Podcast Summary: Lore – Trick or Treat 5: Drained
Host: Aaron Mahnke
Release Date: October 31, 2025

Episode Overview

The final “Trick or Treat” Halloween bonus episode of Lore dives into the blood-soaked legends of vampires from around the world. While mainstream culture obsesses over fanged immortals, this episode—true to Lore’s trademark style—delves into lesser-known, creepier origins of vampire myths. Aaron Mahnke takes listeners on a grand tour of folklore, from the hopping vampires of China to the horrifying Manananggal of the Philippines, the Irish king that may have inspired Dracula, and the chained grave of a restless British soul. As always, these stories remind us: history’s truth can be even scarier than fiction.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jiangshi – The Chinese “Hopping Vampire”

(01:56–12:45)

• Film & Cultural Roots: Hong Kong’s 1980s martial arts boom also celebrated horror—specifically, the jiangshi films. Jiangshi aren’t Western-style, bloodthirsty vampires, but rather derive from Chinese folklore about reanimated corpses.
  • “These walking corpses were based on a Chinese folkloric monster that had been around for generations, called, unsurprisingly, the Jiangshi.” (Aaron Mahnke, 02:20)
• Folkloric Evolution: Jiangshi means “hard corpse,” and the reanimated bodies reflect folk anxieties about improper burial and the powers of the soul and necromancers.
• Physical Description: Grotesque, with moldy, bruised skin, claws, sometimes glowing—yet famous for their rigor mortis-induced “hopping.”
• Feeding Habits: Unlike Hollywood vampires, Jiangshi drain “chi,” or life force, not blood. In popular films, some acquired Western vampire characteristics, but traditionally, only corpses could become Jiangshi.
• Cultural Practice: The practice of “corpse herding” during the Qing dynasty—transporting executed criminals home—helped birth the legend. Corpse herders moved bodies at night for superstition and practical reasons, frightening villagers who saw them as supernatural.
  • “In this manner, they transported an untold number of bodies across the mountains of Hunan... the corpse herders always wore black, and they always traveled at night.” (Aaron Mahnke, 07:43)
• Legacy: While the folk practice and real-life “corpse herding” have vanished, the Jiangshi remain lively in films, safely admired from the living room.

Notable Quote:

“If you truly want to observe a hopping vampire, then it’s probably best to do it from a safe distance.”
—Aaron Mahnke, 12:44

2. Manananggal – The Self-Splitting Vampire of the Philippines

(12:48–15:14)

• Historical Context: In 1992, during the Philippine presidential election, Manila’s Tondo district was consumed with fear over rumors of a Manananggal among them.
• Colonial Erasure: Spanish colonization led to the destruction of native Filipino records, shrouding the Manananggal’s true origins in mystery.
  • “When Spain colonized the Philippines... they burned all of the non-Christian documents that they could get their hands on, including whatever records there may have once been about the Manananggal.”
    (Aaron Mahnke, 13:28)
• Appearance & Behavior: Always depicted as a woman, she preys on pregnant women (possibly as a scapegoat for miscarriage tragedies), newlyweds, children—feared for her grotesque hunting transformation as she splits her body, grows wings, and flies off, entrails dangling.
• Vulnerabilities: Salt, garlic, and holy water can destroy her if applied to her abandoned lower half.
• Modern Panic: In 1992, alleged sightings led to an elderly woman being accused, tested (with a dried stingray tail), and cleared on live TV. The panic subsided, and so did the sightings.

Memorable Moment & Quote:

“I was just lucky I was able to get free. I saw half of her body. It was naked. She had long scraggly hair, long arms, nails, and sharp fangs.”
—Martina Santa Rosa, witness, 14:27

3. Avartok – The Blood-Drinking Undead of Irish Lore

(15:25–20:14)

• The Legend: Avartok, a cruel minor king and magician, is killed by a local chieftain but rises from the grave, terrorizing villagers by drinking their blood.
• Recurring Undeath: He’s killed, buried upright, then returns; finally, folkloric wisdom leads to his burial upside down or with a wooden sword through his heart, possibly invoking Celtic beliefs about preventing undead resurrection.
• Dracula Parallels: The story of Avartok, and his bloodlust, may have influenced Bram Stoker, whose vampiric creation, Dracula, shares striking similarities.
  • “There were plenty of terrible blood-soaked figures from history that Bram Stoker could have chosen... but you really can’t deny the close parallels between Avartok and Count Dracula.” (Aaron Mahnke, 19:47)

Notable Quotes:

“What was really already dead couldn’t actually be killed. The only way to dispatch Avartok was to stab him with a sword made from the wood of a yew tree, bury him upside down and cover the grave with ash branches and thorns before finally setting a large stone slab on top of it all.”
—Aaron Mahnke, 18:51

4. Matthew Hassell and the Chained Grave – Vampire Fears in Victorian Britain

(22:38–26:49)

• Isle of Man’s Haunted Grave: Matthew Hassell, who died by suicide in the 1850s, is buried in Malew Churchyard. His grave is encircled by iron stakes and chains—not to keep people out, but to keep Matthew in.
  • “His gravesite is covered in a web of rusty chains, not so much to keep others out, but to keep him inside.” (Narrator/Co-host, 24:26)
• The Vampire Claims: At his funeral, Hassell is said to have risen up and let out an unearthly wail. Fearing vampirism, locals drive a stake into his heart and chain down his resting place.
• Restless Even in Death: The chains are found ripped away—possibly by Hassell himself. A second staking and re-chaining is performed, and the grave becomes a warning curiosity on the island.
  • “Since then, the Isle of Man has remained a safe and quiet place. For the people who live there, at least so far.” (Narrator/Co-host, 26:43)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Folklore’s Endurance:

  • “The folklore you grow up with becomes the stories that you tell for the rest of your life, from childhood sleepovers to cocktail parties. Sometimes, though, they take on a life of their own, spreading beyond your hometown. No matter how ancient they may be, stories can always evolve.”
    —Aaron Mahnke, 15:26

• On Universal Vampire Beliefs:

  • “Cultures all over the world have stories about bloodsucking monsters. There are so many that we’ve barely scratched the surface. No pun intended.”
    —Aaron Mahnke, 12:48

• Closing Reflection:

  • “If you’ve been getting bored with the same old vampire stories, then I hope today’s episode breathes some life back into the undead for you.”
    —Narrator/Co-host, 20:14

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Jiangshi/Hopping Vampires: 01:56–12:45
• Manananggal of the Philippines & 1992 Panic: 12:48–15:14
• Avartok, the Irish Vampire King: 15:26–20:14
• Matthew Hassell’s Chained Grave (Isle of Man): 22:38–26:49

Tone & Style

Aaron Mahnke delivers his tales in a classic Lore style—dry, historically rooted, slightly academic, but laced with tongue-in-cheek quips (“No pun intended,” “sink your teeth into”). The episode skillfully blends historical background, cultural context, myth analysis, and chilling narrative, all with Mahnke’s signature eerie calm.

Useful for Listeners:
Whether you’re a long-time Lore fan or coming fresh to these tales, this episode is a rich, global exploration of vampiric myths, revealing how fear of the undead is as old—and as diverse—as human history itself.