Are Monsters Real? Possibly, But Not How You'd Expect.
by Lynne Adkins
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's the season of the ghoul and the question remains: are vampires, zombies, and wolf men fact, or fiction?
There are real medical issues that would account for the appearance of a vampire according to Dr. Gregory McDonald Chairman of Forensic Medicine and Pathology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Porphyria causes a sensitivity to sunlight.
"They have very sensitive skin, there may be burning, there may be redness, there may be swelling, blisters may form, the skin becomes very fragile, and very interesting as well, red or brown urine, red discoloration of the teeth, lips and gums that look like someone was drinking blood," explained McDonald
Before embalming was the norm, bodies may have been buried in shallow graves which could have been accidentally uncovered. Dr. McDonald says that could explain the walking dead.
"It looks all bloated as if it was feasting on blood, cause there's blood coming from the nose and mouth. It looks like they're alive because it looks like, to them, that the fingernails and hair had grown, and so they probably thought the body had reanimated and feasted on someone in the village, and then crawled back into the grave," said McDonald.
Zombie like behavior could be explained by seizures.
Other medical problems cause intense hair growth and rabies could account for foaming at the mouth. A violent and mentally unstable condition, almost werewolf-like.
