The Highgate Vampire: A Dream Doctor and Villain Origin Story

[DeadWoman]

[My attempt at trying to write a city of heroes tale inspired by the folklore surrounding the Highgate Cemetery Vampire that took place in London in the 60s and 70s]

 

I

                Highgate Cemetery has an atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re stepping into a gothic novel.  There are broken and slanted tombstones that are strangled by and buried under a sea of weeds and wildflowers.  There is a maze of trees and unkempt bushes that you get lost in.  A high wall that is aged and pockmarked keeps you trapped.  Highgate Cemetery has steep hills with cracked steps.  The catacombs are open and smell of mold and age.  All of Highgate’s architecture looks ready to collapse but continues to stand somehow someway.  But what really gets you is the darkness.  There are parts of the cemetery that blanketed by darkness and the sun above will not shine through for any reason.  And there is of course the silence where nothing not even an insect can be heard.  Highgate Cemetery has seen its share of history.  It is the final resting place for some who made history.

                It was also home to a vampire, but not just any vampire ...

                ... a vampire king.

                There were goblins, ghosts, and aliens.  Heroes are real and fight for truth and justice.  There are villains who want it all, and they wage a war that does not end and sometimes it shows something new, something real.  And in the beginning, everyone felt that vampires weren’t real.  No one had actually seen a real-life vampire and brought back irrefutable evidence of that encounter.  There were abominations that looked like F.W. Murnau’s nosferatu and those monsters aligned themselves with the 5^th Column and The Council, but they weren’t anything Bram Stoker had ever imagined, and people accepted the idea that vampires were nothing more than an Irishman’s imagination, but then things changed after 1963.

                Highgate Cemetery resides on Swain’s Lane in Highgate, which is a suburb of North London.  Highgate is a very affluent but you wouldn’t think it if you visited it or were passing through.  It wasn’t run down or decrepit, far from it, but it made everyone feel as if they were welcomed with open arms to a community, a family.  That feeling persists even to this day even after the Highgate Vampire passed into folklore.   They accredited this to the fact that they weren’t big on change, so most of Highgate today looks the same as it did on the fateful day in 1963.  Beside the cemetery is Swain’s Lane.  It’s a road that is used every single day.  Its a beautiful road with one side having the great wall that borders the actual cemetery and the other having a row of trees that guard family homes.  Driving down the road gives a sense of knowing what the line between life and death feels like. 

                A husband and wife drove down that road on a cold evening in 1963.  They were talking about the fun they had at a party they attended with all their friends and family, and then the wife screamed for her husband to stop the car.  His eyes went back to the road instinctively and saw a tall gray man wearing a gentleman’s finery from a century before, and he was casually walking, or rather floating, across the road.  The husband slammed on the breaks and felt the car skid to a screeching halt. The tall gray man did not stop, slow down, or even even acknowledge the husband who had gotten out of the car and who was shouting obscenities.  Enraged over this moment, the husband had stormed over and was ready to get physically violent, but he stopped and turned stark white.  The tall gray man had walked through the stone wall as if it was nothing.  His wife had seen this too and she screamed for him to get back into the car. He couldn’t get back to the car fast enough and the two blasted off.   

                Every cemetery has its ghost, and people get a goose bump chill that lets them know they’re still alive whenever they talk about them.  Some ghosts can get physical of course, and there were a few that could get truly violent, but that was to be expected as the dead had a hard time letting go and could get controlled.  What to do and how to act with ghosts of that nature was time tested and common knowledge, but this was different.  There was something truly off with this and the other sightings that came later.  No one could truly describe it except to say that it just felt ... wrong.  Then again, the few years before the very first sighting was marked by odd sounds and chants.  People who visited the cemetery would find animal bones, used candles, and of course pentagrams and other strange symbols. The consensus was that it was occultists much like the Circle of Thorns who were practicing their black magic on consecrated land.  Then it all stopped just as the Highgate community was taking the matter seriously.  It wasn’t long after that that the ghostly sightings started and continued through most of the 1960s.  All of the sightings took place in or around Highgate cemetery and it was always with the same tall gray man dressed in Victorian finery, and what always followed was that sense of evil from the darkest of places.  Then, things heated in early 1970. Families in the surrounding area began seeing the ghost in their bedrooms.  They would wake up groggily and weak and wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep, but they would freeze in fright at the sight of the ghost looming over them, and they would black out immediately just before they could scream.  They remembered very little and were never sure as to why they were so weak or why there were marks on their throats.  The attacks continued and became more frequent.  Within early March, the community of Highgate had had enough and had called out to one who they knew who could help – The Dream Doctor.

