Editing Vampire (section)

=== Description and common attributes ===
[[File:Edvard Munch - Vampire (1895) - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Love and Pain (Munch)|Vampire]]'' (1895) by [[Edvard Munch]]|alt=A painting of a woman with red hair.]]
It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the folkloric vampire, though there are several elements common to many European legends. Vampires were usually reported as bloated in appearance, and ruddy, purplish, or dark in colour; these characteristics were often attributed to the recent drinking of blood, which was often seen seeping from the mouth and nose when one was seen in its shroud or coffin, and its left eye was often open.{{sfn|Barber|1988|pp=41–42}} It would be clad in the linen shroud it was buried in, and its teeth, hair, and nails may have grown somewhat, though in general fangs were not a feature.{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=2}} Chewing sounds were reported emanating from graves.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Calmet |first=Augustin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wh9wDwAAQBAJ&dq=It+is+an+opinion+widely+spread+in+Germany%2C+that+certain+dead+persons+chew+in+their+graves%2C+and+devour+whatever+may+be+close+to+them%3B+that+they+are+even+heard+to+eat+like+pigs%2C+with+a+certain+low+cry%2C+and+as+if+growling+and+grunting.&pg=PA460 |title=The Phantom World |date=2018 |orig-date=1751 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-7340-3275-2 |language=en}}</ref>

==== Creating vampires ====
[[File:Ernst6-thumb.gif|thumb|upright|Illustration of a vampire from [[Max Ernst]]'s ''[[Une Semaine de Bonté]]'' (1934)|alt=An image of a woman kissing a man with wings.]]

The causes of vampiric generation were many and varied in original folklore. In [[Slavic folklore|Slavic]] and [[Chinese folklore|Chinese traditions]], any corpse that was jumped over by an animal, particularly a dog or a cat, was feared to become one of the undead.{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=33}} A body with a wound that had not been treated with boiling water was also at risk. In [[Russian folklore]], vampires were said to have once been witches or people who had rebelled against the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] while they were alive.<ref name="Strange & Amazing">{{cite book|author=Reader's Digest Association|title=The Reader's Digest Book of strange stories, amazing facts: stories that are bizarre, unusual, odd, astonishing, incredible&nbsp;... but true|year=1988|publisher=[[Reader's Digest]]|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-949819-89-5|pages=432–433|chapter=Vampires Galore!}}</ref>

In [[Albanian folklore]], the [[dhampir]] is the hybrid child of the {{Transliteration|sq|[[karkanxholl]]}} (a [[lycanthropic]] creature with an iron [[Chain mail|mail]] shirt) or the {{Transliteration|sq|[[lugat]]}} (a water-dwelling [[ghost]] or monster). The dhampir sprung of a ''karkanxholl'' has the unique ability to discern the ''karkanxholl''; from this derives the expression ''the dhampir knows the lugat''. The lugat cannot be seen, he can only be killed by the dhampir, who himself is usually the son of a lugat. In different regions, animals can be revenants as lugats; also, living people during their sleep. {{Transliteration|sq|Dhampiraj}} is also an Albanian surname.<ref>{{cite book |last=Albanologjike |first=Gjurmime |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5biAAAAMAAJ&q=dhampiri |title=Folklor dhe etnologji |date=1985 |volume=15 |pages=58–148 |language=sq |access-date=12 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519060955/https://books.google.com/books?id=O5biAAAAMAAJ&q=dhampiri |archive-date=19 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Prevention ====
Cultural practices often arose that were intended to prevent a recently deceased loved one from turning into an undead revenant. Burying a corpse upside-down was widespread, as was placing earthly objects, such as [[scythe]]s or [[sickle]]s,{{sfn|Barber|1988|pp=50–51}} near the grave to satisfy any demons entering the body or to appease the dead so that it would not wish to arise from its coffin. This method resembles the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] practice of placing an [[Charon's obol|obolus in the corpse's mouth]] to pay the toll to cross the [[River Styx]] in the underworld. The coin may have also been intended to ward off any evil spirits from entering the body, and this may have influenced later vampire folklore. This tradition persisted in modern Greek folklore about the ''[[vrykolakas]]'', in which a wax cross and piece of pottery with the inscription "[[Jesus Christ]] conquers" were placed on the corpse to prevent the body from becoming a vampire.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lawson|first=John Cuthbert|title=Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion|url=https://archive.org/details/moderngreekfolkl00laws|pages=[https://archive.org/details/moderngreekfolkl00laws/page/405 405]–06|year=1910|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|oclc=1465746|isbn=978-0-524-02024-1}}</ref>

