Vampire bats

Now it's October, a time for spookiness and creepy crawlies. Vampire bats are a special kind of animal linked to Halloween. They're associated with eerie haunted places, dungeons, caves, castles and graveyards. There's many species of bats, although the creepy ones are vampire bats. 

Author Bram Stoker created Dracula. One of the traits of the vampire nobleman was the ability to shapeshift into a bat. It's always been considered unlucky to dream of bat mainly because they were once thought to be harbingers of death. While bats always have been regarded as creatures of witchcraft and demons, the discovery of blood drinking bats in the New World during the 16th century only increased their reputation into horror lore. Stoker was responsible for bringing vampire bats to Transylvania. All of his vampire bats originally come from the Americas.  

In reality, vampire bats mostly feast on the blood of farm animals and birds, as these are mostly outdoors. They don't suck blood! They sip blood from wounds. Just a small minority of bats drink blood in total of about 3 species, while the majority of bats prefer fruity meals, sometimes with insects and nectar. You can be rest assured that nearly all of the local bats here in Europe are interested in some nice chopped bananas and figs. 

Shadow Girl