II

                On the night of Friday, March 13^th, 1970 the Dream Doctor arrived at the cemetery with two associates from the Midnight Squad.  The first was a young psychic woman by the name of Lucy and the other was an expert on Abrahamic magic by the name of Winchester.  Not long after entering the cemetery, Lucy had grabbed a hold of The Dream Doctor’s arm.  Both he and Winchester stopped as Lucy felt overwhelmed.  She staggered, nearly fainting, but was caught and held up by both.  She slurred out to them, “What we face is a vampire.”

                Both men looked to one another in surprise.  They did not doubt that their companion felt entity psychically, but they wondered if whether or not the entity was toying with them.  Winchester asked, “Are you sure Lucy?  It could be ...”

                Lucy shook her head with enough force to make him stop mid sentence.  She said with much conviction as she could, “I am sure.  He did not expect me so his guard was lowered, but he slammed up a defense once he felt me.  That’s why I am dizzy.  I’ll be alright in a moment.”

                “Did you get anything useful from him?” The Dream Doctor asked.

                True to her word, Lucy was regaining her composure as she said, “He’s old, very old.  I think he’s from the era of Vlad Tepes.  Maybe even before then.”

                “How is it that we haven’t encountered him before?  Or vampires for that matter?” Winchester asked seemingly to her but to both of his comrades in general.

                The Dream Doctor thought for a moment and then realization dawned on him and it made him feel stupid and it showed.  He rambled out, “We have been thinking too complex when simplicity is the solution.  Metaphysically and figuratively speaking, the darkness is infinite and there what hides inside cannot be seen because it is dark.”

                Lucy finally responded after a moment and feeling more in control, “The Circle of Thorns.  They were the ones who had been performing rituals here.  This cemetery is on a massive ley line filled with untapped energy.  They awoke the vampire who in turn scared them off.”  After a pause, she whispered simply, “The vampire is tapping into the ley line, making himself real but more.

                “He’s awakening the dead.”

III

                They continued through the cemetery on that cold March evening.  The sky was dark with a hint of color that was reminiscent of a dying ember from a fireplace, and that gave them some light to see.  The vampire hunters worked their way through the cemetery with Lucy leading them through the Egyptian Avenue.  Highgate Cemetery had built an Egyptian architecture inspired portion of the cemetery not long after the cemetery opened in 1839, and this was because interest in ancient Egypt was at an all-time high back then., but time had worn it chipped away much of its former glory leaving it worn and scarred.  Lucy had told them that they were close and that they should all be on their guard and they were.  Passing through the Egyptian Avenue had revealed sacrilegious vandalism that got worse the closer they got the Circle of Lebanon.  This was a circular island built upon a foundation of family vaults and at its center was a massive cedar tree. Decades later, the tree would be cut down due to rot that came from the vampire. 

Lucy had stopped a vault in particular stating with absolute certainty that this was the vampire’s lair.  Unlike the other vaults nearby, this vault had a short corridor that had to be walked before its entrance could be reached, and the entrance was locked by a heavy wrought iron gate.  Within the gate was thick darkness that oozed outward and snaked with long wriggling tendrils.  The trio stood facing the vault. Before them was the void and it was yearning to break free.  They were frightened but they were resolute in stopping this nightmare.

The Dream Doctor looked to Lucy and said, “You said he is wanting to raise the dead.  Can you sense if he is succeeding?”

Lucy focused and then nodded saying with worry, “Yes, some of the dead are rising.  They are becoming like he – undead.”

“We cannot let them escape.  I want you and Winchester to go and confront them.”

Winds began to pick up and its overall strength was enough to make the trio grab hold of anything for support.  It was obvious to all three that the vampire had control over reality in the cemetery but that control was not yet absolute.  If it were, we would be flung away or worse thought The Dream Doctor.  The winds howled with fury and Winchester shouted, “What about you?”

“I’ll handle the vampire myself.”

“Be careful,” Lucy screamed, “he is a vampire king!”

Vampires were once myths but they became real at that moment.  Accepting that was rather dizzying even more so in the knowledge that they had what could be called royalty.  The Dream Doctor nodded and ordered them to go.  They were hesitant but they turned and obeyed.

Once gone, the Dream Doctor stared down the vault entrance and pulled his way forward.  It was then that the winds stopped abruptly.  He knows he cannot scare me away so he is conserving his energy The Dream Doctor told himself.  He walked a few paces before stopping abruptly as the wrought iron gate slammed open with fury revealing the darkness within.  The Dream Doctor slid his hand in his coat and grasped a hold of a vial filled with holy water.  They were unaware that an actual vampire had control over the cemetery, but it was a cemetery they were in and it was losing its consecration.  If that happened then the dead would know eternal torment.  That was why Winchester gave them all vials of holy water. 

