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112-569: Jeryl Prescott portrays Xanadu in the television series Swamp Thing . Madame Xanadu debuted in Doorway to Nightmare #1 (February 1978). The character was designed by cover artist Michael William Kaluta at the request of editor Joe Orlando , based on Kaluta's unnamed host character (later known as Charity in the pages of Starman ) from the DC Comics mystery title Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion (seen only on that title's indicia page) and

224-656: A shmirah (guarding) after death as the corpse could be a vessel for evil spirits. In 1645, the Greek librarian of the Vatican, Leo Allatius , produced the first methodological description of the Balkan beliefs in vampires (Greek: vrykolakas) in his work De Graecorum hodie quorundam opinationibus ("On certain modern opinions among the Greeks"). Vampires properly originating in folklore were widely reported from Eastern Europe in

336-523: A malevolent spirit possessing a corpse or by being bitten by a vampire. Belief in such legends became so pervasive that in some areas it caused mass hysteria and even public executions of people believed to be vampires. It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the folkloric vampire, though there are several elements common to many European legends. Vampires were usually reported as bloated in appearance, and ruddy, purplish, or dark in colour; these characteristics were often attributed to

448-553: A Judge Delilah Nunes in the Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior , which debuted on CBS in 2011. Additionally, Prescott appeared as Felicite in the film, Bolden! (2011). She has also cast in a film, produced by Harry Lennix , based on William Shakespeare 's Henry IV, Part 1 . On television, she also guest-starred on Brothers & Sisters , Southland , Parks and Recreation and Revolution . She also has appeared in films The Birth of

560-497: A Nation (2016) and High Flying Bird (2019). Prescott had a recurring role during the second season of Ray Donovan in 2014, and the following year on the adaptation of the comic book series Powers . She guest starred on NCIS: Los Angeles , Scandal , and Shameless . In 2019, she was cast in her first series regular role, on the DC Universe series Swamp Thing playing the role of Madame Xanadu . The series

672-446: A bestial form within their graves. Ubırs possess the ability to shape-shift, assuming the forms of both humans and various animals. Furthermore, they can seize the soul of a living being and exert control over its body. Someone inhabited by a vampire constantly experiences hunger, becoming increasingly aggressive when unable to find sustenance, ultimately resorting to drinking human blood. Many myths surrounding vampires originated during

784-588: A bullet through the coffin was taken. For resistant cases, the body was dismembered and the pieces burned, mixed with water, and administered to family members as a cure. In Saxon regions of Germany, a lemon was placed in the mouth of suspected vampires. Tales of supernatural beings consuming the blood or flesh of the living have been found in nearly every culture around the world for many centuries. The term vampire did not exist in ancient times. Blood drinking and similar activities were attributed to demons or spirits who would eat flesh and drink blood; even

896-555: A different creative team. This includes Madame X #1 by Rob Williams and drawn by Trevor Hairsine and Fiona Staples . In " The New Golden Age ", Xanadu helps the Justice Society of America battle Per Degaton . Madame Xanadu has a supernatural sensitivity to occult activities and mystic phenomena. She uses tarot cards to interpret what she senses, and is also able to tell the future of others. Xanadu can levitate objects, teleport herself, and banish demons. Xanadu's parlor

1008-539: A doomed lesbian love affair during the Spanish Inquisition . In the 1940s, she has a sexual relationship with John Zatara , who wishes to marry her, but she foresees his true love, and the later existence of his daughter, Zatanna , "a love with whom she could never compete". Despite this, she uses Zatara to trap and ensnare the Phantom Stranger, preventing him from witnessing, and affecting,

1120-491: A door (in some cultures, vampires do not have a reflection and sometimes do not cast a shadow, perhaps as a manifestation of the vampire's lack of a soul or their weakness to silver). This attribute is not universal (the Greek vrykolakas/tympanios was capable of both reflection and shadow), but was used by Bram Stoker in Dracula and has remained popular with subsequent authors and filmmakers. Some traditions also hold that

1232-604: A general treatise on vampirism and the Marquis d'Argens cites local cases. Theologians and clergymen also address the topic. Some theological disputes arose. The non-decay of vampires' bodies could recall the incorruption of the bodies of the saints of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Indeed, vampires were traditionally considered highly problematic within Christianity, as their apparent immortal existence ran against

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1344-487: A hole in the back of her neck, with which she sucked the blood of children. Filling the hole with her hair would drive her off. Corpses had their mouths filled with glass beads, eggs under each armpit, and needles in their palms to prevent them from becoming langsuir. This description would also fit the Sundel Bolongs . In Vietnam , the word used to translate Western vampires, "ma cà rồng", originally referred to

1456-540: A mass hysteria throughout much of Europe. The panic began with an outbreak of alleged vampire attacks in East Prussia in 1721 and in the Habsburg monarchy from 1725 to 1734, which spread to other localities. The first infamous vampire case involved the corpses of Petar Blagojević from Serbia. Blagojević was reported to have died at the age of 62, but allegedly returned after his death asking his son for food. When

1568-770: A mixture of French and African Vodu or voodoo . The term Rougarou possibly comes from the French loup-garou (meaning "werewolf") and is common in the culture of Mauritius . The stories of the Rougarou are widespread through the Caribbean Islands and Louisiana in the United States. Similar female monsters are the Soucouyant of Trinidad , and the Tunda and Patasola of Colombian folklore , while

