Sergeant Francoise Bertrand (1824-1849) is believed to be one of the "real" vampires in human history. Bertrand exhibited signs of "hematomania", or a craving for human blood or flesh. A more well chronicled hematomaniac is Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) who allegedly slaughtered 600 people for their blood.
Sergeant Francoise Bertrand's career ended with his arrest in 1849 for robbing bodies from graves and then consuming flesh from the corpse. Many consider Bertrand's behavior to have more ghoul-like characteristics. His story became the basis for several werewolf novels, including The Werewolf of London.
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