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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Vampires and Vampirism - -Author: Dudley Wright - -Release Date: August 7, 2020 [EBook #62873] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VAMPIRES AND VAMPIRISM *** - - - - -Produced by deaurider and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - -VAMPIRES AND VAMPIRISM - - - - - VAMPIRES AND - VAMPIRISM - - BY - DUDLEY WRIGHT - - LONDON - WILLIAM RIDER AND SON, LIMITED - 1914 - - - - -PREFACE - - -The awakened interest in supernormal phenomena which has taken place in -recent years has included in its wake the absorbing subject of Vampirism. -Yet there has not been any collection published of vampire stories which -are common to all the five continents of the globe. The subject of -vampirism is regarded more seriously to-day than it was even a decade -since, and an attempt has been made in this volume to supply as far as -possible all the instances which could be collected from the various -countries. How far a certain amount of scientific truth may underlie even -what may be regarded as the most extravagant stories must necessarily be, -for the present, at any rate, an open question; but he would indeed be a -bold man who would permit his scepticism as to the objective existence -of vampires in the past or the possibility of vampirism in the future to -extend to a categorical denial. If this collection of stories helps, even -in a slight degree, to the elucidation of the problem, the book will not -have been written in vain. - - DUDLEY WRIGHT. - -AUTHORS’ CLUB, 2 WHITEHALL COURT, S.W., _1st September, 1914_. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. INTRODUCTORY 1 - - II. EXCOMMUNICATION AND ITS POWER 20 - - III. THE VAMPIRE IN BABYLONIA, ASSYRIA, AND GREECE 35 - - IV. VAMPIRISM IN GREAT AND GREATER BRITAIN 48 - - V. VAMPIRISM IN GERMANY AND SURROUNDING COUNTRIES 66 - - VI. VAMPIRISM IN HUNGARY, BAVARIA, AND SILESIA 79 - - VII. VAMPIRISM IN SERVIA AND BULGARIA 95 - - VIII. VAMPIRE BELIEF IN RUSSIA 109 - - IX. MISCELLANEA 130 - - X. LIVING VAMPIRES 142 - - XI. THE VAMPIRE IN LITERATURE 150 - - XII. FACT OR FICTION? 161 - - BIBLIOGRAPHY 175 - - - - -VAMPIRES AND VAMPIRISM - - - - -CHAPTER I - -INTRODUCTORY - - -What is a vampire? The definition given in Webster’s _International -Dictionary_ is: “A blood-sucking ghost or re-animated body of a dead -person; a soul or re-animated body of a dead person believed to come from -the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep, -causing their death.” - -Whitney’s _Century Dictionary_ says that a vampire is: “A kind of -spectral body which, according to a superstition existing among the -Slavic and other races on the Lower Danube, leaves the grave during the -night and maintains a semblance of life by sucking the warm blood of -living men and women while they are asleep. Dead wizards, werwolves, -heretics, and other outcasts become vampires, as do also the illegitimate -offspring of parents themselves illegitimate, and anyone killed by a -vampire.” - -According to the _Encyclopædia Britannica_: “The persons who turn -vampires are generally wizards, suicides, and those who come to a violent -end or have been cursed by their parents or by the Church. But anyone may -become a vampire if an animal (especially a cat) leaps over the corpse or -a bird flies over it.” - -Among the specialists, the writers upon vampire lore and legend, two -definitions may be quoted:—Hurst, who says that: “A vampyr is a dead -body which continues to live in the grave; which it leaves, however, by -night, for the purpose of sucking the blood of the living, whereby it is -nourished and preserved in good condition, instead of becoming decomposed -like other dead bodies”; and Scoffern, who wrote: “The best definition I -can give of a vampire is a living mischievous and murderous dead body. A -living dead body! The words are idle, contradictory, incomprehensible, -but so are vampires.” - -“Vampires,” says the learned Zopfius, “come out of their graves in the -night time, rush upon people sleeping in their beds, suck out all their -blood and destroy them. They attack men, women, and children, sparing -neither age nor sex. Those who are under the malignity of their influence -complain of suffocation and a total deficiency of spirits, after which -they soon expire. Some of them being asked at the point of death what is -the matter with them, their answer is that such persons lately dead rise -to torment them.” - -Not all vampires, however, are, or were, suckers of blood. Some, -according to the records, despatched their victims by inflicting upon -them contagious diseases, or strangling them without drawing blood, or -causing their speedy or retarded death by various other means. - -Messrs Skeat and Blagden, in _Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula_ (vol. -i. p. 473), state that “a vampire, according to the view of Sakai of -Perak, is not a demon—even though it is incidentally so-called—but a -being of flesh and blood,” and support this view by the statement that -the vampire cannot pass through walls and hedges. - -The word _vampire_ (Dutch, _vampyr_; Polish, _wampior_ or _upior_; -Slownik, _upir_; Ukraine, _upeer_) is held by Skeat to be derived from -the Servian _wampira_. The Russians, Morlacchians, inhabitants of -Montenegro, Bohemians, Servians, Arnauts, both of Hydra and Albania, know -the vampire under the name of _wukodalak_, _vurkulaka_, or _vrykolaka_, -a word which means “wolf-fairy,” and is thought by some to be derived -from the Greek. In Crete, where Slavonic influence has not been felt, the -vampire is known by the name of _katakhaná_. Vampire lore is, in general, -confined to stories of resuscitated corpses of male human beings, though -amongst the Malays a _penangglan_, or vampire, is a living witch, who can -be killed if she can be caught in the act of witchery. She is especially -feared in houses where a birth has taken place, and it is the custom to -hang up a bunch of thistle in order to catch her. She is said to keep -vinegar at home to aid her in re-entering her own body. In the Malay -Peninsula, parts of Polynesia and the neighbouring districts, the vampire -is conceived as a head with entrails attached, which comes forth to suck -the blood of living human beings. In Transylvania, the belief prevails -that every person killed by a _nosferatu_ (vampire) becomes in turn a -vampire, and will continue to suck the blood of other innocent people -until the evil spirit has been exorcised, either by opening the grave of -the suspected person and driving a stake through the corpse, or firing -a pistol-shot into the coffin. In very obstinate cases it is further -recommended to cut off the head, fill the mouth with garlic, and then -replace the head in its proper place in the coffin; or else to extract -the heart and burn it, and strew the ashes over the grave. - -The _murony_ of the Wallachians not only sucks blood, but also possesses -the power of assuming a variety of shapes, as, for instance, those of a -cat, dog, flea, or spider; in consequence of which the ordinary evidence -of death caused by the attack of a vampire, viz. the mark of a bite in -the back of the neck, is not considered indispensable. The Wallachians -have a very great fear of sudden death, greater perhaps than any other -people, for they attribute sudden death to the attack of a vampire, and -believe that anyone destroyed by a vampire must become a vampire, and -that no power can save him from this fate. A similar belief obtains in -Northern Albania, where it is also held that a wandering spirit has power -to enter the body of any individual guilty of undetected crime, and that -such obsession forms part of his punishment. - -Some writers have ascribed the origin of the belief in vampires to Greek -Christianity, but there are traces of the superstition and belief at a -considerably earlier date than this. In the opinion of the anthropologist -Tylor, “the shortest way of treating the belief is to refer it directly -to the principles of savage animism. We shall see that most of its -details fall into their places at once, and that vampires are not mere -creations of groundless fancy, but causes conceived in spiritual form -to account for specific facts of wasting disease.” It is more than -probable that the practice of offering up living animals as sacrifices to -satisfy the thirst of departed human beings, combined with the ideas of -the Platonist and the teachings of the learned Jew, Isaac Arbanel, who -maintained that before the soul can be loosed from the fetters of the -flesh it must lie some months with it in the grave, may have influenced -the belief and assisted its development. Vampirism found a place in -Babylonian belief and in the folk-lore and traditions of many countries -of the Near East. The belief was quite common in Arabia, although there -is no trace of it there in pre-Christian times. The earliest references -to vampires are found in Chaldean and Assyrian tablets. Later, the pagan -Romans gave their adherence to the belief that the dead bodies of certain -people could be allured from their graves by sorcerers, unless the -bodies had actually undergone decomposition, and that the only means of -effectually preventing such “resurrections” was by cremating the remains. -In Grecian lore there are many wonderful stories of the dead rising from -their graves and feasting upon the blood of the young and beautiful. From -Greece and Rome the superstition spread throughout Austria, Hungary, -Lorraine, Poland, Roumania, Iceland, and even to the British Isles, -reaching its height in the period from 1723 to 1735, when a vampire -fever or epidemic broke out in the south-east of Europe, particularly in -Hungary and Servia. The belief in vampires even spread to Africa, where -the Kaffirs held that bad men alone live a second time and try to kill -the living by night. According to a local superstition of the Lesbians, -the unquiet ghost of the Virgin Gello used to haunt their island, and was -supposed to cause the deaths of young children. - -Various devices have been resorted to in different countries at the time -of burial, in the belief that the dead could thus be prevented from -returning to earth-life. In some instances, _e.g._ among the Wallachians, -a long nail was driven through the skull of the corpse, and the thorny -stem of a wild rose-bush laid upon the body, in order that its shroud -might become entangled with it, should it attempt to rise. The Kroats -and Slavonians burned the straw upon which the suspected body lay. They -then locked up all the cats and dogs, for if these animals stepped over -the corpse it would assuredly return as a vampire and suck the blood of -the village folk. Many held that to drive a white thorn stake through the -dead body rendered the vampire harmless, and the peasants of Bukowina -still retain the practice of driving an ash stake through the breasts -of suicides and supposed vampires—a practice common in England, so far -as suicides were concerned, until 1823, when there was passed “An Act -to alter and amend the law relating to the interment of the remains of -any person found _felo de se_,” in which it was enacted that the coroner -or other officer “shall give directions for the private interment of -the remains of such person _felo de se_ without any stake being driven -through the body of such person.” It was also ordained that the burial -was only to take place between nine and twelve o’clock at night. - -The driving of a stake through the body does not seem to have had always -the desired effect. De Schartz, in his _Magia Postuma_, published at -Olmutz in 1706, tells of a shepherd in the village of Blow, near Kadam, -in Bohemia, who made several appearances after his death and called -certain persons, who never failed to die within eight days of such call. -The peasants of Blow took up the body and fixed it to the ground by means -of a stake driven through the corpse. The man, when in that condition, -told them that they were very good to give him a stick with which he -could defend himself against the dogs which worried him. Notwithstanding -the stake, he got up again that same night, alarmed many people, and, -presumably out of revenge, strangled more people in that one night than -he had ever done on a single occasion before. It was decided to hand -over his body to the public executioner, who was ordered to see that the -remains were burned outside the village. When the executioner and his -assistants attempted to move the corpse for that purpose, it howled like -a madman, and moved its feet and hands as though it were alive. They -then pierced the body through with stakes, but he again uttered loud -cries and a great quantity of bright vermilion blood flowed from him. -The cremation, however, put an end to the apparition and haunting of the -spectre. De Schartz says that the only remedy for these apparitions is -to cut off the heads and burn the bodies of those who come back to haunt -their former abodes. It was, however, customary to hold a public inquiry -and examination of witnesses before proceeding to the burning of a body, -and if, upon examination of the body, it was found that the corpse had -begun to decompose, that the limbs were not supple and mobile, and the -blood not fluidic, then burning was not commanded. Even in the case of -suspected persons an interval of six to seven weeks was always allowed -to lapse before the grave was opened in order to ascertain whether the -flesh had decayed and the limbs lost their suppleness and mobility. A -Strigon or Indian vampire, who was transfixed with a sharp thorn cudgel, -near Larbach, in 1672, pulled it out of his body and flung it back -contemptuously. - -Bartholin, in _de Causa contemptûs mortis_, tells the story of a man, -named Harpye, who ordered his wife to bury him exactly at the kitchen -door, in order that he might see what went on in the house. The woman -executed her commission, and soon after his death he appeared to several -people in the neighbourhood, killed people while they were engaged -in their occupations, and played so many mischievous pranks that the -inhabitants began to move away from the village. At last a man named -Olaus Pa took courage and ran at the spectre with a lance, which he drove -into the apparition. The spectre instantly vanished, taking the spear -with it. Next morning Olaus had the grave of Harpye opened, when he -found the lance in the dead body, which had not become corrupted. The -corpse was then taken from the grave, burned, and the ashes thrown into -the sea, and the spectre did not afterwards trouble the inhabitants. - -To cross the arms of the corpse, or to place a cross or crucifix upon the -grave, or to bury a suspected corpse at the junction of four cross-roads, -was, in some parts, regarded as an efficacious preventive of vampirism. -It will be remembered that it was at one time the practice in England -to bury suicides at the four cross-roads. If a vampire should make its -appearance, it could be prevented from ever appearing again by forcing it -to take the oath not to do so, if the words “by my winding-sheet” were -incorporated in the oath. - -One charm employed by the Wallachians to prevent a person becoming a -vampire was to rub the body in certain parts with the lard of a pig -killed on St Ignatius’s Day. - -In Poland and Russia, vampires make their appearance from noon to -midnight instead of between nightfall and dawn, the rule that generally -prevails. They come and suck the blood of living men and animals in such -abundance that sometimes it flows from them at the nose and ears, and -occasionally in such profusion that the corpse swims in the blood thus -oozing from it as it lies in the coffin. One may become immune from the -attacks of vampires by mixing this blood with flour and making bread from -the mixture, a portion of which must be eaten; otherwise the charm will -not work. The Californians held that the mere breaking of the spine of -the corpse was sufficient to prevent its return as a vampire. Sometimes -heavy stones were piled on the grave to keep the ghost within, a practice -to which Frazer traces the origin of funeral cairns and tombstones. Two -resolutions of the Sorbonne, passed between 1700 and 1710, prohibited -the cutting off of the heads and the maiming of the bodies of persons -supposed to be vampires. - -In the German folk-tale known as _Faithful John_, the statue said to -the king: “If you, with your own hand, cut off the heads of both your -children and sprinkle me with their blood, I shall be brought to life -again.” According to primitive ideas, blood is life, and to receive -blood is to receive life: the soul of the dead wants to live, and, -consequently, loves blood. The shades in Hades are eager to drink the -blood of Odysseus’s sacrifice, that their life may be renewed for a -time. It is of the greatest importance that the soul should get what it -desires, as, if not satisfied, it might come and attack the living. It is -possible that the bodily mutilations which to this day accompany funerals -among some peoples have their origin in the belief that the departed -spirit is refreshed by the blood thus spilt. The Samoans called it an -“offering of blood” for the dead when the mourners beat their heads till -the blood ran. - -The Australian native sorcerers are said to acquire their magical -influence by eating human flesh, but this is done once only in a -lifetime. According to Nider’s _Formicarius_, part of the ceremony of -initiation into wizardry and witchcraft consisted in drinking in a -church, before the commencement of Mass, from a flask filled with blood -taken from the corpses of murdered infants. - -The methods employed for the detection of vampires have varied according -to the countries in which the belief in their existence was maintained. -In some places it was held that, if there were discovered in a grave two -or three or more holes about the size of a man’s finger, it would almost -certainly follow that a body with all the marks of vampirism would be -discovered within the grave. The Wallachians employed a rather elaborate -method of divination. They were in the habit of choosing a boy young -enough to make it certain that he was innocent of any impurity. He was -then placed on an absolutely black and unmutilated horse which had never -stumbled. The horse was then made to ride about the cemetery and pass -over all the graves. If the horse refused to pass over any grave, even in -spite of repeated blows, that grave was believed to shelter a vampire. -Their records state that when such a grave was opened it was generally -found to contain a corpse as fat and handsome as that of a full-blooded -man quietly sleeping. The finest vermilion blood would flow from the -throat when cut, and this was held to be the blood he had sucked from -the veins of living people. It is said that the attacks of the vampire -generally ceased on this being done. - -In the town of Perlepe, between Monastru and Kiuprili, there existed -the extraordinary phenomenon of a number of families who were regarded -as being the offspring of _vrykolakas_, and as possessing the power of -laying the wandering spirits to which they were related. They are said -to have kept their art very dark and to have practised it in secret, but -their fame was so widely spread that persons in need of such deliverance -were accustomed to send for them from other cities. In ordinary life and -intercourse they were avoided by all the inhabitants. - -Although some writers have contended that no vampire has yet been caught -in the act of vampirism, and that, as no museum of natural history has -secured a specimen, the whole of the stories concerning vampires may -be regarded as mythical, others have held firmly to a belief in their -existence and inimical power. Dr Pierart, in _La Revue Spiritualiste_ -(vol. iv. p. 104), wrote: “After a crowd of facts of vampirism so often -proved, shall we say that there are no more to be had, and that these -never had a foundation? Nothing comes of nothing. Every belief, every -custom, springs from facts and causes which give it birth. If one had -never seen appear in the bosom of their families, in various countries, -beings clothed in the appearance of departed ones known to them, sucking -the blood of one or more persons, and if the deaths of the victims had -not followed after such apparitions, the disinterment of corpses would -not have taken place, and there would never have been the attestation of -the otherwise incredible fact of persons buried for several years being -found with the body soft and flexible, the eyes wide open, the complexion -rosy, the mouth and nose full of blood, and the blood flowing fully when -the body was struck or wounded or the head cut off.” - -Bishop d’Avranches Huet wrote: “I will not examine whether the facts of -vampirism, which are constantly being reported, are true, or the fruit of -a popular error; but it is beyond doubt that they are testified to by so -many able and trustworthy authors, and by so many _eye-witnesses_, that -no one ought to decide the question without a good deal of caution.” - -Dr Pierart gave the following explanation of their existence: “Poor, -dead cataleptics, buried as if really dead in cold and dry spots where -morbid causes are incapable of effecting the destruction of their bodies, -the astral spirit, enveloping itself with a fluidic ethereal body, is -prompted to quit the precincts of its tomb and to exercise on living -bodies acts peculiar to physical life, especially that of nutrition, -the result of which, by a mysterious link between soul and body which -spiritualistic science will some day explain, is forwarded to the -material body lying still within its tomb, and the latter is thus helped -to perpetuate its vital existence.” - -Apart from the spectre vampire there is, of course, the vampire bat in -the world of natural history, which is said to suck blood from a sleeping -person, insinuating its tongue into a vein, but without inflicting -pain. Captain Steadman, during his expedition to Surinam, awoke early -one morning and was alarmed to find his hammock steeped almost through -and himself weltering in blood, although he was without pain. It was -discovered that he had been bitten by a vampire bat. Pennant says that -in some parts of America they destroyed all the cattle introduced by the -missionaries. