VAMPYR
This is the tale of the strange adventures of young Allan Gray, who immersed himself in the study
of devil worship and vampires. Preoccupied with superstitions of centuries past, he became a dreamer
for whom the line between the real and the supernatural became blurred.
His aimless wanderings led him late one evening to a secluded inn by the river in a village called Courtempierre.
Who's there?
Go around.
Good night.
It was an eerie moonlit night. Light and shadow, voices and faces seemed to take on hidden meaning.
Allan Gray felt a sinister force descend upon him. In vain he fought
the terror that seized him, and fear of things he could not name haunted his restless sleep.
Who are you?
Quiet!
She mustn't die! You understand?
TO BE OPENED... UPON MY DEATH
What was going on? What terrifying secret was unfolding?
Allan Gray felt certain of one thing: A soul in mortal distress was crying out for help, and a voice within urged him to heed that call.
Justin, come here!
Silence!
Did you hear that?
Yes. The child.
The child?
Yes, the child!
There's no child here.
But the dogs!
There are no children or dogs here!
- No? - No. Good night.
Good night.
He followed the fleeting shadows and came to a large estate where a forlorn manor rose up among ancient trees.
Here, in seclusion, with only his two daughters and a few servants for company, lived the man who had appeared to Allan Gray earlier at the inn.
The wounds have almost healed.
The blood! The blood!
Don't go to bed until the doctor arrives.
Open up! Hurry!
For heavers sake, hurry!
What's wrong?
What is it?
Quick! They're trying to kill him!
The other door.
Jeanne, light the lamps in the library.
And you stay with Gisčle, you hear?
Is he dead?
Yes.
Wort you please stay here with us?
Where is he going?
To the police.
TO BE OPENED UPON MY DEATH
THE STRANGE HISTORY OF VAMPIRES
Accounts from many ages and lands tell of terrible demons called vampires.
These are the bodies and souls of the dead
whose terrible deeds in life deny them repose in the grave.
Under the bright light of the full moon,
they rise from their graves
to suck the blood of children and young adults
and thus prolong their shadowy existence.
The Prince of Darkness is their ally
and lends them supernatural power among the living and the dead.
At night these creatures from the abyss
haunt the abodes of the living,
where they sow death and decay.
A vampire's victim is doomed to perish without hope.
A wound on the throat, as from the bite of a cat or rat,
is the mark of damnation.
Neither medical science...
Léone!
Where?
There, outside!
Hurry!
Léone!
Quick!
Like a plague, the vampire's lust infects the victim,
who is torn between a thirst for blood
and a desperate repulsion toward this craving.
The innocent young person itself becomes a vampire
and seeks to prey on its nearest and dearest.
Entire families, even entire villages, are thus brought under the curse.
If I could only die!
No, Léone.
I know.
I'm lost.
I'm damned.
I think she's dying.
Didrt you hear a scream?
Come! The carriage is back!
She's asleep.
Good God!
What is that?
See that?
Blood.
The ghosts of executed criminals are in their service,
but the living too may fall under their dreadful sway.
An account from Hungary tells of a village doctor
who, having sold his soul to the Evil One,
became a vampire's henchman
and thus an accessory to a series of horrid crimes in that region.
Good evening, Doctor.
Good evening. How is she doing?
- Not well at all. - Oh? Why is that?
We found her out on the grounds.
Well, let's go see.
She has another of those marks on her neck.
We'll have a look.
Good evening.
Come along.
You stay down here.
She's doing very poorly.
- Pulse? - Weak.
Can't she be saved?
Perhaps.
But she needs blood.
It must be human blood.
Are you willing to give her your own?
Come, young man.
I'll draw your blood.
Why does the doctor always come at night?
Once the vampire has gained complete control over its victim,
it seeks to drive the victim to suicide,
thus delivering that soul to the Evil One.
For he who takes his own life is lost for all eternity.
To him the Golden Gates of Heaven are closed.
For him all hope is lost.
Sister.
Come here a moment.
You may go to bed now.
Did you hear me?
Who can solve the riddle of life and death
or fathom the dark secrets hidden from the light of day?
For just as strange as a vampire's existence
is the manner of its demise.
These dead who cannot find peace must be murdered
to deliver a tormented humanity from their grip.
Many monasteries and libraries possess in their secret archives...
Doctor!
What's wrong?
I'm losing blood.
Nonsense! Your blood is right here!
...accounts of how vampires have been rendered harmless in many places.
In the village of Kisilova,
haunted a generation ago by a vampire in the form of an old woman,
the following procedure was used:
At dawn the grave was opened,
and the old woman was found lying as if asleep.
An iron stake was driven through her heart,
nailing her horrid soul to the earth.
She then died a true death,
and the curse that had lain upon herself and her victims was broken.
Come... follow me.
We shall become one soul, one blood.
Follow me.
Death is waiting...
...deliverance by the grace of our heavenly Lord.
Even in these parts,
tradition tells how certain areas were haunted by vampires.
Just 25 years ago, a murderous epidemic
claimed 11 victims in the village of Courtempierre.
Doctors assigned the plague a medical name,
but a persistent rumor circulated among the people
that a vampire was the cause of the scourge.
Many firmly believed that vampire to be
none other than Marguerite Chopin, who lay buried in the village cemetery.
All her life, Marguerite Chopin had been a monster in human form.
She died an unrepentant soul,
and the Church denied her the Last Sacraments.
Come quickly!
Something terrible is happening!
Come quickly!
Sister.
I'm afraid of dying.
I am damned!
My God!
Sister.
She mustrt die.
She must live until sunrise, you understand?
FROM DUST THOU ART
UNTO DUST THOU SHALT RETURN
Now go!
Quickly!
I feel strong.
My soul is free.
Ah, you're here. Open this.
You hear me?
Listen to me!
Please!
Curse you, you bastard!
Open up!
Let me out of here!
Open this gate!
Over here.
This way.