'Vampire' skeletons unearthed in Bulgaria

[W.G.Ewald]

'Vampire' skeletons unearthed in Bulgaria | News.com.au

ARCHAEOLOGISTS in Bulgaria unearthed two skeletons from the Middle Ages pierced through the chest with iron rods to keep them from turning into vampires, the head of the history museum said today.

According to pagan beliefs, people who were considered bad during their lifetimes might turn into vampires after death unless stabbed in the chest with an iron or wooden rod before being buried.

"These two skeletons stabbed with rods illustrate a practice which was common in some Bulgarian villages up until the first decade of the 20th century," national history museum chief Bozhidar Dimitrov said after the recent find in the Black Sea town of Sozopol.

 

[niharjhatn]

Looks like Blade has been hard at work through the centuries

 

[sayareakd]

i would say strange things happen in this world.

 

[devgupt]

The title is misleading.

 

[pmaitra]

The title is misleading.

The word 'vampire' is in quotes.

 

[Koovie]

there are still people who let pierce their own bodies after their death to prevent to get buried alive

 

[mayfair]

I am inclined to think that the poor sods were either mistaken for or deliberately portrayed as vampires and had stakes driven through their hearts. Or it is possible that they were "enemies of the state", who were dispatched to the afterworld in a grisly manner as a warning to the rest.