Did you know Nic Cage was a vampire? No? We did. That's because we like to think of ourselves as experts in the field...

With the current mania surrounding the Twilight series and the bizarre effect it seems to have over teenage girls, it was only a matter of time before politicians started jumping on the bloodsucking bandwagon.

In a small village in the Dharmapuri township in southern India, locals are living under a tight dusk curfew and leaving holy signs and messages outside their homes in the hope of staying free from vampire attack.

Unlike their Pattinson-esque counterparts, these vampires - or Ratha Kaatteri as they are known locally - are allegedly responsible for the disappearance of cattle and other livestock, and the villagers worry they may be next.

To combat the fear of the supernatural - and perhaps to make a point that it's all a load of nonsense - Indian politician, O. Jayaraman has announced a 100,000 rupee reward (just under £1200) to whomever can produce a ‘vampire corpse’.

Mr Jayaraman believes that criminals are using the old vampire excuse to cover their tracks: 'Anti-socials whose illegal night activities such as bootlegging and liquor brewing have been disturbed are spreading rumors and killing cattle.'

Of course, there have been no specifications as to what a ‘vampire corpse’ looks like - the stunt could backfire and lead to thousands of lust driven American teenage girls rampaging through the southern Indian countryside looking for ‘their Edward’.

Tags: Weird stories