Who are they?

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (basicly blood) but they may not just be characters in books what if somehow, somewhere they actually existed. In Russian folklore, vampires were said to have once been witches or people who had rebelled against the Church while they were alive sometimes I wonder if they were right. Many elaborate rituals were used to identify a vampire. One method of finding a vampire's grave involved leading a virgin boy through a graveyard or church grounds on a virgin stallion—the horse would supposedly balk at the grave in question. Generally a black horse was required, though in Albania it should be white. Holes appearing in the earth over a grave were taken as a sign of vampirism.Many elaborate rituals were used to identify a vampire. One method of finding a vampire's grave involved leading a virgin boy through a graveyard or church grounds on a virgin stallion—the horse would supposedly balk at the grave in question. So dear reader I ask you this do you think they are real?