The story is told of the a vampire who lived in the Mexican town of Guadalajara back in the early 1800s. Strange things began to happen. Small animals, livestock, and even newborn babies were found dead with all of the blood drained from their bodies, night after night. The creature responsible for the deaths was called El Vampiro.
Finally, the town’s people set up a watch to try to catch El Vampiro, and a man was seen sneaking back into his house just after another attack. The town’s people burst into the man’s house and killed him. Then they drove a wooden stake through his heart and buried him without ceremony in the town’s cemetery, El Panteon de Belen (The Pantheon of Bethlehem).
Peace returned to Guadalajara, but a tree mysteriously began to grow from the stake that had been driven through the heart of El Vampiro. They say that it was fed by the blood of the vampire, and the tree grew and grew and grew. Branches that were broken off the tree had sap mixed with blood in them.
The roots of the massive tree began to lift the casket of El Vampiro to the surface. It was believed by the locals that once the casket reached the surface, El Vampiro would live again.
There is a story of a young girl who released El Vampiro and was saved by an exorcism. She was a curious child who had heard the legend of El Vampiro all her life and decided to investigate. Because the metal casket was nearly rusted through, she made a hole in it and El Vampiro escaped. The tree was then cut down. It hasn’t grow back, yet but you can see the stump of the large tree at El Panteon de Belen in Guadalajara today, and there are those who say you can also see and feel the evil spirit of El Vampiro.
