Possible “Vampire” Burial Uncovered in Poland

BYDGOSZCZ, POLAND—According to an Ars Technica report, a woman whose remains were uncovered in a seventeenth-century cemetery in northern Poland may have been considered a vampire. Dariusz Poliński of Nicholas Copernicus University said that the woman, who had very noticeable protruding front teeth, is thought to have been wealthy because of traces of a silk cap found on her head. A sickle blade found across the skeleton’s neck may have been intended to decapitate the corpse if it tried to “rise” as a vampire, he explained. A padlock had also been placed on the left big toe. “This symbolizes the closing of a state and the impossibility of returning,” Poliński added. He thinks the woman’s appearance may have prompted superstitious locals to take these precautions. To read about other so-called "vampire" burials in Bulgaria, go to "Vampire-Proofing Your Village."