MYTH #4: Vampires Can Transform Into Bats or Mist

Vampires can do neither of these things. This misconception can be traced back to 15th and 16th century Eastern Europe.

When Prince Vlad Tepes, the historical figure who would go on to inspire Bram Stoker’s Dracula, would go on his nightly flights, his cloak would flare out and flutter about behind him. Villagers who spotted him would remark that he resembled a large bat in flight.

Of course, when he’d realized he had been seen, Vlad would speed away, leaving only the mist in his wake.

Some four hundred years of oral tradition later and with the help of Stoker’s penchant for the dramatic, and we have Dracula transforming into a bat and into mist.

We simply do not have this ability. What we do have a talent for is levitation and superhuman speed, which is much more useful.