The latest post on Providentia gives a short history of vampire hysteria and folklore. It reminds me of a a book I really like, Food for the Dead by Michael E. Bell.

“A more serious case involving anti-vampire hysteria occurred in 2002 when a number of villagers living in southern Malawi claimed to have been attacked for their blood. The resulting panic led to two men being stoned to death on suspicion of being vampires. Elements of the vampire rumour suggested that foreign aid agencies were aiding the vampires and three Catholic priests were attacked by vigilantes due to the resulting xenophobia. The Malawian government was accused of supplying blood to foreign aid agencies in exchange for food aid and one senior government official was seriously injured after being stoned by an angry mob. Much as in other cases of mass panic, it took an aggressive government media campaign coupled with arrests of “irresponsible parties” caught spreading rumours to quell the mobs and return life to normal.”

Incidentally you can read the first chapter of Food for the Dead here.