary attribute has resulted in the unfortunate moniker of the hopping vampire. Despite their unusual mode of transportation, as the years passed by, the Jiangshi became

• 4:19Aaron Mahnke?

  less like a hopping corpse and more like a traditional vampire, albeit one that was a bit jumpy. Stories even started cropping up about them sleeping in coffins. But what they never really got was fangs. Unlike western vampires, these creatures didn't drink blood. Instead, they absorbed qi, or the life force of their victims. Some Jiangshi were said to eat people, but more often than not, they simply drained humans of their energy. Either way, they were deadly, and you didn't want to run into one. Now, to be fair, in the movies, some Jiangshi did have fangs, but those adaptations weren't faithful to the original legends. In fact, Hong Kong horror flicks seem to have adopted the western idea that a Jiangshi's venom could transform a living person into one

• 5:01Aaron Mahnke?

  of them. But in the older versions of the myth, the only people who could become a Jiangshi were already dead. It was surprisingly simple for a corpse to transform into a hopping vampire. Some thought that the soul could reanimate the body after a violent death. But the most popular belief was that if a body wasn't buried properly or quickly enough, then the evil part of a person's soul could take over their body, causing them to rise up from the dead and wreak havoc. According to legend, the first Jiangshi were actually created by accidents. Usually, families buried their loved ones quickly. But as work opportunities moved to the cities, young men started to leave their villages in search of better jobs. Whatever these

• 5:42Aaron Mahnke?

  migrant workers died far from home, they couldn't just be buried there. Chinese burial practices demanded that citizens be buried at home, lest their spirits seek vengeance. So, families started hiring people to bring their sons back. Unfortunately, these men they hired were necromancers, and lazy necromancers at that. Instead of carrying the heavy corpses, they bound their limbs and taught the corpses to hop themselves down the road. And thus, the Jiangshi were born. Now that may sound absurd, but the truth actually isn't that far off from the legend. It all calls back to a practice called corpse herding, which started in the Hunan province during the Qing dynasty. At the time, all the region's criminals would be executed once a year in rapid succession.

• 6:27Aaron Mahnke?

  This resulted in a huge pileup of dead bodies that the local government had to get rid of. And while they could have buried all of them in one big ditch, they didn't. Government officials believed that even executed criminals needed to be buried in their home villages. And that's where the corpse herders came in. You see, they fed the corpses a blend of herbs that delayed rigor mortis and kept their limbs flexible, so that these dead bodies could, for lack of a better term, walk. Then they tied their arms to a long bamboo pole, and herders would grab each end of the pole, rest it on their shoulders, and start moving forward. Now, a corpse driver would then prod at the corpses' legs, making them seem like they were moving along with the pallbearers. The bodies bounced down the road,

• 7:10Aaron Mahnke?

  partially supporting themselves and taking the load off of the corpse herders' backs. That's where the laziness comes in. In this manner, they transported an untold number of bodies across the mountains of Hunan. The corpse herders always wore black, and they always traveled at night to delay the decaying corpses. Unfortunately, even though they were providing a valuable service, they frightened just about everyone they ran into. And you can see why, right? A large party of black figures coming toward you in the night would not be a thrilling sight for anyone. And it wouldn't get much worse once you realized that most of the members of that party were corpses. Villagers were convinced that the corpse herders had reanimated the bodies themselves,

• 7:52Aaron Mahnke?

  and that the Jiangxi were actually bouncing down the lane under their own power. Corpse herding, thankfully, has fallen out of style. So if you take a trip to China today, you probably won't see any jumping dead bodies. But you can always watch a Jiangxi film from the comfort of your couch. No travel required. Which is honestly great advice. If you truly want to observe a hopping vampire, then it's probably best to do it from a safe distance.

• 8:33Aaron Mahnke?

  You've heard me talk about vampires plenty of times before. But cultures all over the world have stories about blood-sucking monsters. There are so many that we've barely scratched the surface, no pun intended. And today, I have a special one for you to sink your teeth into. I'm sorry, I just can't help myself. In May of 1992, not that long ago in relative speaking, the Philippines held a presidential election. Now, this wasn't just any presidential election. It was actually the very first one to be held under their new 1987 constitution. There were thousands of candidates to choose from, and competition was tight. The entire country was under an immense amount of pressure to choose a leader who would guide them toward a better future. But despite the astronomical stakes,

• 9:17Aaron Mahnke?

  there was one pocket of the capital that wasn't paying any attention to the election at all. In the Tondo District of Manila, people were less concerned about who their president would be and more concerned about keeping themselves alive. Because, you see, there was a creature known as a Manananggal that was rumored to be living among them. Now, we don't really know how or when the first stories of the Manananggal originated. When Spain colonized the Philippines in the 16th century, the conquistadors did everything within their power to destroy the native cultures that had once flourished on the islands. In an effort to forcefully convert the native inhabitants to Catholicism, they burned all of the non-Christian documents that they could get their hands on, including whatever records there may have once been about the Manananggal.

