The 18th century āvampire epidemicsā in Central and Eastern Europe are mentioned in a (deleted) scene between Professor Von Franz, Dr. Sievers and Friedrich Harding, where the Professor asks Sievers to share Glaserās account on the āpestilent revenants of the eastern frontiers of the Hapsburg Empireā.
Glaser was a āContagions-Medicusā (a sort of infectious disease specialist) send to investigate epidemic outbreaks in a small village in Serbia. His conclusion: a vampire was the cause (and his report is available online). Based on his scientific views (ācontagionismā), Glaser āmedicalizedā vampirism as an infectious disease; the bite of a vampire would turn others into vampires; which created a new vampire myth, inspired countless writers to this day, including Bram Stoker.
Since this doesnāt apply to āNosferatuā (2024) and Count Orlokās victims just die of plague and to become a vampire in the āNosferatuā tale, one has to make a Faustian bargain (sell their soul to the Devil), the āaccountā in the film is also incorrect, on purpose, otherwise it could confuse the audience:
āA plague ravaged the countryside. The alleged cause... a walking corpse that maintained a semblance of life by feeding on the heart blood of the living. Every victim succumbed to death.ā
Since this literal contagion of vampirism (thereās the metaphorical, though) isnāt exactly relevant to the narrative of the film, I donāt think itās worth discussing it further. Here are some papers and essays for those interested in learning more about this topic:
Peter J. BrƤunlein; āThe frightening borderlands of Enlightenment: The Vampire Problemā (2012)
ĆdĆ”m MĆ©zes; āDoubt and diagnosis: Medical experts and the returning dead of the southern Habsburg borderland (1718-1766)ā (2019) [PDF available online]
ĆdĆ”m MĆ©zes; āVampire Contagion as a Forensic Fact: The Vampires of MedveÄa in 1732ā (2020)
Clemens Ruthner; āOutbreaks of the Balkan Village Vampire in the Eighteenth Centuryā (2024)















