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The history of vampires is incredibly vast and stretches across every country on the globe. Everyone has their own, sometimes bizarre, vampire myths and legends. Folktales that have existed for hundreds of years are still remembered today among those who love the historical world of vampires. I am one of those people who adore the history of the undead, which is why today I bring you a story of the Bosnian lampir.

Lampir is actually the Bosnian word for vampire, a word that usually popped up during severe epidemics. Due to the lack of medical knowledge ages ago, vampires were often the blame for disease and death. That was the case with the lampir. Disease was what usually triggered the appearance of a lampir in towns, if disease swept through the community it was more often than not attributed to lampirs if no other cause could be found.

The first person stricken by the disease and killed by it was labeled as a vampire, and those who were died after were all considered to be victims of the original vampire, and said to be incredibly dangerous for they could further spread death to the town.

In 1879 when the Austrians took control of Bosnia, officials made note of many cases of people exhuming corpses and burning them as lampirs (a practice common throughout parts of Europe), since fire was the one and only way to destroy this vampire. The Austrians, not agreeing with such practices, later banned them.

This fear didn’t just exist in Bosnia hundreds of years ago, it was also prominent in more recent years. In an article written in 1923 by M. Edith Durham, an English anthropologist studying in Bosnia, reported her experience:

“A recent case was when there was an outbreak of typhus [in 1906] … A young man was first to die. His wife sickened and swore that her husband returned in the night and sucked her blood and said, 'He is a lampir.' The neighbours, filled with fear, begged the authorities to permit them to dig up and burn his body. Permission was refused, and panic ensued. The lampir was seen and heard by many people and there were 15 deaths."

Stories such as this always fascinate me. The things people believe due to fear and ignorance amaze me. But who knows, maybe there really were vampires and not just disease.

- Moonlight

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Warning: Lots of BIG spoilers below.

The finale to The Vampire Diaries third season was definitely a hell of a ride. All kinds of drama went down and it was damn good. I loved it! There were a few moments in the finale that stuck out in my mind more than others, so instead of recapping every second of the episode, I’m just sharing my thoughts on the biggest and best.

Elena is a Vampire
At the end of the episode Elena becomes a vampire! That’s sure to please a lot of book fans since she becomes a vampire very quickly into the book series. According to executive producer Julie Plec, turning Elena has been in the works for two years. They wanted to choose the right moment for her to begin this journey. It’ll definitely make Season 4 more interesting. Maybe everyone won’t be trying to protect her as much since she now has super powers. I personally love that Elena is a vampire. It will start a new journey for her, something other than the same Elena drama we have seen the past few season. I want something new for her, and this is new.

Elena’s Choice
The big love triangle has ended… for now. Elena chose Stefan! I figured that she would have, she has so much love and history with him. Her goodbye speech with Damon was interesting, especially when she said that if she had met Damon first it may have been him she picked. A flashback later revealed that it was Damon she met first, but that he compelled her to forget. I wonder if that will come up again when Elena gets her lost memories back during vampire transition. According to Julie Plec in an interview about the finale, “Damon now has a small collection of things that he’s compelled her to forget. If there’s one thing that everyone knows about our vampire rules it’s that when you die and are in transition, your memories start to come back. So, there’s some new information that will be introduced to Elena in the first episode of next season." Plec added that, "I think it’s just all part of the ongoing friendship and romantic entanglement that Elena has with Damon. She’s never gonna be able to shake it completely, and new information is only gonna get under her skin and embed itself into her even more. And so, it will cause complications with Stefan, of course. But she’s committed to Stefan. She loves Stefan. We’ll get to actually see them be together for a little while."

Plec revealed a lot there! Elena will remember a lot of little things, the love triangle isn’t totally dead, and her and Stefan will be happy for a while.

The Klaus/Tyler Drama
Ok, the stuff that went down with Tyler and Caroline was totally boring to me and honestly, I don’t even care to mention it. What I do feel like talking about is what the hell is going on with Klaus being in Tyler’s body? I know Bonnie performed some dark magic and pulled the same body switching spell that Esther did. Did she do it just to protect her friend's vampire line?  And what about Tyler, why did she pick him? I'm so confused. I really don't like where it's going to go.

Bonnie’s Darkness
Bonnie is using more and more dark magic and it’s affecting her. Again, Julie Plec confirmed that we will be seeing the consequences of that darkness next season. My theory is that Bonnie will just get darker and darker and that she is going to have Willow moment like in Buffy. For those of you who haven’t watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer (tsk tsk), Willow, a sweet and good witch, totally loses it and succumbs to very dark magic which turns her evil. I am thinking the same may happen to Bonnie.