He stopped just at the entrance of the vault but did not step inside.  It was too dark, but he could feel the vampire standing on the opposite end and was uncomfortably close to him.   The vampire’s voice was ancient, raspy, and evil but was none the less civil.  He said, “You are the Dream Doctor, and you have interrupted me.” The vampire gave The Dream Doctor no chance to speak as he continued on, “Have you come to save the living?  Well I must conscript the dead into my service for I have much work to do.  The living will know me and the sweetness I bring.” There was silence for a moment and then a low tone that was still wickedly polite, “But do come in Dream Doctor.  Enter champion.” 

                Removing the vial from his coat, the Dream Doctor uncapped it with a flick of his thumb and made the sign of the cross.  Water sprinkled on the vampire causing him to smoke.  The blessing gave some light to the darkness and The Dream Doctor could see the vampire clasping his face as it burned.  To the Dream Doctor’s amazement, the vampire fell upward towards a large circular point that was boarded.  The vampire screamed and howled but it stopped when it shattered through the ceiling.  Rushing over, The Dream Doctor looked up and saw the entrance to an above mausoleum.  The Dream Doctor held out his hand and said, “To me.”  There was a bright flash and in his hand was the staff he always carried with him to battle.  One end of the staff illuminated.  He then floated upwards into the above mausoleum ready to catch his prey.

IV

                The Dream Doctor took immediate inventory of his surroundings once his feet touched the mausoleum floor.  It was very breath taking to see with marble floors and an alter with an angel cradling a child and it was all done in Grecian style.  There was a single set of doors that was locked and there were no windows.  Both he and the vampire were alone in that place and it was very confined and that was what troubled him considerably.

                He moved his magic light around to get a better view of where the vampire could be hiding.  There weren’t many places he could given how small the mausoleum was, but then he realized there was one place he had not looked at and that was above his head.  He looked up and saw the vampire lunge for him from the ceiling.  The Dream Doctor had no time to move out of the way and was caught.  He cried out in strangled surprise and shock when the vampire hefted him up with both arms and threw him towards the ceiling.  The Dream Doctor’s back smacked hard against the marble top and he expected to fall but didn’t.  He looked down and saw the vampire hold his out his hand and guide unseen forces that kept The Dream Doctor pinned in place.

                “Do you have faith shaman?” The vampire asked.

                The Dream Doctor choked out, “I do.”

                “Then why are you still my prisoner?” The vampire asked with something that sounded like innocence when in fact it was simply condescension.

                “Because you misunderstand what faith is.”

                “And what is it?”

                “I doubt you can truly understand.” The Dream Doctor spoke with the same tone of civility the vampire showed him.  He took a moment to see the vampire.  His captor’s face was long and gaunt almost stretched painfully so.

                “I have faith,” the vampire said.

                The Dream Doctor shook his head slightly saying, “What you have isn’t faith.”

                “Then shall we test our faiths against the other?”

                The Dream Doctor nodded saying, “Then lets.”

                The vampire smiled viciously with venom dripping from his fangs.  Before he could show off his faith, he turned abruptly towards the direction of the Terrace Catacombs another part of Highgate Cemetery.  Centuries ago, the lands that made up the cemetery belonged to the then Lord Mayor of London William Ashurst.  The home was demolished and in its place was St. Michael’s Church.  There were bodies at rest there; bodies that would soon rise, but something had disrupted that desecration.  The vampire turned his head and saw The Dream Doctor face to face with him.  Before he could react, he felt a sudden and sharp pain in his chest and knew that he had been staked.  The Dream Doctor said to him, “I have faith in my friends.  I have faith in their ability to act.  I have faith that evil will always try and boast at the wrong moment.”

                The vampire king fell to his side and seemingly exploded into it fine dust that scattered in the air.  The Dream Doctor panted as he caught his breath.  After a moment, he could hear banging coming from the outside.  It was Winchester and Lucy.

                “Are you in there!” He called out.

                “I am!” The Dream Doctor responded and whispered a few words that cast a small spell to make the doors open.  Lucy and Winchester came in and immediately hugged him.  He cherished the moment before standing up straight and smiling, “How did it go?”

                “We got them,” Winchester said with certainty.

                “All of them.” Lucy added but asked tentatively, “and the vampire?”

                “Gone,” The Dream Doctor said.

V

                In the fifty years since that cold evening in March, the Dream Doctor went into the dreamscape to seek out answers to a greater threat he had foreseen, and while he focused mainly on that work, he never forgot about the vampire of Highgate Cemetery.  In fact, he had come once he had learned that the great tree that was the centerpiece of the Circle of Lebanon had been cut down due to it being diseased.  He had to make sure that sickness wasn’t something left over from that night. 

                “But not forgotten?” The woman asked behind him rather teasingly.

