Coventry Street Vampire (1922) was a Vampire scare in London. On the night of the full Moon in April 1922, an enormous black BAT-like creature with a six-foot wingspan was reported flying around West Drayton Church in London. Several people said they witnessed it dive down into the CEMETERY and prowl about the tombs. Two policemen gave it chase, causing it to emit a blood-curdling screech and fly away. An old man opined that the creature was the spirit of a vampire who, in the 1890s, had murdered a woman by drinking her Blood.
Later, on April 16th around 6 A.M., a man walking down Coventry Street in London’s West End felt himself seized by an invisible presence and bitten on the neck. He felt as though his blood were being sucked out, and he fell unconscious. When he awakened in Charing Cross Hospital, doctors said he appeared to have been stabbed with a thin tube.
Two and a half hours later, a second unconscious man was brought to the same hospital; he was bleeding heavily from the neck. When he regained consciousness, he also told of being attacked by an invisible presence while walking down Coventry Street. Later in the evening, a third victim with the same story and wounds was admitted to the hospital. All three said they’d been stabbed at exactly the same spot.
Rumours of a vampire on the loose circulated; the police had no apparent leads. Another rumour circulated that the police had hired a Vampire Hunter, who had tracked the creature down and taken it to Highgate Cemetery, where he drove a stake through its heart. That rumour apparently originated in a Covent Garden pub.
It is not known whether the mystery of the Coventry Street Vampire was ever solved, but the attacks apparently stopped.
SEE ALSO:
- Highgate Vampire
- Mothman
- Famous Vampires
- Vampires
FURTHER READING:
- Slemen, Thomas. Strange But True: Mysterious and Bizarre People. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1998.
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters – Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley -a leading expert on the paranormal -Copyright © 2005 by Visionary Living, Inc.