Vampires in Afghanistan? Soldiers Say It's True

"They come out at night, sometimes people come up missing, especially kids. They even pull their animals inside when the vampires are out." - Soldier at Bagram, Afghanistan

American soldiers preparing for a mission in Afghanistan before dawn. Some soldiers say the dangers for soldiers at night include otherworldly problems, namely vampires. Photo by: Tim King

(SALEM, Ore.) - During my two months on assignment in the Afghanistan combat theater last winter, I covered all kinds of military operations for Salem-News.com and Oregon's KPTV FOX-12. While I was there I spent time on forward combat bases, I went on infantry foot patrols, flew in helicopters, and witnessed levels of disparity that were hard to imagine.

But the only time I thought I was going to vomit in that faraway land was when a very strange American soldier found it necessary to tell me about the Afghan vampires. Call it a coincidence, maybe it was the coffee, I will never know for sure, but twenty minutes with this guy sent me running for the men's room.

I've been asked to write more about the haunted side of Afghanistan, so I figured the vampire story would have to be told. I can't say I had ever heard of an Afghan vampire, though you can sort of imagine it in that ancient place. Now I learn that Director John Moore's new movie Virulents is about lost soldiers in Afghanistan who stumble upon a nest of vampire zombies. It is a strange coincidence at best, but the notion of Afghan vamps is certainly nothing new.

The day I met this soldier I was at the Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, waiting for a series of flights which would lead me to Kyrgyzstan, then Turkey, then Germany and then back to the states.

I don't know why this soldier decided to approach my friend and I, there were plenty of soldiers around, but he walked up and almost instantly asked if we knew about the vampire problems people in the local area experienced. My friend Rick was a major who had spent most of his time at Camp Phoenix at Kabul, I on the other hand had moved around the country to several places, but I'd only spent part of a day at Bagram. Neither of us had heard anything about Afghan vampires.

This soldier said it was common lore in the area, and that the vampires struck horror in the hearts of the people around certain parts of Afghanistan more than the Taliban. "They are really terrified of them," he said. "It scares people half to death if they just think one is around," he said.

"They come out at night, sometimes people come up missing, especially kids. They even pull their animals inside when the vampires are out."

My friend and I both wished that this guy and his bizarre stories would get lost, but he stayed right there telling us more about the local fears associated with the vampires of Afghanistan.

"It's been going on for hundreds of years here, people in other parts of the world don't even know about it; but anyone who has lived around here does."

There is no doubt that the people of Afghanistan are superstitious. Death is such a common occurrence here, and graves are no less than prevalent in places, you just see signs of it everywhere. The soldier said even our military forces have to be aware of this strange phenomena in certain parts of the country.

"Guys are scared, you're damned right. They know there isn't a thing anyone can do about it if one of them decides to come after you, you just stick with other people and hope for the best sometimes."

Another soldier made this statement, "Afghan vampire lives in the deep desert (makes sense dessication and all), looks like a normal person but is quite a bit taller, (not bigger, just taller), and most of them are women."

I would like to hear from anyone who has anything to add on this, you can post your thoughts in the comment section. Perhaps other soldiers who have spent time in Afghanistan have their own theories.

It is hard to argue with folklore, most people in third world countries adhere to it very strongly. I didn't hear it from Afghan people, and the guy who did tell me about it caused me to almost lose my lunch, I didn't thank goodness.

The Afghan Vampire Movie Virulents

John Moore is planning to release Virulents next year, his most recent film was the remake of The Omen in 2006. He is also known for his remake of the Flight of the Phoenix in 2004 and Behind Enemy Lines in 2001.

Virulents is a tale of a group of American and Indian soldiers who cross paths in Afghanistan. Critics call it the best idea of all time and the stupidest idea of all time, in the same sentence.

A comic book is apparently going to be published by New Regency that 20th Century Fox will distribute. The script will be penned by John Cox.

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Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with almost twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist and reporter. Today, in addition to his role as a war correspondent in Afghanistan where he spent the winter of 2006/07, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated only with Google News. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com

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Funny how I've used this username, As an Afghan girl, for years now. Yes, Vampires in my country .. well. Touchy.
Even more interesting is the fact that I am the first to respond to this posting after more than a year.

Tim King: This really is an intriguing subject. You can write to me at tim@salem-news.com. I'd like to talk to you about Afghanistan.

world war I and II, read pls Dion Fortune books: Dr Taverner, My demon lover, Moon Magic... there are some clues over there and the Esoteric Tradition. Blessings

iam so so so sad i lived in afghanistan all my life and i never heard of vimpairs but i heard about jend and you ppl know my mom saw jend besmalah bayand and it isnt vimpaire it is jend

If you want to learn the truth about lights in the sky and other things do a search on google video about william cooper watch the video and then look back at the infomation with an open mind

Vampire..NO. Djins, maybe. When I was there, the tree sings for almost a week at 3 am every morning. Strange place.

watch the new movie called "The Objective" THEN tell me you dont believe! "The djinn prefer to live in places not inhabited by man, such as deserts and wastelands."

look dear soldiers, 1st there is no vampire second f there is the vampire might be pashtons because pashtons and vimpaires are created by one GOD

They are real I am the 1st an the last We are legion, we are many, we are one The females bring the food back to the rest as do lions in the wild, not to mention people feel safer to aproach a women as opposed to a man at night. now my brothers an sisters of old make me as sick as you walking diseases the creator is soon upon us all an purge this corner

I think you may have misunderstood the concept of an empire being bled white in Afghanistan. I am an afghan who have actually come across a vampire when I was 15years old. She had an average height, brown hair and fangs like... oh wait I think that was the final episode of BUFFY. What a load of Crap!! I guess now the US can use this as an excuse for a total withdrawl. "Our Firebase was overrun by vampires...in turbans...with AK47s...aaand long black imposing beards" Maybe you should stick to the task of reporting on the important stuff that goes on.

Perhaps stories told by poppy farmers to keep locals out of their fields???

I would *love* to learn more about these stories. I have not heard much about indigenous vampire folklore in Afghanistan. Without hearing a lot more, directly, it would be hard to determine whether these tales are truly indigenous, or are based on Western fictional notions imported (via the British) and absorbed into the local lore, as Luise White describes in Africa in her book, "Speaking With Vampires" (2000). Sounds like there would be a great opportunity for some academic papers, if not a dissertation, in this--once the war is over, at least. It's especially fascinating that in a predominantly Muslim country, the vampires would be characterized as almost always female.

(Inanna Arthen is the author of "Mortal Touch" and the owner of By Light Unseen Media.)

Tim King to Inanna Arthen: I am glad to see this from you, I too wonder why there is not more interest in this extremely intriguing aspect of that nation's folklore. I do have a soldier attempting to learn more for me right now through his interpreter. I also love the female aspect of the vampire in a Muslim nation. My email is tim@salem-news.com and it sounds like we should stay in touch, thanks.

Tall, female vamps, huh? Just contestants for the "Miss Queen of the Damned" Pageant, Afghanistan. Nothing too serious.

They probably enjoy folklore like any country, and surely some real psychos try to reinvent themselves as vampires to hide behind superstition.

this is really interesting! I never thought of vampires in afghanistan before, think i'll bring the garlic if i ever have to go!

Whatever..... :o)

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