• 10:02Aaron Mahnke?

  The Philippines became a Catholic nation soon after, with only a few pockets of Muslim and indigenous resistance left. Gradually, the Filipino natives lost much of their heritage and their folklore to the invading Spaniards. Many tried to keep their culture alive, but without the documents to tell us where their beliefs came from, the best anyone can do is guess. And that rule certainly applies to the Manananggal. But no matter where she came from, she has remained a horrifying figure in Filipino imaginations, and friends, for good reason. Beliefs about what the Manananggal looks like differ depending on who you ask. Some say that she is hideous, while others say that she is stunningly beautiful. But the key here is that she is always a woman.

• 10:46Aaron Mahnke?

  Unlike European vampires who tend to lean male, the vampires of Southeast Asia trend more towards the female side. But whether a seductive beauty or a hideous hag, she is something to be feared. It's believed that the Manananggal preys most frequently on pregnant women in their sleep. She uses a long, tube-like tongue to suck blood, or even the fetus, out of the woman's belly. It's actually possible that the Manananggal was used as an explanation for tragedies like miscarriages. After all, it's easier to blame a vampire than to have nothing to blame it on at all. But the Manananggal doesn't exclusively drink from pregnant women. She also stalks newlyweds, children, and newborns.

• 11:27Aaron Mahnke?

  Even brides and grooms-to-be aren't safe, and I can promise you, you do not want to be one of her targets. After drinking her fill, she's been known to tear her victims to pieces. The most disturbing part of this vampire, though, is what she looks like when she hunts. When it's time for her to find a new victim, she bends over at the waist and separates. Her legs stay standing while her torso breaks away, growing wings and flying off into the night, her entrails cascading down behind her. Some stories say that bat wings appear when she's ready to fly, while others say that her arms themselves turn into the wings. Either way, I doubt that's something that any of us would want to see hurtling towards us in the dead of night.

• 12:10Aaron Mahnke?

  And, yes, just like European vampires, she only hunts at night. The sun is deadly to her, as is garlic. In fact, if you smear garlic, salt, or holy water onto the legs that she leaves behind, that's a way to kill her. But of course, you'd always run the risk of being discovered before you can finish the job. And today, in rural parts of the Philippines, some people still believe in the Manananggal. And as recently as the 19- People in major cities believed in them too, as evidenced by the hunt that happened in the 90s. Now during this 1992 scare, people in Manila actually did claim to have encountered the Manananggal that was hunting their neighborhood. A woman named Martina Santa Rosa even claimed to have been attacked by the creature, saying,

• 12:54Aaron Mahnke?

  "I was just lucky I was able to get free. I saw half of her body. It was naked. She had long scraggly hair, long arms, nails, and sharp fangs." Martina's neighbors even backed her up, saying that they too had witnessed the struggle between the demon and the girl. It would seem that enough people had seen the Manananggal that they had a good idea of who she might actually be. The creature you see doesn't always look like a monster. She looks just like a normal person. Until she splits herself in half and spills her organs out, that is. And so, on Wednesday, May 6th, a group of men brought a television crew to the home of a local elderly woman named Teresa, accusing her of being the vampire.

• 13:37Aaron Mahnke?

  Teresa protested, of course, claiming that she herself was a victim. To prove it, she showed off her foot, which was missing several toes. She said that they had been bitten off by the Manananggal. The crowd, though, was still skeptical. So they brought her a dried stingray tail. It may sound odd to us, but it's believed that Manananggals are repulsed by stingray tails. If Teresa was in fact the vampire, she wouldn't be able to touch it. But, touch it she did. Teresa reached straight out and put her hands on the tail. And that was that. Everyone accepted that she was not the Manananggal. Now presumably, the Manananggal stopped terrorizing the people of the Tondo district soon after, but not before the situation gained international attention.

• 14:22Aaron Mahnke?

  Newspapers all over the world reported on poor Teresa and the search for the vampire of Manila. And if you're curious, the election happened only a few days later. It went off without a hitch, and as far as we know, without any more sightings of the Manananggal.