1680-559: A person's soul (魄 pò ) fails to leave the deceased's body. Jiangshi are usually represented as mindless creatures with no independent thought. This monster has greenish-white furry skin, perhaps derived from fungus or mould growing on corpses. Jiangshi legends have inspired a genre of jiangshi films and literature in Hong Kong and East Asia. Films like Encounters of the Spooky Kind and Mr. Vampire were released during

1792-562: A popular explanation, a pagan worship of upyri was already recorded in Old Russian in the 11-13th century. Some claim an origin from Lithuanian . Oxford and others maintain a Turkish origin (from Turkish uber, meaning "witch" ), which passed to English via Hungarian and French derivation. In addition, others sustain that the modern word "Vampire" is derived from the Old Slavic and Turkic languages form "онпыр (onpyr)", with

1904-518: A record of oak in Silesia . Aspen was also used for stakes, as it was believed that Christ's cross was made from aspen (aspen branches on the graves of purported vampires were also believed to prevent their risings at night). Potential vampires were most often staked through the heart, though the mouth was targeted in Russia and northern Germany and the stomach in north-eastern Serbia. Piercing

2016-477: A stake to be driven through his heart. Later, his corpse was also beheaded. From 1679, Philippe Rohr devotes an essay to the dead who chew their shrouds in their graves, a subject resumed by Otto in 1732, and then by Michael Ranft in 1734. The subject was based on the observation that when digging up graves, it was discovered that some corpses had at some point either devoured the interior fabric of their coffin or their own limbs. Ranft described in his treatise of

2128-536: A supernatural force, she can contain that entity in jars within her fortune parlor to prevent it from causing any further trouble. When the Spectre is destroyed by the Anti-Monitor , Xanadu performs a magic ritual that brings him back to existence. From that day forward she acts as the Spectre's spiritual advisor while he is bound to the soul of Jim Corrigan . At first, Xanadu tries to lead Corrigan astray to use

2240-427: A tradition in some parts of Germany, that to prevent the dead from masticating they placed a mound of dirt under their chin in the coffin, placed a piece of money and a stone in the mouth, or tied a handkerchief tightly around the throat. In 1732 an anonymous writer writing as "the doctor Weimar" discusses the non-putrefaction of these creatures, from a theological point of view. In 1733, Johann Christoph Harenberg wrote

2352-469: A type of demon that haunts modern-day Phú Thọ Province , within the communities of the Tai Dam ethnic minority . The word was first mentioned in the chronicles of 18th-century Confucian scholar Lê Quý Đôn , who spoke of a creature that lives among humans, but stuffs its toes into its nostrils at night and flies by its ears into houses with pregnant women to suck their blood. Having fed on these women,

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2464-483: A vampire cannot enter a house unless invited by the owner; after the first invitation they can come and go as they please. Though folkloric vampires were believed to be more active at night, they were not generally considered vulnerable to sunlight . Reports in 1693 and 1694 concerning citings of vampires in Poland and Russia claimed that when a vampire's grave was recognized, eating bread baked with its blood mixed into

2576-530: A vampiric being came across a sack of rice, it would have to count every grain; this is a theme encountered in myths from the Indian subcontinent , as well as in South American tales of witches and other sorts of evil or mischievous spirits or beings. Many rituals were used to identify a vampire. One method of finding a vampire's grave involved leading a virgin boy through a graveyard or church grounds on

2688-523: A virgin stallion—the horse would supposedly balk at the grave in question. Generally a black horse was required, though in Albania it should be white. Holes appearing in the earth over a grave were taken as a sign of vampirism. Corpses thought to be vampires were generally described as having a healthier appearance than expected, plump and showing little or no signs of decomposition. In some cases, when suspected graves were opened, villagers even described

2800-472: Is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood ) of the living. In European folklore , vampires are undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods which they inhabited while they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale vampire which dates from

2912-630: Is a common example; a branch of wild rose and hawthorn are sometimes associated with causing harm to vampires, and in Europe, mustard seeds would be sprinkled on the roof of a house to keep them away. Other apotropaics include sacred items, such as crucifix , rosary , or holy water . Some folklore also states that vampires are unable to walk on consecrated ground , such as that of churches or temples, or cross running water. Although not traditionally regarded as an apotropaic, mirrors have been used to ward off vampires when placed, facing outwards, on

3024-422: Is also an Albanian surname. Cultural practices often arose that were intended to prevent a recently deceased loved one from turning into an undead revenant. Burying a corpse upside-down was widespread, as was placing earthly objects, such as scythes or sickles , near the grave to satisfy any demons entering the body or to appease the dead so that it would not wish to arise from its coffin. This method resembles

3136-462: Is another medieval example of an undead creature with similarities to vampires. Vampiric beings were rarely written about in Jewish literature; the 16th-century rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra (Radbaz) wrote of an uncharitable old woman whose body was unguarded and unburied for three days after she died and rose as a vampiric entity, killing hundreds of people. He linked this event to the lack of

3248-472: Is full of magical books and objects, as well as jars containing the essences of malevolent entities. She rarely uses these objects of power, merely acting as a guardian of them. Xanadu is immortal, never aging and unable to die of natural causes thanks to her deal with Death. In the 2005 story Day of Vengeance , not even the Spectre could kill her, and instead blinded her to make her harmless. Madame Xanadu