Those are the big moments that stood out in my head and have me excited for Season 4 of The Vampire Diaries. What about you? What did you think of the finale?

For those of you who want more dish on the finale, check out this interview with Julie Plec. She discusses the finale in great detail and even reveals some goodies on the next season.

- Moonlight

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HBO knows that the Truebies of the world are dying for any goodies on the upcoming fifth season, which is why they have just released the Season 5 cast posters! The posters show off old and new characters, and one poster in particular shows off much more than just a face, it reveals one big spoiler. Whether or not it was HBO’s plan to reveal it to us is unknown, but either way, the secret is out.  Check out the cast posters below and see if you can figure out the big spoiler (don’t look if you want it to be a surprise when you watch the show).

Did you spot it? It’s Tara! Tara is part of the Season 5 cast, she has her own character poster and everything. For those that may have forgotten – in the bloody fourth season finale of True Blood, Tara was shot in the head by Debbie Pelt. The show then ended with Sookie screaming for help and we were left not knowing whether or not Tara survived the horrific wound. That was the big cliffhanger of the season, and now, we know that she survives. If that’s not enough proof for you, I’ve got more! Rutina Wesley, the lovely actress who plays Tara, has already been added to the Season 5 episode casting list. According to IMDB, she will be in quite a few Season 5 episodes. So it has been confirmed, Tara will return, how long she will stay is something we’ll just have to wait and see.

The return of Tara is great news for some and horrible news for others. Some True Blood fans absolutely despise Tara and her constant personal drama, but others love her and her kickass attitude.

Where do you stand? Are you excited about the return of Tara or not? Were you hoping she would die? How do you think True Blood is going to pull off her surviving a gunshot to the head?

- Moonlight

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According to the interwebs, the young adult vampire novel, Soulstice: Luna's Dream by Lance Dow and Keana Texeira, is making its way to film. Both IMDb and the author’s website say that the teen romance will be made into a movie. Never heard of this book? Worry not, neither have I, and judging by the lack of reviews on Amazon and every other book site, no one else has either.

As much as I want to get excited about a brand new vampire film, I can’t in this case. There is little to no information on this supposed movie and that tells me that this is most likely the work of an unknown author hoping that their book will be made in a film. Until there are details on production, director, studio and cast… etc. I am simply going to assume that this is one movie not happening. If their website, Facebook or Twitter had any solid information on the film, then I would totally be on board. But there is nothing. Ah well.

I am being a negative Nancy though, so who knows, it’s possible they may eventually make a movie. In that case, here’s the book description:

"LUNA'S DREAM is the first installment in the thrilling teen romance and action packed saga between 15-year old vampire and social outsider, Luna Tremaine and 16-year old closet introvert turned star quarterback, Paul James. Dangerous desires put their young love and the loyalty of family and close friends to the ultimate test with Luna's and Paul James' forbidden mingling of vampires and humans; breaking an eons old vampire code. The danger explodes when a trio of deadly and "vicious" teen vampire cheerleaders from powerful vampire families, the "Killer Bees", set their bloodlust onto the prize of Luna's, Paul James. Luna and best friend Lily Burgoyne take that danger to unbelievable heights in the thrilling climax of SOULSTICE: LUNA'S DREAM."

It may make a good movie… if it ever gets off the ground.

What do you think of the premise of Soulstice: Luna's Dream? Will you give the book a read? Are you hoping it does come to film?

- Moonlight

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It’s season finale time for The Vampire Diaries! Coming this Thursday, May 10, is the epic finale to Season 3 of our favorite vampire drama. Every fan is dying for some insight and what’s to come, and lucky for us, Ian Somerhalder (Damon) and Nina Dobrev (Elena) recently chatted about the finale. If that’s not enough, I also have the mysterious episode synopsis and promo video for you as well. Check it out!

The sexy stars Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev spoke to fans at the Bloody Night Convention in Barcelona, Spain, on May 5 and gave a little bit of dish on what fans can (or cannot) expect in the finale.

When a fan asked what the expectations are for the characters during the next episodes and into season 4, Ian simply said that "It's best not to have any expectations so you don't get disappointed."

Nina then further explained that when you expect certain events to happen and they don't, people tend to feel let down, so she added "Expect nothing!" Of course, this answer didn’t really thrill the fans.

