Overview

• Researchers explain that cinema has long used nocturnal creatures as shorthand for menace, reinforcing vampire associations from Nosferatu to recent releases.
• Film scholar Marcus Stiglegger notes that limited everyday encounters make the species fertile ground for symbolic exaggeration on screen.
• Forensic specialist Mark Benecke traces the vampire link to folklore about souls fluttering in darkness, a motion likened to the animals’ flight.
• Nabu reports minimal health risk to humans in Europe, with only isolated rabies transmission via bites and no natural aggressiveness.
• Contrary to popular belief, local species do not drink blood, as only three of roughly 1,300 species worldwide are sanguivorous and they live in Central America; in Germany, 10 of 25 native species are classified as endangered, and International Bat Night on August 30 promotes awareness with public events.