Vampires Have Appeared Throughout Our History

by Gen Wright

Vampires are incredible wretches and emerge throughout folklore. Here are four myths about vampires.

The Buckinghamshire Vampire

In 1196 a vampire prowled the Buckinghamshire district of England. The account is chronicled in Historia Rerum Anglicarum.
The scribe of the account is an abbot named William of Newburgh. A
vampire, which was the spook of a recently deceased man, assaulted his
prey each evening. He was a customary vampire; one who slept during
sunlit hours in a grave at the local golgotha. When the sun set the
vampire would rise from the dead and assault his widow while she was
asleep. It is customary in vampire tales for vampires to assault their
former family members.

Even though the vampire didn't
physically hurt his widow, each evening after sunset he came back to
her bed chamber and assailed and bullied her. The widow asked family
members to stay with her and keep her from drifting off to sleep at
night. The vampire then began attacking her family members in the
house. Before long, the total town was afraid of falling asleep.

The
vampire's grave was exhumed by the local townspeople. The corpse hadn't
decayed and was in a fresh state. The villagers buried the corpse
again. On the chest of the vampire they set a holy scapula. The vampire
did not rise from the grave thenceforward.

The Folktale of the Vampire of Berwick

In an additional story of William of Newburgh's Historia Rerum Anglicarum,
an affluent man who lived in the hamlet of Berwick grew sick and died
of plague near the boundary of England and Scotland. After his death he
was reported to be wandering the streets at night. The dogs of the
hamlet would bay deep into the night while the vampire was roaming. The
townspeople, who were terrified that plague might spread through the
hamlet due to the vampire's proximity, dug up the corpse, dismembered
it, and set it aflame. The vampire was never seen wandering the town at
night thenceforward. All the same, plague still infected the hamlet and
it was attributed to the idle spiritual presence of the vampire.

The Vampire Folktale of Arnold Paole

In
this famous Austrian legend, a Serbian bandit named Arnold was subject
to a vampire attack during a night time stroll in a graveyard. He
located the vampire's grave and beheaded the monster with a spade. The
vampire curse was a legend that made the killer of a vampire turn into
a vampire themselves. In an endeavor to prevent the curse, Arnold
consumed a small portion of the dirt around the grave. Arnold lived an
average life for several more years.

Quite a while later
Arnold died from a fall where he broke his neck. Subsequent to his
funeral his spirit was discovered hiding in the town late at night.
Several villagers were discovered dead after dawn, all drained of
blood. The bald speculation was that Arnold had fallen victim to the
vampire curse. The Austrian army was assigned to investigate the
matter. They dug up the corpse and were astounded by what they
discovered. The corpse had not decomposed and there was new blood
dripping from the mouth, eyes, and nose. The nails had grown and new
skin had grown as well.

The townspeople pounded a stake
into the heart of the corpse. The body began to bleed from the injury
and the corpse began moaning in pain. The vampire appeared no more.

The Vampire Folktale of Peter Plogojowitz

This example was one of the most sensational and well documented cases of vampire hysteria. The myth is found in Imperial Provisor Frombald, penned by an Austrian official who witnessed the vampire stalkings of Peter Plogojowitz.

In 1725 Peter Plogojowitz, a Serbian countryman, lived in a town named Kisilova.
Just after Plogojowitz's death, at least nine additional villagers
perished. They died gradually and on their death beds they claimed that
Plogojowitz was attacking and strangling them after dark.

The
townspeople dug up the body and closely inspected it for any sign of
vampirism. They discovered that the corpse had not decayed, that the
nails and hair had grown, and that a beard had grown as well. Blood was
discovered in the mouth of the corpse. The townspeople staked the
corpse through the heart. Blood began to run from the ears and nose.
Fearful that the vampire would rise again, the villagers burned the
body.

Conclusion

Vampire stories share
very general elements. When a person dies and is reborn as a vampire,
the monster most of the time attacks past family members first. Just
before dawn the monster returns to its tomb to seek protection until
the next evening. When the body is dug up it doesn't have any signs of
decay. After the remains are staked through the heart or destroyed by
fire, the vampire is not seen again.

About the Author:

Gen Wright is a contributor to the online community Vampire Rave, a social network with a vampire theme. He also contributes to the Dark Network, a network of paranormal, supernatural, and darker websites.