I read that the trope of vampires turning into bats comes from Vlad the Impaler who once had his troops retreat a valley at sundown so that the sun would be in his enemies eyes and then released rabid bats, making it seem as if his soldiers had turned into bats. The story itself is likely not true but this myth is the origin of vampires turning to bats
ohhh-nutty t1_j2f6tro wrote
Reply to Who first introduced the movie trope of Dracula transforming into a cloud of flying bats? by ryanasimov
I read that the trope of vampires turning into bats comes from Vlad the Impaler who once had his troops retreat a valley at sundown so that the sun would be in his enemies eyes and then released rabid bats, making it seem as if his soldiers had turned into bats. The story itself is likely not true but this myth is the origin of vampires turning to bats