Bulgarian Vampire Remains

[*Siren*]

Vampire Remains Edited June 18, 2012 by *Siren*

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Vampire Remains

Interesting stuff, glad you posted that. I never really spent much time reading about the "real" origins of the vampire concept.

"video cannot be played from your current location"

Thats a new one. MY LOCATION?? lol "damn them people from Westland trying to watch our videos" !!

Googled it though, lot of info about the surrounding legends and such and a long history. Interesting stuff.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Same thing but a link that will let us evil (sniffles) westlanders watch it

Archaeologists, excavating a monastery in the Black Sea city of Sozopol in Bulgaria, have discovered two "vampire" skeletons, buried in a pagan ritual over 700 years ago.

Stabbed through the chest with iron rods, the ritual was aimed at preventing the men from turning into vampires.

"A group of brave men reopened their graves and pierced the corpses with iron or wooden rods. Iron rod was used for the richer vampires," historian Bozhidar Dimitrov said at a news conference.

"The interesting thing is that the 'vampire' cases were relatively rare, because in Sozopol we unearthed 700 Christian graves and found only two traces of anti-vampire manipulation," he added.

Similar Story

Vampire' Plague Victim: Remains Found In 16th Century Venice Grave Spur Scientific Debate

Vampire superstitions were common when plague devastated Europe, and much, if not all, of this folklore could be due to misconceptions about the natural stages of decomposition, Borrini said. The recently dead can often appear unnervingly alive. As the corpse's skin shrinks and pulls back, for example, hair and nails may appear to grow after death.

The remains of the woman were apparently wrapped in a shroud, based on the position of her collarbone, Borrini suggested. A corpse might appear to have chewed through its shroud because of corrosive fluids it spewed as it decayed, perhaps frightening gravediggers into thinking it was a vampire. [Our 10 Favorite Vampires]

Vampire myths link the monsters with contagions, and the plague ran rampant in Venice in 1576, killing as many as 50,000 people, nearly a third of the city, including famed Renaissance artist Titian. The gravediggers that ran across this corpse may have wanted to prevent a vampire from ravaging the city further with pestilence, Borrini and his colleague Emilio Nuzzolese suggested in the Journal of Forensic Sciences in 2010. The "vampire" has since been discussed on Italian national TV and a National Geographic documentary.

[*Siren*]

Oops, I guess the video I posted can only be viewed in Canada. Sorry.

[LadyKay]

Lets hope they don't pull the rods out.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Lets hope they don't pull the rods out.

shhh what the heck, giving them ideas.