dearg-diulai

I'm descended from Potato Famine immigrants (we even have some great, old family photos from around the 1850s). Therefore, I'm feeling the surge of Irish pride we Americans get on St. Patrick's Day and want to pass along the Irish vampire legend of the dearg-diulai.

Dearg-diulai--otherwise known as dearg-due, dearg-dul, dearg-dur, among other names--is the story of a beautiful Irish woman who rises from the grave once a year (or more often, depending on which version of the legend you read). Her name is said to mean "red blood sucker," and she lures men with sexual advances before drinking their blood.

While writing The Vampire's Wife, I researched vampire legends from around the world and loved learning about the different techniques of keeping vampires in their graves. In the case of the dearg-diulai, the popular method of keeping her from rising is to pile heavy stones on top of her grave.

And let's not forget that one of the most legendary vampire novelists of all time was an Irishman: Bram Stoker. As was Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, the author of the influential 1870s vampire novella Carmilla.

There's your Irish vampire history and literary studies lesson in a nutshell. Happy St. Patrick's Day!