3360-472: Is instrumental in ensuring the safety of Corrigan's soul, stopping the various rampages of the Spectre, and ultimately shows up at Jim Corrigan's funeral not as an advisor or enemy, but as his friend. She even sheds a tear as Jim Corrigan's soul leaves the mortal plane to go to Heaven. She is also consulted by the Suicide Squad about the increasing difficulty of dealing with Enchantress . She provides

3472-417: Is remembered as the quintessential vampire novel and provided the basis of the modern vampire legend, even though it was published after fellow Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 's 1872 novel Carmilla . The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre , still popular in the 21st century, with books, films , television shows, and video games. The vampire has since become a dominant figure in

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3584-414: Is still blind. She has regrown her eyes 14 times, only for them to be burned out again, because the Spectre's powers are beyond hers. However, Xanadu's abode would be the rallying point of the offense against the Spectre, gathering the Phantom Stranger, Zatanna , and Nabu . Xanadu has also found a way around the Spectre's curse by training an adept, Daena, to read the cards for her. Through Daena, she sees

3696-508: The karkanxholl (a lycanthropic creature with an iron mail shirt) or the lugat (a water-dwelling ghost or monster). The dhampir sprung of a karkanxholl has the unique ability to discern the karkanxholl ; from this derives the expression the dhampir knows the lugat . The lugat cannot be seen, he can only be killed by the dhampir, who himself is usually the son of a lugat. In different regions, animals can be revenants as lugats; also, living people during their sleep. Dhampiraj

3808-525: The Betsileo people of Madagascar tell of the ramanga , an outlaw or living vampire who drinks the blood and eats the nail clippings of nobles. In colonial East Africa, rumors circulated to the effect that employees of the state such as firemen and nurses were vampires, known in Swahili as wazimamoto . The Rougarou is an example of how a vampire belief can result from a combination of beliefs, here

3920-527: The East Village ) (changed to Greenwich Village in The Unexpected #192) and deciding to enter. She (usually) or he would tell a story of romance that was frustrated by an outside element. Xanadu, through a tarot reading , always determined this element to be of an occult nature, then sent the protagonist to do some task in which she would intervene with the use of her powers. Upon concluding

4032-622: The Empusae , the Lamia , the Mormo and the striges . Over time the first two terms became general words to describe witches and demons respectively. Empusa was the daughter of the goddess Hecate and was described as a demonic, bronze -footed creature. She feasted on blood by transforming into a young woman and seduced men as they slept before drinking their blood. The Lamia preyed on young children in their beds at night, sucking their blood, as did

4144-766: The Lady of the Lake , and then started traveling with Jason Blood , meeting other Dark Ages –based heroes and villains as Vandal Savage and the Shining Knight . Furthermore, the Dark Ages Xanadu is seen in a relationship with both Etrigan and Jason. The present-day Madame Xanadu is featured in the DC Universe reboot, in Justice League Dark , resuming her role as the keystone and supporter of

4256-535: The Lilu from Hebrew demonology . Lilitu was considered a demon and was often depicted as subsisting on the blood of babies, and estries , female shapeshifting, blood-drinking demons, were said to roam the night among the population, seeking victims. According to Sefer Hasidim , estries were creatures created in the twilight hours before God rested . An injured estrie could be healed by eating bread and salt given to her by her attacker. Greco-Roman mythology described

4368-577: The Mapuche of southern Chile have the bloodsucking snake known as the Peuchen . Aloe vera hung backwards behind or near a door was thought to ward off vampiric beings in South American folklore. Aztec mythology described tales of the Cihuateteo , skull-faced spirits of those who died in childbirth who stole children and entered into sexual liaisons with the living, driving them mad. During

4480-540: The Middle Ages , the Christian Churches reinterpreted vampires from their previous folk existence into minions of Satan , and used an allegory to communicate a doctrine to Christians : "Just as a vampire takes a sinner's very spirit into itself by drinking his blood, so also can a righteous Christian by drinking Christ's blood take the divine spirit into himself." The interpretation of vampires under

4592-612: The Phantom Stranger arrive at the House of Mystery with Christmas presents . Madame Xanadu's origins were explored in the first few arcs of her Vertigo series. According to these stories, her full name was once Nimue Inwudu and she is the youngest sister of Morgana (to become Morgaine Le Fay ) and Vivienne, the Lady of the Lake . The sisters are descendants of the Elder Folk, survivors of Atlantis who evolved into

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4704-616: The Phantom Stranger , she is a member of the Sentinels of Magic , a loose group of mages and mystics that are called upon to thwart Asmodel 's uprising in Hell. Nonetheless, she prefers to operate alone and is one of the few heroes who outright refuses to ally herself with the Stranger. To gain more power, Xanadu bartered her soul to the demon Neron , who gave her three loyal demons named Bathopet, Maw and Atopeh to do her commands. At first,

4816-549: The Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, officials noted the local practice of exhuming bodies and "killing vampires". These reports, prepared between 1725 and 1732, received widespread publicity. The notion of vampirism has existed for millennia. Cultures such as the Mesopotamians , Hebrews , Ancient Greeks , Manipuri and Romans had tales of demons and spirits which are considered precursors to modern vampires. Despite