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -EXCOMMUNICATION AND ITS POWER - - -The Greek Church at one time taught that the bodies of persons upon whom -the ban of excommunication had been passed did not undergo decomposition -after death until such sentence had been revoked by the pronouncement -of absolution over the remains, and that, while the bodies remained in -this uncorrupted condition, the spirits of the individuals wandered up -and down the earth seeking sustenance from the blood of the living. The -non-corruption of a body, however, was also held to be one of the proofs -of sanctity; but, in this case, the body preserved its natural colour -and gave an agreeable odour, whereas the bodies of the excommunicated -generally turned black, swelled out like a drum, and emitted an offensive -smell. Very frequently, however, when the graves of suspected vampires -were opened, the faces were found to be of ruddy complexion and the veins -distended with blood, which, when opened with a lancet, yielded a supply -of blood as plentiful, fresh, and free as that found in the veins of -young and healthy living human beings. For many centuries in the history -of Greek Christianity there was scarcely a village that had not its own -local vampire stories which were related by the inhabitants and vouched -for by them as having either occurred within their own knowledge or been -related to them by their parents or relatives as having come within their -personal observation or been verified by them. - -The bodies of murderers and suicides were also held to be exempt from -the law of dissolution of the mortal remains until the Church granted -release from the curse entailed upon them by such act. The priests, by -this assumption of power over the body as well as over the soul, made -profitable use of this superstitious belief by preying upon the fears and -credulity of the living. They also included in this ecclesiastical law of -exemption from corruption after death those who in their lives had been -guilty of heinous sins, those who had tampered with the magic arts, and -all who had been cursed during life by their parents. These were all said -to become vampires. This belief spread to other branches of the Christian -Church, and the story is related that St Libentius, Archbishop of Bremen, -who died 4th January 1013, once excommunicated a gang of pirates, one -of whom died shortly afterwards and was buried in Norway. Seventy years -afterwards his body was found quite entire and uncorrupted, nor did it -fall to ashes until it had received absolution from the Bishop Alvareda. - -Leo Allatius, a Roman Catholic, describes a corpse which he found in -an undecomposed condition. He implies that the Greeks connected the -circumstance with the power invested in them by the text: “Whatsoever -thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,” and by which they -hold that the soul is excluded from all hope of participation in future -bliss so long as the body remains undecomposed. Poqueville, another -writer, also states that whenever a bishop or priest excommunicated a -person he added to the general sentence of excommunication the words: -“After death, let not thy body have power to dissolve.” - -A manuscript was discovered many years ago in the Church of St Sophia at -Thessalonica, which is an interesting commentary upon the power claimed -by the Church over excommunicated bodies. The manuscript states that: - -(1) Whoever has been laid under any curse or received any injunction -from his deceased parents that he has not fulfilled, after his death the -forepart of his body remains entire; - -(2) Whoever has been the object of any anathema appears yellow after -death, and the fingers are shrivelled; - -(3) Whoever appears white has been excommunicated by the divine laws; - -(4) Whoever appears black has been excommunicated by a bishop. - -It was held possible to discover, by means of these signs, the crime for -which, as well as the person on whom, the judgment had been pronounced. -One horrible result of this ghastly superstition was the custom which -was at one time prevalent among the Greeks of Salonica, as well as the -Bulgarians in the centre of European Turkey, and other nations, of -disinterring indiscriminately the bodies of the dead after they had been -buried for twelve months, in order to ascertain from the condition of the -remains whether the souls were in heaven or hell, or perambulating the -neighbourhood as vampires. - -This assumed ecclesiastical power acted occasionally, however, -injuriously on the clergy themselves. There is on record one instance -where a priest was killed in revenge for the death of a man whose illness -was attributed to the sentence of excommunication that had been passed -upon him. On another occasion a bishop of some diocese in Morea was -robbed by a band of brigands as he was passing through a portion of the -Maniate territory. When the deed was done the mountaineers bethought -themselves that the bishop would, in all probability, excommunicate them -as soon as he reached a place of safety. They saw no means of averting -this, to them, dreadful calamity, except by the committal of a further -and more heinous crime; and so they set out in pursuit of the unfortunate -bishop, whom they eventually overtook and murdered. - -Many years ago a Greek of Keramia complained to the Pasha of Khania that -the papás of his village had excommunicated him and so been the indirect -cause of his having been bewitched. The Pasha sent for the priest, threw -him into prison, and only released him upon payment of a fine of 300 -piastres. - -During a local war a native of Theriso was taken ill: the cry went up: -“It is an aphorismos.” The papás was accused, reviled, and threatened -with murder unless the curse was removed; but the man continued to get -worse, and eventually died. So firm was the belief of everyone in the -neighbourhood that the ban had caused the man’s death that some of his -companions regarded it as a duty to avenge his fate, and, in consequence, -they sought out the priest and shot him. - -At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Metropolitan of Larissa -was informed that a papás had disinterred two bodies and thrown them into -the Haliæmon on pretence of their being vrukólakas. Upon being summoned -before the bishop the priest admitted the truth of the accusation, and -justified his act by saying that a report had been current that a large -animal, accompanied with flames, had been seen to issue from the grave -in which these two bodies had been buried. The bishop fined the priest -250 piastres, and sent a proclamation throughout the diocese that, in -future, similar offences would be punished with double that fine and be -accompanied with loss of position. - -Martin Crusius tells the following curious story. There were about -the court of Mahomet II. a number of men learned in Greek and Arabic -literature, who had investigated a variety of points connected with the -Christian faith. They informed the Sultan that the bodies of persons -excommunicated by the Greek clergy did not decompose, and when he -inquired whether the effect of absolution was to dissolve them, he was -answered in the affirmative. Upon this, he sent orders to Maximus, the -Patriarch of that period, to produce a case by which the truth of the -statement might be tested. The Patriarch convened his clergy in great -trepidation, and after long deliberation they ascertained that a woman -had been excommunicated by the previous Patriarch for the commission of -grievous sins. They ascertained the whereabouts of her grave, and when -they had opened it they found that the corpse was entire, but swollen out -like a drum. When the news of this reached the Sultan, he despatched some -of his officers to possess themselves of the body, which they did, and -deposited it in a safe place. On an appointed day the liturgy was said -over it and the Patriarch recited the absolution in the presence of the -officials. As this was being done—wonderful to relate!—the bones were -heard to rattle as they fell apart in the coffin, and at the same time, -the narrator adds, the woman’s soul was also freed from the punishment to -which it had been condemned. The courtiers at once ran and informed the -Sultan, who was astonished at the miracle, and exclaimed: “Of a surety -the Christian religion is true.” Calmet also relates this story, and -adds that the body was found to be entirely black and much swollen; that -it was placed in a chest under the Emperor’s seal, which chest was not -opened until three days after the absolution had been pronounced, when -the body was seen to be reduced to ashes. - -During the long war between the Christians and Mohammedans in the -island of Crete, it became a matter of astonishment that ravages caused -by vampires were no longer the subject of conversation. “How can it be, -when the number of deaths is so great, that none of those that die become -katakhanás?” was the question asked, to be met with the answer: “No one -ever becomes a katakhaná if he dies in time of war.” - -Leo Allatius also relates that he was told by Athanasius, Metropolitan of -Imbros, that, on one occasion, being earnestly entreated to pronounce the -absolution over a number of corpses that had long remained undecomposed, -he consented to do so, and before the recitation was concluded they all -fell away into ashes. - -Rycaut relates a similar occurrence, to which he appends the following -remark: “This story I should not have judged worth relating, but that I -heard it from the mouth of a grave person who says that his own eyes were -witnesses thereof.” - -The Hydhræans (or Hydhrioks) say there used to be a great number of -vampires in Hydhra, and that their present freedom is to be attributed -solely to the exertions of their bishop, who banished them all to -Santoréhe, where, on the desert isle, they now exist in great numbers, -wandering about, rolling stones down the slope towards the sea, “as may -be heard by anyone who passes near, in a kaík, during the night.” - -At the second Council of Limoges, held in 1031, the Bishop of Cahors -made the following statement: “A knight of my diocese being killed in a -state of excommunication, I refused to comply with the request of his -friends, who solicited me earnestly to give him absolution. My resolution -was to make an example of him, in order to strike terror into others. -Notwithstanding this, he was buried in a church dedicated to St Peter by -some soldiers or knights without any ecclesiastical ceremony, without -any leave, and without the assistance of any priest. The next morning -his body was found out of the grave, perfectly entire, and without any -token of its having been touched. The soldiers who buried him opened the -grave and found nothing but the linen which had been wrapped about his -body. They then buried him afresh and covered the grave with an enormous -quantity of earth and stones. The next day the corpse was found out of -the grave again, and there were no symptoms of anyone having been at -work. The same thing was repeated five times, and at last they buried -him in unconsecrated ground, at a distance from the churchyard, when no -further incident occurred.” - -Rycaut states that the following story was related to him with many -asseverations of truth by a grave _Candive Kalois_ called Sofronio, a -preacher, and a person of no mean repute and learning at Smyrna. - -“I knew,” he said, “a certain person who, for some misdemeanours -committed in the Morea, fled over to the Isle of Milo, where, though -he escaped the hand of justice, he could not avoid the sentence of -excommunication, from which he could no more fly than from the conviction -of his own conscience, or the guilt which ever attended him; for the -fatal hour of his death being come, and the sentence of the Church -not revoked, the body was carelessly and without solemnity interred -in some retired and unfrequented place. In the meantime the relatives -of the deceased were much afflicted and anxious for the sad estate of -their dead friend, whilst the peasants and islanders were every night -affrighted and disturbed with strange and unusual apparitions, which they -immediately concluded arose from the grave of the accursed excommunicant, -which, according to their custom, they immediately opened, when they -found the body uncorrupted, ruddy, and the veins replete with blood. The -coffin was furnished with grapes, apples, and nuts, and such fruits as -the season afforded. Whereupon, consultation being taken, the Kaloires -resolved to make use of the common remedy in those cases, which was to -cut and dismember the body into several parts and to boil it in wine, as -the approved means of dislodging the evil spirit and disposing the body -to a dissolution. But the friends of the deceased, being willing and -desirous that the corpse should rest in peace and some ease given to the -departed soul, obtained a reprieve from the clergy, and hoped that for a -sum of money (they being persons of a competent estate) a release might -be purchased from the excommunication under the hand of the Patriarch. -In this manner the corpse was for a little while freed from dissection, -and letters thereupon sent to Constantinople with this direction, That -in case the Patriarch should condescend to take off the excommunication, -that the day, hour, and minute that he signed the remission should be -inserted in the document. And now the corpse was taken into the church -(the country people not being willing it should remain in the field), and -prayers and masses were daily said for its dissolution and the pardon -of the offender; when one day, after many prayers, supplications, and -offerings (as this Sofrino attested to me with many protestations), and -whilst he himself was heard performing divine service, on a sudden was -heard a rumbling noise in the coffin of the dead party, to the fear and -astonishment of all persons then present; which when they had opened they -found the body consumed and dissolved as far into its first principles -of earth as if it had been several years interred. The hour and minute -of this dissolution was immediately noted and precisely observed, which -being compared with the date of the Patriarch’s release when it was -signed at Constantinople, it was found exactly to agree with that moment -in which the body returned to its ashes.” - -In most countries the vampire was regarded as a night-wanderer, but -resting in its grave on Friday night, so that the ceremony of absolution -had to be performed on that night or during Saturday, because, if the -spirit was out on its rambles when the ceremony took place, it was -unavailing. - -The Sfakians generally believe that the ravages committed by these -night-wanderers used in former times to be far more frequent than they -are at the present day, and that they have become comparatively rare -solely in consequence of the increased zeal and skill possessed by -members of the sacerdotal order. - -Tournefort relates an entertaining story of a vampire that woefully -annoyed the inhabitants of Myconi. Prayers, processions, stabbing with -swords, sprinklings of holy water, and even pouring the latter in large -quantities down the throat of the refractory _vroucolaca_ were all tried -in vain. An Albanian who chanced to be at Myconi objected to two of these -remedies. It was no wonder the devil continued in, he said, for how -could he possibly come through the holy water? And as to swords, they -were equally effectual in preventing his exit, for their handles being -crosses, he was so much terrified that he dare not pass them. To obviate -the latter objection, he recommended that Turkish scymetars should -be used. The scymetars were accordingly put in requisition, but the -pertinacious devil still retained his hold of the corpse and played his -pranks with as much vigour as ever. At length, when all the respectable -inhabitants were packing up to take flight to Syra or Tinos, an effectual -method of ousting the _vroucolaca_ was fortunately suggested. The body -was committed to the flames on January 1st, 1701, and the spirit being -thus forcibly ejected from its abode, was rendered incapable of doing -further mischief. - -There is a story told of St Stanislaus raising to life a man who had been -dead for three years, whom he called to life in order that he might give -evidence on the saint’s behalf in a court of justice. After having given -his evidence, the resuscitated man returned quietly to his grave. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE VAMPIRE IN BABYLONIA, ASSYRIA, AND GREECE - - -The belief in the vampire and ghoul was prevalent even in Babylon and -Assyria, where it was maintained that the dead could appear again -upon earth and seek sustenance from the living. The belief is, in all -probability, linked up with the almost universal theory that transfused -blood is necessary for revivification. Baths of human blood were -anciently prescribed as a possible remedy for leprosy. - -Mr R. Campbell Thompson, in his work _The Devils and Evil Spirits of -Babylonia_, states that the _Ekimmu_ or departed spirit was the soul of -the dead person unable to rest, which wandered as a spectre over the -earth. “If it found a luckless man who had wandered far from his fellows -into haunted places, it fastened upon him, plaguing and tormenting him -until such time as a priest should drive it away with exorcisms.” - -Mr Thompson also gives the translation of the following two tablets, -which, it will be seen, contain references to this belief:— - - The gods which seize (upon man) - Have come forth from the grave; - The evil wind-gusts - Have come forth from the grave. - - To demand the payment of rites and the pouring out of libations, - They have come forth from the grave; - All that is evil in their hosts, like a whirlwind, - Hath come forth from the grave. - - The evil Spirit, the evil Demon, the evil Ghost, the evil Devil, - From the earth have come forth; - From the underworld unto the land they have come forth; - In heaven they are unknown, - On earth they are not understood. - They neither stand nor sit - Nor eat nor drink. - -INCANTATION - - Spirits that minish heaven and earth, - That minish the land, - Spirits that minish the land, - Of giant strength, - Of giant strength and giant tread, - Demons (like) raging bulls, great ghosts, - Ghosts that break through all houses, - Demons that have no shame, - Seven are they! - Knowing no care, - They grind the land like corn; - Knowing no mercy, - They rage against mankind: - They spill their blood like rain, - Devouring their flesh (and) sucking their veins. - Where the images of the gods are, there they quake - In the temple of Nabu, who fertiliseth the shoots of wheat. - They are demons full of violence - Ceaselessly devouring blood. - Invoke the ban against them, - That they no more return to this neighbourhood. - By Heaven be ye exorcised! By Earth be ye exorcised! - -Greek Christianity, as already stated, has been credited by many with the -origin of the vampire belief, but this contention is hardly borne out by -facts. The belief was undoubtedly developed greatly under the influence -of the Greek Church, and utilised by the Greek priests as an additional -power which they possessed over the people. It did not become prominent -in Greece until after the establishment of Christianity, and there are -many remarkable stories told of vampire apparitions among the Slavonic -races bordering on Greece, as well as among the Arabians. In later times, -Father Richard, a French Jesuit of the seventeenth century, went as a -missionary to the Archipelago, and has left an account of the islands -of Santerini in which he discourses at length upon the _bucolacs_ or -vampires of that district. - -Some Greeks believe that the spectre which appears is not really the -soul of the deceased, but an evil spirit which enters his body after the -soul of the owner has been withdrawn. Thus Leo Allatius, in describing -the belief, says: “The corpse is entered by a demon which is the source -of ruin to unhappy men. For frequently emerging from the tomb in the -form of that body and roaming about the city and other inhabited places, -especially by night it betakes itself to any house it fancies, and, after -knocking at the door, addresses one of the inmates in a loud tone. If -the person answers he is done for: two days after that he dies. If he -does not answer he is safe. In consequence of this, all the people in -Chios, if anyone calls to them by night, never reply the first time; for -if a second call is given they know that it does not proceed from the -_vrykolaka_ but from someone else.” - -In the _Menées des Grecs_ it is recorded that an ecclesiastic of Scheti, -being excommunicated by his superior for some act of disobedience, -quitted the desert and came to Alexandria, where he was apprehended by -the governor of the city, stripped of his religious habit, and strongly -solicited to sacrifice to the idols of the place. The man bravely -resisted the temptation, and was tortured in several ways, till at last -they cut off his head, and threw his body out of the city to be devoured -by dogs. The next night it was carried away by the Christians, who, -having embalmed it and wrapped it up in fine linen, interred it in an -honourable part of the church with all the respect due to the remains -of a martyr. But at the next celebration of the Mass, upon the deacons -crying out aloud as usual, “Let the catechumens and all who do not -communicate retire,” his grave instantly opened and the martyr retired -into the church porch. When Mass was over he came again of his own accord -into the grave. Not long afterwards it was revealed by an angel to a -holy person, who had continued three days in prayer, that the deceased -ecclesiastic had been excommunicated by his superior, and would continue -bound till that same superior had reversed the sentence. Upon this a -messenger was despatched to the desert after the holy anchorite, who -ordered the grave to be opened and absolved the deceased, who, after -this, continued in his grave in peace. - -Pitton de Tournefort, in his _Voyage into the Levant_, gives the -following interesting account: “We were present at a very different scene -and one very barbarous at Myconi. The man, whose story we are going to -relate, was a peasant of Myconi, naturally ill-natured and quarrelsome; -this is a circumstance to be taken notice of in such a case: he was -murdered in the fields, nobody knew how or by whom. Two days after his -being buried in a chapel in the town it was noised about that he was -seen to walk about in the night with great haste, that he tumbled about -other people’s goods, put out their lamps, gripped them behind, and -played a dozen other monkey tricks. At first the story was received with -laughter, but the thing was looked upon seriously when the better sort -of people began to complain of it: the papás themselves gave credit to -the fact, and no doubt had their reasons for so doing; masses were duly -said; but for all this the peasant drove his old trade and heeded nothing -they could do. After divers meetings of the chief people of the city, -of priests and monks, it was gravely concluded that it was necessary in -consequence of some musty ceremonial to wait till the ninth day after the -interment should be expired. - -“On the tenth day they said one Mass in the chapel where the body was -laid in order to drive out the demon which they imagined was got into it. -After Mass they took up his body and got everything ready for blowing -out his heart.... The corpse stunk so abominably that they were obliged -to burn frankincense, but the smoke mixing with the exhalations from the -carcase increased the stench; every person averred that the blood of -the corpse was extremely red. The butcher swore that the body was still -warm....” - -Pitton concludes the story by ridiculing the theory that this was the -body of a vampire or _vroucolaca_. - -The practice of burning the body of a suspected or proved vampire does -not appear to have found general favour in Greece, doubtless by reason of -the fact that the Greeks possessed a religious horror of burning a body -on which holy oil had been poured by the priest when performing the last -rites upon the dying man. - -Leake, whose _Travels in Northern Greece_ were published in 1835, says -in the fourth volume of that work: “It would be difficult now to meet -with an example of the most barbarous of all these superstitions, -the Vrukólaka. The name being Illyric, seems to acquit the Greeks of -the invention, which was probably introduced into the country by the -barbarians of Sclavonic race. Tournefort’s description is admitted to be -correct. The Devil is supposed to enter the Vrukólaka, who, rising from -his grave, torments first his nearest relatives and then others, causing -their death or loss of health. The remedy is to dig up the body and if, -after it has been exorcised by the priest, the demon still persists in -annoying the living, to cut it into small pieces, or, if that be not -sufficient, to burn it.” - -In Crete the belief in vampires—or katalkanás, as the Cretans call -them—and their existence and ill-deeds forms a general article of -popular belief throughout the island, but is particularly strong in the -mountains, and if anyone ventures to doubt it, undeniable facts are -brought forward to silence the incredulous. - -One of the stories told by the Cretans is as follows: “Once upon a time -the village of Kalikráti, in the district of Sfakia, was haunted by a -Katakhanás, and the people did not know what man he was or from what part -he came. This Katakhanás destroyed both children and full-grown men, and -desolated both that village and many others. They had buried him at the -church of St George at Kalikráti, and in those times he was regarded as -a man of note, and they had built an arch over his grave. Now a certain -shepherd, believed to be his mutual Sýnteknos,[1] was tending his sheep -and goats near the church, and, on being caught in a shower, he went -to the sepulchre that he might be protected from the rain. Afterwards -he determined to sleep and pass the night there, and, after taking off -his arms, he placed them by the stone which served him as his pillow, -crosswise. And people might say that it was on this account that the -Katakhanás was not permitted to leave his tomb. During the night, then, -as he wished to go out again, that he might destroy men, he said to the -shepherd: ‘Gossip, get up hence, for I have some business that requires -me to come out.’ The shepherd answered him not, either the first time, -or the second, or the third; further, he knew that the man had become -a Katakhanás, and that it was he who had done all those evil deeds. On -this account he said to him on the fourth time of his speaking: ‘I shall -not get up hence, gossip, for I fear you are no better than you should -be and may do me some mischief; but if I must get up, swear to me by -your winding-sheet that you will not hurt me, and on that I will get -up.’ And he did not pronounce the proposed words, but said other things; -nevertheless, when the shepherd did not suffer him to get up, he swore -to him as he wished. On this he got up, and, taking his arms, removed -them away from the monument, and the Katakhanás came forth, and, after -greeting the shepherd, said to him: ‘Gossip, you must not go away, but -sit down here; for I have some business which I must go after; but I -shall return within the hour, for I have something to say to you.’ So the -shepherd waited for him. - -“And the Katakhanás went a distance of about ten miles, where there was a -couple recently married, and he destroyed them. On his return the gossip -saw that he was carrying some liver, his hands being moistened with -blood; and, as he carried it, he blew into it, just as the butcher does, -to increase the size of the liver. And he showed his gossip that it was -cooked, as if it had been done on the fire. After this he said: ‘Let us -sit down, gossip, that we may eat.’ And the shepherd pretended to eat it, -but only swallowed dry bread, and kept dropping the liver into his bosom. -Therefore, when the hour for their separation arrived, the Katakhanás -said to the shepherd: ‘Gossip, this which you have seen, you must not -mention, for if you do, my twenty nails will be fixed in your children -and yourself.’ Yet the shepherd lost no time, but gave information to the -priests and others, and they went to the tomb, and there they found the -Katakhanás, just as he had been buried. And all people became satisfied -that it was he who had done all the evil deeds. On this account they -collected a great deal of wood, and they cast him on it, and burnt -him. His gossip was not present, but when the Katakhanás was already -half-consumed, he, too, came forward in order that he might enjoy the -ceremony. And the Katakhanás cast, as it were, a single spot of blood, -and it fell on his foot, which wasted away, as if it had been roasted on -a fire. On this account they sifted even the ashes, and found the little -finger nail of the Katakhanás unburnt, and burnt it too.” - -The 22nd formula of the _Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia_, -published by Sir Henry Rawlinson and Mr Edwin Norris in 1866, reads:— - - The phantom, child of heaven, - which the gods remember, - the _Innin_ (kind of hobgoblin) prince - of the lords - the ... - which produces painful fever, - the vampyre which attacks man, - the _Uruku_ multifold - upon humanity, - may they never seize him! - -[1] That is, related to each other through god-parents. In Crete, those -whose god-parents were the same or were connected by ties of kinship were -regarded as being in consanguineous relationship, and therefore were -unable to contract marriages with each other. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -VAMPIRISM IN GREAT AND GREATER BRITAIN - - -William of Newbury, who flourished about the middle of the twelfth -century, relates that in his time a man appeared corporeally in the -county of Buckingham for three nights together, to his wife and, -afterwards, to his other relatives. The way they took to defend -themselves against his frightful visits was to stay up all night and make -a noise when they observed that he was coming. Upon this he appeared to -several people in broad day. Hereupon the Bishop of Lincoln summoned his -council, and was informed that the thing was common in England, and that -the only way to stop it which they knew of was to burn the spectre. The -bishop did not relish this advice, as he thought the expedient a cruel -one; but he wrote out a form of absolution on a scrap of paper and -ordered it to be laid on the body of the deceased, which was found to be -as fresh and entire as if it had been dead only a day; and from that time -the apparition was no more heard of. The author adds that these stories -would be thought incredible if several instances of them had not happened -in his time, attested by persons of undoubted credit. - -The same author mentions a similar story, the _locale_ of which was -Berwick-on-Tweed, where the body was cut in pieces and burnt. Another -vampire was burnt at Melrose Abbey. It was that of a very worldly priest -who had been in his lifetime so fond of hunting that he was commonly -called a _hundeprest_. A still more remarkable case occurred at a castle -in the north of England, where the vampire so frightened all the people -that no one ever ventured out of doors between sunset and sunrise. The -sons of one of his supposed victims at length opened his grave and -pierced his body, from which a great quantity of blood immediately -flowed, which plainly proved that a large number of persons had been his -victims. - -At Waterford, in Ireland, there is a little graveyard under a ruined -church near Strongbow’s Tower. Legend has it that underneath the ground -at this spot there lies a beautiful female vampire still ready to kill -those she can lure thither by her beauty. - -A vampire story is also related concerning an old Cumberland farmhouse, -the victim being a girl whose screams were heard as she was bitten, -and who only escaped with her life by thus screaming. In this case the -monster was tracked to a vault in the churchyard, where forty or fifty -coffins were found open, their contents mutilated and scattered around. -One coffin only was untouched, and on the lid being taken off the form -was recognised as being that of the apparition which had been seen, and -the body was accordingly burnt, when the manifestations ceased. - -In vol. iii. of _Borderland_ Dr Franz Hartmann gave particulars of some -vampire cases which had come under his observation. - -“A young lady of G—— had an admirer, who asked her in marriage; but as -he was a drunkard she refused and married another. Thereupon the lover -shot himself, and soon after that event a vampire, assuming his form, -visited her frequently at night, especially when her husband was absent. -She could not see him, but felt his presence in a way that could leave -no room for doubt. The medical faculty did not know what to make of the -case; they called it ‘hysterics,’ and tried in vain every remedy in the -pharmacopœia, until she at last had the spirit exorcised by a man of -strong faith.” - -Another case is that of a miller at D—— who had a healthy servant boy, -who soon after entering his service began to fail in health. He had -a ravenous appetite, but nevertheless grew daily more feeble. Being -interrogated, he at last confessed that a thing which he could not see, -but which he could plainly feel, came to him every night and sat upon his -stomach, drawing all the life out of him, so that he became paralysed for -the time being and could neither move nor cry out. Thereupon the miller -agreed to share the bed with the boy, and proposed to him that he should -give him a certain sign when the vampire arrived. This was done, and when -the sign was given the miller grasped the invisible but very tangible -substance that rested upon the boy’s stomach, and although it struggled -to escape, he grasped it firmly and threw it into the fire. After that -the boy recovered his health and there was no repetition of the vampire’s -visits. - -Dr Hartmann adds to this last account: “Those who, like myself, have on -innumerable occasions removed astral tumours and thereby cured physical -tumours will find the above not incredible nor inexplicable. Moreover, -the above accounts do not refer to events of the past, but to persons -still living in this country.” - -The following account is taken from the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ of July -1851:— - - -“_Singular Instance of Superstition_, A.D. 1629 - -“The Case, or, rather, History of a Case that happened in the County of -Hereford in the fourth Year of the Reign of King Charles the First, which -was taken from a MS. of Serjeant Mainard, who writes thus: - -“‘I write the evidence which was given, which I and many others heard, -and I write it exactly according to what was deposed at the Trial at the -Bar in the King’s Bench. Johan Norkot, the wife of Arthur Norkot, being -murdered, the question arose how she came by her death. The coroner’s -inquest on view of the body and deposition of Mary Norkot, John Okeman -and Agnes, his wife, inclined to find Joan Norkot _felo de se_: for they -(_i.e._ the witnesses before mentioned) informed the coroner and the jury -that she was found dead in the bed and her throat cut, the knife sticking -in the floor of the room; that the night before she was so found she -went to bed with her child (now plaintiff in this appeal), her husband -being absent, and that no other person after such time as she was gone -to bed came into the house, the examinants lying in the outer room, and -they must needs have seen if any stranger had come in. Whereupon the -jury gave up to the coroner their verdict that she was _felo de se_. -But afterwards upon rumour in the neighbourhood, and the observation of -divers circumstances that manifested she did not, nor according to these -circumstances, possibly could, murder herself, thereupon the jury, whose -verdict was not drawn into form by the coroner, desired the coroner that -the body which was buried might be taken up out of the grave, which the -coroner assented to, and thirty days after her death she was taken up, in -the presence of the jury and a great number of the people, whereupon the -jury changed their verdict. The persons being tried at Hertford Assizes -were acquitted, but so much against the evidence that the judge (Harvy) -let fall his opinion that it were better an appeal were brought than so -foul a murder should escape unpunished. - -“‘_Anno, paschæ termino, quarto Caroli_, they were tried on the appeal -which was brought by the young child against his father, the grandfather -and aunt, and her husband Okeman. And because the evidence was so strange -I took exact and particular notes of it, which was as followeth, of the -matters above mentioned and related, an ancient and grave person, the -minister of the parish where the fact was committed, being sworn to give -evidence according to custom, deposed, that the body being taken out of -the grave thirty days after the party’s death and lying on the grave and -the four defendants present, they were required each of them to touch the -dead body. O.’s wife fell on her knees and prayed God to show token of -their innocency, or to some such purpose, but her very words I forget. -The appellers did touch the dead body, whereupon the brow of the dead, -which was all a livid or carrion colour (that was the verbal expression -in the terms of the witness) began to have a dew or gentle sweat, which -reached down in drops on the face, and the brow turned and changed to a -lively and fresh colour, and the dead opened one of her eyes and shut -it again, and this opening the eye was done three several times. She -likewise thrust out the ring or marriage finger three times and pulled it -in again, and the finger dropt blood from it on the grass. - -“‘Hyde (Nicholas), Chief Justice, seeming to doubt the evidence, asked -the witness: “Who saw this beside yourself?” - -“‘Witness: “I cannot swear that others saw it; but, my lord,” said he, -“I believe the whole company saw it, and if it had been thought a doubt, -proof would have been made of it, and many would have attested with me.” - -“‘Then the witness observing some admiration in the auditors, he spoke -further, “My lord, I am minister of the parish, long knew all the -parties, but never had any occasion of displeasure against any of them, -nor had to do with them, or they with me, but as their minister. The -thing was wonderful to me, but I have no interest in the matter, but am -called upon to testify the truth and that I have done.” - -“‘This witness was a reverend person as I guess about seventy years of -age. His testimony was delivered gravely and temperately, but to the good -admiration of the auditor. Whereupon, applying himself to the Lord Chief -Justice, he said, “My lord, my brother here present is minister of the -next parish adjacent, and I am assured saw all done as I have affirmed,” -whereupon that person was also sworn to give evidence, and he deposed -the same in every point, viz., the sweat of the brow, the changes of -its colour, the opening of the eye, the thrice motion of the finger and -drawing it in again; only the first witness deposed that a man dipped -his finger in the blood to examine it, and swore he believed it was real -blood. I conferred afterwards with Sir Edmund Vowel, barrister at law, -and others who concurred in this observation, and for myself, if I were -upon my oath, can depose that these depositions, especially of the first -witness, are truly here reported in substance. - -“‘The other evidence was given against the prisoners, viz., against the -grandmother of the plaintiff and against Okeman and his wife, that they -lay in the next room to the dead person that night, and that none came -into the house till they found her dead next morning, therefore if she -did not murther herself, they must be the murtherers, and to that end -further proof was made. First she lay in a composed manner in her bed, -the bed cloaths nothing at all disturbed, and her child by her in the -bed. Secondly, her throat was cut from ear to ear and her neck broken, -and if she first cut her throat, she could not break her neck in the -bed, nor _e contra_. Thirdly, there was no blood in the bed, saving that -there was a tincture of blood upon the bolster whereupon her head lay, -but no other substance of blood at all. Fourthly, from the bed’s head on -there was a stream of blood on the floor, till it ponded on the bending -of the floor to a very great quantity and there was also another stream -of blood on the floor at the bed’s feet, which ponded also on the floor -to another great quantity but no other communication of blood on either -of these places, the one from the other, neither upon the bed, so that -she bled in two places severely, and it was deposed that turning up the -matte of the bed, there were clotes of congealed blood in the straw of -the matte underneath. Fifthly, the bloody knife in the morning was found -clinging in the floor a good distance from the bed, but the point of the -knife as it stuck in the floor was towards the bed and the haft towards -the door. Sixthly, lastly, there was the brand of a thumb and four -fingers of a left hand on the dead person’s left hand. - -“‘Hyde, Chief Justice: “How can you know the print of a left hand from -the print of a right hand in such a case?” - -“‘Witness: “My lord, it is hard to describe it, but if it please the -honourable judge (_i.e._ the judge sitting on the bench beside the Chief -Justice) to put his left hand on your left hand, you cannot possibly -place your right hand in the same posture.” - -“‘It being done, and appearing so, the defendants had time to make their -defence, but gave no evidence to that purpose. - -“‘The jury departing from the bar and returning, acquitted Okeman and -found the other three guilty; who, being severally demanded why judgment -should not be pronounced, sayd nothing, but each of them said, “I did not -do it.” “I did not do it.” Judgment was made and the grandmother and the -husband executed, but the aunt had the privilege to be spared execution, -being with child. I enquired if they confessed anything at execution, but -did not as I was told.’ - -“Thus far the serjeant, afterwards Sir John Mainard, a person of great -note and judgment in the law. The paper, of which this is a copy, was -found amongst his papers since his death (1690) fair written with his own -hand. Mr Hunt of the Temple took a copy of it, gave it me, which I have -hereby transcribed.—H. S.” - -It has been asserted by some writers that the vampire is not to be found -in Indian lore and legend, and an attempt has been made to connect this -supposititious absence of the blood-sucking demon with the Brahminical -and Buddhistic vegetarian and cremation customs. The Indian belief, -however, in the existence of vampire spectres is as prevalent as it is -in any other country, although the folk-lore and legends concerning them -may, perhaps, be more scarce. - -Fornari, in his _History of Sorcerers_, relates the following story: “In -the beginning of the fifteenth century there lived at Bagdad an aged -merchant who had grown wealthy in his business and who had an only son to -whom he was tenderly attached. He resolved to marry him to the daughter -of another merchant, a girl of considerable fortune, but without any -personal attractions. Abul-Hassan, the merchant’s son, on being shown -the portrait of the lady, requested his father to delay the marriage -till he could reconcile his mind to it. Instead, however, of doing this -he fell in love with another girl, the daughter of a sage, and he gave -his father no peace till he consented to the marriage with the object of -his affections. The old man stood out as long as he could, but finding -that his son was bent on acquiring the hand of the fair Nadilla, and was -equally resolute not to accept the rich and ugly lady, he did what most -fathers under such circumstances would do—he acquiesced. - -“The wedding took place with great pomp and ceremony, and a happy -honeymoon ensued, which might have been happier but for one little -circumstance which led to very serious consequences. - -“Abul-Hassan noticed that his bride quitted the nuptial couch as soon as -she thought her husband was asleep, and did not return to it till an hour -before dawn. - -“Filled with curiosity, Hassan one night, feigning sleep, saw his wife -rise and leave the room. He rose, followed cautiously, and saw her enter -the cemetery. By the straggling moonbeams he saw her go into a tomb: he -stepped in after her. - -“The scene within was horrible. A party of ghouls were assembled with the -spoils of the graves they had violated and were feasting on the flesh of -the long-buried corpses. His own wife, who, by the way, never touched -supper at home, played a no inconsiderable part in the hideous banquet. - -“As soon as he could safely escape Abul-Hassan stole back to his bed. - -“He said nothing to his bride till next evening when supper was laid, -and she declined to eat; then he insisted on her partaking, and when she -positively refused he exclaimed roughly: ‘Oh yes, you keep your appetite -for your feasts with the ghouls.’ Nadilla was silent; she turned pale and -trembled, and without a word sought her bed. At midnight she rose, fell -on her husband with her nails and teeth, tore his throat, and, having -opened a vein, attempted to suck his blood; but Abul-Hassan, springing -to his feet, threw her down and, with a blow, killed her. She was buried -next day. - -“Three days after at midnight she reappeared, attacked her husband again, -and again attempted to suck his blood. He fled from her and on the morrow -opened her tomb, burnt her to ashes and cast the ashes into the Tigris.” - -There is a monstrous vampire which is said to delight in sucking the -blood of children, and is known as a Pănangglan. It has also a liking for -sucking the blood of women at childbirth; but, as it is also credited -with a dread of thorns, the custom has arisen of placing thorns about the -rooms of Indian houses on the occasions of births. - -One of the Northern Indian witches—the Jigar-Khor or Liver-eater—is -believed to be possessed of the power of being able to steal the liver of -another by looks and incantations. A class of witches known as Bhúts are -said to have an extraordinary fondness for fish, but also eat rice and -all kinds of human food. - -Hugh Clifford, in his interesting work _In Court and Kampong_, refers -to the “Pĕnangal, that horrible wraith of a woman who has died in -childbirth, and who comes to torment small children in the guise of a -fearful face and bust with many feet of bloody, trailing entrails in her -wake,” also of that “weird little white animal, the _Mati-ânak_, that -makes beast noises round the graves of children; and of the familiar -spirits that men raise up from the corpses of babes who have never seen -the light, the tips of whose tongues they bite off and swallow, after the -child has been brought back to life by magic agencies.” - -In the Tamil dream of Harichándra, the frenzied Sandramáti says to the -king: “I belong to the race of elves, for I killed thy child in order -that I might feed on its delicate flesh.” The Vetala is said to feed -chiefly on corpses. The Bhúts and other dismal ravenous ghosts, who are -dreaded at the moon-wane of the month Katik (October-November), were not -supposed to devour men, but only their food. - -Then there is the Hántu Sàburo, which chases men into the forest by -means of his dogs, and if they are run down he drinks their blood. The -Hántu Dondong resides in caves and crevices in rocks. He kills dogs and -wild hogs with the sumpitan, and then drinks their blood. The Hántu Parl -fastens on to the wound of an injured person and sucks the blood. - -Barth, in his _History of Religions_ (Hinduism), says that “Siva is -identified with _Mrityu_, Death, and his old name _Pacupati_, Lord of -herds, acquires the ominous meaning of Master of human cattle. He is -chief of the mischievous spirits, of ghouls and vampires that frequent -places of execution and those where the dead are buried, and he prowls -about with them at nightfall.” - -Other classes of demons are also known as the _Rakshasas_ or the -_Pisâchâs_, a word which literally means “flesh-eaters,” which -Delongchamps has translated as “bloodthirsty savages,” but other -etymologists actually as “vampires.” - -The vampire demon is no stranger to Australia. Bonwick, in his _Daily -Life of the Tasmanians_, tells us that: “During the whole of the first -night after the death of one of their tribe they will sit round the body, -using rapidly a low, continuous recitative to prevent the evil spirit -from taking it away. This evil spirit was the ghost of an enemy. Fires at -night kept off these mischievous beings, which were like the vampires of -Europe.” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -VAMPIRISM IN GERMANY AND SURROUNDING COUNTRIES - - -Germany, the home of modern philosophy, is not free from the belief -in the reality of the vampire apparition, although the more horrible -forms of the superstition are not frequently encountered. Crosses are, -however, frequently erected at the head, or by the side, of graves, even -in Protestant cemeteries, in order that their presence may prevent the -occupants from being controlled by any demon that might, but for the -presence of such charm, take possession of a body; and the _Nachzehrer_ -is as much dreaded in many parts of Germany as the _Vrykolaka_ is in -Russia. In some parts of the Kaiser’s dominions, food is still buried -with the corpse in order to assuage any pangs of hunger that may arise; -and even when this is not done, a few grains of corn or rice are -scattered upon the grave as a survival of the ancient custom. In Diesdorf -it is believed that if money is not placed in the mouth of a dead -person at burial, or his name not cut from his shirt, he will, in all -probability, become a Nachzehrer, and his ghost issue from the grave in -the form of a pig. Another sure preventive of such a calamity is to break -the neck of a dead body. - -The following story was contributed by Dr Franz Hartmann to the _Occult -Review_ for September 1909, under the title of “An Authenticated Vampire -Story”:— - -“On June 10th, 1909, there appeared in a prominent Vienna paper (the -_Neues Wiener Journal_) a notice saying that the castle of B—— had been -burned by the populace, because there was a great mortality among the -peasant children, and it was generally believed that this was due to the -invasion of a vampire, supposed to be the last Count B——, who died and -acquired that reputation. The castle was situated in a wild and desolate -part of the Carpathian Mountains, and was formerly a fortification -against the Turks. It was not inhabited, owing to its being believed to -be in the possession of ghosts; only a wing of it was used as a dwelling -for the caretaker and his wife. - -“Now it so happened that, when I read the above notice, I was sitting -in a coffee-house at Vienna in company with an old friend of mine who -is an experienced occultist and editor of a well-known journal, and who -had spent several months in the neighbourhood of the castle. From him -I obtained the following account, and it appears that the vampire in -question was probably not the old Count, but his beautiful daughter, the -Countess Elga, whose photograph, taken from the original painting, I -obtained. My friend said: ‘Two years ago I was living at Hermannstadt, -and being engaged in engineering a road through the hills, I often came -within the vicinity of the old castle, where I made the acquaintance of -the old castellan, or caretaker, and his wife, who occupied a part of the -wing of the house, almost separate from the main body of the building. -They were a quiet old couple and rather reticent in giving information -or expressing an opinion in regard to the strange noises which were -often heard at night in the deserted halls, or of the apparitions which -the Wallachian peasants claimed to have seen when they loitered in the -surroundings after dark. All I could gather was that the old Count was a -widower and had a beautiful daughter, who was one day killed by a fall -from her horse, and that soon after the old man died in some mysterious -manner, and the bodies were buried in a solitary graveyard belonging to -a neighbouring village. Not long after their death an unusual mortality -was noticed among the inhabitants of the village: several children and -even some grown people died without any apparent illness; they merely -wasted away; and thus a rumour was started that the old Count had become -a vampire after his death. There is no doubt that he was not a saint, as -he was addicted to drinking, and some shocking tales were in circulation -about his conduct and that of his daughter; but whether there was any -truth in them, I am not in a position to say. - -“‘Afterwards the property came into the possession of ——, a distant -relative of the family, who is a young man and officer in a cavalry -regiment at Vienna. It appears that the heir enjoyed his life at the -capital and did not trouble himself much about the old castle in the -wilderness; he did not even come to look at it, but gave his directions -by letter to the janitor, telling him merely to keep things in order -and to attend to repairs, if any were necessary. Thus the castellan was -actually master of the house, and offered its hospitality to me and my -friends. - -“One evening I and my two assistants, Dr E——, a young lawyer, and Mr -W——, a literary man, went to inspect the premises. First we went to the -stables. There were no horses, as they had been sold; but what attracted -our special attention was an old, queer-fashioned coach with gilded -ornaments and bearing the emblems of the family. We then inspected the -rooms, passing through some halls and gloomy corridors, such as may -be found in any old castle. There was nothing remarkable about the -furniture; but in one of the halls there hung in a frame an oil-painting, -a portrait, representing a lady with a large hat and wearing a fur coat. -We were all involuntarily startled on beholding this picture—not so much -on account of the beauty of the lady, but on account of the uncanny -expression of her eyes; and Dr E——, after looking at the picture for a -short time, suddenly exclaimed: ‘How strange! The picture closes its eyes -and opens them again, and now it begins to smile!’ - -“Now Dr E—— is a very sensitive person, and has more than once had some -experience in spiritism, and we made up our minds to form a circle for -the purpose of investigating this phenomenon. Accordingly, on the same -evening we sat around a table in an adjoining room, forming a magnetic -chain with our hands. Soon the table began to move and the name _Elga_ -was spelled. We asked who this Elga was, and the answer was rapped out: -‘The lady whose picture you have seen.’ - -“‘Is the lady living?’ asked Mr W——. This question was not answered; -but instead it was rapped out: ‘If W—— desires it, I will appear to him -bodily to-night at two o’clock.’ W—— consented, and now the table seemed -to be endowed with life and manifested a great affection for W——; it rose -on two legs and pressed against his breast, as if it intended to embrace -him. - -“We inquired of the castellan whom the picture represented; but to our -surprise he did not know. He said that it was the copy of a picture -painted by the celebrated painter Hans Markart of Vienna, and had been -bought by the old Count because its demoniacal look pleased him so much. - -“We left the castle, and W—— retired to his room at an inn a half-hour’s -journey distant from that place. He was of a somewhat sceptical turn of -mind, being neither a firm believer in ghosts and apparitions nor ready -to deny their possibility. He was not afraid, but anxious to see what -would come of his agreement, and for the purpose of keeping himself awake -he sat down and began to write an article for a journal. - -“Towards two o’clock he heard steps on the stairs and the door of the -hall opened; there was the rustling of a silk dress and the sound of the -feet of a lady walking to and fro in the corridor. - -“It may be imagined that he was somewhat startled; but taking courage, -he said to himself: ‘If this is Elga, let her come in.’ Then the door -of the room opened and Elga entered. She was most elegantly dressed, -and appeared still more youthful and seductive than the picture. There -was a lounge on the other side of the table where W—— was writing, and -there she silently posted herself. She did not speak, but her looks and -gestures left no doubt in regard to her desires and intentions. - -“Mr W—— resisted the temptation and remained firm. It is not known -whether he did so out of principle or timidity or fear. Be this as it -may, he kept on writing, looking from time to time at his visitor and -silently wishing that she would leave. At last, after half an hour, which -seemed to him much longer, the lady departed in the same manner in which -she came. - -“This adventure left W—— no peace, and we consequently arranged several -sittings at the old castle, where a variety of uncanny phenomena took -place. Thus, for instance, once the servant-girl was about to light a -fire in the stove, when the door of the apartment opened and Elga stood -there. The girl, frightened out of her wits, rushed from the room, -tumbling down the stairs in terror with the lamp in her hand, which -broke, and came very near to setting her clothes on fire. Lighted lamps -and candles went out when brought near the picture, and many other -‘manifestations’ took place which it would be tedious to describe; but -the following incident ought not to be omitted. - -“Mr W—— was at that time desirous of obtaining the position as co-editor -of a certain journal, and a few days after the above-narrated adventure -he received a letter in which a noble lady of high position offered him -her patronage for that purpose. The writer requested him to come to a -certain place the same evening, where he would meet a gentleman who -would give him further particulars. He went, and was met by an unknown -stranger, who told him that he was requested by the Countess Elga to -invite Mr W—— to a carriage drive, and that she would await him at -midnight at a certain crossing of two roads, not far from the village. -The stranger then suddenly disappeared. - -“Now it seems that Mr W—— had some misgivings about the meeting and -drive, and he hired a policeman as detective to go at midnight to the -appointed place, to see what would happen. The policeman went and -reported next morning that he had seen nothing but the well-known, -old-fashioned carriage from the castle, with two black horses, standing -there as if waiting for somebody, and that as he had no occasion to -interfere, he merely waited until the carriage moved on. When the -castellan of the castle was asked, he swore that the carriage had not -been out that night, and in fact it could not have been out, as there -were no horses to draw it. - -“But that is not all, for on the following day I met a friend who is a -great sceptic and disbeliever in ghosts, and always used to laugh at such -things. Now, however, he seemed to be very serious and said: ‘Last night -something very strange happened to me. At about one o’clock this morning -I returned from a late visit, and as I happened to pass the graveyard -of the village, I saw a carriage with gilded ornaments standing at the -entrance. I wondered about this taking place at such an unusual hour, -and being curious to see what would happen, I waited. Two elegantly -dressed ladies issued from the carriage. One of these was young and -pretty, but threw at me a devilish and scornful look as they both passed -by and entered the cemetery. There they were met by a well-dressed man, -who saluted the ladies and spoke to the younger one, saying: “Why, Miss -Elga! Are you returned so soon?” Such a queer feeling came over me that I -abruptly left and hurried home.’ - -“This matter has not been explained; but certain experiments which we -subsequently made with the picture of Elga brought out some curious facts. - -“To look at the picture for a certain time caused me to feel a very -disagreeable sensation in the region of the solar plexus. I began to -dislike the portrait and proposed to destroy it. We held a sitting in the -adjoining room; the table manifested a great aversion to my presence. -It was rapped out that I should leave the circle, and that the picture -must not be destroyed. I ordered a Bible to be brought in, and read the -beginning of the first chapter of St John, whereupon the above-mentioned -Mr E—— (the medium) and another man present claimed that they saw the -picture distorting its face. I turned the frame and pricked the back of -the picture with my penknife in different places, and Mr E——, as well as -the other man, felt all the pricks, although they had retired to the -corridor. - -“I made the sign of the pentagram over the picture, and again the two -gentlemen claimed that the picture was horribly distorting its face. - -“Soon afterwards we were called away and left that country. Of Elga I -heard nothing more.” - -Thus far goes the account of my friend the editor. - -Siegbert’s _Chronicle_ for the year 858 has the following story: “There -appeared this year in the diocese of Mentz a spirit which discovered -himself at first by throwing stones and beating against the walls of -houses, as if it had been with a great mallet. He then proceeded to speak -and reveal secrets, and discovered the authors of several thefts and -other matters likely to breed disturbances in the neighbourhood. At last -he vented his malice upon one particular person, whom he was industrious -in persecuting and making odious to all the neighbours by representing -him as the cause of God’s anger against the whole village. The spirit -never forsook the poor man, but tormented him without intermission, -burnt all his corn in the barns, and set every place on fire where he -came. The priests attempted to frighten him away by exorcisms, prayers, -and holy water; but the spectre answered them with a volley of stones -which wounded several of them. When the priests were gone he was heard to -bemoan himself and say that he was forced to take refuge in the cowl of -one of the priests, who had injured the daughter of a man of consequence -in the village. He continued in this manner to infest the village for -three years together, and never gave over till he had set every house in -it on fire.