This article was last updated 01 December 2011
Vampires are fantastic villains and appear throughout folklore. Here are four tales of vampires.
The Buckinghamshire Vampires
In 1196 a vampire roamed the Buckinghamshire region of England. The tale is chronicled in Historia Rerum Anglicarum. The author of the story is a monk named William of Newburgh. A vampire, which was the apparition of a recently decease man, attacked his victims at night. He was a classical vampire, one who slept each day in the grave at the local cemetery. When the sun set the vampires would rise and attack his widow while she slept. It is common in vampire folklore for vampires to attack their former family members.
Although he didn't kill his widow, each night he returned to her bed chamber and attacked and harassed her. The widow asked family members to stay with her and keep her awake at night. The vampire began attacking other family members in the house. Before long, the entire town was afraid of falling asleep.
The vampire's grave was exhumed by the local townspeople. The corpse hadn't decayed and was in fresh condition. The townspeople reburied the corpse. On the chest of the corpse they placed a holy scapula. The vampire never rose from the grave again.
The Folktale of the Vampires of Berwick
In another account of William of Newburgh's Historia Rerum Anglicarum, a wealthy man who lived in the town of Berwick died of plague near the England and Scotland border. After his death he was seen roaming the streets at night. The dogs of the town would howl deep into the night while this vampire was roaming. The townspeople, who were afraid that plague might infect the town due to the vampire's presence, dug up the corpse, dismembered it, and burned it. The vampire was never seen roaming the village at night again. However, plague still infected the town and it was attributed to the lingering spiritual presence of the vampire.
The Vampire Folktale of Arnold Paole
In this famous Austrian folktale, a Serbian outlaw named Arnold was subject to a vampire attack during a nocturnal walk in a cemetery. He traced the vampire's grave and beheaded it with a spade. The vampire curse was a superstition that caused the slayer of a vampire to turn into a vampire themselves. In an attempt to thwart the curse, Arnold ate some of the dirt around the grave. Arnold would live a normal life for several more years.
Sometime later Arnold died from a fall in which he broke his neck. After his burial his specter was found lurking in the village late at night. Many villagers were found dead in the morning, all drained of blood. The stark speculation was that Arnold had fallen prey to the vampire curse. The Austrian army was appointed to probe the matter. They exhumed the body and were shocked by what they found. The body had not decayed and there was fresh blood frothing from the mouth, nose, and eyes. The nails had elongated and new skin had grown.
The townspeople drove a stake through the heart of the corpse. The body began bleeding from the wound and the corpse began groaning in agony. The vampire was never seen again.
The Vampire Folktale of Peter Plogojowitz
This case was one of the most sensational and well documented cases of vampire hysteria. The story is found in Imperial Provisor Frombald, written by an Austrian official who witnessed the vampire stalkings of Peter Plogojowitz.
In 1725 Peter Plogojowitz, a Serbian peasant, lived in a village named Kisilova. Just after Plogojowitz's death, at least nine other villagers perished. They died slowly and on their death beds they claimed that Plogojowitz was attacking and strangling them during the night.
The townspeople exhumed the body and examined it for signs of vampirism. They discovered that the corpse had not decayed, the hair and nails had grown, and a beard had grown. Blood was found in the mouth of the corpse. The townspeople staked the corpse through the heart. Blood began to run from the nose and ears. Fearful that the vampire would rise again, the villagers burned the body.
Conclusion
Vampire folktales share very common themes. When a person dies and is reanimated as a vampire, the vampire oftentimes attacks former family members first. Near dawn the vampire returns to its grave to seek shelter until the next night. When the body is exhumed it lacks signs of decomposition. After the body is staked through the heart or destroyed by fire, the vampire is never seen again