The myths of vampires—creatures of the night who prey on the living—have terrified us for centuries. But what happens when that legend steps out of the shadows and into our world? On a recent episode of the Wyrd Wessex podcast, we delved into a chilling true crime story from the quiet Welsh town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. For the sake of our sanity, we'll refer to it as Llanfair PG. This seemingly peaceful corner of Anglesey became the backdrop for a crime that felt ripped from the pages of a horror novel. We explored the case of Matthew Hardman, a teenager who committed a horrific murder in 2001, not out of greed or rage, but from a twisted obsession with becoming a vampire.
A Horrific Act in a Quiet Town
On a Sunday morning in November 2001, a Meals on Wheels volunteer discovered the brutalized body of 90-year-old Mabel Leyshon. The scene that awaited first responders was more than a murder—it was a truly gruesome and ritualistic desecration. Mabel had been stabbed 22 times and her chest sliced open in a gaping wound nearly eight inches wide. Inside a saucepan on the floor, detectives found her heart wrapped in newspaper. The final chilling detail: lip marks on the rim of the pan, a grim testament to the killer having drunk her blood. The scene, as one seasoned officer put it, suggested that "the devil has been to Anglesey."
The immediate fear that gripped the town was palpable. The broadcast of a Crimewatch appeal a month later, which revealed the ritualistic details, instantly gave the perpetrator the terrifying moniker of The Vampire Murderer. This broadcast led police to a local teenager, Matthew Hardman, a seemingly unremarkable paperboy who had previously spooked a foreign exchange student by claiming she was part of a vampire coven and begging her to bite him.
A Twisted Quest for Immortality
Matthew Hardman’s obsession with vampires, sparked in the wake of his father’s death, had consumed him. He believed that the myth of vampirism was real and that the grotesque killing of Mabel, a vulnerable woman he knew from his paper round, was a necessary sacrifice for his own transformation into an immortal being.
Police investigators found a terrifying trail of evidence. Hardman’s trainers matched prints from the crime scene, and a knife in his pocket was stained with Mabel’s blood. The search of his home revealed a collection of vampire-themed books and magazines, and his computer’s search history showed a desperate quest for immortality, with visits to websites like "Vampire Slash Donor." He even reportedly punched himself in the nose to draw blood in a desperate attempt to tempt his imagined vampires to bite him.
Hardman’s detachment during police interviews was chilling. As Detective Sergeant Davis recalled, when asked what he wanted after being charged with murder, Hardman simply requested a Big Mac, fries, and a milkshake. He was "totally unfazed by his predicament, even offering us some of his fries."
The Monster Within
Hardman’s case raises a terrifying question: what drives a person to such a depraved act? His actions align with what is sometimes called Renfield syndrome, a compulsion to consume blood. While not an official diagnosis, it describes a real and disturbing pattern of behavior often linked to other underlying psychological issues.
Unfortunately, Hardman is not alone in his delusion. We explored other cases that prove the horrifying potential of the human mind when gripped by a bizarre belief system:
Alan Menzies: In Scotland, Menzies murdered his friend after becoming obsessed with the film Queen of the Damned, believing a vampire queen had promised him immortality. He bludgeoned his friend, drank his blood, and ate parts of his head. He died in prison just a few years later, a grim end to his "immortality."
Richard Chase: Known as the "Vampire of Sacramento," this paranoid schizophrenic murdered six people, believing his blood was turning to powder and could only be replenished by drinking the blood of others. He committed suicide in prison in 1980.
Peter Kürten: The "Vampire of Düsseldorf," a serial killer from the early 20th century who earned his moniker from the horrifying act of drinking the blood of some of his victims.
Magdalena Solis: The "High Priestess of Blood," a cult leader in Mexico who, with her followers, engaged in ritualistic human sacrifice and blood drinking, believing it would grant them spiritual power.
These cases, as terrifying as they are, serve as a stark reminder that the scariest monsters are not from folklore, but are the ones that exist within the human psyche. The myth of the vampire has fed back into reality, inspiring a horrifying new breed of monster—and prompting us to consider the origins of such timeless legends. As we discussed, the idea of consuming a person to gain their strength is as old as time, but the modern myth of the vampire has undoubtedly given a terrifying new blueprint to the darkest corners of the human mind.