BBC Host: This is the first question:

Dee Hillier: Hello Sean, Apart from Highgate Cemetery have you investigated any other incidents that might prove the existence of Vampires in the UK?

Sean Manchester Hi there. Yes I have. The most infamous after Highgate might be the Kirklees vampire in West Yorkshire. There are others in the country and elsewhere - But one shouldn't publish until it's closed and satisfactorally dealt with!

Spuffy Summers: Hi do you think that Buffy/Angel glamourises the role of vampire slayers too much. Is it in fact a vocation in life which should be taken seriously?

Sean Manchester Yes it is a vocation in life which should be taken very seriously. Unfortunately Buffy does glamorise the role of the vampirologist and exorcist.

BBC Host: Sean Manchester is here on BBC Online now, answering your spooky questions about supernatural vampires. Maybe you think you've seen a vampire, or maybe you just want to find out more about them. Send in your query now and Sean will answer as many as he can.

Josh Oakley: Do vampires really hate garlic?

Sean Manchester Not only vampires. The Greeks and Romans were aware of the power of garlic, and used it to ward off evil spirits as well as to consume in food.

Lestat Lioncourt: what sort of evidence do you seem to find to support your theories?

Sean Manchester I don't deal in theory - at least I haven't done so since 30-odd years ago when I first confronted a real vampire. This isn't theory - this is fact.

Izzy Bentinck: is there a specific country where vampires originate from?

Sean Manchester No, vampires are as old as mankind itself, and there's no particular country of origin. There's evidence in all the ancient civilisations of the existence of the undead.

fleur haines: have you seen any vampires before?

Sean Manchester Yes - and on a number of occasions. The first one was in August 1970.

Huge: If I met a guy who claimed to be a vampire, how should I deal with him?

Sean Manchester You wouldn't meet a guy who is a vampire - only who claimed. It's most unlikely you'd encounter a true vampire in the way you encounter living persons.

Chris Haney: have vampires ever been found?

Sean Manchester Well yes. They've been found throughout the history of man, not least of all by myself. But not exclusively by me!

greg wall: has a vampire ever tried to attack you?

Sean Manchester Yes. On more than one occasion I have been at great risk at the presence of vampires. The first time was in the early 1970s, and a number of times since. In 1990 I was confronted by a predatory wraith or vampire in West Yorkshire while investigating the Kirklees vampire.

Chris Moon: Do you believe vampires are supernatural or biological in origin?

Sean Manchester Vampires are supernatural. However they do take a corporeal form.

Mr Papachumba: So how many vampires have you caught?

Sean Manchester Scores. I have personally exorcised quite a number. Precise number I couldn't tell you. But after 33 years of vampire hunting, quite a few.

helen: have you any recorded proof of vampires existence?

Sean Manchester In my book The Highgate Vampire are photos of a vampire soon after exorcism, in the stages of decomposition. These have been transmitted on TV several times in the 1990s.

Daniel Hollister: what do i need to protect my self from vampires?

Sean Manchester: I can only speak for myself, but your best protection is your faith. I employ Christian symbols, but without the faith they would be ineffectual.

Alex Riley: How exactly are vampires made? is it good people become angels and bad people become vampires?

Sean Manchester People do not become angels. People are people who pass on. Vampires are intrinsically demonic, and possess and contaminate a person who after death doesn't lie quietly in the grave.

Joss Edwards: What was the first real vampire? and what truth do the myths come from?

Sean Manchester In my experience the pivotal point was when two 16-year-old girls saw what seemed to be bodies rising in Highgate cemetery in 1967.

Vicx fri: Do u think there are any other explanations for your findings?

Sean Manchester I can imagine no other explanation than the vampire being a demonic entity which causes the dead to walk beyond the tomb.

Mark Twain: Are vampires immortal, and if so how is that known?

Sean Manchester Immortal is not a word that I'd employ, but I understand what you mean. Vampires cannot die, but must go on.

Rob Marriott: So do vampires really exist apart from in the bat form?

Sean Manchester Yes. The vampire bat is an animal, which lives off the blood of cattle, and occasionally sleeping humans. The real vampire is something else; it's a demonic corpse that leaves the grave at night to sup the blood of sleeping persons.

Ian sorrynotsposedtotell: Does flame kill a vampire?

Sean Manchester Yes. Vampires cannot be killed. However, they can be exorcised. The corporeal form is destroyed when cremated. But the demonic frame isn't destroyed. It's cast out of our realm, our world.

Tony: Why don't vampires dominate human kind, being stronger, etc?