                He turned with a start and sighed when he saw that it was The Dead Woman.  Vampires had started coming out of the coffin after that famous battle in Highgate.  Some, like The Dead Woman, had fought life while others had stayed in the dark.  But if there was one thing The Dream Doctor could not stand was their overall ego – especially The Dead Woman’s.  He took off his bowler hat and held in his hands to keep them busy as The Dead Woman always made him fidget in annoyance.  He said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about Lily.”

                She smiled as she bit into an apple and chewed as she came up close beside him looking at the remains of the tree.  She said, “Oh come now Doctor.  Your battle with the vampire king is history.  In fact, there are even transcripts of your tête-à-tête with his majesty.” She gave a bow of utter sarcasm showing what she thought of the vampire king himself.  She then added, “I always wondered what your reaction would have been if Lucy or Winchester had said – ‘but not forgotten.’”

                What got under The Dream Doctor’s skin was the transcripts.  He looked to her incredulously and asked, “Do they really have transcripts?” He shook his head and rolled his eyes saying with frustration, “I swear, people today are treat the immortal battle between good and evil as if it were some sort of – entertainment.” He then paused and studied her for a second as he realized what she was doing and he asked, “You are eating an apple?”

                She nodded and held it out to him asking, “Of course I am.  Would you like a bite?”

                He blinked and shook his head saying, “No, you are eating an apple.  You are a vampire.  You are eating an apple.  How is this possible?”

                She laughed as she took another bite and spoke with her mouth full, “We vampires are a strange lot.  The older we get the more unique we become.”

                He frowned as he moved away from the remains of the tree and Lily the Dead Woman.  He floated down from the dais and near the vault he first encountered the vampire king.  Lily followed by simply hopping down.  He started walking and as he did said with more blustering annoyance, “Yes, well, you are right on you being a strange lot.” He paused and then turned to her and asked, “Why are you here?”

                Taking one more bite from her apple, Lily tossed it up onto the dais and made a little swish sound which got The Dream Doctor to roll his eyes silently. She then said, “Paying my respects actually.” She looked around and softened as she whispered, “I have a few friends entombed here.”

                “Fellow bloodsuckers I take it?”

                Lily looked almost offended as she said, “Actually they were human.” She then smiled as she knew what would get under his skin as a way of repaying the offense.  She started to say, “I know its hard for your wonderfully human mind to grasp the notion that we have human friends ... ”

                The Dream Doctor frowned and said, “Don’t start with me.”

                Lily straightened as she followed and said, “You’re right dahling, I should be on my best behavior.  Especially whenever I am here,” she smiled playfully for a moment as she added, “but it is fun to annoy you at times.”  She gave him a playful side hug to show that she was only teasing, which only annoyed The Dream Doctor even more.  She then softened and said to him, “but I was serious.  I knew a few humans in my time who are buried here. I grew close with them and I wept when they died.  So, I always visit them whenever I’m in London.”

                The Dream Doctor stopped and appraised Lily’s sincerity.  He gave a slight nod when he felt she was being genuine.  He then continued on and said, “Then perhaps you satisfy some of my curiosity.  Tell me, was he a real vampire king?”

                Lily slowed her pace and walked with The Dream Doctor as they made their way out of the cemetery.  She said, “Actually he was royalty but he was in no way shape or form a king.  He was born in Wallachia in the 15^th century and became cursed when he practiced black magic.  He moved his way here back when this cemetery belonged to Sir William Ashurst the then Lord Mayor of London.  He vanished after that.  I had thought he was gone.  Imagine my surprise when I learned he had simply buried himself here.”

                “The ley lines.” The Dream Doctor muttered.

                “Precisely,” Lily said and then stopped to say, “What you did here dahling was nothing short of spectacular but you know as well as I do that he wasn’t vanquished.”

                He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Lily.  He said, “You read my mind.”

                “No, I just know you,” she then quoted a line from some text that he immediately recognized, “’There are things in this world that are truly simple but not everything is simple.’”

                He arched his brows and said, “You read my book.”

                “That I did dahling.”

                After a moment or so of silence The Dream Doctor said, “You are right of course.  I never thought he was truly dead.  That’s why I came here after hearing about the tree being cut down.  I thought the disease it had was from him.”

                Lily smiled showing how pleased she was with herself, “Which is exactly what I thought.”

                “So, what happened to him?”

VI

                The Mercy Island Ferry docked at port.  People were getting off and coming on and those who were entering Mercy Island were stopped by an Arachnos who gathered particulars about each visitor.  He halted a woman and asked her rather curtly, “Name?”

                The woman, who was a psychic, smiled as she said, “Lucy,  Lucy Highgate.”

 

Edited July 14, 2020 by DeadWoman