4928-699: The Visayan Manananggal ("self-segmenter"). The mandurugo is a variety of the aswang that takes the form of an attractive girl by day, and develops wings and a long, hollow, threadlike tongue by night. The tongue is used to suck up blood from a sleeping victim. The manananggal is described as being an older, beautiful woman capable of severing its upper torso in order to fly into the night with huge batlike wings and prey on unsuspecting, sleeping pregnant women in their homes. They use an elongated proboscis-like tongue to suck fetuses from these pregnant women. They also prefer to eat entrails (specifically

5040-458: The ancient Greek practice of placing an obolus in the corpse's mouth to pay the toll to cross the River Styx in the underworld. The coin may have also been intended to ward off any evil spirits from entering the body, and this may have influenced later vampire folklore. This tradition persisted in modern Greek folklore about the vrykolakas , in which a wax cross and piece of pottery with

5152-403: The buttocks or away from the body. This act was seen as a way of hastening the departure of the soul, which in some cultures was said to linger in the corpse. The vampire's head, body, or clothes could also be spiked and pinned to the earth to prevent rising. Romani people drove steel or iron needles into a corpse's heart and placed bits of steel in the mouth, over the eyes, ears and between

5264-526: The devil was considered synonymous with the vampire. Almost every culture associates blood drinking with some kind of revenant or demon, or in some cases a deity. In India tales of vetālas , ghoulish beings that inhabit corpses, have been compiled in the Baitāl Pacīsī ; a prominent story in the Kathāsaritsāgara tells of King Vikramāditya and his nightly quests to capture an elusive one. Piśāca ,

5376-517: The fortune-telling parlor out of "the Village" . She, however, possesses limited real magic abilities of her own, but her mastery of the mystic arts has led her to manipulate various forces to gain great power. Having developed herself as an advisor, she now meets clientele plagued by supernatural problems. Although she can advise them, some force prevents her from directly interfering in solving their troubles. If one of her clients manages to conquer

5488-596: The gelloudes or Gello . Like the Lamia, the striges feasted on children, but also preyed on adults. They were described as having the bodies of crows or birds in general, and were later incorporated into Roman mythology as strix , a kind of nocturnal bird that fed on human flesh and blood. In Turkic mythology , an ubır is a vampiric creature characterized by various regional depictions. According to legends, individuals heavily steeped in sin and practitioners of black magic transform into ubırs upon their death, taking on

5600-439: The heart and the liver ) and the phlegm of sick people. The Malaysian Penanggalan is a woman who obtained her beauty through the active use of black magic or other unnatural means, and is most commonly described in local folklore to be dark or demonic in nature. She is able to detach her fanged head which flies around in the night looking for blood, typically from pregnant women. Malaysians hung jeruju (thistles) around

5712-577: The horror genre. The exact etymology is unclear. The term "vampire" is the earliest recorded in English, Latin and French and they refer to vampirism in Russia, Poland and North Macedonia. The English term was derived (possibly via French vampyre ) from the German Vampir , in turn, derived in the early 18th century from the Serbian вампир ( vampir ). Though this being

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5824-477: The incorruption of the bodies of saints was the effect of a divine intervention, all the phenomena attributed to vampires were purely natural or the fruit of "imagination, terror and fear". In other words, vampires did not exist. In the early 18th century, despite the decline of many popular folkloric beliefs during the Age of Enlightenment , there was a dramatic increase in the popular belief in vampires, resulting in

5936-452: The ma cà rồng then returns to its house and cleans itself by dipping its toes into barrels of sappanwood water. This allows the ma cà rồng to live undetected among humans during the day, before heading out to attack again by night. Jiangshi , sometimes called "Chinese vampires" by Westerners, are reanimated corpses that hop around, killing living creatures to absorb life essence ( qì ) from their victims. They are said to be created when

6048-494: The medieval period . With the arrival of Christianity in Greece , and other parts of Europe , the vampire "began to take on decidedly Christian characteristics." As various regions of the continent converted to Christianity , the vampire was viewed as "a dead person who retained a semblance of life and could leave its grave-much in the same way that Jesus had risen after His death and burial and appeared before His followers." In

6160-524: The Christian Churches established connotations that are still associated in the vampire genre today. For example, the "ability of the cross to hurt and ward off vampires is distinctly due to its Christian association." The 12th-century British historians and chroniclers Walter Map and William of Newburgh recorded accounts of revenants, though records in English legends of vampiric beings after this date are scant. The Old Norse draugr

6272-492: The Christian belief that all true believers may look forward to an eternal existence with body and soul as they were resurrected , but only at the end of time when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead . Those who are resurrected as immortal before this are thus in no way part of the divine plan of salvation. The imperfect state of the vampire body and how they, in spite of their immortal nature, still needed to feed of

6384-590: The DC Universe, who dated Destruction . Madame Xanadu was a regular supporting cast member in volumes 2 and 3 of The Spectre , those versions written by Doug Moench (31 issues, 1987–1989) and John Ostrander (62 issues, 1993–1998). A Madame Xanadu ongoing series from Vertigo was announced at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con and started in 2008. It was written by Matt Wagner , with art by Amy Reeder Hadley . The series also featured art stints by Kaluta, Joëlle Jones , Marley Zarcone , Laurenn McCubbin, Chrissie Zullo , Celia Calle , and Marian Churchland. The series

