The Croglin Grange Vampire


 The legend of the Croglin Grange Vampire, well-known by vampire enthusiasts, is said to have occurred in the late 19th century at Croglin Grange, a rural estate located in Cumberland, England. The story first gained widespread attention through Augustus Hare's fourth volume of his autobiography, The Story of My Life, published in the 1890s. In his book, he speaks of a piece of family history told by one Captain Fisher. Fisher’s family owned the one-story English estate of Croglin Grange. When the estate no longer suited the needs of the Fisher family, they moved away and rented the house to the Cranswell family, consisting of two brothers and their sister.

One summer evening, as she sat in her room, gazing out at the beautiful night, the Cranswell sister saw a pair of flickering lights originating from the nearby churchyard, moving towards her window. Not understanding what she was seeing, the Cranswell sister was seized by terror as the eyes grew closer. Before she could exit the room, she heard an eerie scratching at her bedroom window, which was situated next to the bedroom door, making escape impossible. When peered out the window, she saw that the glowing eyes, made of flames, belonged to a gruesome creature with a brown face and long bony fingers that were picking away at the frame of the window to gain entry to the room.

Like a child afraid of a closet monster, the Cranswell sister ran back toward her bed to get away from the creature. Once the creature reached her bed, it yanked her close and sank its teeth into her neck. Not completely frozen with fear, she yelled out loud enough to raise her brothers from their slumber. By the time the brothers pried their sister’s locked bedroom door open, the creature, the siblings later decided was an escaped lunatic, was already escaping. While one brother pursued the creature until it disappeared in the nearby churchyard, the other brother stayed back to assist their sister, who was bleeding profusely.

Though the Cranswell sister’s wound healed, her physician suggested a change of scenery to aid in the healing of her mental health. So, the siblings took an extended leave in Switzerland. After spending six years away from the Croglin Grange estate, the sister urged her brothers to return with her to Cumberland and once again occupy the deserted estate, arguing that the likelihood of being attacked by another escaped lunatic was slim, and it didn’t make sense for them to continue paying rent on a property they only occupied for one of seven years. Finding no fault in her assessment, the brothers returned with their sister.

After spending a few peaceful months back at Croglin Grange, the sister was awakened by the familiar sound of scratching at her window. As soon as the creature tried to gain entrance once again to her room, she hollered as loud as her voice could manage, and her brothers, who had been sharing the room closest to their sister for her protection, immediately raced to her aid. One brother shot at the creature, hitting him in the leg. Though injured, the creature managed to escape into a vault on the churchyard property.

The next day, the brothers opened the vault the creature seemed to have disappeared into, and they found that all but one coffin in the vault had been broken and desecrated, and bones were strewn everywhere. The remaining coffin was partially opened, so the brothers removed the lid. They were shocked to find the intact, mummified remains of the creature who stalked their sister. Any doubts that this was the creature they were looking for were laid to rest when they saw the evidence of a recent gunshot to the leg. Knowing no other way to kill a creature that wasn’t technically alive, the brothers burned its remains. 

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