When asked about the relationship between Damon and Elena, Nina teased that Damon makes Elena laugh and added that a romance "may happen." Meanwhile, Ian further taunted with "You never know…"

Ok, that’s not the most informative interview. They are very hush hush on the whole subject. All we know is that Damon isn’t out yet of the love triangle yet.

Something with a little more spark in it is the episode description for the finale! It definitely has me excited. Check it out:

"Determined to protect his sister, Jeremy makes a decision that will change everything. In the harsh reality of the present situation, Elena longs for simpler times when her parents, Grayson and Miranda, and Aunt Jenna were still alive and her biggest concern was her relationship with Matt. Stefan and Damon leave Mystic Falls together on a mission, but soon split up when Elena needs one of them. Caroline and Tyler are forced to make a life-changing decision. Finally, Bonnie makes a secret deal that has heartbreaking consequences."

It sounds like we are in for a very unhappy ending to Season 3. From the looks of that synopsis nothing good will be coming their way.

Here is the promo video:

Oh noes! It looks like Elena and Matt go off the very bridge that killed her parents. Things are not looking hot for Elena.

What do you think will go down in the finale? Are you excited?

- Moonlight

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Waiting sucks, doesn’t it? HBO feels your pain, which is why they have released another sneak peek of the upcoming fifth season of True Blood. This new promo features Christopher Meloni's eerie Vampire Authority character. On top of a new promo, HBO has also released over a dozen character photos from Season 5! See the promo and pictures below!

Christopher Meloni's character is the haunting star in the promo video. It shows the ancient vampire in a dark ceremony that involves him giving a drop of his blood to a girl, before he flashes his fangs. Also seen in the teaser is Christopher Heyerdahl, who plays Vampire Authority chancellor Dieter Brown.

Check out the "Waiting Sucks" promo for yourself:

Meloni's Vampire Authority character Roman is described as someone who is powerful and holds the fate of Bill and Eric in his hands. As for the Vampire Authority, it is said to be a mysterious council created by Roman and comprising of seven of the most powerful vampires in existence. This council is the ultimate authority over all vampires in the world, and is worshiped by many with an almost religious fervor. According to Season 5 rumors, we will be seeing a lot of the Authority this upcoming season. That’s sure to cause all kinds of wild drama.

Other new faces that will appear on the show this upcoming season include Eric's vampire sister Nora (Lucy Griffiths), fairy Claudette (Camilla Luddington) and other members of the Vampire Authority played by Peter Mensah, Carolyn Hennesy, Valentina Cervis and Jacob Hopkins. To meet all of the new characters, head over HERE for the full list.

Now for the pictures! Check out the first Season 5 poster and the very first character photos just released by HBO:

True Blood Season 5 will premiere Sunday, June 10 at 9/8c on HBO.

What do you think of the latest "Waiting Sucks" promo?

- Moonlight

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Thirst of Night is a new vampire strategy game that is free to play on PC. That’s right, free! If that’s not good enough, this game is unlike any vampire game I have come across. See the details below!

In Thirst of Night, your task is to first rebuild your vampire city that had been destroyed in a war against the humans. In this strategy game, you will control a select race of vampires as you raise your army to fight both your human foes and enemy vampiric bloodlines. You can also make alliances with other vampires to dominate anyone who opposes you.

From the official press release:

"Kabam’s vampire strategy game, Thirst of Night, seeks new human blood to build a new empire in the ashes of human civilization.

Available to play for free on Kabam.com, Google+ and Poki, Thirst of Night takes place in a world of perpetual twilight where vampires celebrate their freedom after centuries of suffering under cruel mortal masters. The game blends MMO-style strategy and social features, allowing players to create alliances with other gamers and raise a powerful vampiric-army to exterminate mankind and rival clans of the undead.

The game recently expanded with a new Serpent Outpost that gives players a new Serpent Gargoyle called the “Purpleblood Hatchling,” as well as unlocking a powerful new Alchemist unit that can hold its ground versus both melee and ranged foes. Players who possess a Serpent Outpost will have a distinct advantage over their vampire brethren, as the outpost will yield rich resources as well as the new unit and Gargoyle.

Vampire players looking for extra excitement in their eternal lives will be able to find it with Thirst of Night’s new Mystery Chest feature. The Mystery Chest rewards players with powerful in-game items that can turn the tide of battle."

For more information on the game, check out the official Thirst of Night website.

Will any of you give Thirst of Night a play?

- Moonlight

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