Other methods commonly practised in Europe included severing the [[patellar ligament|tendons at the knees]] or placing [[poppy]] seeds, [[millet]], or sand on the ground at the grave site of a presumed vampire; this was intended to keep the vampire occupied all night by counting the fallen grains,{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=49}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Abbott |first=George |year=1903 |title=Macedonian Folklore |url=https://archive.org/details/macedonianfolkl01abbogoog/page/n226/mode/2up |page=219|publisher=Cambridge, University press }}</ref> indicating an association of vampires with [[arithmomania]]. Similar Chinese narratives state that if a vampiric being came across a sack of rice, it would have to count every grain; this is a theme encountered in [[Folklore of India|myths from the Indian subcontinent]], as well as in South American tales of witches and other sorts of evil or mischievous spirits or beings.<ref name=Jaramillo>{{cite book|last=Jaramillo Londoño|first=Agustín|title=Testamento del paisa|year=1986|orig-year=1967|edition=7th|publisher=Susaeta Ediciones|location=Medellín|isbn=978-958-95125-0-0|language=es}}</ref>

==== Identifying vampires ====
Many rituals were used to identify a vampire. One method of finding a vampire's grave involved leading a virgin boy through a graveyard or church grounds on a virgin stallion—the horse would supposedly balk at the grave in question.<ref name="Strange & Amazing"/> Generally a black horse was required, though in Albania it should be white.{{sfn|Barber|1988|pp=68–69}} Holes appearing in the earth over a grave were taken as a sign of vampirism.{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=125}}

Corpses thought to be vampires were generally described as having a healthier appearance than expected, plump and showing little or no signs of decomposition.{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=109}} In some cases, when suspected graves were opened, villagers even described the corpse as having fresh blood from a victim all over its face.{{sfn|Barber|1988|pp=114–115}} Evidence that a vampire was active in a given locality included death of cattle, sheep, relatives or neighbours. Folkloric vampires could also make their presence felt by engaging in minor [[poltergeist]]-styled activity, such as hurling stones on roofs or moving household objects,{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=96}} and [[mare (folklore)|pressing]] on people in their sleep.{{sfn|Bunson|1993|pp=168–169}}

==== Protection ====
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| footer = Garlic, Bibles, crucifixes, rosaries, holy water, and mirrors have all been seen in various folkloric traditions as [[Apotropaic magic|means of warding against]] or identifying vampires.{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=6}}<ref name="Burkhardt221"/>
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[[Apotropaic magic|Apotropaics]]—items able to ward off [[revenant]]s—are common in vampire folklore. [[Garlic]] is a common example;{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=63}} a branch of [[rosa acicularis|wild rose]] and [[Crataegus monogyna|hawthorn]] are sometimes associated with causing harm to vampires, and in Europe, [[mustard seed]]s would be sprinkled on the roof of a house to keep them away.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mappin|first=Jenni|title=Didjaknow: Truly Amazing & Crazy Facts About&nbsp;... Everything|year=2003|publisher=Pancake|location=Australia|isbn=978-0-330-40171-5|page=50}}</ref> Other apotropaics include sacred items, such as [[crucifix]], [[rosary]], or [[holy water]]. Some folklore also states that vampires are unable to walk on [[consecration|consecrated ground]], such as that of churches or temples, or cross running water.<ref name="Burkhardt221">{{cite book |last=Burkhardt |first=Dagmar |title=Beiträge zur Südosteuropa-Forschung: Anlässlich des I. Internationalen Balkanologenkongresses in Sofia 26. VIII.-1. IX. 1966 |chapter=Vampirglaube und Vampirsage auf dem Balkan |year=1966 |publisher=Rudolf Trofenik |location=Munich |oclc=1475919 |language=de | page=221}}</ref>