6496-477: The Empress passed laws prohibiting the opening of graves and the desecration of bodies, thus ending the vampire epidemic. Other European countries followed suit. Despite this condemnation, the vampire lived on in artistic works and in local folklore. Beings having many of the attributes of European vampires appear in the folklore of Africa, Asia, North and South America, and India. Classified as vampires, all share

6608-503: The Spectre-Force for her own agendas. She is depicted in a nude love scene with the Spectre in the form of mist, although readers in the letters column did not find this clear and Xanadu's nudity gratuitous. Subsequent issues made clear that this was a romantic relationship, but no more nudity was used. Over the course of their affiliation however, a strange form of friendship grows between Corrigan and Madame Xanadu. Over time, she

6720-594: The Squad with a ring and necklace that can harm the Enchantress if she tries to use her powers against the ring-bearers' wishes. Madame Xanadu also gives Timothy Hunter a reading, helping him along his path as an emerging sorcerer. She also confronts Tim's companion John Constantine , whom she believes stole a magic artifact called the Wind's Egg from her. Although Xanadu, among others, has no great love for or trust in

6832-576: The West; these are distinct from the original local words for the creature). In Albanian the words lu(v)gat and dhampir are used; the latter seems to be derived from the Gheg Albanian words dham 'tooth' and pir 'to drink'. The origin of the modern word Vampire ( Upiór means Hortdan , Vampire or witch in Turkic and Slavic myths.) comes from the term Ubir-Upiór, the origin of

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6944-749: The addition of the "v" sound in front of the large nasal vowel (on), characteristic of Old Bulgarian. Parallels are found in virtually all Slavic and Turkic languages: Bulgarian and Macedonian вампир ( vampir ), Turkish : Ubır, Obur, Obır , Tatar language : Убыр ( Ubır ), Chuvash language : Вупăр ( Vupăr ), Bosnian : вампир ( vampir ), Croatian vampir , Czech and Slovak upír , Polish wąpierz , and (perhaps East Slavic -influenced) upiór , Ukrainian упир ( upyr ), Russian упырь ( upyr' ), Belarusian упыр ( upyr ), from Old East Slavic упирь ( upir' ) (many of these languages have also borrowed forms such as "vampir/wampir" subsequently from

7056-519: The archaic verb vpeřit means 'to thrust violently') as an etymological background, and thus translates upír as 'someone who thrusts, bites'. The term was introduced to German readers by the Polish Jesuit priest Gabriel Rzączyński in 1721. The word vampire (as vampyre ) first appeared in English in 1732, in news reports about vampire "epidemics" in eastern Europe. After Austria gained control of northern Serbia and Oltenia with

7168-462: The belief that the government was colluding with vampires. Fears and violence recurred in late 2017, with 6 people accused of being vampires killed. In early 1970, local press spread rumours that a vampire haunted Highgate Cemetery in London. Amateur vampire hunters flocked in large numbers to the cemetery. Several books have been written about the case, notably by Sean Manchester, a local man who

7280-412: The blood of the living, further reflected the problematic aspect of the vampires. Contrary to how the incorruptible saints foreshadowed the immortality promised all true Christians at the end of time, the immortality of the undead vampires was thus not a sign of salvation, but of perdition. The unholy dimension of vampirism may also be reflected in how, in parts of Russia, the very word heretic , eretik ,

7392-479: The corpse as having fresh blood from a victim all over its face. Evidence that a vampire was active in a given locality included death of cattle, sheep, relatives or neighbours. Folkloric vampires could also make their presence felt by engaging in minor poltergeist -styled activity, such as hurling stones on roofs or moving household objects, and pressing on people in their sleep. Apotropaics —items able to ward off revenants—are common in vampire folklore. Garlic

7504-525: The court, she came into contact with a mystical artifact, resulting in some of her magical powers returning to her. Again she meets the Phantom Stranger. It does not go as expected, for she learns the Stranger walks outside of the timestream. During the French Revolution , she attempts to advise Marie Antoinette . During this era, she is able to regain her immortality by besting Death in a card game. Other incidents in her long years of life include

7616-453: The dead. The deadly disease tuberculosis , or "consumption" as it was known at the time, was believed to be caused by nightly visitations on the part of a dead family member who had died of consumption themselves. The most famous, and most recently recorded, case of suspected vampirism is that of nineteen-year-old Mercy Brown , who died in Exeter, Rhode Island in 1892. Her father, assisted by

7728-447: The demons responded to her every whim and almost raged out of her control. Over time, as she controlled her own emotions, she became able to control the demons as well. In Day of Vengeance #2, an Infinite Crisis tie-in, the Spectre, then unstable and believing that magic equaled evil, disabled Madame Xanadu and took her eyes. In the Day of Vengeance special it is revealed that Xanadu

7840-550: The destruction of the world with the Spectre winning and destroying everything. It is at her place that Nabu begins his offense against the Spectre as well as the strategy for restoring the Rock of Eternity . Madame Xanadu's standing in the new magic order has yet to be explored in detail, but it is known that she is still trying to cure her blindness. She assists the Shadowpact when members of their team were temporarily blinded by

