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This is a fun story from the early 18th century if you haven't read about it

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_of_St._Germain

And I don't want to add fuel to a strange fire, but in 1764 when Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote a letter to Beaumont regarding the absurdity of belief despite evidence, he used this as an example:

"If there is in this world a well-attested account, it is that of vampires. Nothing is lacking: official reports, affidavits of well-known people, of surgeons, of priests, of magistrates; the judicial proof is most complete."

“Don’t be silly, Bob,” said Mo. “Everybody knows vampires don’t exist.”

-- first line of The Rhesus Chart, by cstross

Wasn't this the guy going around building animate porcelain dolls in suspiciously modern gothic-lolita dresses?

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