Vampirism. History and hysteria

Did you know that vampires - from true Slavic mythology, and the word "vampire" - the Serbian?
And what Van Helsing - is not fiction, but actually there was a man?
And not far from Prague there is a cemetery vampire? ..





The author writes, nazdarru:

Currently extremely popular vampire movies like "Dracula", "Interview with the Vampire" and so on. After all the book by Bram Stoker vampire somehow placed in Romanian Transylvania, and, among other things, the vampires in a modern form born in Slavic mythology, and even the word "vampire" - Serbian.
Today we will focus on how long before the book by Bram Stoker in Austria broke first the hysteria associated with vampires - then they became known other Europe.

So, vampires, ghouls and vampires exist in the beliefs of each Slavic nation. Are they and the Czechs and Slovaks, who to the XVIII century has long remained in the Austrian Empire, but in contrast to the southern Slavs, representatives of the undead vampires did not have at the western Slavs and a small part of the glory of what they were in the Balkans, and therefore vampires It was not particularly known for other residents of the empire.
Everything changed in 1718 when Austria on Pozharevatskomu world got in the structure part of Bosnia, Serbia and Romania. Within three years, the Austrian military officials and settled here have received from the local Serbs and Bosnians petitions - to deal with the attacks on the residents of the vampires. The problem for the Austrians was a novelty, but they tried in good faith to understand it.

Dutch doctor Abraham Van Helsing



The first known case was Petar Blagojevic from Kisileva, who died in 1725. After his death this week suddenly died 9 people dying reported that night saw how Blagojevich sucked their blood. Villagers asked Auditor Frombalda investigate the case. After the exhumation of the body of Blagojevich was found in good condition, and then burned - death stopped. After this report was published in the Viennese newspaper "Vinerishes Diarium».

Another loud case was the death of Paul Haiduk Arnaut of Medvedja in the same year. After his death, 4 people complained about the fact that he pursues them, and then died. As always, the unearthed tomb - as reported by eyewitnesses Paul looked alive, and the coffin was covered with blood. At the heart of the vampire stuck a stake, and then he was burned. For several years, the vampires attack ceased. In 1731 it started again - for 2 weeks to 6 people died, the local decided that vampires are "infected" Arnaut. December 12 in the village arrived Austrian physician Glaser, who stated the cause of death - malnutrition, yet rustic insisted on opening the graves. To his surprise, Glaser found that some body is not decomposed, then the Austrian Commission invited Medvedja military surgeons headed by Johann Flyukingerom. Flyukingera Commission described what he saw, and then traditionally bodies were burned and the ashes scattered over the river. February 13 father Glaser - Viennese physician Johann Glaser published in a newspaper report on a study in Medvedja and since then such articles began to appear with surprising regularity.

The present location - a cemetery in rockery



The matter would probably and remains just a sensation, because it was in a remote corner of the Austrian Empire, if the inhabitants of the Czech Moravia not "remember" that vampires exist and they, and ordinary Austrians did not fear that ghouls settle in the German lands. In general, the middle of the XVIII century started a real hysteria on the subject of vampires, which has decided to finish personally Empress Maria Theresa, who sent personal physician - Dutchman Gerard van Swieten in Moravia, in the town of Rock Hill (map), where supposedly there was a vampire - who died Rosina Polakin. Swieten conducted a thorough study of the body and wrote a book-report "Vampirism" where debunked all the myths associated with it, and explained in detail the state of decomposition of the human body. Van Swieten's conclusion was: "The barbarism and superstition."



The authority of the court physician was so high that the vampire hysteria in Austrian stopped, and Maria Theresa issued a law banning unauthorized exhumation of the bodies and the procedures to follow them without official permission.
Since then, talk seriously about vampires became impossible, and they moved to the pages of books, and the van Swieten became the prototype of the fighter with Dracula - Dutch doctor Abraham Van Helsing. Here are just a real van Swieten acted in the Czech Moravia (or more precisely on the border of Bohemia and Moravia), and Van Helsing fight with Dracula in Transylvania - so exotic.

By the way, an interesting detail about vampires and ghouls Czech. More recently, archaeologists have found a unique burial of the X century in Celakovice near Prague - Cemetery vampires. The coffins lay 11 people - men from 20 to 60 years with the bodies that have been committed "protivovampirskie procedure", that is, cut off the head, hammered a stake, tied his hands and legs to the body put heavy stones and so on. In the photo below - the burial of Ghoul Celakovice, as you can see severed head, hands tied - not to choose.



via nazdarru



Source: http: //