‘Vampire’ Unearthed in Venice
March 18, 2009 – 7:32 PM | by Michael P. JohnsonDiscovery Channel News has an interesting story about a Female ‘Vampire’ Unearthed in Venice.
A long time ago, I hung out with someone who was a big fan of vampire stories. So I always think of her when I stumble upon a news story about vampires. As a historian, I found this story particularly interesting.
Apparently, an archeological team excavating a 16th Century mass-grave site in Italy, discovered a woman with a brick in her mouth. They believe she had died in a plague and was buried with many other victims of the epidemic. The mass-grave was reopened at some point, perhaps due to a second wave of the plague. Diggers found this woman bloated and with blood on her lips, they suspected her to be a vampire.
From the article:
At the time however, what passed for scientific texts taught that “shroud-eaters” were vampires who fed on the cloth and cast a spell that would spread the plague in order to increase their ranks.
To kill the undead creatures, the stake-in-the-heart method popularized by later literature was not enough: A stone or brick had to be forced into the vampire’s mouth so that it would starve to death, Borrini said.
The article explains all the details very well for those that want more. Check it out:
Female ‘Vampire’ Unearthed in Venice
Personally, when it comes to taking care of vampires, I’m a big fan of a stake through the heart, exposing them to sunlight, cutting off their head, burning them to ashes and just for good measure, from now on, I’ll stick a brick in their mouth.
Happy hunting!
