was buried, a corpse could never be left alone. The guardian also had to keep a sharp eye out for dogs and cats, because if one jumped over the corpse, it might become a vampire. This is a superstition that, strangely enough, occurs in China as well as the Slavic countries.
Vampire exorcism
Much of what we know today about medieval superstitions concerning vampires comes from archaeologists, who have found remains of mutilated skeletons buried for hundreds of years. For example, in 2009, the body of a woman was unearthed from a mass grave on the Venetian island of Lazzaretto Nouvo, Italy. Her skull had a large brick shoved into its mouth, leading archaeologists to believe that she had been suspected of being a vampire. The brick was there to weigh her down and prevent her from leaving the grave. It was particularly important that she remained where she was because, along with the others in the grave, she was a victim of the bubonic plague that swept through Venice in 1576, killing up to 50,000 people.
The archaeologists thought that the corpse of the woman had been seen by gravediggers, who noticed that she had decomposed in an alarming way, and therefore decided to put the brick into her skull. At that time, it was uncommon for a grave to be opened soon after burial; graves were only opened after hundreds of years, by which time all that would have remained of the body was the skeleton, or parts of it. Thus, most ordinary people did not know what a recently decomposing body looked like. The gravediggers, who during the plague, had to frequently open the graves to add further corpses, may have mistaken the ‘purge fluid’ of the woman’s body – that is, a dark fluid from the gastrointestinal tract that can flow out of the nose and mouth after death – for fresh blood, and assumed that she had been eating live flesh.
Not only this, but there was a hole in the shroud around the skeleton’s mouth, which made it look as though she had been biting through it in an effort to escape. The archaeologists argued that the woman’s bodily fluids would have wet the shroud, causing it to sink into the cavity of the mouth and dissolve there. Putting the stone into the corpse’s mouth, it seems, was an act of exorcism designed to stop her rising from the grave and spreading her disease.
Interestingly, the archaeologists in this case also argued that, during times of plague, vampire legends spread more widely. This was because tombs, sepulchres, and mass graves were opened so frequently, gravediggers had the opportunity to see recently decomposing bodies, which normally did not happen – and it was also a good answer to why people were dying at such a rapid rate. Naturally enough, the discovery of the so-called ‘vampire corpses’ only spread further alarm at such times of pestilence.
Vampire âLifestylesâ
Â
Just as the myths about vampiresâ appearance and character developed through the centuries, so too did stories about their behaviour. The habits attributed to them differed according to the region or country where the variant of the legend arose.
In Bavaria, for example, vampires were said to sleep in their coffins with their thumbs crossed and one eye open. In other European countries, vampires were thought to stalk the streets wearing their shrouds, or the clothes they had been buried in. In Moravia, vampires were alleged to be naked when they made their attacks. Albanian vampires were always described as wearing high-heeled shoes, and legend had it that inside the heels of their shoes, they carried the soil of their native land.
Vampires were essentially undead spirits, and like other poltergeists, they might misbehave from time to time; throwing stones at roofs or windows, breaking or moving household objects, and pulling peopleâs legs or arms as they slept. There were also stories that they pressed on sleeping individuals, perhaps trying to suffocate them. In some cultures, it was
Vampire exorcism
Much of what we know today about medieval superstitions concerning vampires comes from archaeologists, who have found remains of mutilated skeletons buried for hundreds of years. For example, in 2009, the body of a woman was unearthed from a mass grave on the Venetian island of Lazzaretto Nouvo, Italy. Her skull had a large brick shoved into its mouth, leading archaeologists to believe that she had been suspected of being a vampire. The brick was there to weigh her down and prevent her from leaving the grave. It was particularly important that she remained where she was because, along with the others in the grave, she was a victim of the bubonic plague that swept through Venice in 1576, killing up to 50,000 people.
The archaeologists thought that the corpse of the woman had been seen by gravediggers, who noticed that she had decomposed in an alarming way, and therefore decided to put the brick into her skull. At that time, it was uncommon for a grave to be opened soon after burial; graves were only opened after hundreds of years, by which time all that would have remained of the body was the skeleton, or parts of it. Thus, most ordinary people did not know what a recently decomposing body looked like. The gravediggers, who during the plague, had to frequently open the graves to add further corpses, may have mistaken the ‘purge fluid’ of the woman’s body – that is, a dark fluid from the gastrointestinal tract that can flow out of the nose and mouth after death – for fresh blood, and assumed that she had been eating live flesh.
Not only this, but there was a hole in the shroud around the skeleton’s mouth, which made it look as though she had been biting through it in an effort to escape. The archaeologists argued that the woman’s bodily fluids would have wet the shroud, causing it to sink into the cavity of the mouth and dissolve there. Putting the stone into the corpse’s mouth, it seems, was an act of exorcism designed to stop her rising from the grave and spreading her disease.
Interestingly, the archaeologists in this case also argued that, during times of plague, vampire legends spread more widely. This was because tombs, sepulchres, and mass graves were opened so frequently, gravediggers had the opportunity to see recently decomposing bodies, which normally did not happen – and it was also a good answer to why people were dying at such a rapid rate. Naturally enough, the discovery of the so-called ‘vampire corpses’ only spread further alarm at such times of pestilence.
Vampire âLifestylesâ
Â
Just as the myths about vampiresâ appearance and character developed through the centuries, so too did stories about their behaviour. The habits attributed to them differed according to the region or country where the variant of the legend arose.
In Bavaria, for example, vampires were said to sleep in their coffins with their thumbs crossed and one eye open. In other European countries, vampires were thought to stalk the streets wearing their shrouds, or the clothes they had been buried in. In Moravia, vampires were alleged to be naked when they made their attacks. Albanian vampires were always described as wearing high-heeled shoes, and legend had it that inside the heels of their shoes, they carried the soil of their native land.
Vampires were essentially undead spirits, and like other poltergeists, they might misbehave from time to time; throwing stones at roofs or windows, breaking or moving household objects, and pulling peopleâs legs or arms as they slept. There were also stories that they pressed on sleeping individuals, perhaps trying to suffocate them. In some cultures, it was
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