Although not traditionally regarded as an apotropaic, [[mirror]]s have been used to ward off vampires when placed, facing outwards, on a door (in some cultures, vampires do not have a reflection and sometimes do not cast a shadow, perhaps as a manifestation of the vampire's lack of a [[soul]] or their weakness to silver).<ref name=EoOc>{{cite book|last=Spence|first=Lewis|title=An Encyclopaedia of Occultism|year=1960|publisher=University Books|location=New Hyde Parks|oclc=3417655|isbn=978-0-486-42613-6}}</ref> This attribute is not universal (the Greek ''vrykolakas/tympanios'' was capable of both reflection and shadow), but was used by Bram Stoker in ''Dracula'' and has remained popular with subsequent authors and filmmakers.{{sfn|Silver|Ursini|1997|p=25}}

Some traditions also hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited by the owner; after the first invitation they can come and go as they please.<ref name=EoOc/> Though folkloric vampires were believed to be more active at night, they were not generally considered vulnerable to [[sunlight]].{{sfn|Silver|Ursini|1997|p=25}}

Reports in 1693 and 1694 concerning citings of vampires in Poland and Russia claimed that when a vampire's grave was recognized, eating bread baked with its blood mixed into the flour,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Calmet |first=Augustin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1GqcY9ow3QC&dq=There+proceeds+from+his+body+a+great+quantity+of+blood%2C+which+some+mix+up+with+flour+to+make+bread+of%3B+and+that+bread+eaten+in+ordinary+protects+them+from+being+tormented+by+the+spirit%2C+which+returns+no+more.&pg=PA273 |title=The Phantom World: The History and Philosophy of Spirits, Apparitions, &c., &c |date=1850 |publisher=A. Hart |page=273}}</ref> or simply drinking it, granted the possibility of protection. Other stories (primarily the [[Arnold Paole]] case) claimed the eating of dirt from the vampire's grave would have the same effect.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Calmet |first=Augustin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1GqcY9ow3QC&dq=but+that+he+had+found+means+to+cure+himself+by+eating+earth+from+the+grave+of+the+vampire%2C&pg=PA265 |title=The Phantom World: The History and Philosophy of Spirits, Apparitions, &c., &c |date=1850 |publisher=A. Hart |page=265}}</ref>

==== Methods of destruction ====
[[File:Norre naeraa 600px.jpg|thumb|upright|right|A runestone with an inscription to keep the deceased in its grave<ref>{{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Stephen A. |title=Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2011 |pages=22–23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=shCXJLB6mDAC |isbn=978-0-8122-4290-4 |access-date=5 February 2018 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307213753/https://books.google.com/books?id=shCXJLB6mDAC |url-status=live }}</ref>|alt=See caption]]
Methods of destroying suspected vampires varied, with [[impalement|staking]] the most commonly cited method, particularly in South Slavic cultures.{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=73}} [[Ash tree|Ash]] was the preferred wood in Russia and the Baltic states,<ref>{{cite book|last=Alseikaite-Gimbutiene|first=Marija|author-link=Marija Gimbutas|title=Die Bestattung in Litauen in der vorgeschichtlichen Zeit|year=1946|location=Tübingen|oclc=1059867|language=de}} (thesis).</ref> or [[Crataegus monogyna|hawthorn]] in Serbia,<ref name="Vuk59">{{cite journal|last=Vukanović|first=T.P.|year=1959|title=The Vampire|journal=Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society|volume=38|pages=111–18}}</ref> with a record of [[oak]] in [[Silesia]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Klapper|first=Joseph|title=Die schlesischen Geschichten von den schädingenden Toten|journal=Mitteilungen der Schlesischen Gesellschaft für Volkskunde|volume=11|pages=58–93|year=1909|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Calmet|first1=Augustin|title=Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants: of Hungary, Moravia, et al. The Complete Volumes I & II. 2016|isbn=978-1-5331-4568-0|page=7|date=30 December 2015|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform }}</ref> [[Populus tremula|Aspen]] was also used for stakes, as it was believed that [[Christ's cross]] was made from aspen (aspen branches on the graves of purported vampires were also believed to prevent their risings at night).<ref>{{cite book|author=Theresa Cheung|title=The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires|publisher=HarperCollins UK|year=2013|page=35|isbn=978-0-00-752473-0}}</ref> Potential vampires were most often staked through the heart, though the mouth was targeted in Russia and northern Germany<ref>{{cite book|last=Löwenstimm|first=A.|title=Aberglaube und Stafrecht|page=99|year=1897|publisher=Berlin|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bachtold-Staubli|first=H.|title=Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens|year=1934–1935|publisher=Berlin|language=de}}</ref> and the stomach in north-eastern Serbia.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Filipovic|first=Milenko|year=1962|title=Die Leichenverbrennung bei den Südslaven|journal=Wiener Völkerkundliche Mitteilungen|volume=10|pages=61–71|language=de}}</ref> Piercing the skin of the chest was a way of "deflating" the bloated vampire. This is similar to a practice of "[[anti-vampire burial]]": burying sharp objects, such as sickles, with the corpse, so that they may penetrate the skin if the body bloats sufficiently while transforming into a revenant.{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=158}}