Sean Manchester Vampires are of the Devil. And it's part of the devil's mission to corrupt and parody what we should be doing. The vampire fits the description of the Antichrist.

Paul Crocombe: How close to the legend of Vlad Drac are 'real' vampires?

Sean Manchester Well, Vlad the Impaler is a historical mediaeval tyrant. Where the legend begins is in two 15-century manuscripts which describe him as a Wampyr.

fleur haines: how long have you been interested in vampires?

Sean Manchester Almost half a century.

Andrew A: so do u become one from being bitten or are u born a vampire?

Sean Manchester You are not born a vampire. Living persons can be contaminated by vampirism, and in rare circumstances are at risk when they die.

Joe Birch: What do vampires do to people?

Sean Manchester I suppose they suck the blood of living persons. And they cause them to die eventually.

Matthew Beezley: Have you ever taken a photograph of a vampire and shown it around?

Sean Manchester Yes I have, but only moments after exorcism has taken place.

Jessica Phoenix: Have you any evidence that vampirism existed in the ancient world?

Sean Manchester I wasn't around in the ancient world, but it is recorded by the most respected persons of the time. Tertullian speaks of the undead in the 2nd century.

helen: why do some of these *undead* not pass over to the next world?

Sean Manchester Demonic interference is the reason.

Rob Marriott: Do you watch Buffy or does it make you sick due to its inaccuracy?

Sean Manchester I have seen Buffy The Vampire Slayer because I was invited in 1999 by the BBC to appear in a 3-hour special which included uncut versions of it.

luke williams: what is the most scariest thing you've seen?

Sean Manchester I think of all the supernatural evil that I've encountered as an exorcist, by far the most dangerous of all is the vampire.

Dev Sibwarra: Have you ever faced a non-vampire demon before?

Sean Manchester No I haven't, and I wouldn't.

Rodrigo Gonzales: How close are you to a 'why' or 'how' or some kind of scientific explanation? Is there one?

Sean Manchester It has been attempted, but not by me. We're familiar with just 3 dimensions and the sequence of before, now and after. The vampire is outside that, and is trapped in a twilight hell between life and death.

Chris Haney: is it true that vampires can only come out at night?

Sean Manchester Vampires are, it would seem, nocturnal demons.

Lee Cunliffe: Have you ever almost been bitten?

Sean Manchester I have been bitten on the left palm by a supernatural predatory vampire.

spuffy summers: As a vicar is it not against the Church to believe in such satanical beings?

Sean Manchester I'm not a vicar, I'm a priest and a bishop. I'm a Catholic.
Most vampirologists in the past were priests who needed permission from their bishop to carry out exorcisms. The foremost writers on the subject have been priests.

mr man: Are vampires always vampires or have they been changed from another state?

Sean Manchester The demonic aspect, not the human one, has always been demonic. It has not changed from something else. Demons have existed since the beginning.

helena: What conditions do vampires prefer to make them thrive?

Sean Manchester They prefer the dark, and avoid holy places and holy things.

louie: Are vampires more lively at certain times of year?

Sean Manchester They are particularly active in the last week of December and the 1st week of January. The time between Christmas and Epiphany.

titch: Are there other forces of evil that you deal with as well as vampires?

Sean Manchester Yes - as a foremost exorcist I deal with all forms of supernatural evil.

Jon Eabry: what would you say to people who call you a fake?

Sean Manchester People who call me a fake are entitled to their opinion.
It's not based on experience of either me, or the supernatural that I pursue.

Neil Carter: What do vampires look like?

Sean Manchester The Vampire is generally described as gaunt with a hideous countenance. Sometimes replete to bursting with the blood of its victims.

Paul Shane: are vampires likely to be living in our towns or are they more likely to congregate somewhere together?

Sean Manchester The vampire sleeps in its tomb. They do not walk as people walk in towns. They occupy the cities of the dead - graveyards.

Ben McNeill: have vampires been known to attack devil worshippers?

Sean Manchester The vampire does not discriminate who it attacks. Men, women and children alike, of any persuasion. Also animals have known to be attacked.

Hayley Griffiths WERE DID YOU SEE THIS VAMPIRE THAT BIT YOU???

Sean Manchester It's recorded in my book The Highgate Vampire, and it took place in my investigation at the house near what used to be called the great north London cemetery.

o l: as a bishop, why do you not believe in angels

Sean Manchester I do, very much so. In fact, I call on God and his holy angels to protect me. Angels have existed since before man, and demons are fallen angels. But whether angel or demon, these are not human - and humans are not them!

Nick Venables: Do you believe Elizabeth Bathory was a real vampire?

