Dead Bodies Buried Like Vampires
Matteo BorriniAfraid of vampires, medieval people in modern-day Poland mutilated their neighbors’ bodies.
Around 1300, outside the village of Górzyca in modern-day Poland, villagers went to great lengths to make sure that the dead wouldn’t rise again.
Terrified of some of their dead neighbors being vampires, villagers brutally mutilated the bodies. Some were found decapitated. Others had punctured spines, or stones pressed against them. Yet others were buried face down.
Other mutilations included breaking the deceased’s knees or cutting off their legs. And in another grotesque ritual, people positioned a sickle across the suspected vampire’s neck to keep them pinned to the grave.
And Poland isn’t the only place with burial sites of suspected vampires. Some skeletons found in Venice had rocks wedged into their skulls, which was another way to keep a vampire from rising from the dead.
The researchers who found these creepy artifacts think that the unusual burials held a deeper significance. The villagers may have thought that their dead neighbors were vampires. But in reality, these people were likely suffering from certain disorders. For instance, kyphosis (a bone disorder that causes a hunchback) may have frightened villagers.
Some of these suspected vampires may have also simply contracted infectious diseases such as cholera. Archaeologist Lesley Gregoricka, who has investigated the connection between alleged vampirism and diseases, says, “The first person to die from an infectious disease outbreak was presumed more likely to return from the dead as a vampire.”
There’s no question that these burial sites — and other spooky discoveries — are gruesome. But despite the grisliness of these finds, it’s important to remember the stories behind them. After all, they’re still a part of our past. And chances are, there are plenty more creepy artifacts out there just waiting to be discovered. Only time will tell what researchers find next.