Urban legends are strange folklore borne from rumour, fascination and eventually, legend. That’s what seems to be the case with the urban legend surrounding ‘Camille Monfort’ or the “Amazon Vampire,” where this striking female figure became a legend in 1896 in Belém, Brazil.
In the late Victorian era, Brazil was popularised from the rubber trade with a rise in local wealth with rubber exports bringing money to local farmworkers. These newly wealthy families indulged in new luxuries and cultures from Europe. The “Theatro da Paz” hosted performances from many European artists.
Among these was the mysterious and somewhat fictitious, Camille Monfort- apparently a strikingly beautiful French opera singer. She purportedly captivated the wealthy men of Belém and sparked jealousy among their wives. It is Monfort’s beauty and bold disregard for social norms that grew into an urban legend. The independence of women was a growing social movement and perhaps led to wild rumours of Monfront dancing half-naked in the streets during afternoon rain showers and taking solitary walks along the banks of the Guajará River dressed in flowing black gowns under the full moon.
Was Camille ever a single female figure or does her legend reflect many different women all independent, flouting social conventions and charismatic?
Stranger tales circulated about Monfort including she’d been afflicted with vampirism while in London, explaining her pale appearance. According to these legends, she thirsted for blood and mesmerised young women with her voice during opera performances, where they fainted and Monfront could prey on them. Monfort was also rumoured be able to communicate with the dead and summon spirits during séances.
In late 1896, Camille Monfort reportedly died from illness during a cholera outbreak in Belém. She is apparently buried in Soledad Cemetery bur her tomb is empty. The mysterious ‘Camille Monfront’ exists today in Europe where mystery still surrounds her life and -death?
Leanbh Pearson 