(注：作业，囧)Demons, witches, vampires, werewolves and zombies are all creatures that stir up the horrors of our imagination. Anthony Head – of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – investigates the facts behind the a bad reputation.

The word, ‘demon’, comes from the Greek word, ‘daimon’, which means, ‘supernatural being’, or, ‘spirit’. In ancient Greece, it was believed that a daimon could influence a person’s character for both good and bad. 2,000 years ago Christianity condemned belief in this kind of spirits and began calling them demons. Demons have been viewed as evil spirits as ever since.

The chief demon has a host of different names: Satan; Lucifer; Beelzebub; and the Devil, to name just a few. Beelzebub is referred to in the Bible as Baalzebub, or Baal. In ancient cultures Baal was a fertility and sun god and was worshipped to ensure plentiful crops. Hebrew priests later taught that Baal was a malevolent spirit, responsible for drought and famine and so he became a demon.

Satan was a fallen angel who turned against God. The Christian religion believes that he leads a host of demons whose aim is to tempt man away from God and redemption into a life of evil. Demons are disembodied spirits who suffer in torment in hell.

The Christian Church, most notably Catholicism, believes that demons are able to enter a person’s body and possess them in order to enter the material world. Demonic possession can take many forms; some people say they can hear voices in their head telling them to do terrible things. Others may fall into a trance or a terrible rage becoming uncharacteristically violent and abusive. There have even been reports of demons causing people to levitate and expel objects from their bodies. Only certain priests are permitted to carry out exorcisms. They perform rituals, using holy water and the name of Jesus to expel Satan from the body of the possessed.

During the Middle Ages, demonic possession was seen as a real problem and hundreds, even thousands, of people would flock to churches to watch exorcisms performed. The Catholic Church still takes demonic possession very seriously. In 1999, the Pope renewed the rite of exorcism and increased the number of exorcists.

The Catholic Church has carried out thousands of exorcisms each year for 500 years and continues to do so. Critics say that demonic possession can be explained by physical conditions, such as epilepsy or mental illness. They believe people hear voices in their head because they are suffering from schizophrenia, or multiple personality disorder, and not because a demon has taken over their bodies. But others, who believe in demonic possession as a real and dangerous problem, argue that victims speak and understand languages they do not know. They demonstrate bodily strength way beyond what is normal and become clairvoyant, knowing secrets that they could only discover by reading other people’s thoughts.

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A creature with supernatural powers that rises from the dead to suck the blood of the living – could anything be more terrifying? Myths and legends about vampires can be found all over the world, stretching back for thousands of years. Stories of vampires came from the Far East, carried by merchants along trade routes to Eastern Europe, and it’s here that modern myths about vampires took root.

The Slavic regions have the richest vampire folklore, dating back to the conflict between Christianity and pagan beliefs in the 9th century. Six hundred years later, came the most famous vampire of all, Vlad Tepes Dracula, Prince of Wallachia. “Tepes” means “impaler”, a name Dracula earned because of his horrific methods of torture and execution. Stories of the ruthless prince drinking the blood of his victims fuelled vampire myths.

The word 'vampire' didn’t actually appear until the 18th century, entering the English language in 1732. Some believe that the myths surrounding vampires may have arisen because of rabies outbreaks in Europe. Victims of the disease experience fatigue and loss of appetite. In the later stages they can suffer violent episodes, often attacking other people and trying to bite them, especially if they are exposed to mirrors or strong sunlight.

You were doomed to become a vampire if one bit you and the bodies of heretics, criminals and people who had committed suicide were also said to rise from the dead, unless certain precautions were taken. The corpse was decapitated or pierced with stakes or thorns, garlic was placed in the mouth and poppy or millet seeds put in the coffin, because vampires are supposed to have a fascination with counting! Bodies were frequently exhumed to check for signs of vampirism, which could include a lack of decomposition, blood around the mouth and hair or fingernail growth.

You could spot a vampire by his or her aversion to silver, garlic and holy water and they’d have enlarged incisors and hairy palms. They would cast no shadow, have no reflection in a mirror and never enter a house unless invited. Vampire bats are only found in Latin America and it wasn’t until the 16th century, when the Spanish brought back tales of blood sucking bats to Europe, that they became associated with vampires.

Vampires of ancient myth and legend were hideous looking creatures with no intelligence, but romantic literature of the 19th century portrayed them as charming and alluring. Bram Stoker’s gothic novel 'Dracula' (1897), which was inspired by Vlad the Impaler, has had the most profound effect on the image of the vampire. Stoker’s character was suave, intelligent and sexually alluring, with the ability to control the minds of his victims.

But it wasn’t until the film, 'Nosferatu' (1922), that vampires were portrayed as being vulnerable to sunlight. Many say that Bela Lugosi portrayed the definitive vampire in classic Hollywood movies, closely followed by Hammer Horror’s Christopher Lee. More recently, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' kicked vampire butt and her ex-boyfriend, 'Angel', was a vampire with a soul!

The world's best-known vampire story comes to life in this expert performance by Robert Whitfield. No music, no special audio tricks detract from the chilling, gruesome tale of the un-dead. Whitfield's minimalist narration suits perfectly. His subtle shading of voice gives complete personality and motivation to each of the eight protagonists, with exaggerated accent reserved for the Dutch Dr. van Helsing, and, to a lesser extent, Count Dracula himself. His women come across as sweet, yet intelligent. With the same understated clarity, he brings full voice to the voluptuous vampiresses' seduction of their victims and to the malevolent machinations of the Count. For a classic performance of a classic work, this production must not be missed. R.P.L. An AudioFile Earphones Award winner.