Real Kansas City Vampires

kansas policeWhen you think of real vampires being discovered you think it would be in New Orleans or maybe New York but not Kansas of all places. But Kansas is the setting of this story, published in the papers on January 27, 1890 the article reports a real case of vampirism.

The article says that in an area just east of Kansas City police received a letter from a worried man living in the neighborhood, the man saying that if the police didn’t take care of the matter that the neighborhood would take it in their own hands. The issue? There was a religious group of bloodsuckers that felt that drinking blood cured the sick. Apparently there were people that were allowing themselves to be bled for those that were ill.

The officers investigated the matter and found that the man’s letter didn’t even tell half the story. Turns out that a year before a man named Silas Wilcox moved to the neighborhood. Wilcox had traveled through the country preaching the doctrine of doing good for the sick. Eventually he gathered enough converts and founded a sect, which he called the Samaritans. Doesn’t sound too bad right? It was fine until he started preaching that drinking the blood of others would cure all diseases, arguing that it was the Bible that said the blood was life.

When the police entered the home of a man named John Wrinkle they found two thin and sickly looking children. On the bed lay Wrinkle, when questioned about drinking the blood of the two children he of course denied it, as did the kids. But due to their bloodless appearance the suspicious officer had a look at the children’s arms and found them to be in terrible condition. Their arms were covered in scars inside the elbow, showing that they had been bled. When the proof was shown Wrinkle finally admitted to drinking the children’s blood, but said that the children willingly let him drink in order to heal himself.

John Wrinkle was in such a condition that he could not be moved from his bed, but the children were taken from the house and placed in the Children’s Home. The officer was anxious to put a stop to the practice of blood drinkers, but it appeared there is no law which says it’s not allowed.

What do you guys think? Should there be a law of some kind so something like this doesn’t happen again? If there was what would that mean for the safely practicing Sanguinarians out there?

– Moonlight

By Moonlight

Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to vampires. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of vampire folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and she may bite you (and not in the fun way).

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