Sean Manchester Elizabeth suffered from probably sadism and a desire to be young through bathing in blood. She wasn't a vampire, just a depraved living person.

Hera: Are vampires merely physical shells inhabited by the demon in question or is the consciousness of the host trapped also?

Sean Manchester The consciousness of the host can be trapped, but the corporeal form achieves its ability through the power of demonic interference.

Anthony: is supernatural evil an excuse for evil actually created by humans?

Sean Manchester No. Supernatural evil originates with the devil, who is not a figment of the imagination. He exists, as does his company of followers, of which vampires are included.

angel gilbert: sean how many of you are there in your following?

Sean Manchester Are you talking about the vampire research? There's a small but dedicated number of comrades, who are mostly academics and scholars. Everyone brings to the research their own special quality.

Mr Papachumba: What does the scientific world say about your vampire exorcisms?

Sean Manchester You must ask them. I rarely do myself. I'm not a scientist, and don't analyse or disect these matters scientifically. I am, after all, an exorcist.

Jacobi Longourin: Do you use the standard exorcism ritual on vampires as well as pocsessions?

Sean Manchester They do use the Latin rite, but this on its own is insufficient to remedy vampirism.

Gemma Dixon: How do you fund your operations?

Sean Manchester Personally.

the: were you scared when you met ur first vampire?

Sean Manchester I was indeed very frightened, but over the years fear has left me.

Athena Roberts: do you ever get "good" vampires? Vampires that dont actually want to hurt people?

Sean Manchester Absolutely not. The vampire, by its nature, belongs to the Devil.

Hyena: did you need some sor of special "licence" or somthing like that from the church in order to become an exorcist?

Sean Manchester Exorcisms require the permission of a bishop in all cases.

Adam: Do you believe in other beasts like werewolves for instance?

Sean Manchester Yes, I do believe in werewolfs, and have investigated werewolfism. However, it is not the same as vampirism.

David Jones: can a vampire change there appearance?

Sean Manchester Yes. One of the most uncanny qualities of the vampire is metamorphosis.

Nick Roll: what colour blood do vampires have?

Sean Manchester The vampire only betrays the blood of those it has nourished itself on. The vampire is otherwise a dead body, reanimated with an awful life.

alex whitington: what would you do if a vampire asked you to kill him?

Sean Manchester Vampires cannot be killed. But they can be released from the torment of that condition called undead. It is a blessed hand which strikes the blow.

Goth Boy Do Vampires have any special abilities, like being strong or being able to fly, etc?

Sean Manchester Unfortunately the vampire has many supernatural abilities.
It makes them extremely dangerous, and they should not be sought out or approached by anyone who is not a qualified exorcist.

Jarrod Hanson: When a vampire 'rises' from the grave does it materialise or have to dig its way out?

Sean Manchester I believe they dematerialise and rematerialise. However, we have found physical forms within catacombs and mausoleums.

darmes b: Do vampires return to their graves for the day? if so why do people not see them more often?

Sean Manchester The vampire traditionally sleeps in its tomb by day, issuing as a living form only at night.

Athena Roberts: what do vampires feed on?

Sean Manchester Vampires are biocidal. They destroy all living forms.

cate b: what do vampires do with their time?

Sean Manchester Vampires exist outside of time. Time does not apply to one until it is exorcised.

Velvet Gold: is it true that they have to be invited into your home?

Sean Manchester There is an element of truth, as evil, once invited, will enter - whether a vampire or some other form of evil.

Brian Simpson: What happens to the vampire that is denied blood?

Sean Manchester Some vampires enter what is called an undead slumber when they are dormant for many years - sometimes even centuries.

Athena Roberts: what is the longest battle you have had with a vampire?

Sean Manchester 13 years - and that was the case of the Highgate vampire.

vic watson: Where in Britain are there a large vampire population?

Sean Manchester There is no population as such. Vampires may be found anywhere on the face of the earth. Though some regions have been known to suffer vampire epidemics.

Dave Williams: do you have anything to keep vampires away?

Sean Manchester The most powerful antidote is the host - the sacred wafer. As normal people don't handle this, I would suggest the crucifix - the holy cross.

BBC Host: Here's a final word from Sean Manchester ...

Sean Manchester To people who believe that Buffy is real: please, wake up and smell the garlic!

BBC Host thanks for all your terrific questions .We're so sorry that we were unable to answer everybody ... the response was phenomenal . In the meantime, time to go, don't have nightmares!
Oh .. and hang up the garlic ;-)

The views expressed in this livechat are those of Sean Manchester and not of the BBC.