• 14:48Aaron Mahnke?

  I found that writing is always easier when you can take inspiration from closer to home. The folklore you grow up with becomes the stories that you tell for the rest of your life, from childhood sleepovers to cocktail parties. Sometimes, though, they take on a life of their own, spreading beyond your hometown. No matter how ancient they may be, stories can always evolve. This one started with a man named Avarthak. Now, there are a couple of different stories about Avarthak, but he doesn't exactly come out as the hero in any of them. He was a king in Ireland centuries ago. A minor king, but still he ruled over the town of Aragul and had a talent for magic. Most of us would probably use that power for good. Maybe a couple of pranks here and there, but we would help the folks around us out.

• 15:31Aaron Mahnke?

  Avarthak had none of those finer impulses, though. He was a vicious tyrant and was cruel to the people he ruled over. As a result, when a neighboring chieftain invaded and killed him, his subjects were thrilled. Not exactly the attitude that you want after what was probably a terrible death in battle. As was tradition, Avarthak was buried upright rather than laying down, as we might expect. Everyone moved on, but something went terribly wrong. The next day, Avarthak appeared back in Aragul and started terrorizing his former subjects, crueler than ever before. He crept among the people at night, breaking into their houses and drinking their blood. And I can only assume that the chieftain who killed him was less than thrilled to hear that this adversary was alive and kicking.

• 16:15Aaron Mahnke?

  So he went back, killed Avarthak again, and buried him again. Done and dusted, right? Well, not exactly. You see, Avarthak came back once more. But this time, the enemy chieftain decided that rather than riding into battle guns blazing, he would consult a druid. Now, there are two versions of what came next. In the first version, when this chieftain killed Avarthak for the third time, he buried his enemy upside down to extinguish his magical powers and prevent him from rising once again. In the second version of the story, he drove a wooden sword through Avarthak's heart and then buried him upside down. Either way, the third time was... The charm of Arthak didn't rise again, and a stone monument was set up on top of his burial

• 16:58Aaron Mahnke?

  site, you know, just in case. But there's one more story about his life and death, and it's a bit darker. Apparently, a Vartak was a jealous husband, and he was convinced that his wife was cheating on him. So naturally, he decided that the best course of action was to climb into her window and spy on her at night, just to see if he could catch her lover coming or going. Instead, he slipped and fell to the ground, dying on impact. When his body was discovered the next morning, his people were delighted, and they quickly buried him in the traditional manner, upright. Predictably, a Vartak rose from the grave once again. This time, he didn't sneak around for an iron-rich snack. He outright demanded that his subjects fill bowls with blood for him to drink.

• 17:42Aaron Mahnke?

  The people were terrified and complied, but they also sent word to a neighboring chief called Cahan to deliver them from their terrible master. Cahan immediately rode to their aid and killed a Vartak. Of course, this didn't actually kill the undead king, and Cahan was shocked to have to dispatch the man yet again the following night. Now, in this version, Cahan visited a local saint for help, and after hours of prayer, the saint advised Cahan that what was really already dead couldn't actually be killed. The only way to dispatch a Vartak was to stab him with a sword made from the wood of a yew tree, bury him upside down, and cover the grave with ash branches and thorns before finally setting a large stone slab on top of it all.

• 18:26Aaron Mahnke?

  Cahan cheerfully went off to impale his enemy and finally sent him to the great beyond, setting the stone monument in place. And today, you can go see the stone yourself. It's still in Derry in Northern Ireland where it was first set down. And I know what you're thinking. A Vartak seemed to be a kind of vampire, and even though he had qualities similar to those of other blood drinkers found across the world, it can't be denied that parts of his story are uniquely Irish. Stories like a Vartak's became a part of the culture and were recorded for future study. They make for hair-raising ghost stories to read in the dead of night. In 1847, for For example, a sickly little boy was born in Dublin, Ireland, and he spent most of his childhood bed bound trying to recover the ability to walk.

• 19:11Aaron Mahnke?

  And without much else to do, he read constantly and got sucked into the great wide world of literature and creepy folklore. Maybe it was stories like of Vartok's that inspired him to put pen to paper and bring a real vampire story into the world. There were plenty of terrible blood-soaked figures from history that Bram Stoker could have chosen for his vampire, but you really can't deny the close parallels between a Vartok and Count Dracula. It seems this ancient Irish legend may have given rise to a horror icon that we can really sink our teeth into.

• 19:55Aaron Mahnke?