7952-632: The doors and windows of houses, hoping the Penanggalan would not enter for fear of catching its intestines on the thorns. The Leyak is a similar being from Balinese folklore of Indonesia. A Kuntilanak or Matianak in Indonesia, or Pontianak or Langsuir in Malaysia, is a woman who died during childbirth and became undead, seeking revenge and terrorising villages. She appeared as an attractive woman with long black hair that covered

8064-893: The early 19th century. Vampiric entities have been recorded in cultures around the world ; the term vampire was popularized in Western Europe after reports of an 18th-century mass hysteria of a pre-existing folk belief in Southeastern and Eastern Europe that in some cases resulted in corpses being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Local variants in Southeastern Europe were also known by different names, such as shtriga in Albania , vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania , cognate to Italian strega , meaning ' witch '. In modern times,

8176-462: The evidence for vampirism. Numerous readers, including both Voltaire (critical) and numerous demonologists (supportive), interpreted the treatise as claiming that vampires existed. The controversy in Austria ceased when Empress Maria Theresa sent her personal physician, Gerard van Swieten , to investigate the claims of vampiric entities. Van Swieten concluded that vampires did not exist and

8288-624: The family physician, removed her from her tomb two months after her death, cut out her heart and burned it to ashes. Sarah Roberts (1872–1913) was an Englishwoman who died and was buried in Pisco, Peru . After her death, a legend evolved that she was a vampire and bride of Dracula. On June 9 1993, the 80th anniversary of her death, locals in Pisco feared she would come back to life and take her revenge. Vampires have appeared in Japanese cinema since

8400-402: The fingers at the time of burial. They also placed hawthorn in the corpse's sock or drove a hawthorn stake through the legs. In a 16th-century burial near Venice , a brick forced into the mouth of a female corpse has been interpreted as a vampire-slaying ritual by the archaeologists who discovered it in 2006. In Bulgaria , over 100 skeletons with metal objects, such as plough bits, embedded in

8512-663: The flour, or simply drinking it, granted the possibility of protection. Other stories (primarily the Arnold Paole case) claimed the eating of dirt from the vampire's grave would have the same effect. Methods of destroying suspected vampires varied, with staking the most commonly cited method, particularly in South Slavic cultures. Ash was the preferred wood in Russia and the Baltic states, or hawthorn in Serbia, with

8624-527: The hunting and staking of vampires. The hysteria, commonly referred to as the "vampire controversy," continued for a generation. At least sixteen contemporary treatises discussed the theological and philosophical implications of the vampire epidemic. Dom Augustine Calmet , a French theologian and scholar, published a comprehensive treatise in 1751 titled Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants which investigated and analysed

8736-492: The inscription " Jesus Christ conquers" were placed on the corpse to prevent the body from becoming a vampire. Other methods commonly practised in Europe included severing the tendons at the knees or placing poppy seeds, millet , or sand on the ground at the grave site of a presumed vampire; this was intended to keep the vampire occupied all night by counting the fallen grains, indicating an association of vampires with arithmomania . Similar Chinese narratives state that if

8848-436: The jiangshi cinematic boom of the 1980s and 1990s. In modern fiction, the vampire tends to be depicted as a suave, charismatic villain . Vampire hunting societies still exist, but they are largely formed for social reasons. Allegations of vampire attacks swept through Malawi during late 2002 and early 2003, with mobs stoning one person to death and attacking at least four others, including Governor Eric Chiwaya , based on

8960-502: The late 17th and 18th centuries. These tales formed the basis of the vampire legend that later entered Germany and England, where they were subsequently embellished and popularized. An early recording of the time came from the region of Istria in modern Croatia , in 1672; Local reports described a panic among the villagers inspired by the belief that Jure Grando had become a vampire after dying in 1656, drinking blood from victims and sexually harassing his widow. The village leader ordered

9072-468: The late 18th and 19th centuries the belief in vampires was widespread in parts of New England , particularly in Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut . There are many documented cases of families disinterring loved ones and removing their hearts in the belief that the deceased was a vampire who was responsible for sickness and death in the family, although the term "vampire" was never used to describe

9184-601: The late 1950s; the folklore behind it is western in origin. The Nukekubi is a being whose head and neck detach from its body to fly about seeking human prey at night. Legends of female vampiric beings who can detach parts of their upper body also occur in the Philippines , Malaysia , and Indonesia . There are two main vampiric creatures in the Philippines: the Tagalog Mandurugo ("blood-sucker") and

9296-733: The magical community in the DCU. Xanadu assists the 'Dark League' in various incidents, such as Zatanna vanishing and the House of Mystery letting loose demonic threats in Manhattan. She is later revealed to be the mother of the supervillain Doctor Destiny . National Comics , a revival of the anthology title, was launched in July 2012. The title expanded upon the New 52 universe by presenting single-issue stories about different DC characters, each by

9408-456: The mysteries of death. Porphyria was linked with legends of vampirism in 1985 and received much media exposure, but has since been largely discredited. The charismatic and sophisticated vampire of modern fiction was born in 1819 with the publication of " The Vampyre " by the English writer John Polidori ; the story was highly successful and arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century. Bram Stoker 's 1897 novel Dracula

9520-747: The mystical powers of the villains known as 'the Congregation'. It is the mystical aspect that allows her to help, though some of the group are able to heal the blindness on their own. Madame Xanadu appears in Countdown #50, operating out of "Hokus & Pokus Occult Curiosities" in Greenwich Village . She is unable to help Mary Marvel locate Captain Marvel Jr. She does advise Mary to avoid Gotham City , because "it isn't safe for magic". In The New 52 , Madame Xanadu has resurfaced as

