Why?

What are vampires? What are werewolves? We don't really know for sure what they are. We hear about them from folklore, myths, and the legends that surround them. What we definitely know is that the PEOPLE WHO SUFFER PORPHYRIA ARE NOT VAMPIRES OR WEREWOLVES. They are human being just like us, who unfortunately suffer from a rare genetic condition. Misconceptions about these conditions might have given rise to vampire and werewolf legends, but PORPYHRIA SUFFERERS ARE NOT VAMPIRES OR WEREWOLVES!!!

The legends of vampires and werewolves arose mostly around the 1400-1600's. People tended to over react to anything that was different from them, and often considered it evil. What was different was feared and had to be destroyed. At this time people could not even begin to understand the biology of porphyria. Many people at that time period considered porphyria sufferers as evil beings. They were shunned, feared, and persecuted, because they were different in how they lived and in their physical appearance. Porphyriacs might have lived dimly in dark or shaded areas to avoid the sun. They probably come out at night for a stroll, since they couldn't come out in the daylight. Porphyriacs might be pale or colored, sometime hairy, bloated, disfigured, and have "fangs". Some attacks may even have caused hallucinations and lunacy.

Mysteries and unnatural behavior strike fear in people's minds. We know from legends and myths that vampires are sensitive to sunlight, come out at night, are known as the living dead, and are blood thirsty creatures. Werewolves, as we have heard through these legends and myths, are living humans who have ability to transform themselves into wolves by the light of the full moon and go feed and destroy the living. Who during this time period would go and interview porphyria suffers if they didn't understand what caused these conditions? Perhaps it is not so surprising that these individuals were feared and shunned. During this time period people didn't even know porphyria existed. But there is one thing we now know:

PORPHYRIA SUFFERERS ARE NOT THESE MYSTERIOUS BEINGS. THEY ARE LIVING INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE TRULY ALIVE AND DO NOT TRANSFORM BY THE LIGHT OF THE FULL MOON!!!