  If you've been getting bored with the same old vampire stories, then I hope today's episode breathes some life back into the undead for you. But we're not done just yet. We have one major stop on our vampire tour left, and it is a doozy, because you never know when a vampire might break out of his chains. Stick around through this brief sponsor break to hear all about it.

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• 22:06Aaron Mahnke?

  Few places in the United Kingdom boast the history and folklore of the Isle of Man. Located in the Irish Sea, halfway between Britain and Ireland, the Isle of Man has been a contentious plot of land for thousands of years. In the 7th century, it was ruled by the Anglo-Saxon King Edwin of Northumbria. 100 years later, the Vikings arrived and set up shop until the Scots took over around 1275. But they only held on to it for about 15 years, until King Edward I of England showed up in 1290 and ruled until 1313. It bounced between owners for the next 40 years, until finally the English regained control for good in 1346. Today, the Isle of Man falls squarely under the rule of the British Crown.

• 22:49Aaron Mahnke?

  It's a fairly small island, measuring only 221 square miles, with a population of 84,000. But because of its lengthy history and revolving door of owners, it's collected many legends and myths over the years. And one of those legends concerns the grave of a man named Matthew Hassel. We don't know a lot about Mr. Hassel, who lived during the 1850s. He didn't cause much of a stir when he was alive. All we know for sure is that he was married to a woman named Margaret, who was buried next to him. But something must have been deeply affecting Matthew, something nobody else knew about, because one day he decided to take his own life. It was a common belief at the time that suicide brought with it two posthumous consequences.

• 23:34Aaron Mahnke?

  The first being a one-way trip straight to hell. The other was the denial of a Christian burial. Hassel had committed the ultimate sin in their eyes and should not have been allowed to be interred in a Christian graveyard. But for some reason, he was. And perhaps that explains what happened next. His body was laid to rest at Malu Churchyard, a storied cemetery with gravestones dating back hundreds of years. But Hassel's is different. His gravesite is covered in a web of rusty chains. Not so much to keep others out, but to keep him inside. According to the stories, Matthew's casket was taken to the cemetery just after his death. He was surrounded by friends and loved ones who had come to pay their final respects.

• 24:17Aaron Mahnke?

  The lid was opened, with his body in full view of the mourners, when, all of a sudden, he sat up and wailed loudly for everyone to hear. The attendants gasped, unable to fathom what they were witnessing. This man was supposed to be dead, yet here he sat, upright and emitting a dreadful moan, loud enough to wake the dead around him. It wasn't the case of accidental burial either. Matthew Hassel was dead, or at least he was supposed to be. There was only one explanation for such an occurrence: Matthew was a vampire. Unwilling to take any chances, someone found a piece of wood and whittled one end of it to a point. And just before he was buried for good, the stake was driven through Matthew's heart. His casket was lowered into the ground and covered.

• 25:02Aaron Mahnke?

  Afterward, four iron stakes were driven into the dirt around the gravesite, with chains hooked all around them. The townspeople thought that maybe that would be the end of it. After all, iron was known to keep supernatural entities like vampires at bay. Little did they know, Mr. Hassel would not be so easily deterred. Sometime after his funeral, it was discovered that the iron stakes and chains had been ripped out. It wasn't clear who had done it, but maybe it was Matthew himself. The locals were terrified that he would rise from his grave and come after those who had staked him during his funeral. So to avoid his potential wrath, they opened up his casket and plunged another wooden post into his chest. You know, just to be sure.

• 25:45Aaron Mahnke?

  Then the plot was covered up once again, and new iron stakes and chains were placed all around it. Since then, the Isle of Man has remained a safe and quiet place for the people who live there, at least so far.

• 26:13Aaron Mahnke?

  This episode of Lore was produced by me, Aaron Manke, with writing and research by Alex Robinson, Harry Marks, and Alexandra Steed. Today's collection of stories is a themed pack of Lore Bites, which started out life as member-only bonus episodes for our paid subscribers. Along with weekly bites and discounts on Lore merchandise and access to my inbox, our paid members also get to enjoy ad-free episodes. It's a bargain for all of that ad-free storytelling and a great way to support this show and the talented humans who make it. For more information about your ad-free options, head over to lorepodcast.com/support. And don't forget the book series available in bookstores and online, and two seasons of the TV adaptation on Amazon Prime. Learn more over at lorepodcast.com.

• 26:56Aaron Mahnke?

  And you can also follow the show on platforms like Threads, Instagram, Blue Sky, and YouTube. Just search for Lore Podcast, all one word, and then click that follow button. And when you do, say hi. I like it when people say hi. And as always, thanks for listening.

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