That porphyria theory is hard to put to rest...

In the spring 2006 issue of the Polish journal Foton there is yet another paper (A Vampire Story: Science, Folklore and Beyond by Bakó, Gudowska-Nowak and Smoluchowski) speculating whether the vampire cases could be explained by Porphyria. The authors don't make a better case for this, honestly, absurd theory than so many others have done. Still, it's interesting to read their short review of the 18th century vampire debate, including the vitalist-animalist school of Georg Ernst Stahl. The illustrations and the usual quote from Montague Summers ('Throughout the vast shadowy world of ghosts and demons...') don't make their case more sound.