9632-453: The neighbours. The Blagojević and Čečar incidents were well-documented. Government officials examined the bodies, wrote case reports, and published books throughout Europe. The problem was exacerbated by rural epidemics of so-called vampire attacks, undoubtedly caused by the higher amount of superstition that was present in village communities, with locals digging up bodies and in some cases, staking them. Even government officials engaged in

9744-412: The occurrence of vampiric creatures in these ancient civilizations, the folklore for the entity known today as the vampire originates almost exclusively from early 18th-century southeastern Europe , when verbal traditions of many ethnic groups of the region were recorded and published. In most cases, vampires are revenants of evil beings, suicide victims, or witches , but they can also be created by

9856-480: The person of Cathy Ann Thiele. The original storyline was developed by writer David Michelinie . Doorway to Nightmare , introduced in 1978, was the last of the DC "Mystery" line of titles in the 1970s that became the forerunner of Vertigo . It did not have a consistent creative team - the intent was to create writer-artist pairings that had never occurred before, except for the cover art of Michael Kaluta . Madame Xanadu,

9968-473: The race known as the Homo magi . Xanadu is the same Nimue who casts an imprisoning spell on her former lover Merlin , blaming him for manipulating Camelot and the course of history for his own gain. Merlin has the last laugh, though, as he succeeds in stripping her magic away from her, forcing her to use potions to maintain her immortality. The mysterious Phantom Stranger influences her betrayal of Merlin and

10080-502: The recent drinking of blood, which was often seen seeping from the mouth and nose when one was seen in its shroud or coffin, and its left eye was often open. It would be clad in the linen shroud it was buried in, and its teeth, hair, and nails may have grown somewhat, though in general fangs were not a feature. Chewing sounds were reported emanating from graves. The causes of vampiric generation were many and varied in original folklore. In Slavic and Chinese traditions , any corpse that

10192-538: The result of Barry Allen 's unintentional tampering with the timestream and the merging of the Vertigo , WildStorm and DC Universes. In the new continuity, Xanadu is no longer blind and despite her past as Nimue still applying, she seems to have taken a more proactive stance during the Fall of Camelot. Instead of quietly observing like she did in her core miniseries, she staunchly opposed the surrendering of Excalibur to

10304-426: The returned spirits of evil-doers or those who died insane, also bear vampiric attributes. The Persians were one of the first civilizations to have tales of blood-drinking demons: creatures attempting to drink blood from men were depicted on excavated pottery shards. Ancient Babylonia and Assyria had tales of the mythical Lilitu , synonymous with and giving rise to Lilith ( Hebrew לילית) and her daughters

10416-580: The short-lived DC Universe series Swamp Thing . Prescott was born in Washington, D.C., then adopted and raised in Hartsville, South Carolina . She is best known for her role as Jacqui in Season 1 of the television series The Walking Dead , which premiered on AMC in 2010. Prescott, a resident of Winston-Salem, North Carolina , divides her time between that city and Los Angeles. Prescott

10528-464: The skin of the chest was a way of "deflating" the bloated vampire. This is similar to a practice of " anti-vampire burial ": burying sharp objects, such as sickles, with the corpse, so that they may penetrate the skin if the body bloats sufficiently while transforming into a revenant. Decapitation was the preferred method in German and western Slavic areas, with the head buried between the feet, behind

10640-403: The son refused, he was found dead the following day. Blagojević supposedly returned and attacked some neighbours who died from loss of blood. In the second case, Miloš Čečar , an ex-soldier-turned-farmer who allegedly was attacked by a vampire years before, died while haying . After his death, people began to die in the surrounding area; it was widely believed that Miloš had returned to prey on

10752-507: The star of the series, was not a host but an active participant, albeit never the main character in her stories. The Phantom Stranger was criticized heavily in letter columns for taking a similar approach. The Doorway to Nightmare strip lasted for ten issues: five in its own series, four in The Unexpected issues #190, #192, #194 and #195, and one issue of Madame Xanadu , which was DC's second direct sales only comic. Madame Xanadu

10864-608: The story, the occult element would wind up in a mason jar in her back room. In the first issue, she apparently became trapped in a burning building. The central couple returns to her shop for nostalgia's sake and discovers her to be quite alive. This was a hint at the extent of her powers. The primary variation in the stories was what the occult threat actually was, be it demonic forces, Asian mummies, vampires , incubi , or other supernatural threats. In one story, she fought Azazel , but he looked nothing like in The Sandman . When

10976-482: The supernatural origins of the Spectre . This, in turn, prevents Madame Xanadu from interfering, despite having foreseen the potential menace the unchecked Spectre would have brought on Earth. It is revealed that Xanadu's later behavior stems from this earlier fault, her magic parlor being devised as a way to control the supernatural being, ultimately hoping to restrain and quell his rage. Eventually, Xanadu decides that she wants to atone for her sins and begins operating

11088-602: The thirst for blood. Various regions of Africa have folktales featuring beings with vampiric abilities: in West Africa the Ashanti people tell of the iron-toothed and tree-dwelling asanbosam , and the Ewe people of the adze , which can take the form of a firefly and hunts children. The eastern Cape region has the impundulu , which can take the form of a large taloned bird and can summon thunder and lightning, and

