Ludwig the Bloodsucker

Ludwig the Bloodsucker was an American mythical figure and possible urban legend in New York City during the mid-to late 19th century. A longtime Bowery character, he was described as having vampire-like qualities. He was a "squat, swarthy German, with an enormous head crowned with a shock of bristly black hair. Huge bunches of hair grew out of his ears, and his unusual appearance was accentuated by another tuft which sprouted by the end of his nose" and supposedly had "hair growing out of every orifice".[1] Ludwig was said to have preyed upon drunken customers of barroom brawls near Bismark Hall and the House of Commons and is claimed to have "quaffed human blood as if it were wine".[2][3][4]

Ludwig the Bloodsucker
NationalityGerman-American
Known forBowery character and possible urban legend described as "America's first vampire".

References
  1. Macintyre, Ben. Napoleon of Crime: The Life and Times of Adam Worth, Master Thief. New York: Dell Publishing, 1997. (pg. 18) ISBN 0-385-31993-2
  2. Petronius. New York Unexpurgated: An Amoral Guide for the Jaded, Tired, Evil, Non-conforming, Corrupt, Condemned, and the Curious, Humans and Otherwise, to Under Underground Manhattan. New York: Matrix House, 1966. (pg. 201)
  3. Harlow, Alvin F. Old Bowery Days: The Chronicles of a Famous Street. New York and London: D. Appleton & Company, 1931. (pg. 401)
  4. Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (pg. 175-176) ISBN 1-56025-275-8
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