Transylvania

I was in Transylvania for the 1st International Vampire Festival (IVFAF) at the end of May. There weren't as many vampires as I expected but I learnt a huge amount about the international reach of the vampire world, its place in culture and history and also a few surprises about Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. I'll be writing some of what I learnt on this blog over the next week.

Sighisoara, Transylvania, location of the IVFAF

First- the Traditions

In Romania there is an age old belief that the dead can walk again and suck the energy, blood or life from the living. This is not a superstition in only Romania but can be found in the history of many eastern European countries.

There are many superstitions as to who can become a vampire and why, but one of the most common reasons for thinking a person had come back as a vampire was because friends or family of the deceased became ill following his/her death- it was thought that the deceased was to blame- attacking them while they slept. 

What do some Romanians do to protect themselves, even today in the 21st century? They hire a guy to open the coffin in the dead of night and stake the body! This is totally illegal but apparently it is still done is some mountain villages. 

In some cases the Staker doesn't use the big wooden block we imagine from the movies- even a needle will do- pushed into the heart or belly-button of the deceased. In some villages it is tradition to take some of the blood of the deceased (or a piece of heart) and feed it to those who were ill, to counteract the affects of the 'vampire.'

The Bones of the Matter

Other traditions remain widespread and can even be seen in Georgia, though the connection with strigoi (vampires), if it ever existed, is long since gone. One is 'feeding' the dead person so that he/she has no desire to rise and drink the blood of the living. In Romania special bread is put in the coffin, or wooden spoons for the fanged one to chew on. In Georgia, at Easter, cake and red eggs are laid on the graves... In Hungary, thorny bushes are grown over the graves to 'trap' the dead person as he/she tries to rise. Three wooden stakes are also pushed into the grave. In extreme cases, archaeologists around Europe have found Medieval skeletons with rocks pushed into the mouths of the dead, or circular blades buried over the neck of the body- should he try to rise, he'll chop off his own head! See a documentary about these skeletons!

2012: Vampire Skeletons found in Bulgaria- over 100 graves were uncovered, revealing skeletons with stakes through their hearts and mutilated bones. Archaeologists found two medieval “vampire” skeletons. The skeletons had been pierced through the chest by an iron rod that was meant to pin them to their graves and to prevent them from becoming vampires.

Found in Poland. “We expected that these individuals were targeted for deviant burial because of their status as outsiders to the community.” But the “vampires” were actually members of the local community who had died after contracting cholera.

The Bloody Reality

When a body which is decomposing and bloated has a piece of wood hammered into it, the air/gas is released through the windpipes and mouth. The pressure release can also cause blood to come from all 'holes'- eyes, ears, nose, mouth... The moan of the air escaping and the blood encouraged people to believe that they were destroying a 'living' vampire.