Ticks are ectoparasites which live by
hematophagy of mammals, birds and reptiles, and consequently act as vectors of various diseases.
Bats are also known for their ecologic versatility, exploring every non-parasitic trophic strategy, as well as
hematophagy (Rego, Zeppelini, Lopez, & Alves, 2015), contributing with ecological services such as seed dispersal, pollination and insect population control (Aguiar & Antonini, 2008; Stevens, Willig, & Fox, 2004).
Keith also provides the reader with an excellent breakdown and description of four medical "causes" of vampirism as well as werewolfism in some cases linked to
hematophagy. This chapter is followed by Leo Ruickbie's case study of an eighteenth-century vampire epidemic, "Evidence for the Undead: The Role of Medical Investigation in the 18th-Century Vampire Epidemic." The third and final chapter in Part Two, Clemens Ruthner's "Undead Feedback: Adaptations and Echoes of Johann Fluckinger's Report, Visum et Repertum (1732), until the Millennium," charts the image of the vampire as a fantastic and liminal transgressor with a focus on literary and cultural studies wherein cultural "foreigners" are seen as the source of contagion.