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Vampire Legends and Folktales from Medieval Europe
Vampires are incredible devils and turn up throughout folklore. Here are four myths about vampires.
The Buckinghamshire Vampire
In 1196 a vampire traversed the Buckinghamshire region of England. The story is recorded in Historia Rerum Anglicarum. The essayist of the account is a cenobite named William of Newburgh. A vampire, who was the apparition of a newly deceased man, assaulted his victims at nightfall. He was a doctrinal vampire; one who slept each day in a grave at the town cemetery. When the sun set the vampire would rise and attack his widow while she slept. It is commonplace in vampire tales for vampires to assault their former family members.
Although he did not slay his widow, each evening after sunset the vampire returned to the widow's bedroom and assailed and disturbed her. The widow asked family members to stay with her and keep her awake after dark. The vampire began attacking her family members in the house. Before long, the complete town was afraid of falling asleep.
The vampire's burial grave was exhumed by the villagers. The corpse hadn't decayed and was in a fresh state. The villagers buried the corpse again. On the chest of the body they placed a holy scapula. The vampire did not rise from the grave from that day forward.
The Folktale of the Vampire of Berwick
In a second account of William of Newburgh's Historia Rerum Anglicarum, a rich man who resided in the town of Berwick died of plague near the border of Scotland and England. After his death he was reported to be moving around the streets each night. The dogs of the town would bark deep into the night while the vampire was meandering. The townspeople, who were afraid that plague might spread through the village because of the vampire's proximity, exhumed the corpse, tore it apart limb from limb, and set it aflame. The vampire was never seen roving the hamlet after sunset thereafter. All the same, plague still infected the village and it was blamed on the idle spiritual essence of the vampire.
The Vampire Folktale of Arnold Paole
In this extraordinary Austrian folktale, a Serbian fugitive named Arnold was subject to a vampire assault during a night time stroll in a cemetery. Arnold found the vampire's grave site and beheaded the monster with a shovel. The vampire curse was a legend that made the killer of a vampire turn into a vampire themselves. In an effort to hinder the curse, Arnold consumed some of the dirt around the grave. Arnold lived a normal life for several more years.
Sometime after Arnold died from a fall in which he broke his neck. Following his funeral his spirit was discovered sneaking around the town late at night. Numerous villagers were found dead after dawn, all drained of blood. The stark speculation was that Arnold had fallen victim to the vampire curse. The Austrian army was assigned to look into the situation. They exhumed the corpse and were astounded by what they found. The corpse had not decayed and there was fresh blood seeping from the mouth, eyes, and nose. The fingernails had elongated and new skin had grown as well.
The townspeople drove a stake into the heart of the carcass. The body began to bleed from the injury and the body began groaning in distress. The vampire was never seen again.
The Vampire Folktale of Peter Plogojowitz
This example was one of the most astounding and well documented cases of vampire mania. The tale is written in Imperial Provisor Frombald, written by an Austrian bureaucrat who witnessed the vampire meanderings of Peter Plogojowitz.
In 1725 Peter Plogojowitz, a Serbian countryman, lived in a village named Kisilova. Soon after Plogojowitz's death, nine or more additional townspeople died. They died gradually and on their death beds they maintained that Plogojowitz was attacking and strangling them at night.
The villagers dug up the remains and examined it for signs of vampirism. They found out that the corpse had not decayed, that the hair and nails had grown, and that a beard had grown as well. Blood was discovered in the mouth of the remains. The townspeople staked the remains through the heart. Blood began spraying from the ears and nose. Afraid that the vampire would rise again, the townsfolk burned the body.
Conclusion
Vampire folktales share very similar story lines. When a person dies and rises as a vampire, the monster usually attacks former family members first. Before dawn the monster returns to its coffin to seek shelter until the next night. When the corpse is dug up it lacks signs of decay. After the corpse is staked through the heart or destroyed by fire, the vampire is never seen again.
About the Author CT Thompson is the creator of Vampire Rave, a social network for those who are fascinated with the vampire. He has a love of science fiction and also developed the Dark Network.
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