vampire village

"Vampire Village" - this is sometimes called the Brazilian village of Araras, which is located in a picturesque place between the hills. For the people of Araras, the sun is their worst enemy. They are forced to hide from the sun's rays and leave the house only at night, like mythological vampires.

(Total 7 photos)

1. The villagers of Araras suffer from an extremely rare skin disease. This disease is called xeroderma pigmentosa. (Photo: AP Photo / Eraldo Peres)

2. Their skin is like parchment - very thin and extremely sensitive to sunlight, it does not have any protective mechanisms. Ultraviolet radiation deforms the skin very much, and sometimes it simply “melts” from the sun. (Photo: AP Photo / Eraldo Peres)

3. Araras is probably the only place on the planet where such a large number of people live with this disease. Why is almost the whole village sick? The answer to the question can be found in the past. The thing is that the village was founded by several kindred families, as a result of which a hereditary disease appeared - parchment skin. (Photo: AP Photo / Eraldo Peres)

4. 38-year-old Jalma Antonio Jardin is waiting for a doctor's consultation in the hospital. He has already undergone 50 operations to eliminate neoplasms on the skin, as a result of which he lost his nose. He recalls that the first symptoms in the form of tumors began to appear when he was only 9 years old. (Photo: AP Photo / Eraldo Peres)

5. Most of the inhabitants of the village of Araras wear wide-brimmed hats to somehow stop the development of the disease. However, in most cases this is not enough. Many residents leave their homes only at night. This is why Araras is sometimes referred to as the "vampire village". (Photo: AP Photo / Eraldo Peres)

6. Children in the village of Araras are protected from the sun from birth, because it is not known when the first symptoms of the disease may appear. (Photo: AP Photo / Eraldo Peres)

7. Deformed skin and tumors are not the only problems of the villagers of Araras. In addition to parchment skin, they develop comorbidities that cause problems with hearing, muscle tone, and coordination. Delayed development is also common. But the biggest problem is, of course, the sun. (Photo: AP Photo / Eraldo Peres)