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A vampire has been arrested in Ukraine after luring street children into her home for their blood.

Diana Semenuha, 29, believed that drinking blood could fend off a muscle-wasting condition.

She kept the children intoxicated on drugs and alcohol and bled them regularly, selling the surplus to other black magic practitioners. When that weakened them, she dumped them back on the streets and lured replacements with the promise of a place to sleep and a hot meal.

...Detectives found seven drugged children strapped to beds and benches, and a large, black knife and silver goblet engraved with satanic symbols.

Ukraine has an estimated 200,000 street children, whose widespread addiction to glue sniffing and alcohol made them easy prey for the woman dubbed the "vampire witch" by local media.

Semenuha's arrest exposed an occult network in the city. Many claimed to have been taught by Semenuha and said that she would cut herself and let them drink her blood.

One of the children, named only as Andrei, told police: "She gave me vodka and I sniffed some glue. But than she came up to me with a syringe and asked me to stretch out my hand. I didn't feel any pain because I was too scared. She drew the blood with the syringe and a needle and than put it in her silver bowl and drank it, murmuring in some strange language."

Semenuha, who when arrested gave her profession as "witch", has admitted holding the children. "I let them sniff glue, but I paid for it and took a small amount of blood in return," she said. "But there was no violence involved, I also fed them and gave them shelter."

Police fear that she could escape prosecution for corrupting minors and plying them with alcohol because the seven children found at her home have since escaped from care and gone back on the streets.

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-14 06:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] zenten.livejournal.com
If she set on fire when they pulled her out into daylight I'd believe your theory more.

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-14 06:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] unnamed525.livejournal.com
Maybe that sunlight shit is just a myth.

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-14 07:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] james-nicoll.livejournal.com
Along with the idea that vampires can be driven off with garnishes?

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-14 07:13 pm (UTC)

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-14 07:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] theweaselking.livejournal.com
Sure, why not?

It's just a sore point with me about gamers - so many jump RIGHT to the right conclusion because they've read the book, to the point where modern humans in a modern setting like White Wolf's Vampire say "OMG! Werewolves are real! OMG! Vampires are real! OMG! Wizards are real! Dragons? Don't be stupid, everyone knows DRAGONS don't exist!"

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-14 07:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] theweaselking.livejournal.com
Who says she's been exposed to daylight?

The point is that this kind of thing is the sort of thing an uncareful Kindred could cause, and yet nobody who didn't *already* believe in vampires is picking up garlic and wooden stakes because of it.

Now, imagine that the kindred they're looking for isn't this woman - she's just a pawn to throw to the investigators who were hunting the real thing, and to provide everyone but the loonys *proof* that vampires are just crazy people. This is classic Vampire playing - and, of course, in 99% of games all of the witnesses and most of the public reading at home would immediately jump to the RIGHT conclusion, which is a world-spanning history-long conspiracy.

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-14 07:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] unnamed525.livejournal.com
You're right about that. The way the setting is written, people don't believe in vampires, for the most part, because people don't want to believe in vampires; when you're looking for plausible ways to explain away the revenants thirsting for your blood, experts like scientists can spin some pretty good bullshit.
Well, that, plus massive levels of Dominate where you just Dominate a whole freakin' town into disbelieving in real vampires.

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-15 01:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jchance.livejournal.com
Also, bear in mind that the sunlight-burn idea is no older than Murnau's "Nosferatu". Far as I can tell, there was no specific traditional explanation for why they could only move around at night, and Stoker played it as...well, losing dots of strength, rather than taking agg damage. ;)

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