Was Cincinnati Once Home to Vampires?

Cincinnati, Ohio was built on two things, pork and beer.

In the 1800’s, Cincinnati had already earned the nickname “Porkopolis,” due to the amount of pork packing houses in the area. It was a world leader in pork export and there are many reports of some of the rivers running red with blood. But not all the blood went into the rivers. In fact, a lot of it was being drunk.

On slaughter days, the good people of Cincinnati would line up to get the freshest blood possible as the butchers worked. The crowd was a mix of consumptives, working-class people, and well-dressed ladies, all there to watch the pigs be slaughtered and enjoy the still-warm blood from blue-tinted glass cups. Many accounts even note that these blood-drinking residents would fill their cups straight from the slit neck of the animal.

A Journalist who wrote for the Cincinnati Enquirer at the time, Lafcadio Hearn, wrote accounts of this phenomenon-

“Between the hours of 2 and 4 o’clock almost any afternoon, the curious visitor may observe many handsomely dressed ladies and others enter the cleanly, well-kept establishment in question, and waiting, glass in hand, for a draught of crimson elixir, yet warm from the throat of some healthy bullock. Just as soon as the neck of the animal is severed by one rapid slash of the ‘Schochet’s’ long blade, glass after glass is held to the spouting veins and quickly handed to the invalids, who quaff the red cream with evident signs of pleasure, and depart their several ways.”

The trend itself, though decried by most doctors, lasted over a decade, with many participants claiming they were healthier than ever after years of drinking blood.

There have always been medicinal practices that seem wild when taken out of context. Tuberculosis was sweeping the country at the time and with no cure in sight, the time was ripe for home and experimental remedies. Many people believed that drinking blood would protect them against disease by fortifying their own blood. A way creepier Vitamin C pill, if you will. But can we really blame them? We drink bone broth for the collagen and protein benefits, get vampire facials, eat a tablespoon of sea moss, take ice baths, and give in to countless more curious health trends in the name of living better, longer lives. Think of the “cures” and preventative measures circulating online during the beginning of Covid. At the end of the day, we don’t know what we don’t know and in the face of a mysterious and seemingly incurable disease, we’re all just trying our best.

As far as modern vampires go, CityBeat released an article noting that Cincinnati ranks 35th in a national ranking of vampire-friendly cities. Apparently, there’s a national lawn care company called Lawn Love that compiled a list of the best cities for vampires based on population size, blood donation centers, cloud cover, and casket suppliers.