Vampires have been part of western culture for hundreds of years. Not all vampires are like Dracula or Twilight. Peter Kurten was one of them...

Peter was a serial killer/rapist that with Vampiric tendencies.He was born into a poor, abusive family in 1883. He claimed to have committed his first murders at the age of 9 – drowning two of his friends. He later started torturing and killing animals while working for a sadistic dog catcher. He became a small time criminal and was sentenced to jail time a number of times for arson and burglary.  He was convicted of strangling a girl during a break in and served jail time through out World War I.

After World War I, Peter returned to Düsseldorf where he proceeded to commit a number of heinous crimes. After he was caught, Peter admitted to 79 offenses, and was charged with 9 murders and 7 attempted murders (including an 8 year old girl, sisters ages 5 and 14, a 5 year girl and a number deaths via hammer attacks). He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death.

He apparently found the sight of blood sexually stimulating. Many of his killings involved large amounts of blood, both for the taste and the sight.

The 1933 movie, M, by Fritz Lang was based on Peter Kurten. The title role was played by Peter Lorre. For quite a long time Peter Lorre's career suffered since he was closely linked to the serial killer.

This is one type of vampire that is real and I hope never returns.