How Decomposition and Disease Built the Vampire Myth of Eastern Europe
Peasants in Eastern Europe harbored fears of vampires, envisioning them as swollen corpses oozing dark fluids, a belief stemming from Bulgarian folklore over a millennium ago. Following the 1718 Treaty of Passarowitz, the Habsburg Monarchy encountered these superstitions, resulting in exhumations amid epidemic outbreaks. In 1725, the death of Petar Blagojević in Kisiljevo preceded that of nine others, prompting an investigation by Imperial Provisor Frombald, as reported in the Wiener Diarium. The demise of hajduk soldier Arnold Paole, who alleged a vampire bite, triggered additional fatalities and exhumations. Johann Flückinger's 1732 report detailed these incidents. The vampire myth eventually reached the Americas, where tuberculosis outbreaks led families to burn the hearts of deceased relatives, including 19-year-old Mercy Brown in Exeter, Rhode Island.
Key facts
- Bulgarian folklore from at least 1,000 years ago describes bloodthirsty undead called vampires or Strzyga
- The Habsburg Monarchy entered former Ottoman territories after the 1718 Treaty of Passarowitz and met Balkan and Slavic vampire folklore
- Petar Blagojević of Kisiljevo died in 1725 and nine villagers died within nine days; Imperial Provisor Frombald oversaw the exhumation and his report ran in the Wiener Diarium
- Arnold Paole of Medveđa was staked and burned after four villagers died; a second outbreak in 1731 killed 17
- Johann Flückinger's 1732 report Visum et Repertum documented official autopsies of suspected vampires
- Stakes were often driven into the navel, abdomen or mouth to release putrefaction gases rather than into the heart
- Mercy Brown, 19, of Exeter, Rhode Island, died of consumption and her heart was cut out and burned after her brother fell ill
- John Polidori's The Vampire appeared in 1819, Le Fanu's Carmilla in 1872 and Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1897
Entities
Artists
- Bram Stoker
- John Polidori
- Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
- Anne Rice
- Gary Oldman
- Petar Blagojević
- Arnold Paole
- Johann Flückinger
- Frombald
- Mercy Brown
- Vlad the Impaler
- Vlad Draculea
- R. de Moraine
Institutions
- Habsburg Monarchy
- Wiener Diarium
- The Collector
- National Geographic
- Wikimedia Commons
- Barnes & Noble
- Lycanthia Rare Books
- Amazon
- IGN
- Pop Matters
Locations
- Bulgaria
- Serbia
- Kisiljevo
- Medveđa
- Vienna
- Austria
- Berlin
- Germany
- Paris
- France
- London
- United Kingdom
- Rhode Island
- Connecticut
- Vermont
- Exeter
- New England
- United States
- Transylvania
- Romania
- Central America
- South America
- Ireland