Home | Society
Vampires are capricious villains and turn up throughout folklore. Here are four tales of vampires. The Buckinghamshire Vampire In 1196 a vampire traversed the Buckinghamshire region of England. The tale is detailed in Historia Rerum Anglicarum. The author of the tale is a cenobite named William of Newburgh. A vampire, which was the apparition of a newly deceased man, besieged his prey each evening. He was a doctrinal vampire; he slept during sunlit hours in a grave at the local cemetery. When the sun set the vampire would rise from the dead and set upon his widow while she slept. It is common in vampire myths for vampires to set upon their earlier family members. Although he didn't kill his widow, each evening he returned to the widow's bedroom and attacked and annoyed her. The widow sought out family members to stay with her and keep her from falling asleep after dark. The vampire then began attacking other family members in the house. Before long, the complete hamlet was terrified of going to sleep. The vampire's burial grave was exhumed by the local villagers. The corpse hadn't decayed and was in a fresh condition. The townspeople buried the corpse again. On the chest of the body they set a holy scapula. The vampire never rose from the grave thenceforth. The Folktale of the Vampire of Berwick In another account of William of Newburgh's Historia Rerum Anglicarum, an affluent man who lived in the town of Berwick died of plague near the boundary of England and Scotland. After his death he was reported to be roving the streets at night. The dogs of the village would howl deep into the night while this vampire was roving. The villagers, who were spooked that plague might infect the village because of the vampire's presence, exhumed the corpse, dismembered it, and burned it. The vampire was never seen roving the village at night thenceforth. All the same, plague still infected the village and it was blamed on the drifting spiritual presence of the vampire. The Vampire Folktale of Arnold Paole In this legendary Austrian myth, a Serbian fugitive named Arnold was the victim of a vampire assault during a nocturnal stroll in a graveyard. He found the vampire's grave site and decapitated the vampire with a spade. The vampire curse was a superstition that made the executioner of a vampire turn into a vampire themselves. In an effort to stop the curse, Arnold decided to eat some of the dirt around the grave site. Arnold lived an average life for many years. Sometime after Arnold died resulting from a fall in which he broke his neck. Following his burial his specter was discovered sneaking around the village late at night. Several townspeople were discovered dead after dawn, all drained of blood. The stark speculation was that Arnold had fallen victim to the vampire curse. The Austrian army was appointed to investigate the situation. They exhumed the corpse and were astonished by what they discovered. The corpse had not decomposed and there was new blood seeping from the mouth, nose, and eyes. The fingernails had elongated and new skin had grown also. The villagers drove a stake through the heart of the body. The corpse began to bleed from the wound and the body began murmuring in agony. The vampire appeared no more. The Vampire Folktale of Peter Plogojowitz This instance was one of the most hair-raising and well documented cases of vampire panic. The tale is found in Imperial Provisor Frombald, written by an Austrian administrator who witnessed the vampire meanderings of Peter Plogojowitz. In 1725 Peter Plogojowitz, a Serbian countryman, lived in a village named Kisilova. Immediately after Plogojowitz's demise, no less than nine other villagers perished. They died gradually and on their death beds they alleged that Plogojowitz was strangling and attacking them while everyone else was sleeping. The townspeople exhumed the remains and inspected it for signs 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 nose and ears. Fearful that the vampire would rise again, the villagers burned the body. Conclusion Vampire stories share very general themes. When a person dies and is reborn as a vampire, the creature oftentimes attacks former family members first. Just before dawn the creature goes back to its coffin to seek protection until the next night. When the carcass is exhumed it doesn't contain signs of decomposition. After the remains are staked through the heart or destroyed by fire, the vampire is not witnessed again.
Article Source: http://www.free-article-info.com/ArticleDashboard
Gen Wright is a contributor to the online community Vampire Rave, a social network with a vampire theme. He also contributes to SciFi Section, a science fiction community.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
