The Cauldron is a reader-supported publication exploring curious occult history and mythology, with artful nudes from SF-based photographer Jose de los Reyes. See more of his work on Instagram.
Summer has arrived! In colder places like Michigan, our spooky friends the bats are emerging from hibernation for hot goth summer. Tonight, they’ll snack on bugs, including mosquitos: a single evening bat can consume about 21,000 insects per year. Found in most parts of the world, the tiny pipistrelle bat can eat up to 3,000 insects in a single night.
Yet many people fear bats, or associate them with vampires, Halloween, and the occult—three of my favorite things! But how did our fuzzy little flying friends get lumped in with things that go bump in the night?
First, bats are ubiquitous. Worldwide, there are 1,500 species and counting, making up around 20% of all mammals. Many are pollinators: over 300 species of fruits rely on bats for pollination, including favorites like mangoes, bananas, avocados, and guavas. And if you like tequila, you have bats to thank, as they are the primary pollinators of agave, the plant from which the spirit is derived. Furthermore, bats are being studied for their exceptional resistance against DNA damage, parasites, and viruses. Their saliva may also contain the key to a treatment for stroke patients. And their waste (guano) is widely used as fertilizer.
Once considered birds, bats are the only mammal gifted with flight (unless you count the flying squirrel, but that’s a whole other Substack). More than half also possess an extraordinary trait—echolocation. No bat species is blind, but darkness is darkness. So they “see” with their ears.
Echolocation is mostly produced by contraction of the larynx, though a few species click their tongues. The sounds are usually emitted through the nose. The calls themselves are often ultrasonic, ranging in frequency from 20 to 200 kilohertz (kHz). Most human hearing capacity ends at around 20 kHz. Nevertheless, some echolocation clicks are audible to humans, such as those of the Spotted bat.
Using echolocating, bats can locate and evaluate prey up to 16 feet away. As they close in, the call gets more intense. This presents a risk of damaging their own hearing, so bats shut off their middle ear.
So, why are bats considered creepy? Why are people so scared of them? If you answered “disease,” consider bats are non-aggressive animals who rarely transmit illness to humans. While bats can get rabies, it’s more common in raccoons, foxes, dogs, and cats. And when bats do get rabies, they usually die quickly without becoming aggressive.
During the Middle Ages, folks in Western Europe and England blamed bats for the spread of disease, most likely because of the bat’s similarity to the rat, who was likewise blamed for the spread of plague. (The real culprit was the flea). At the same time, bats became associated with witchcraft and black magic. In rural Scotland and northern England, people thought bats carried messages between witches and the devil. (Messenger-bats?)
As for the vampire-bat association, vampire lore existed long before the blood-eating bats became internationally known. The very first documented vampire is a soul-sucker from ancient Sumeria and Assyria.
Also, there are currently only three species of vampire bats (named for the folkloric monster, not the other way around): the small, leaf-nosed Desmodus rotundus, the white-winged Diaemus youngi, and the hairy-legged Diphylla ecaudata. They’re all found in Latin America. These sanguivores have razor-sharp teeth with which they make small incisions, then lick the wound. An anticoagulant in their saliva ensures the blood will keep flowing, though they only consume a small amount—no more than a teaspoon.
Blood is a poor food source, leaving vampire bats highly susceptible to starvation. Missing two or more meals can often mean death. However, their fellow bats in their roost will often regurgitate their last feed in order to save their neighbor. Before donating or receiving blood, a bat pair vigorously grooms one another and make distinctive vocalizations. Then, “a hungry bat pats the swollen belly of a roostmate, prompting a lengthy regurgitation.” The receiver later becomes a donor, and on it goes. Bats who try to game the system and avoid donating are not fed in turn.
You may think of bats as creatures of the underworld. Some devilish monsters are depicted with the wings of a bat, including gargoyles. As noted above, European vampire lore and bats are inextricably linked in the public imagination. Dracula (published in 1897) definitely had something to do with that.
First of all, Dracula himself looks like a bat. He’s described as possessing pointy ears and “highly-arched nostrils.” He cloak resembles wings. Fittingly, Dracula can also transform into a bat. (“Bat!”)
The popular film adaptations of Dracula, from Bela Lugosi to Gary Oldman, feature a bat-like vampire figure, cementing the association between fuzzy insect-eaters and bloodsucking creatures of the night. In Dracula Untold, Vlad destroys an army with a cloud of bats. And let us not forget the comedic vampires of What We Do in the Shadows who fight, fly, and fuck in bat form.
Demonized in medieval Europe, bats play(ed) an important role in some pre-Christian cultures. In the Veracruz culture of Mexico, which was rooted in the ancient Olmec civilization, human sacrifice was performed in honor of the bat god. The priests dressed as vampire bats for the ceremony.
A creation myth from Costa Rica begins with only rock and gravel covering the Earth, until a vampire bat flies into the Earth’s center to feed off the blood of a baby jaguar. Invigorated by the blood, the bat returns to fertilize the world.
In Brazilian folklore, the tobacco plant belongs to the vampire bats and anyone who disrespects the tobacco will transform into an otter.
Bats are trickster figures who appear in cautionary tales in some North American tribal cultures. The bat is associated with clarity of vision and intuition.
In China, bats appear in art and handicrafts as symbols of happiness and good luck. Five bats together is a five-fold blessing: financial security, longevity, good health, a virtuous life, and a natural death.
Does this mean you should get a pet bat? Hell no. In fact, humans should avoid deliberately touching bats. Also, bats can live up to 30 years.
You can, however, garden with bat-friendly plants or host a bat house in your yard, which will help cut down on mosquitos and other unwanted insects. Just be sure to set up and tend to the bat house appropriately! Otherwise it can do more harm than good.
You can also donate/volunteer with your local bat sanctuaries, or support nonprofits protecting bats.
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