[[Decapitation]] was the preferred method in German and western Slavic areas, with the head buried between the feet, behind the [[buttocks]] or away from the body.{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=73}} This act was seen as a way of hastening the departure of the soul, which in some cultures was said to linger in the corpse. The vampire's head, body, or clothes could also be spiked and pinned to the earth to prevent rising.{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=157}}

[[File:Vampire skeleton of Sozopol in Sofia PD 2012 06.JPG|thumb|left|800-year-old skeleton found in Bulgaria stabbed through the chest with an iron rod<ref name="bulg"/>|alt=See caption]]
[[Romani people]] drove steel or iron needles into a corpse's heart and placed bits of steel in the mouth, over the eyes, ears and between the fingers at the time of burial. They also placed hawthorn in the corpse's sock or drove a hawthorn stake through the legs. In a 16th-century burial near [[Venice]], a brick forced into the mouth of a female corpse has been interpreted as a vampire-slaying ritual by the archaeologists who discovered it in 2006.<ref>Reported by Ariel David, "Italy dig unearths female 'vampire' in Venice", 13 March 2009, [[Associated Press]] via [[Yahoo! News]], [https://archive.today/20211014180118/https://www.webcitation.org/5fFdDvCQQ?url=http://fe8.story.media.ac4.yahoo.com/news/us/story/ap/20090313/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_vampire_of_venice/print archived]; also by Reuters, published under the headline "Researchers find remains that support medieval 'vampire'" in ''The Australian'', 13 March 2009, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090317093300/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25180518-30417,00.html archived] with photo (scroll down).</ref> In [[Bulgaria]], over 100 skeletons with metal objects, such as [[plough]] bits, embedded in the torso have been discovered.<ref name="bulg">{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18334106 | title='Vampire' skeletons found in Bulgaria near Black Sea | work=BBC News | date=6 June 2012 | access-date=22 October 2019 | archive-date=24 April 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424154013/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18334106 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Further measures included pouring boiling water over the grave or complete incineration of the body. In Southeastern Europe, a vampire could also be killed by being shot or drowned, by repeating the funeral service, by sprinkling [[holy water]] on the body, or by [[exorcism]]. In Romania, garlic could be placed in the mouth, and as recently as the 19th century, the precaution of shooting a bullet through the [[coffin]] was taken. For resistant cases, the body was [[dismembered]] and the pieces burned, mixed with water, and administered to family members as a cure. In [[Old Saxony|Saxon regions]] of Germany, a [[lemon]] was placed in the mouth of suspected vampires.{{sfn|Bunson|1993|p=154}}