11200-461: The title was moved from its own series to a revamped, 68 page and ad-free version of The Unexpected (the stories were actually expanded from 17 to 22 pages with the move, part of the DC Implosion ), she was shown to be friendly with Abel in the inside front covers, which may or may not have been in continuity. She never met Abel in an actual story until DC Special Series #21, when she and

11312-421: The torso have been discovered. Further measures included pouring boiling water over the grave or complete incineration of the body. In Southeastern Europe, a vampire could also be killed by being shot or drowned, by repeating the funeral service, by sprinkling holy water on the body, or by exorcism . In Romania, garlic could be placed in the mouth, and as recently as the 19th century, the precaution of shooting

11424-632: The two continue to meet throughout the centuries, sharing an ambivalent relationship. Shortly after this, either she or the Lady of the Lake (regardless, called "Nimue") bore a son to Kon-Sten-Tyne, an ancestor of John Constantine . The child was left with Kon-Sten-Tyne, who sacrificed the boy as a teenager to Eve . Nimue wanders around the world for some time, becoming an advisor to many great rulers. She spends time in Kublai Khan 's court at Xanadu , leading to her assumed name of "Madame Xanadu". While at

11536-408: The vampire is generally held to be a fictitious entity, although belief in similar vampiric creatures (such as the chupacabra ) still persists in some cultures. Early folk belief in vampires has sometimes been ascribed to the ignorance of the body's process of decomposition after death and how people in pre-industrial societies tried to rationalize this, creating the figure of the vampire to explain

11648-659: The word Ubir or Upiór is based on the regions around the Volga (Itil) River and Pontic steppes . Upiór myth is through the migrations of the Kipchak - Cuman people to the Eurasian steppes allegedly spread. The Bulgarian format is впир (vpir, other names: onpyr, vopir, vpir, upir, upierz). Czech linguist Václav Machek proposes Slovak verb vrepiť sa 'stick to, thrust into', or its hypothetical anagram vperiť sa (in Czech,

11760-564: Was among the first to suggest the existence of the " Highgate Vampire " and who later claimed to have exorcised and destroyed a whole nest of vampires in the area. In January 2005, rumours circulated that an attacker had bitten a number of people in Birmingham , England, fuelling concerns about a vampire roaming the streets. Local police stated that no such crime had been reported and that the case appears to be an urban legend . The chupacabra ("goat-sucker") of Puerto Rico and Mexico

11872-610: Was canceled after one season. She also appeared in two episodes of HBO drama series, Big Little Lies in 2019 and guest-starred on 9-1-1 , Batwoman and Nancy Drew . In 2021 she appeared in the Netflix romantic comedy film Resort to Love and later took the recurring role in the BET+ drama series, All the Queen's Men . In 2023, she appeared in the romantic drama film, To Live and Die and Live . Vampire A vampire

11984-475: Was concluded after 29 issues, the final one dated January 2011. The series dealt with Madame Xanadu's early life from Arthurian times until the 1960s. Starting with issue #9, the book coincided with the events of the Golden Age DC Universe. The Doorway to Nightmare stories were typically structured around a protagonist stumbling upon Madame Xanadu's shop (stated to be on " Christy Street " in

12096-640: Was intended to appear in Guillermo del Toro 's adaptation of the Justice League Dark comics prior to its cancellation. Madame Xanadu appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . Jeryl Prescott Jeryl Prescott Sales (born March 25, 1964) is an American actress, best known for her role as Jacqui in the AMC horror series The Walking Dead . In 2019, she had series regular role of Madame Xanadu in

12208-477: Was jumped over by an animal, particularly a dog or a cat, was feared to become one of the undead. A body with a wound that had not been treated with boiling water was also at risk. In Russian folklore , vampires were said to have once been witches or people who had rebelled against the Russian Orthodox Church while they were alive. In Albanian folklore , the dhampir is the hybrid child of

12320-555: Was originally cast for just two episodes of the premiere season of The Walking Dead . However, her character, Jacqui, was then written into the series cast of the season as well. Prescott reprises her role as Jacqui in the Season 3 episode " Hounded ", as one of the voices that speaks to Rick on the phone. In 2014, Prescott directed, wrote and starred in the drama film Stand Down Soldier . Later, Prescott recurred as Cherry in Ray Donovan on Showtime . Prescott also appeared as

12432-484: Was synonymous with a vampire. Whoever denied God or his commandments became an eretik after his death, the improperly immortal figure that wandered the night in search of people to feed on. A paragraph on vampires was included in the second edition (1749) of De servorum Dei beatificatione et sanctorum canonizatione , On the beatification of the servants of God and on canonization of the blessed, written by Prospero Lambertini ( Pope Benedict XIV ). In his opinion, while

12544-656: Was the first DC Comics publication exclusive to the direct market but the second overall due to a Superboy Spectacular release a year earlier. As explained by Paul Levitz: "In a further effort to find new distribution, a Superboy Spectacular was produced for Random House 's in-school book club program and offered to comic shops but not newsstands". The first issue of Madame Xanadu bore little difference from an issue of Doorway to Nightmare . There were several requests to reprint it in letter columns of The Spectre , but they were refused because that issue gave little background as to her character, although it did introduce Ishtar to

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