Jacqueline Beckwith

 

Unlike Elżbieta or Lusia, Jacqueline Beckwith did not suffer from aversion to crosses or suffocation during her sleep. Her testimony, although different, has some similarities to the previous victims. In her testimony, Jacqueline recalls how she “was drawn into the old graveyard [Highgate cemetery] alone on some occasion and experienced the sensation of being mentally directed by unseen eyes” (The Highgate Vampire). The trance-like sleep-walk experienced by Elżbieta and Lusia was similar to Jacqueline’s strange compulsion to enter the cemetery.

During one particular night Jacqueline recalls being awakened by an icy cold grip. She described being “paralysed with sheer terror” (The Highgate Vampire). The unseen intruder had left her with a wound on her hand, which left her bleeding. The wound looked as though it may have been caused by “long fingernails or sharp teeth” (The Highgate Vampire). The previous two victims differ from Jacqueline. She could recall her unexplained allure into the cemetery, and the attack in the night. She was conscious of her experiences.

The phenomena surrounding the Highgate Vampire truly fall in line with what is known about demons. In their book The Dark Sacrament: True Stories of Modern-Day Demon Possession and Exorcism, co-authors David M Kiely and Christina McKenna record various forms of demonic activity. By comparing some of the phenomena between my collection of testimonies to those compiled by Kiely and McKenna, vampirism is easily recognised as demonic to its core.

The aversion to Christian symbols and objects conditions were experienced by Elżbieta and Lusia. In one chapter from The Dark Sacrament known as The Pit Beneath The Heathstone, the demonic manifestation directed its hatred towards Christian symbols and objects: “The repeated hurling of the Bible onto the floor, the broken crucifix […] the Sacred Heart being dashed to the floor. All these things pointed to the likelihood that an evil spirit [demon] was at work.” The aversion and hostility towards Christian symbols and objects is perhaps the clearest expression of demonic activity.

The trance-like conditions experienced by Elżbieta, Lusia, and Jacqueline can also be compared to the demonic assaults described in The Dark Sacrament. In the chapter Heather: A Case of Ancestral Evil, the young woman, Heather, was struggling to overcome powerful demonic assaults. During one incident her boyfriend Joe noted, “She seemed in some kind of trance.” The trance-like condition experienced during demonic molestations is closely associated to cases of possession. Here, the victim loses part or all of their bodily and conscious control.

Elżbieta and Lusia also experienced suffocation. Not surprisingly, The Dark Sacrament identifies this same phenomenon in the chapter entitled, The House Wife And The Demon Dubois. The victim of this particular case was a woman named Julie. During the night she was violated in various ways. During one episode “she felt a man’s body pressing down on her […] almost suffocating her.” Elsewhere, Julie was attacked by an unseen hand, similar to the assault experienced by Jacqueline in The Highgate Vampire. In this case, Julie experienced a hand “tightening about her throat; she could barely breathe.”

Regardless of how demonic manifestations occur, the phenomena are strikingly similar. What makes the experiences of Elżbieta and Lusia distinct from other forms of demonic manifestations are the bite marks on their necks, followed by loss of blood. Vampirism is made apparent by this one circumstance thereby distinguishing itself from other forms of demonic manifestations. What should be kept in mind is that although other varieties of demonic activity do not include the distinctive bite wounds on the neck, vampirism remains demonic to its core.