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -VAMPIRISM IN HUNGARY, BAVARIA, AND SILESIA - - -The Hungarians believe that those who have been passive vampires in life -become active vampires after death; that those whose blood has been -sucked in life by vampires become themselves vampires after death. In -many districts the belief also prevails that the only way to prevent this -calamity happening is for the threatened victim to eat some earth from -the grave of the attacking vampire, and to smear his own body with blood -from the body of that vampire. - -That the belief in vampirism is still current in Hungary was evidenced -recently. The _Daily Telegraph_ of February 15th, 1912, contained -the following paragraph: “A Buda-Pesth telegram to the _Messaggero_ -reports a terrible instance of superstition. A boy of fourteen died -some days ago in a small village. A farmer, in whose employment the boy -had been, thought that the ghost of the latter appeared to him every -night. In order to put a stop to these supposed visitations, the farmer, -accompanied by some friends, went to the cemetery one night, stuffed -three pieces of garlic and three stones in the mouth, and thrust a -stake through the corpse, fixing it to the ground. This was to deliver -themselves from the evil spirit, as the credulous farmer and his friends -stated when they were arrested.” - -In 1732, in a village in Hungary, in the space of three months, seventeen -persons of different ages died of vampirism, some without being ill, -and others after languishing two or three days. It is reported that a -girl named Stanoska, daughter of the Heyduk Jotiutso, who went to bed in -perfect health, awoke in the middle of the night trembling violently and -uttering terrible shrieks, declaring that the son of the Heyduk Millo, -who had been dead nine weeks, had nearly strangled her in her sleep. She -fell into a languid state and died at the end of three days. Young Millo -was exhumed and found to be a vampire. - -Calmet, in his work _The Phantom World_, relates the following: “About -fifteen years ago a soldier who was billeted at the house of a Haidamaque -peasant, on the frontiers of Hungary, as he was one day sitting at table -near his host, the master of the house, saw a person he did not know -come in and sit down to table also with them. The master of the house -was strangely frightened at this, as were the rest of the company. The -soldier knew not what to think of it, being ignorant of the matter in -question. But the master of the house being dead the very next day, the -soldier inquired what it meant. They told him it was the body of the -father of the host, who had been dead and buried for ten years, who had -thus come to sit down next to him, and had announced and caused his death. - -“The soldier informed the regiment of it in the first place, and the -regiment gave notice of it to the general officers, who commissioned the -Count de Cabreras, captain of the regiment of Alandetti infantry, to make -information concerning this circumstance. Having gone to the place with -some other officers, a surgeon and an auditor, they heard the depositions -of all the people belonging to the house, who decided unanimously that -the ghost was the father of the master of the house, and that all the -soldier had said and reported was the exact truth, which was confirmed by -all the inhabitants of the village. - -“In consequence of this the corpse of the spectre was exhumed and found -to be like that of a man who had just expired, and his blood like that -of a living man. The Count de Cabreras had his head cut off and caused -him to be laid again in the tomb. He also took information concerning -other similar ghosts: among others, of a man dead more than thirty years -who had come back three times to his house at meal-time. The first time -he had sucked the blood from the neck of his own brother, the second -time from one of his sons, and the third time from one of the servants -in the house; and all three died of it instantly and on the spot. Upon -this deposition the commissary had this man taken out of his grave, and -finding that, like the first, his blood was in a fluidic state like that -of a living person, he ordered them to run a large nail into his temple -and then to lay him again in the grave. - -“He caused a third to be burned who had been buried more than sixteen -years and had sucked the blood and caused the death of two of his sons. -The commissary having made his report to the general officers, was -deputed to the Emperor, who commanded that some officers both of war and -of justice, some physicians and surgeons and some learned men should be -sent to examine the causes of these extraordinary events. The person who -related these particulars to us had heard them from the Count de Cabreras -at Fribourg in 1730.” - -Raufft tells the story of a man named “Peter Plogojowitz, an inhabitant -of a village in Hungary called Kisolova, who, after he had been buried -more than ten years, appeared by night to several persons in the village, -while they were asleep, and squeezed their throats in such a manner -that they expired within twenty-four hours. There died in this way no -less than nine persons in eight days; and the widow of this Plogojowitz -deposed that she herself had been visited by him since his death, and -that his errand was to demand his shoes; which frightened her so much -that she at once left Kisolova and went to live somewhere else. - -“These circumstances determined the inhabitants of the village to dig -up the body of Plogojowitz and burn it, in order to put a stop to such -troublesome visits. Accordingly they applied to the commanding officer -of the Emperor’s troops in the district of Gradisca, in the kingdom of -Hungary, and to the incumbent of the place, for leave to dig up the -corpse. They both made a great many scruples about granting it; but the -peasants declared plainly that if they were not permitted to dig up this -accursed carcase, which they were fully convinced was a vampire, they -would be forced to leave the village and settle where they could. - -“The officer who gave this account, seeing that there was no hindering -them either by fair means or foul, came in person, accompanied by the -minister of Gradisca, to Kisolova, and they were both present at the -digging up of the corpse, which they found to be free from any bad smell, -and perfectly sound, as if it had been alive, except that the tip of -the nose was a little dry and withered. The beard and hair were grown -fresh and a new set of nails had sprung up in the room of the old ones -that had fallen off. Under the former skin, which looked pale and dead, -there appeared a new one, of a natural fresh colour; and the hands and -feet were as entire as if they belonged to a person in perfect health. -They observed also that the mouth of the vampire was full of fresh blood, -which the people were persuaded had been sucked by him from the persons -he had killed. - -“The officer and the divine having diligently examined into all the -circumstances, the people, being fired with fresh indignation, and -growing more fully persuaded that this carcase was the real cause of the -death of their countrymen, ran immediately to fetch a sharp stake, which -being driven into his breast, there issued from the wound, and also from -his nose and mouth, a great quantity of fresh, ruddy blood; and something -which indicated a sort of life, was observed to come from him. The -peasants then laid the body upon a pile of wood, and burnt it to ashes.” - -Calmet says he was told by M. de Vassimont, who was sent to Moravia by -Leopold, first Duke of Lorraine, that he was informed by public report -that it was common enough in that country to see men who had died some -time before present themselves in a party and sit down to the table with -persons of their acquaintance without saying anything, but that nodding -to one of the party he would infallibly die some days afterwards. M. -de Vassimont received confirmation of this story from several persons, -amongst others an old curé who said he had seen more than one instance of -it. The priest added that the inhabitants had been delivered from these -troublesome spectres owing to the fact that their corpses had been taken -up and burned or destroyed in some way or other. - -At the beginning of the eighteenth century several vampire investigations -were held at the instigation of the Bishop of Olmutz. The village of -Liebava was particularly infested, and a Hungarian placed himself on the -top of the church tower and just before midnight saw a well-known vampire -issue from his tomb, and, leaving his winding-sheet behind him, proceed -on his rounds. The Hungarian descended from the tower and took away the -sheet and ascended the tower again. When the vampire returned he flew -into a great fury because of the absence of the sheet. The Hungarian -called to him to come up to the tower and fetch it. The vampire mounted -the ladder, but just before he reached the top the Hungarian gave him a -blow on the head which threw him down to the churchyard. His assailant -then descended, cut off the vampire’s head with a hatchet, and from that -time the vampire was no more heard of. - -In 1672 there dwelt in the market town of Kring, in the Archduchy of -Krain, a man named George Grando, who died, and was buried by Father -George, a monk of St Paul, who, on returning to the widow’s house, saw -Grando sitting behind the door. The monk and the neighbours fled. Soon -stories began to circulate of a dark figure being seen to go about the -streets by night, stopping now and then to tap at the door of a house, -but never to wait for an answer. In a little while people began to die -mysteriously in Kring, and it was noticed that the deaths occurred in -the houses at which the spectred figure had tapped its signal. The -widow Grando also complained that she was tormented by the spirit of -her husband, who night after night threw her into a deep sleep with -the object of sucking her blood. The Supan, or chief magistrate, of -Kring decided to take the usual steps to ascertain whether Grando was a -vampire. He called together some of the neighbours, fortified them with a -plentiful supply of spirituous liquor, and they sallied off with torches -and a crucifix. - -Grando’s grave was opened, and the body was found to be perfectly sound -and not decomposed, the mouth being opened with a pleasant smile, and -there was a rosy flush on the cheeks. The whole party were seized with -terror and hurried back to Kring, with the exception of the Supan. The -second visit was made in company with a priest, and the party also took -a heavy stick of hawthorn sharpened to a point. The grave and body were -found to be exactly as they had been left. The priest kneeled down -solemnly and held the crucifix aloft: “O vampire, look at this,” he said; -“here is Jesus Christ who loosed us from the pains of hell and died for -us upon the tree!” - -He went on to address the corpse, when it was seen that great tears were -rolling down the vampire’s cheeks. A hawthorn stake was brought forward, -and as often as they strove to drive it through the body the sharpened -wood rebounded, and it was not until one of the number sprang into the -grave and cut off the vampire’s head that the evil spirit departed with a -loud shriek and a contortion of the limbs. - -Similar stories to this were continually being circulated from the -borders of Hungary to the Baltic. - -At one time the spectre of a village herdsman near Kodom, in Bavaria, -began to appear to several inhabitants of the place, and either in -consequence of their fright or from some other cause, every person who -had seen the apparition died during the week afterwards. Driven to -despair, the peasants disinterred the corpse and pinned it to the ground -with a long stake. The same night he appeared again, plunging people into -convulsions of fright, and suffocated several of them. Then the village -authorities handed the body over to the executioner, who caused it to be -carried into a field adjoining the cemetery, where it was burned. The -corpse howled like a madman, kicking and tearing as if it had been alive. - -When it was run through again with sharp-pointed stakes, before the -burning, it uttered piercing cries and vomited masses of crimson blood. -The apparition of the spectre ceased only after the corpse had been -reduced to ashes. - -Fortis, in his _Travels into Dalmatia_, says that the Moslacks have no -doubt as to the existence of vampires, and attribute to them, as in -Transylvania, the sucking of the blood of infants. Therefore, when a man -dies, and he is suspected of vampirism, or of being a _vukodlak_—the -term they employ—they cut his hams and prick his whole body with pins, -pretending that he will be unable to walk about after this operation has -been performed. There are even instances of Moolacchi who, imagining -that they may possibly thirst for human blood after death, particularly -the blood of children, entreat their heirs, and sometimes even make them -promise, to treat them in this manner directly after death. - -Dr Henry More, in his _Antidote against Atheism_, argues for the reality -of vampires, and relates the following stories. - -“A shoemaker of Breslau, in Silesia, in 1591 terminated his life by -cutting his throat. His family, however, spread abroad the report that he -had died of apoplexy, which enabled them to bury him in the ordinary way -and save the disgrace of his being interred as a suicide. Despite this, -however, the rumour got abroad that the man had committed suicide. It was -also reported that his ghost had been seen at the bedsides of several -persons, and the rumours and reports spreading, it was decided by the -authorities to disinter the body. It had been buried on September 22nd, -1591, and the grave was opened on April 18th, 1592. The body was found -to be entire; it was not in any way putrid, the joints were flexible, -there was no ill smell, the wound in the throat was visible and there -was no corruption in it. There was also observed what was claimed to -be a magical mark on the great toe of the right foot—an excrescence in -the form of a rose. The body was kept above ground for six days, during -which time the apparitions still appeared. It was then buried beneath the -gallows, but the apparition still came to the bedsides of the alarmed -inhabitants, pinching and suffocating people, and leaving marks of its -fingers plainly visible on the flesh. A fortnight afterwards the body -was again dug up, when it was observed to have sensibly increased its -size since its last interment. Then the head, arms, and legs of the -corpse were cut off; the heart, which was as fresh and entire as that in -a freshly killed calf, was also taken out of the body. The whole body -thus dismembered was consigned to the flames and the ashes thrown into -the river. The apparition was never seen afterwards. A servant of the -deceased man was also said to have acted in a similar manner after her -death. Her remains were also dug up and burned, and then her apparition -ceased to torment the inhabitants.” - -“Johannes Cuntius, a citizen and alderman of Pentach, in Silesia, when -about sixty years of age, died somewhat suddenly, as the result of a kick -from his horse. At the moment of his death a black cat rushed into the -room, jumped on to the bed, and scratched violently at his face. Both at -the time of his death and that of his funeral a great tempest arose—the -wind and snow ‘made men’s bodies quake and their teeth chatter in their -heads.’ The storm is said to have ceased with startling suddenness as the -body was placed under the ground. Immediately after the burial, however, -stories began to circulate of the appearance of a phantom which spoke -to people in the voice of Cuntius. Remarkable tales were told of the -consumption of milk from jugs and bowls, of milk being turned into blood, -of old men being strangled, children taken out of cradles, altar-cloths -being soiled with blood, and poultry killed and eaten. Eventually it was -decided to disinter the body. It was found that all the bodies buried -above that of Cuntius had become putrefied and rotten, but his skin was -tender and florid, his joints by no means stiff, and when a staff was -put between his fingers they closed around it and held it fast in their -grasp. He could open and shut his eyes, and when a vein in his leg was -punctured the blood sprang out as fresh as that of a living person. This -happened after the body had been in the grave for about six months. Great -difficulty was experienced when the body was cut up and dismembered, by -the order of the authorities, by reason of the resistance offered; but -when the task was completed, and the remains consigned to the flames, the -spectre ceased to molest the natives or interfere with their slumbers or -health.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -VAMPIRISM IN SERVIA AND BULGARIA - - -The document which gives the particulars of the following remarkable -story is signed by three regimental surgeons and formally countersigned -by the lieutenant-colonel and sub-lieutenant, and bears the date June -7th, 1732, with the address Meduegna, near Belgrade. - -“In the spring of 1727 there returned from the Levant to the village of -Meduegna, near Belgrade, one Arnod Paole, who, in a few years’ military -service and varied adventure, had amassed enough to purchase a cottage -and an acre or two of land in his native place, where he gave out that -he meant to pass the remainder of his days. He kept his word. Arnod -had yet scarcely reached the prime of manhood; and though he must have -encountered the rough as well as the smooth of life, and have mingled -with many a wild and reckless companion, yet his natural good disposition -and honest principles had preserved him unscathed in the scenes he had -passed through. At all events, such were the thoughts expressed by his -neighbours as they discussed his return and settlement among them in -the stube of the village hof. Nor did the frank and open countenance of -Arnod, his obliging habits and steady conduct, argue their judgments -incorrect. Nevertheless, there was something occasionally noticeable in -his ways, a look and tone that betrayed inward disquiet. He would often -refuse to join his friends, or on some sudden plea abruptly quit their -society. And he still more unaccountably, and it seemed systematically, -avoided meeting his pretty neighbour, Nina, whose father occupied the -next farm to his own. At the age of seventeen Nina was as charming a -picture of youth, cheerfulness, innocence, and confidence as you could -have seen in all the world. You could not look into her limpid eye, -which steadily returned your gaze, without seeing to the bottom of the -pure and transparent spring of her thoughts. Why then did Arnod shrink -from meeting her? He was young; had a little property; had health and -industry; and he had told his friends he had formed no ties in other -lands. Why then did he avoid the fascination of the pretty Nina, who -seemed a being made to chase from any brow the clouds of gathering care? -But he did so, yet less and less resolutely, for he felt the charm of her -presence. Who could have done otherwise? And how long he resisted the -impulse of his fondness for the innocent girl who sought to cheer his -fits of depression! - -“And they were to be united—were betrothed; yet still the anxious gloom -would fitfully overcast his countenance, even in the sunshine of those -hours. - -“‘What is it, dear Arnod, that makes you sad? It cannot be on my account, -I know, for you were sad before you noticed me; and that, I think surely, -first made me notice you.’ - -“‘Nina,’ he answered, ‘I have done, I fear, a great wrong in trying to -gain your affections. Nina, I have a fixed impression that I shall not -live; yet, knowing this, I have selfishly made my existence necessary to -your happiness.’ - -“‘How strangely you talk, dear Arnod! Who in the village is stronger and -healthier than you? You feared no danger when you were a soldier. What -danger do you fear as a villager of Meduegna?’ - -“‘It haunts me, Nina.’ - -“‘But, Arnod, you were sad before you thought of me. Did you then fear to -die?’ - -“‘Oh, Nina, it is something worse than death.’ And his vigorous frame -shook with agony. - -“‘Arnod, I conjure you, tell me.’ - -“‘It was in Cossova this fate befell me. Here you have hitherto escaped -the terrible scourge. But there they die, and the dead visit the living. -I experienced the first frightful visitation, and I fled; but not till I -had sought his grave and executed the dread expiation from the vampire.’ - -“Nina’s blood ran cold. She stood horror-stricken. But her young heart -soon mastered her first despair. With a touching voice she spoke: ‘Fear -not, dear Arnod; fear not now. I will be your shield, or I will die with -you!’ - -“And she encircled his neck with her gentle arms, and returning hope -shone, Iris-like, amid her falling tears. Afterwards they found a -reasonable ground for banishing or allaying their apprehension in the -lengthy time which had elapsed since Arnod left Cossova, during which -no fearful visitant had again approached him; and they fondly protested -_that_ gave them security. - -“One day about a week after this conversation Arnod missed his footing -when on the top of a loaded hay-waggon, and fell from it to the ground. -He was picked up insensible, and carried home, where, after lingering a -short time, he died. His interment, as usual, followed immediately. His -fate was sad and premature. But what pencil could paint Nina’s grief? - -“Twenty or thirty days after his decease, several in the neighbourhood -complained that they were haunted by the deceased Arnod; and what was -more to the purpose, four of them died. The evil looked at sceptically -was bad enough, but aggravated by the suggestions of superstition it -spread a panic through the whole district. To allay the popular terror, -and, if possible, to get at the root of the evil, a determination -was come to publicly to disinter the body of Arnod, with the view of -ascertaining whether he really was a vampire, and, in that event, of -treating him conformably. The day fixed for these proceedings was the -fortieth after his burial. - -“It was on a grey morning in early August that the commission visited -the cemetery of Meduegna, which, surrounded with a wall of stone, lies -sheltered by the mountain that, rising in undulating green slopes, -irregularly planted with fruit-trees, ends in an abrupt craggy ridge, -covered with underwood. The graves were, for the most part, neatly -kept, with borders of box, or something like it, and flowers between, -and at the head of most, a small wooden cross, painted black, bearing -the name of the tenant. Here and there a stone had been raised. One of -terrible height, a single narrow slab, ornamented with grotesque Gothic -carvings, dominated over the rest. Near this lay the grave of Arnod -Paole, towards which the party moved. The work of throwing out the earth -was begun by the grey, careful old sexton, who lived in the Leichenhaus -beyond the great crucifix. Near the grave stood two military surgeons -or _feldscherers_ from Belgrade, and a drummer-boy, who held their -case of instruments. The boy looked on with keen interest; and when the -coffin was exposed and rather roughly drawn out of the grave, his pale -face and bright, intent eye showed how the scene moved him. The sexton -lifted the lid of the coffin; the body had become inclined to one side. -Then, turning it straight: ‘Ha, ha! What? Your mouth not wiped since last -night’s work?’ - -“The spectators shuddered; the drummer-boy sank forward, fainting, and -upset the instrument case, scattering its contents; the senior surgeon, -infected with the horror of the scene, repressed a hasty exclamation. -They threw water on the drummer-boy and he recovered, but would not leave -the spot. Then they inspected the body of Arnod. It looked as if it had -not been dead a day. After handling it, the scarfskin came off, but below -were _new skin and new nails_! How could they have come there but from -this foul feeding? The case was clear enough: there lay before them the -thing they dreaded—the vampire! So, without more ado, they simply drove a -stake through poor Arnod’s chest, whereupon a quantity of blood gushed -forth, and the corpse uttered a dreadful groan. - -“‘Murder! Murder!’ shrieked the drummer-boy, as he rushed wildly, with -convulsed gestures, from the scene.” - -The body of Arnod was then burnt to ashes, which were returned to the -grave. The authorities further staked and burnt the bodies of the four -others who were supposed to have been infected by Arnod. No mention -is made of the state in which they were found. The adoption of these -decisive measures failed, however, entirely to extinguish the evil, which -continued still to hang about the village. About five years afterwards -it had again become very rife, and many died through it; whereupon the -authorities determined to make another and a complete clearance of the -vampire in the cemetery, and with that object they had all the graves, -to which suspicion attached, opened, and their contents officially -anatomised, and the following are abridgments of the medical reports:— - -1. A woman of the name of Stana, twenty years of age, who had died three -months before, of a three days’ illness following her confinement. -She had before her death avowed that she had _anointed_ herself with -the blood of a vampire, to liberate herself from his persecution. -Nevertheless she had died. Her body was entirely free from decomposition. -On opening it the chest was found filled with recently effused blood, and -the bowels had exactly the appearance of sound health. The skin and nails -of her hands and feet were loose and came off, but underneath were new -skin and nails. - -2. A woman of the name of Miliza, who had died at the end of a three -months’ illness. The body had been buried ninety and odd days. In the -chest was liquid blood. The viscera were as in the former instance. -The body was declared by a heyduk, who recognised it, to be in better -condition and fatter than it had been in the woman’s legitimate lifetime. - -3. The body of a child eight years old, that had likewise been buried -ninety days; it was in the vampire condition. - -4. The son of a heyduk, named Milloc, sixteen years old. The body -had lain in the grave nine weeks. He had died after three days’ -indisposition, and was in the condition of a vampire. - -5. Joachim, likewise the son of a heyduk, seventeen years old. He had -died after three days’ illness; had been buried eight weeks and some -days; was found in the vampire state. - -6. A man of the name of Rusha, who had died of an illness of ten days’ -duration and had been six weeks buried, in whom likewise fresh blood was -found in the chest. - -7. The body of a girl ten years of age who had died two months before. It -was likewise in the vampire state, perfectly undecomposed, with blood in -the chest. - -8. The body of the wife of one Hadnuck, buried seven weeks before; and -that of her infant eight weeks old, buried only twenty-one days. They -were both in a state of decomposition, though buried in the same ground -and closely adjoining the others. - -9. A servant, by name Rhade, twenty-three years of age; he had died after -an illness of three months’ duration, and the body had been buried five -weeks. It was in a state of decomposition. - -10. The body of the heyduk Stanco, sixty years of age, who had died six -weeks previously. There was much blood and other fluid in the chest and -abdomen, and the body was in a vampire condition. - -11. Millac, a heyduk, twenty-five years old. The body had been in the -earth six weeks. It was also in the vampire condition. - -12. Stanjoika, the wife of a heyduk, twenty years old; had died after an -illness of three days, and had been buried eighteen. The countenance was -florid. There was blood in the chest and in the heart. The viscera were -perfectly sound, the skin remarkably flush. - -The vampire tradition in its original loathsomeness, however, is to be -found only in the Bulgarian provinces, whither the knowledge of the -superstition was first imported from Dalmatia and Albania. In the former -country the vampire is known by the name of _wukodlak_. - -St Clair and Brophy, in their work on Bulgaria, state that in Bulgaria -the vampire is no longer a dead body possessed by a demon, but a soul -in revolt against the inevitable principle of corporeal death. He is -detected by a hole in the tombstone which is placed over his grave, which -hole is filled up by the medicine man with dirt mixed with poisonous -herbs. - -Vampirism is claimed to be hereditary as well as epidemic and endemic, -and vampires are also stated to be capable of exercising considerable -physical force. Stories are told of men who have had their jaws broken, -as well as their limbs, as the result of their struggles with vampires. - -About 1863 there was a local epidemic of vampirism in one of the -villages of Bulgaria, when the place became so infested by them that the -inhabitants were forced to assemble together in two or three houses, -burn candles at night, and watch by turns in order to avoid the assaults -made by the Obours, who lit up the streets with their sparkles. Some of -the most enterprising of these threw their shadows on the walls of the -rooms where the peasants were assembled through fear, while others howled -and shrieked and swore outside the door, entered the abandoned houses, -spat blood on the floors, turned everything topsy-turvy, and smeared -everything, even the pictures of the saints, with cow-dung, until an -old lady, suspected of witchcraft, discovered and laid the troublesome -spirit, and afterwards the village was free. - -When the Bulgarian vampire has finished his forty days’ apprenticeship to -the world of shadows, he rises from the tomb in bodily form, and is able -to pass himself off as a human being living in the natural manner. - -In Slavonic countries the vampire is said to be possessed of only one -nostril, but is credited with possessing a sharp point at the end of his -tongue, like the sting of a bee. - -In Bulgaria one method of abolishing the vampire is said to be by -bottling him. The sorcerer, armed with the picture of some saint, lies -in ambush until he sees the vampire pass, when he pursues him with his -picture. The vampire takes refuge in a tree or on the roof of a house, -but his persecutor follows him up with the talisman, driving him away -from all shelter in the direction of a bottle specially prepared, in -which is placed some favourite food of the vampire. Having no other -alternative, he enters this prison, and is immediately fastened down -with a cork on the interior of which is a fragment of an eikon or -holy picture. The bottle is then thrown into the fire and the vampire -disappears for ever. - -In Bulgaria the vampire does not invariably seem to have the thirst for -human blood, unless there happens to be a shortage in his human food—a -distinction which marks him from the species found in other countries. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -VAMPIRE BELIEF IN RUSSIA - - -The Slavonic belief in vampires is one of the characteristic features of -their creed. - -The Little Russians hold that, if the vampire’s hands have grown numb -from remaining long crossed in the grave, he makes use of his teeth, -which are like steel. When he has gnawed his way with these through -all obstacles, he first destroys the babies he finds in a house, and -afterwards the older inmates. If fine salt be scattered on the floor of -a room, the vampire’s footsteps may be traced to his grave, in which he -will be found resting with rosy cheek and gory mouth. - -The Kashoubes say that when a _vieszcy_, as they call a vampire, wakes -from his sleep within the grave he begins to gnaw his hands and feet, and -as he gnaws, first his relatives, and then his neighbours, sicken and -die. When he has finished his own store of flesh, he rises at midnight -and destroys cattle or climbs a belfry and sounds the bell. All who hear -the ill-omened tones will soon die. Generally he sucks the blood of -sleepers. - -Ralston, in his _Songs of the Russian People_, says that it is in -the Ukraine and in White Russia—so far as the Russian Empire is -concerned—that traditions are most rife about this ghastly creation of -morbid fancy, and that the Little Russians attribute the birth of a -vampire to an unholy union between a witch and a werwolf or a devil. - -He relates the following as a specimen of the vampire stories prevalent -in the country:— - -“A peasant was driving past a graveyard after it had grown dark. After -him came running a stranger, dressed in a red shirt and a new jacket, who -said: ‘Stop! Take me as your companion.’ - -“‘Pray take a seat.’ - -“They enter a village, drive up to this and that house. Though the gates -are wide open, yet the stranger says, ‘Shut tight!’ for on those gates -crosses have been branded. They drive on to the very last house: the -gates are barred, and from them hangs a padlock weighing a score of -pounds; but there is no cross there, and the gates open of their own -accord. - -“They go into the house: there on the bench lie two sleepers—an old man -and a lad. The stranger takes a pail, places it near the youth, and -strikes him on the back; immediately the back opens, and forth flows -rosy blood. The stranger fills the pail full and drinks it dry. Then he -fills another pail with blood from the old man, slakes his brutal thirst, -and says to the peasant: ‘It begins to grow light! Let us go back to my -dwelling.’ - -“In a twinkling they find themselves at the graveyard. The vampire would -have clasped the peasant in his arms, but luckily for him the cocks begin -to crow, and the corpse disappears. The next morning, when folks come and -look, the old man and the lad are dead.” - -According to the Servians and Bulgarians, unclean spirits enter into -the corpses of malefactors and other evilly disposed persons, who then -become vampires. In some places the jumping of a boy over the corpse is -considered as fatal as that of a cat. - -There is a story told of a mother who lived in Saratof who cursed her -son, and his body remained free from corruption after burial for a -hundred years. When it was disinterred, his aged mother, who is said to -have been still alive, pronounced his pardon, and, at that very moment, -the corpse crumbled into dust. - -The Russians say that, when driving a stake into the body of a vampire, -this must be done by one single blow, as a second blow will reanimate the -corpse. - -One group of Russian stories relate to the sudden resuscitation shortly -after death of wizards and witches at midnight possessed with the longing -to eat the flesh of the watchers around the bier. The stories go that -the body of the suspected witch was generally enclosed in a coffin which -was secured with iron bands and carried to the church, and a watcher was -appointed to read aloud from the Scriptures over the coffin right through -each night until burial. It was also the duty of the watcher to draw on -the floor a magic circle, within which he must stand and hold in his hand -a hammer, the ancient weapon of the thunder-god. If the suspicion that -the individual was a wizard or witch was a correct one, a mighty wind -would arise one night about twelve o’clock, the iron bands of the coffin -would give way with a terrible crash, the coffin-lid fall off, and the -corpse leap forth and, uttering a terrible screech, rush at the watcher, -who, if he had not taken the prescribed precautions, would fall a victim -to the monster, and in the morning there would be nothing left of him but -his bare bones. The following story of this character is contained in the -records of the Kharkof government:— - -“Once, in the days of old, there died a terrible sinner. His body was -taken into the church, and the sacristan was told to read some psalms -over him. He took the precaution to catch a cock and carry it with him to -the church. At midnight the dead man leaped from his coffin, opened wide -his jaws, and rushed at his victim; but, at that moment, the sacristan -gave the bird a hard pinch. The cock uttered his usual crow, and at the -same moment the dead man fell backwards to the ground a numb, motionless -corpse.” - -The following story is also given by Ralston in his collection of Russian -folk-stories:— - - -_The Coffin Lid_ - -“A moujik was driving along one night with a load of pots. His horse -grew tired, and all of a sudden it came to a standstill alongside of a -graveyard. The moujik unharnessed his horse and set it free to graze; -meanwhile he laid himself down on one of the graves. But somehow he -didn’t go to sleep. - -“He remained there some time. Suddenly the grave began to open beneath -him; he felt the movement and sprang to his feet. The grave having -opened, out of it came a corpse, wrapped in a white shroud, and holding -a coffin lid. He ran to the church, laid the coffin lid at the door, and -then set off for the village. - -“The moujik was a daring fellow. He picked up the coffin lid and remained -standing beside his cart, waiting to see what would happen. After a short -delay the dead man came back, and was going to snatch up his coffin -lid—but it was not to be seen. Then the corpse began to track it out, -traced it up to the moujik, and said: ‘Give me my lid; if you don’t, I’ll -tear you to bits!’ - -“‘And my hatchet—how about that?’ answered the moujik. ‘Why, it’s I -who’ll be chopping you into small pieces!’ - -“‘Do give it back to me, good man!’ begs the corpse. - -“‘I’ll give it when you tell me where you’ve been and what you’ve done.’ - -“‘Well, I’ve been in the village, and there I’ve killed a couple of -youngsters.’ - -“‘Well, then, tell me how they can be brought back to life.’ - -“The corpse reluctantly made answer: ‘Cut off the left skirt of my -shroud. Take it with you, and when you come into the house where the -youngsters were killed, pour some live coals into a pot and put the piece -of the shroud in with them, and then lock the door. The lads will be -revived by the smoke immediately.’ - -“The moujik cut off the left skirt of the shroud and gave up the coffin -lid. The corpse went to its grave—the grave opened. But just as the dead -man was descending into it, all of a sudden the cocks began to crow, and -he had not time to get properly covered over. One end of the coffin lid -remained standing out of the ground. - -“The moujik saw all this and made a note of it. The day began to dawn; -he harnessed his horse and drove into the village. In one of the houses -he heard cries and wailing. In he went—there lay two dead lads. - -“‘Don’t cry,’ said he; ‘I can bring them to life.’ - -“‘Do bring them to life, kinsman,’ said their relatives. ‘We’ll give you -half of all we possess.’ - -“The moujik did everything as the corpse had instructed him, and the lads -came back to life. Their relatives were delighted, but they immediately -seized the moujik and bound him with cords, saying: ‘No, no, trickster! -We’ll hand you over to the authorities. Since you know how to bring them -back to life, maybe it was you who killed them!’ - -“‘What are you thinking about, true believers? Have the fear of God -before your eyes!’ cried the moujik. - -“Then he told them everything that had happened to him during the night. -Well, they spread the news through the village, and the whole population -assembled and stormed into the graveyard. They found the grave from which -the dead man had come out; they tore it open, and they drove an aspen -stake right into the heart of the corpse, so that it might no more rise -up and slay. But they rewarded the moujik handsomely, and sent him home -with great honour.” - - -_The Soldier and the Vampire_ - -“A certain soldier was allowed to go home on furlough. Well, he walked -and walked and walked, and after a time he began to draw near to his -native village. Not far off from that village lived a miller in his mill. -In old times, the soldier had been very intimate with him: why shouldn’t -he go and see his friend? He went. The miller received him cordially, and -at once brought out liquor; and the two began drinking and chattering -about their ways and doings. All this took place towards nightfall, and -the soldier stopped so long at the miller’s that it grew quite dark. - -“When he proposed to start for his village, his host exclaimed: ‘Spend -the night here, trooper; it is very late now, and perhaps you may run -into mischief.’ - -“‘How so?’ - -“‘God is punishing us! A terrible warlock has died among us, and by -night he rises from his grave, wanders through the village, and does such -things as bring fear upon the very bailiffs; and so how could you help -being afraid of him?’ - -“‘Not a bit of it! A soldier is a man who belongs to the Crown, and Crown -property cannot be drowned in water or burned in fire. I will be off. I -am tremendously anxious to see my people as soon as possible.’ - -“Off he set. His road lay in front of a graveyard. On one of the graves -he saw a great fire blazing. What is that? Then he said: ‘Let’s have a -look.’ When he drew near, he saw that the warlock was sitting at the -fire, sewing boots. - -“‘Hail, brother!’ calls out the soldier. - -“The warlock looked up and said: ‘What have you come here for?’ - -“‘Why, I wanted to see what you were doing.’ - -“The warlock threw his work aside and invited the soldier to a wedding. - -“‘Come along, brother,’ says he; ‘let’s enjoy ourselves. There is a -wedding going on in the village.’ - -“‘Come along,’ says the soldier. - -“They came to where the wedding was; they were given drink, and treated -with the utmost hospitality. The warlock drank and drank, revelled and -revelled, and then grew angry. He chased all the guests and relatives -out of the house, threw the wedded pair into a slumber, took out two -phials and an awl, pierced the hands of the bride and bridegroom with the -awl, and began drawing off their blood. Having done this, he said to the -soldier: ‘Now, let’s be off.’ - -“Accordingly, they went off. On the way the soldier said: ‘Tell me, why -did you draw off their blood in those phials?’ - -“‘Why, in order that the bride and bridegroom might die. To-morrow -morning no one will be able to wake them. I alone know how to bring them -back to life.’ - -“‘How’s that managed?’ - -“‘The bride and bridegroom must have cuts made in their heels, and some -of their blood must then be poured back into these wounds. I’ve got the -bridegroom’s blood stowed away in my right-hand pocket, and the bride’s -in my left.’ - -“The soldier listened to this without letting a single word escape him. -Then the warlock began boasting again. - -“‘Whatever I wish,’ says he, ‘that I can do.’ - -“‘I suppose it’s quite impossible to get the better of you,’ says the -soldier. - -“‘Impossible? If anyone were to make a pyre of aspen boughs, a hundred -loads of them, and were to burn me on that pyre, then he’d be able to get -the better of me. Only he’d have to look sharp in burning me, for snakes -and worms and different kinds of reptiles would creep out of my inside, -and crows and magpies and jackdaws would come flying up. All these must -be caught and flung on the pyre. If so much as a single maggot were to -escape, then there’d be no help for it. In that maggot I should slip -away.’ - -“The soldier listened to all this and did not forget it. He and the -warlock talked and talked, and at last they arrived at the grave. - -“‘Well, brother,’ said the warlock, ‘now I’ll tear you to pieces, -otherwise you’ll be telling all this.’ - -“‘What are you talking about? Don’t you deceive yourself, for I serve God -and the Empire.’ - -“The warlock gnashed his teeth, howled aloud, and sprang at the soldier, -who drew his sword and began laying about him with sweeping blows. -They struggled and struggled; the soldier was all but at the end of -his strength. ‘Ah,’ thinks he, ‘I’m a lost man, and all for nothing!’ -Suddenly the cocks began to crow. The warlock fell lifeless to the ground. - -“The soldier took the phials of blood out of the warlock’s pockets, and -went to the house of his own people. When he had got there and exchanged -greetings with his relatives, they said: ‘Did you see any disturbance, -soldier?’ - -“‘No, I saw none.’ - -“‘There, now! Why, we’ve a terrible piece of work going on in the -village. A warlock has taken to haunting it.’ - -“After talking a while they lay down to sleep. The next morning the -soldier awoke and began asking: ‘I’m told you’ve got a wedding going on -somewhere here.’ - -“‘There was a wedding in the house of a rich moujik,’ replied his -relatives, ‘but the bridegroom has died this very night—what from nobody -knows.’ - -“‘Where does this moujik live?’ - -“They showed him the house. Thither he went without speaking a word. -When he got there he found the whole family in tears. - -“‘What are you mourning about?’ says he. - -“‘Such and such is the state of things, soldier,’ say they. - -“‘I can bring your young people to life again. What will you give me if I -do?’ - -“‘Take what you like, even were it half of what we have got.’ - -“The soldier did as the warlock had instructed him, and brought the young -people back to life. Instead of weeping there began to be happiness -and rejoicing: the soldier was hospitably treated and well rewarded. -Then—left about face! Off he marched to Starosta and told the burgomaster -to call the peasants together and to get ready a hundred loads of aspen -wood. Well, they took the wood into the graveyard, dragged the warlock -out of his grave, placed him on the pyre, and set it in flames. The -warlock began to burn. His corpse burst, and out of it came snakes, -worms, and all kinds of reptiles, and up came flying crows, magpies, and -jackdaws. The peasants knocked them down and flung them into the fire, -not allowing so much as a single maggot to creep away! And so the warlock -was thoroughly consumed, and the soldier collected his ashes and strewed -them to the winds. From that time there was peace in the village. - -“The soldier received the thanks of the whole community.” - -In Russian folk-lore there is a class of demons known as “heart -devourers,” who touch their victim with an aspen or other twig credited -with magical properties; the heart then falls out and may be replaced by -some baser one. There is a Moscovian story in which a hero awakes with -the heart of a hare, the work of a demon while the man was asleep. He -remained a coward for the rest of his life. In another instance a very -quiet, reserved, inoffensive peasant received a cock’s heart in exchange -for his own, and afterwards was for ever crowing like a healthy bird. - -The following is taken from the _Lettres Juives_ of 1738:— - -“In the beginning of September there died in the village of Kisilova, -three leagues from Graditz, an old man who was sixty-two years of age. -Three days after he had been buried, he appeared in the night to his -son, and asked him for something to eat; the son having given him -something, he ate and disappeared. The next day the son recounted to his -neighbours what had happened. That night the father did not appear, but -the following night he showed himself and asked for something to eat. -They know not whether the son gave him anything or not; but the next day -he was found dead in his bed. On the same day, five or six persons fell -suddenly ill in the village, and died one after the other in a few days. - -“The officer or bailiff of the place, when informed of what had happened, -sent an account of it to the tribunal of Belgrade, which despatched to -the village two of these officers and an executioner to examine into this -affair. The imperial officer from whom we have this account repaired -thither from Graditz to be a witness of what took place. - -“They opened the graves of those who had been dead six weeks. When they -came to that of the old man, they found him with his eyes open, having a -fine colour, with natural respiration, nevertheless motionless as the -dead: whence they concluded that he was most undoubtedly a vampire. The -executioner drove a stake into his heart; they then raised a pile and -reduced the corpse to ashes. No mark of vampirism was found either on the -corpse of the son or on the others.” - -The following story is told by Madame Blavatsky in _Isis Unveiled_, who -states that she had the account from an eye-witness of the occurrence:— - -“About the beginning of the nineteenth century there occurred in Russia -one of the most frightful cases of vampirism on record. The governor of -the province of Tch—— was a man of about sixty years of age, of a cruel -and jealous disposition. Clothed with despotic authority, he exercised -it without stint, as his brutal instincts prompted. He fell in love with -the pretty daughter of a subordinate officer. Although the girl was -betrothed to a young man whom she loved, the tyrant forced her father to -consent to his having her marry him; and the poor victim, despite her -despair, became his wife. His jealous disposition soon exhibited itself. -He beat her, confined her to her room for weeks together, and prevented -her seeing anyone except in his presence. He finally fell sick and died. -Finding his end approaching, he made her swear never to marry again, and -with fearful oaths threatened that in case she did he would return from -his grave and kill her. He was buried in the cemetery across the river, -and the young widow experienced no further annoyance until, getting the -better of her fears, she listened to the importunities of her former -lover, and they were again betrothed. - -“On the night of the customary betrothal feast, when all had retired, -the old mansion was aroused by shrieks proceeding from her room. The -doors were burst open, and the unhappy woman was found lying on her bed -in a swoon. At the same time a carriage was heard rumbling out of the -courtyard. Her body was found to be black and blue in places, as from -the effect of pinches, and from a slight puncture in her neck drops -of blood were oozing. Upon recovering, she stated that her deceased -husband had suddenly entered her room, appearing exactly as in life, with -the exception of a dreadful pallor; that he had upbraided her for her -inconstancy, and then beaten and pinched her most cruelly. Her story was -disbelieved; but the next morning the guard stationed at the other end -of the bridge which spans the river reported that just before midnight -a black coach-and-six had driven furiously past without answering their -challenge. - -“The new governor, who disbelieved the story of the apparition, took -nevertheless the precaution of doubling the guards across the bridge. The -same thing happened, however, night after night, the soldiers declaring -that the toll-bar at their station near the bridge would rise of itself, -and the spectral equipage would sweep past them, despite their efforts to -stop it. At the same time every night the watchers, including the widow’s -family and the servants, would be thrown into a heavy sleep; and every -morning the young victim would be found bruised, bleeding, and swooning -as before. The town was thrown into consternation. The physicians had no -explanations to offer; priests came to pass the night in prayer, but as -midnight approached, all would be seized with the same terrible lethargy. -Finally the archbishop of the province came and performed the ceremony -of exorcism in person. On the following morning the governor’s widow was -found worse than ever. She was now brought to death’s door. - -“The governor was finally driven to take the severest measures to stop -the ever-increasing panic in the town. He stationed fifty Cossacks along -the bridge, with orders to stop the spectral carriage at all hazards. -Promptly at the usual hour it was heard and seen approaching from the -direction of the cemetery. The officer of the guard and a priest bearing -a crucifix planted themselves in front of the toll-bar and together -shouted: ‘In the name of God and the Czar, who goes there?’ Out of the -coach was thrust a well-remembered head, and a familiar voice responded: -‘The Privy Councillor of State and Governor C——!’ At the same moment the -officer, the priest, and the soldiers were flung aside, as by an electric -shock, and the ghostly equipage passed them before they could recover -breath. - -“The archbishop then resolved as a last expedient to resort to the -time-honoured plan of exhuming the body and driving an oaken stake -through its heart. This was done with great religious ceremony in the -presence of the whole populace. The story is that the body was found -gorged with blood, and with red cheeks and lips. At the instant that the -first blow was struck upon the stake a groan issued from the corpse and -a jet of blood spouted high into the air. The archbishop pronounced the -usual exorcism, the body was reinterred, and from that time no more was -heard of the vampire.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -MISCELLANEA - - -Voltaire was surprised that in the enlightened eighteenth century there -should still be people found who believed in the reality of vampires, -and that the doctors of the Sorbonne should give their _imprimatur_ to -a dissertation on these unpleasant creatures. Yet from 1730 to 1735 the -subject of vampirism formed a principal topic of conversation, and may be -said to have been a mania all over the world, with Europe as a particular -centre. Pamphlets on the subject streamed from the press, the newspapers -vied with one another in recording fresh achievements of the spectres, -and though the philosophers scoffed at and ridiculed the belief, yet -sovereigns sent officers and commissioners to report upon their misdeeds. -The favourite scenes of their exploits were Hungary, Poland, Silesia, -Bohemia, and Moravia, and in those countries a vampire haunted and -tormented almost every village. - -In some parts of Scandinavia a singular method was adopted for getting -rid of vampires, viz. by instituting judicial proceedings against them. -Inhabitants were regularly summoned to attend the inquest; a tribunal was -constituted; charges were preferred with the usual legal formalities, -accusing them of molesting the houses and introducing death among the -inhabitants; and at the end of the proceedings judgment was proclaimed. -The priest then entered with holy water, Mass was celebrated, and it was -held that complete conquest had been gained over the goblins. - -Sir Walter Scott, in his translation of _Eyrbyggia Saga_, relates a -traditional story of several vampires who committed dreadful ravages in -Iceland in the year 1000, so that in a household of thirty servants no -less than eighteen died. - -Saxo Grammaticus, the earliest chronicler and writer upon Danish history -and folk-lore, in his _Danish History_ (book i.), dealing with the -origin of the Danes, relates the following story:— - -One Mith-othin, who was famous for his juggling tricks, was quickened, -as though by an inspiration from on High, to seize the opportunity -of feigning to be a god; and, wrapping the minds of the barbarians -in fresh darkness, he led them by the renown of his jugglings to pay -holy observance to his name. He said that the wrath of the gods could -never be appeased nor the outrage to their deity expiated by mixed and -indiscriminate sacrifices, and, therefore, forbade that prayers for -this end should be put up without distinction, appointing to each of -those above his especial drink-offering. But when Odin was returning, he -cast away all help of jugglings, went to Finland to hide himself, and -was there attacked and slain by the inhabitants. Even in his death his -abominations were made manifest, for those who came nigh his barrow were -cut off by a kind of sudden death; and, after his end, he spread such -pestilence that he seemed almost to leave a filthier record in his death -than in his life; it was as though he would extort from the guilty a -punishment for his slaughter. The inhabitants being in this trouble, took -the body out of the mound, beheaded it, and impaled it through the breast -with a sharp stake, and herein that people found relief. - -In book ii. we have the story of Aswid and Asmund. Aswid died and was -buried with horse and dog. Asmund died and was buried with his friend, -food being put in for him to eat. Later on the grave opened, when Asmund -appeared and said: “By some strange enterprise of the power of hell the -spirit of Aswid was sent up from the nether world, and with cruel tooth -eats the fleet-footed (horse) and has given his dog to his abominable -jaws. Not sated with devouring the horse or hound, he soon turned his -swift nails upon me, tearing my cheek and taking off my ear. Hence the -hideous sight of my slashed countenance, the blood spurts in the ugly -wound. Yet the bringer of horrors did it not unscathed; for soon I cut -off his head with my steel, and impaled his guilty carcase with a stake.” - -In Malaysia the vampires are mostly females, and are credited with a -great fondness for fish. They are known as Langsuirs, and Skeat, in -_Malay Magic_, gives the following charm for “laying” a Langsuir:— - - O ye mosquito-fry at the river’s mouth, - When yet a great way off ye are sharp of eye; - When near, ye are hard of heart. - When the rock in the ground opens of itself, - Then (and then only) be emboldened the hearts of my foes and opponents! - When the corpse in the ground opens of itself, - Then (and then only) be emboldened the hearts of my foes and opponents! - May your heart be softened when you behold me, - By grace of this prayer that I use, called Silam Bayn. - -Abercromby, in his work on the Finns, says that the Ceremis imagine -that the spirits that cause illness, especially fever and ague, are -continually recruited on the death of old maids, murderers, and those -that die a violent death. Whenever anyone becomes dangerously ill, the -Lapps feel sure that one of his deceased relatives wants his company in -the region of the dead, either from affection or to punish him for some -trespass. The Truks of Altai have a similar belief. The soul after death -willingly lingers for some time in the house and leaves it unwillingly, -and often takes with it some other members of the family or some of the -cattle. - -Codrington, in his descriptive work on the Melanesians, says that there -is a belief in Banks Islands in the existence of a power like that of -vampires. A man or a woman would obtain this power out of a morbid desire -for communion with some ghost, and in order to gain it would steal and -eat a morsel of a corpse. The ghost of the dead man would then join in a -close friendship with the person who had eaten, and would gratify him by -afflicting anyone against whom his ghostly power might be directed. The -man so afflicted would feel that something was influencing his life, and -would come to dread some particular person among his neighbours, who was, -therefore, suspected of being a _talamur_. This name was also given to -one whose soul was supposed to go out and eat the soul or lingering life -of a freshly dead corpse. There was a woman, some years ago, of whom the -story is told that she made no secret of doing this, and that once on the -death of a neighbour she gave notice that she should go in the night and -eat the corpse. The friends of the deceased therefore kept watch in the -house where the corpse lay, and at dead of night heard a scratching at -the door, followed by a rustling noise close by the corpse. One of them -threw a stone and seemed to hit the unknown thing; and in the morning the -_talamur_ was found with a bruise on her arm, which she confessed was -caused by a stone thrown at her while she was eating the corpse. - -Baron von Haxthausen, in his work on Transcaucasia, tells us that there -once dwelt in a cavern in Armenia a vampire called Dakhanavar, who could -not endure anyone to penetrate into the mountains of Ulmish Altotem or -count their valleys. Everyone who attempted this had in the night his -blood sucked by the monster from the soles of his feet until he died. -The vampire was, however, at last outwitted by two cunning fellows. -They began to count the valleys, and when night came on they lay down -to sleep—taking care to place themselves with the feet of the one under -the head of the other. In the night the monster came, felt as usual, and -found a head; then he felt at the other end and found a head there also. -“Well,” cried he, “I have gone through the whole 366 valleys of these -mountains, and have sucked the blood of people without end, but never yet -did I come across anyone with two heads and no feet!” So saying, he ran -away and was never more seen in that country, but ever after the people -knew that the mountain has 366 valleys. - -Even America is not free from the belief in the vampire. In one of -the issues of the _Norwich_ (U.S.A.) _Courier_ for 1854, there is the -account of an incident that occurred at Jewett, a city in that vicinity. -About eight years previously, Horace Ray of Griswold had died of -consumption. Afterwards, two of his children—grown-up sons—died of the -same disease, the last one dying about 1852. Not long before the date of -the newspaper the same fatal disease had seized another son, whereupon -it was determined to exhume the bodies of the two brothers and burn -them, because the dead were supposed to feed upon the living; and so -long as the dead body in the grave remained undecomposed, either wholly -or in part, the surviving members of the family must continue to furnish -substance on which the dead body could feed. Acting under the influence -of this strange superstition, the family and friends of the deceased -proceeded to the burial-ground on June 8th, 1854, dug up the bodies of -the deceased brothers, and burned them on the spot. - -Dr Dyer, an eminent physician of Chicago, also reported in 1875 a case -occurring within his own personal knowledge, where the body of a woman -who had died of consumption was taken from her grave and her lungs -burned, under the belief that she was drawing after her into the grave -some of her surviving relatives. In 1874, according to the _Providence -Journal_, in the village of Placedale, Rhode Island, Mr William Rose dug -up the body of his own daughter and burned her heart, under the belief -that she was wasting away the lives of other members of the family. - -The vampire is not an unknown spectre in China, where the measures -adopted for the riddance of the pest are generally the burning of the -mortal remains of the corpse, or removing to a distance the lid of the -coffin after the vampire has started on his nocturnal rounds. It is -held that the air thus entering freely into the coffin will cause the -contents to decay. Another Chinese cure for vampires is to watch any -suspected coffin until the corpse has quitted it, and then strew rice, -red peas, and bits of iron around it. The corpse, on returning, will find -it impossible to pass over these things, and will thus fall an easy prey -to his captors. - -The following story of a Chinese vampire is related by Dr J. J. M. de -Groot in his _Religious System of China_ (vol. v. p. 747):— - -“Liu N. N., a literary graduate of the lowest degree in Wukiang (in -Kiangsu), was in charge of some pupils belonging to the Tsaing family -in the Yuen-hwo district. In the season of Pure Brightness he returned -home, some holidays being granted him to sweep his ancestral tombs. This -duty performed, he returned to his post, and said to his wife: ‘To-morrow -I must go; cook some food for me at an early hour.’ The woman said she -would do so, and rose for the purpose at cockcrow. Their village lay on -the hill behind their dwelling, facing a brook. The wife washed some rice -at that brook, picked some vegetables in the garden, and had everything -ready, but when it was light her husband did not rise. She went into his -room to wake him up, but however often she called he gave no answer. So -she opened the curtains and found him lying across the bed, headless, and -not a trace of blood to be seen. - -“Terror-stricken, she called the neighbours. All of them suspected her of -adultery with a lover, and murder, and they warned the magistrate. This -grandee came and held a preliminary inquest; he ordered the corpse to be -coffined, had the woman put in fetters, and examined her; so he put her -in gaol, and many months passed away without sentence being pronounced. -Then a neighbour, coming uphill for some fuel, saw a neglected grave with -a coffin lid bare; it was quite a sound coffin, strong and solid, and -yet the lid was raised a little; so he naturally suspected that it had -been opened by thieves. He summoned the people; they lifted the lid off -and saw a corpse with features like a living person and a body covered -with white hair. Between its arms it held the head of a man, which they -recognised as that of Liu, the graduate. They reported the case to the -magistrate; the coroners ordered the head to be taken away, but it was so -firmly grasped in the arms of the corpse that the combined efforts of a -number of men proved insufficient to draw it out. So the magistrate told -them to chop off the arms of the _kiangshi_ (corpse-spectre). Fresh blood -gushed out of the wounds, but in Liu’s head there was not a drop left, it -having been sucked dry by the monster. By magisterial order the corpse -was burned, and the case ended with the release of the woman from gaol.” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -LIVING VAMPIRES - - -There is, however, the living vampire, distinct and separate from -the dead species. In Epirus and Thessaly there is a belief in living -vampires, who leave their shepherd dwellings by night and roam about, -biting and tearing men and animals and sucking their blood. In Moldavia -and in Wallachia, the _murony_ are real, living men who become dogs at -night, with the backbone prolonged to form a sort of tail. They roam -through the villages, and their main delight is to kill cattle. - -In some countries the belief prevails that the soul of a living man, -often of a sorcerer, leaves its proper body asleep and goes forth, -perhaps in visible form of a straw or fluff of down, slips through the -keyholes, and attacks its sleeping victim. If the sleeper should wake in -time to clutch this tiny soul-embodiment, he may through it have his -revenge by maltreating or destroying its bodily owner. - -The following account was contributed by me to the _Occult Review_ for -July 1910. The particulars are given exactly as I wrote them down in -shorthand from the narrator’s dictation. My informant is a well-known -medical practitioner in the West End of London, who has held various -official appointments in the tropics, and I received his assurance that -the incidents recorded happened exactly as they are described. Whether -the Indian referred to is still alive or not is unknown, but certainly -the two other principals, at the time of writing, are. - -Some years ago a small number of English officials were stationed in a -small place in the tropics. Their residences were about a quarter of -a mile from each other, three of the bungalows standing in their own -compounds and on separate elevations. Suddenly one of the officials fell -ill, but the district medical officer was quite unable to trace the cause -of the illness. The official in question made several applications to -the Colonial Office for transfer to another station, saying he felt he -should die if he remained there. At first the application was refused, -but the man got worse and fell into a very depressed mental condition. -He eventually wrote again, saying that if his application for transfer -could not be granted he would be compelled to throw up his appointment—a -serious matter for him, as he had no private means. The application was -then granted; he was transferred, and he recovered his health. - -About eighteen months later another official had a slight attack of -fever, from which he fully recovered; but after this attack he began to -complain of lassitude until he went beyond a certain distance from his -residence. The moment he returned to within this distance he said he felt -as though a wet blanket had been thrown over him, and nothing could rouse -him from the depression which seized him. He, too, fell into a low state -of health, and on his request was transferred to another station. - -Shortly after this transfer the wife of the district medical officer, -living within the same area, began to fail in health and became terribly -depressed, apparently from no cause whatever. Previously she had been -a cheerful, happy woman, indulging in games and outdoor sports of all -kinds, but now she became most depressed and miserable. At last, one -night, about twelve o’clock, she woke up shrieking. Her husband rushed -into her room, and she said she had woken up with a most awful feeling -of depression, and had seen a creature travelling along the cornice of -the room. She could only describe it as having a resemblance to something -between a gigantic spider and a huge jelly-fish. Her husband ascribed it -to an attack of nightmare, but he was disturbed in the same manner on the -following night, when his wife said she had been awake for a quarter of -an hour, but had not had the strength to call him before. He found her -in a state of collapse, pulse exceedingly low, temperature three degrees -below normal, pallid, and in a cold sweat. He mixed her a draught which -had the effect of sending her to sleep. - -In the morning she said she must leave the station and go home, as to -stop there would mean her death. Thinking to divert her attention, her -husband took her away on a pleasure trip, when he was glad to see that -she entirely recovered her former cheerful expression and high spirits. -This state of things lasted until, returning home in a rickshaw alongside -her husband’s, her face changed and she resumed her gloomy countenance. - -“There,” she said, “is it not awful? I have been so well and happy all -the week, and now I feel as though a pall had been thrown over me.” - -Matters got worse, and she became more depressed than ever, and only a -few nights passed before her husband was again called to her bedside -about midnight. He found his wife in a state of considerable weakness, -although it was not so acute as on the previous occasion. She said to -him: “I want you to examine the back of my neck and shoulders very -carefully and see if there is any mark on the skin of any kind whatever.” - -Her husband did so, but could not find a mark. - -“Get a glass and look again. See if you can find any puncture from a -sharp-pointed tooth.” - -He made a microscopical examination, but found absolutely nothing. - -“Now,” said his wife, “I can tell you what is the matter. I dreamed that -I was in a house where I lived when I was a girl. My little boy called -out to me. I ran down to him, but when I reached the bottom of the -stairs a tall, black man came towards me. I waved him off, but I could -not move to get away from him, though I pushed the boy out of his reach. -The man came towards me, seized me in his arms, sat down at the bottom -of the stairs, put me on his knee, and proceeded to suck from a point -at the upper part of the spine, just below the neck. I felt that he was -drawing all the blood and life out of me. Then he threw me from him, and -apparently I lost consciousness as he did so. I felt as though I was -dying. Then I woke up, and I had been lying here for a quarter of an hour -or twenty minutes before I was able to call you.” - -“Have you ever experienced anything of this character before?” asked her -husband. - -“No, I have not; but night after night for many months I have woken up -in exactly the same state, and that has been the sole cause of my mental -depression. I have not said anything about it because it seemed so -foolish, but now I have had this definite dream I cannot hold my tongue -any longer.” - -She soon passed into a peaceful sleep, and on discussing the matter the -following morning with her husband she said: “I have a feeling somehow -that it will not happen again. I feel quite well and strong, and all my -depression is gone.” - -In the afternoon husband and wife were going together to the club, when -around the corner of the jungle came a tall Indian, the owner of a large -number of milch cattle, and reputed to be a wealthy man. The surgeon’s -wife suddenly stopped, turned pale, and said immediately: “That is the -man I saw in my dream.” - -The husband went directly up to the man and said to him: “Look here, I -will give you twelve hours to get out of this place. I know everything -that happened last night at midnight, and I will kill you like a dog if I -find you here in twelve hours’ time.” - -The Indian disappeared the same night, taking with him only a few -valuables and a little loose money. He left behind him the money that -was deposited in the bank, as well as the whole of his property. His -forty head of cattle, worth eighty dollars each, were impounded, and no -news had been heard of him five years afterwards. Since his departure no -one has complained of depression and lassitude in that area. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE VAMPIRE IN LITERATURE - - -The subject of vampirism does not appear to have attracted litterateurs -greatly. True, there are the operas of Palma, Hart, Marschner, and von -Lindpainter; and Philostratus and Phlegon of Tralles have discoursed upon -the phenomena. There are not, however, many works of fiction based upon -the topic, or many poems in which the subject is introduced. There is -an Anglo-Saxon poem with the title _A Vampyre of the Fens_, and a long, -wearisome novel, full of gruesome details, entitled _Varney the Vampire_. -Among modern authors, Mr Bram Stoker has made the vampire the foundation -of his exciting romance _Dracula_; but mention of these works almost -exhausts the references to separate works upon the subject. - -Nor are the references to vampires and vampirism in the ancient Greek -authors more numerous. The phantom of Achilles is represented by -Euripides (_Hec._, 109, 599) as appearing on his tomb clad in golden -armour and appeased by the sacrifice of a young virgin, whose blood he -drank. Œdipus also in Sophocles (_Œd. Col._, 621), when foretelling a -defeat which the Thebans would sustain near his tomb, declares that his -cold, dead body will drink their warm blood. Human victims were offered -at the funeral pyre of Patroclus in the _Iliad_ (vol. i.). - -Though human beings are not sacrificed in the _Odyssey_, yet the blood -of slaughtered sheep was eagerly lapped up by the ghosts consulted -by Odysseus (xi. 45, 48, 95, 96, 153, etc.). A sheep was also to be -sacrificed at the tombs of mortals, and its blood was supposed to be an -offering acceptable to the departed spirit. - -Pausanias, Strabo, Ælian, and Suidas relate the legend of Ulysses in -his wanderings coming to the town of Temesa, in Italy, where one of his -associates was stoned to death by the townsmen for having ravished a -virgin. His ghost forthwith haunted the inhabitants, and caused them -such annoyance that many were thinking seriously of leaving the town -when they were told by Apollo’s oracle that to appease him they must -build the hero a temple, and sacrifice to him yearly the most beautiful -virgin they had among them. The temple was accordingly raised: access -to the sacred enclosure was prohibited to all except the priests, on -penalty of death. An engraving of the evil spirit that is alleged to have -infested Temesa is given on page 18 of Beaumont’s _Treatise on Spirits_ -(ed. 1705). - -Philostratus, in his _Life of Apollonius of Tyana_ (iv. 25, p. 165), says -that the long intercourse which took place between a female spectre and -the Corinthian Menippus was but a prelude to the feast of flesh and blood -in which she meant to revel after their marriage. - -Some have described the Hebrew _lilith_ as a vampire, but the _Jewish -Encyclopædia_ states that: “There is nothing in the Talmud to indicate -that the _lilith_ was a vampire.” She was regarded as a nocturnal demon, -flying about in the form of a night-owl, and stealing children, and was -held to have permission to kill all children sinfully begotten, even -from a lawful wife. The _lilith_ is held to have the same signification -as the Greek _strix_ and _lamiæ_, who were sorceresses or magicians, -seeking to put to death new-born children. The ancient Greeks believed -that these _lamiæ_ devoured children, or sucked away all their blood -until they died. Euripides and the scholiast of Aristophanes mention the -_lilith_ as a dangerous monster, the enemy of mortals; and Ovid describes -the _strigæ_ as dangerous birds, which fly by night and seek for infants -to devour them and nourish themselves with their blood. The _aluka_ of -Proverbs xxx. 15 is more akin to the vampire. It is a blood-sucking, -insatiable monster; the word is synonymous with _algul_, the well-known -demon of the Arabian popular stories, “the man-devouring demon of the -waste,” known as the ghoul or goule in the translated edition of the -_Arabian Nights_. - -Goethe, in his ballad _The Bride of Corinth_, describes how a young -Athenian visits a friend of his father, to whose daughter he had been -betrothed, and is disturbed at midnight by the appearance of the vampire -spectre of her whom death has prevented from becoming his bride, and -who, when detected, says:— - - From my grave to wander I am forc’d, - Still to seek The Good’s long-sever’d link, - Still to love the bridegroom I have lost, - And the life-blood of his heart to drink; - When his race is run, - I must hasten on, - And the young must ’neath my vengeance sink. - -There is one scant reference to the subject in Shelley’s poems. Byron, in -his poem _The Giaour_, has the following passage:— - - But first on earth as vampire sent - Thy corse shall from its tomb be rent: - Then ghastly haunt thy native place, - And suck the blood of all thy race. - -Dryden relates:— - - Lo, in my walks where wicked elves have been, - The learning of the parish now is seen— - From fiends and imps he sets the village free, - There haunts not any incubus but he: - The maids and women need no danger fear - To walk by night and sanctity so near. - -Scott, in _Rokeby_, has the following lines:— - - For like the bat of Indian brakes, - Her pinions fan the wound she makes, - And soothing thus the dreamer’s pains, - She drinks the life-blood from the veins. - -The following legend is related in vol. ii. of _Minstrelsy of the -Scottish Border_, and is referred to in a footnote to Southey’s _Thalaba -the Destroyer_ (p. 108, ed. 1814):— - -In the year 1058 a young man of noble birth had been married in Rome, -and during the period of his nuptial feast, having gone with his -companions to play at ball, he put his marriage ring on the finger of a -broken statue of Venus in the area, to remain while he was engaged in -recreation. Desisting from the exercise, he found the finger on which -he had put his ring contracted firmly against the palm, and attempted -in vain either to break or disengage the ring. He concealed the -circumstances from his companions, and returned at night with a servant, -when he found the finger extended and the ring gone. He dissembled the -loss and returned to his wife; but when he attempted to embrace her he -found himself prevented by something dark and dense, which was tangible -if not visible, interposing between them; and he heard a voice saying: -“Embrace me! for I am Venus, whom this day you wedded, and I will not -restore your ring.” As this was constantly repeated, he consulted -his relatives, who had recourse to Palumbus, the priest, skilled in -necromancy. He directed the young man to go at a certain hour of the -night to a spot among the ruins of ancient Rome where four roads meet, -and wait silently till he saw a company pass by, and then, without -uttering a word, to deliver a letter which he gave him to a majestic -being who rode in a chariot after the rest of the company. The young man -did as he was directed, and saw the company of all ages, classes and -ranks, on horse and on foot, some joyful and others sad, pass along; -among whom he distinguished a woman in a meretricious dress, who, from -the tenuity of her garments, seemed almost naked. She rode on a mule; -her long hair, which flowed over her shoulders, was bound with a golden -fillet; and in her hand was a golden rod with which she directed her -mule. In the close of the procession a tall, majestic figure appeared -in a chariot adorned with emeralds and pearls, who fiercely asked the -young man what he did there. He presented the letter in silence, which -the demon dared not refuse. As soon as he had read, lifting up his hands -to heaven, he exclaimed: “Almighty God! how long wilt Thou endure the -iniquities of the sorcerer Palumbus!” and immediately despatched some of -his attendants, who, with much difficulty, extorted the ring from Venus -and restored it to its owner, whose infernal banns were thus dissolved. -This legend was made the foundation of Liddell’s poem, _The Vampire -Bride_. - -Dion Boucicault wrote and produced a vampire play entitled _The Phantom_, -the scene of which was laid in the ruins of Raby Castle. Anyone remaining -in these ruins for one night met with certain death before the morning. -The only sign of violence to be found was a wound on the right side of -the throat, but no blood was to be seen. The face of the victim was white -and the gaze fixed, as though the person had died from fright. - -In April 1819 a story entitled “The Vampyre” appeared in _Colburn’s New -Monthly Magazine_, which was attributed to Lord Byron, but which was -really from the pen of Dr John William Polidori (uncle of William Michael -Rossetti), who was for a time Lord Byron’s travelling physician. The work -was also published separately, but the authorship was denied by Lord -Byron. Polidori immediately claimed responsibility for the work, and the -correspondence and statement of facts published in Rossetti’s _Diary of -Doctor John William Polydori_ show how the mistake occurred. - -The following poem appears in the _Life of James Clerk Maxwell_, by Lewis -Campbell and William Garnett, and was written by Maxwell in 1845, when he -was fourteen years of age:— - -THE VAMPYRE - -COMPYLT INTO MEETER BY JAMES CLERK MAXWELL - - Thair is a knichte rydis through the wood, - And a douchty knichte is hee. - And sure hee is on a message sent, - He rydis sae hastilie. - Hee passit the aik, and hee passit the birk, - And hee passit monie a tre, - Bot plesant to him was the saugh sae slim, - For beneath it hee did see - The boniest ladye that ever hee saw, - Scho was sae schyn and fair. - And thair scho sat, beneath the saugh, - Kaiming hir gowden hair. - And then the knichte—“Oh ladye brichte, - What chance has broucht you here? - But say the word, and ye schall gang - Back to your kindred dear.” - Then up and spok the ladye fair— - “I have nae friends or kin, - Bot in a little boat I live, - Amidst the waves’ loud din.” - Then answered thus the douchty knichte— - “I’ll follow you through all, - For gin ye bee in a littel boat, - The world to it seemis small.” - They goed through the wood, and through the wood, - To the end of the wood they came: - And when they came to the end of the wood - They saw the salt sea faem. - And then they saw the wee, wee boat, - That daunced on the top of the wave, - And first got in the ladye fair, - And then the knichte sae brave. - They got into the wee, wee boat, - And rowed wi’ a’ their micht; - When the knichte sae brave, he turnit about, - And lookit at the ladye bricht; - He lookit at her bonnie cheik, - And hee lookit at hir twa bricht eyne, - Bot hir rosie cheik growe ghaistly pale, - And schoe seymit as scho deid had been. - The fause, fause knichte growe pale wi’ frichte, - And his hair rose up on end, - For gane-by days cam to his mynde, - And his former luve he kenned. - Then spake the ladye—“Thou, fause knichte, - Hast done to me much ill, - Thou didst forsake me long ago, - Bot I am constant still; - For though I ligg in the woods sae cald, - At rest I canna bee - Until I sucks the gude lyfe blude - Of the man that gart me dee.” - Hee saw hir lipps were wet wi’ blude, - And hee saw hir lufelesse eyne, - And loud hee cry’d, “Get frae my syde, - Thou vampyr corps encleane!” - Bot no, hee is in hir magic boat, - And on the wyde, wyde sea; - And the vampyr suckis his gude lyfe blude, - Sho suckis hym till hee dee. - So now beware, whoe’er you are, - That walkis in this lone wood: - Beware of that deceitfull spright, - The ghaist that suckis the blude. - -Mr Reginald Hodder, in _The Vampire_ (William Rider & Son, Ltd.), has -developed a theory which is a novel one in the annals of vampirism. The -principal character is a living woman, a member of a secret sisterhood, -who is forced to exercise her powers as a vampire to prevent loss of -vitality. This power, however, is exercised through the medium of a -metallic talisman, and the main thread of the story turns on the struggle -for the possession of this talisman. It is wrested ultimately from the -hands of those who would use it for malignant purposes, but its recovery -is only accomplished by means of a number of extraordinary—though who -would dare say impossible?—occult phenomena. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -FACT OR FICTION? - - -While some writers, belonging mainly to what is popularly known as the -orthodox school of theology or professing a materialistic philosophy, -have expressed an entire disbelief in the alleged phenomena, others, on -the other hand, accepting generally the spiritistic or spiritualistic -philosophy, have admitted the possibility of the phenomena, though -not pledging their acceptance of all or any of the many stories told -concerning the deeds, or rather the misdeeds, of the apparitions. - -Dr Pierart, the well-known French _savant_, maintained that “the facts -of vampirism are as well attested by inquiries made as are the facts of -catalepsy,” and that “the facts of vampirism are as old as the world,” -and pointed to the fact that Tertullian and St Augustine spoke of them. - -Gabriele D’Annunzio was another firm believer in their existence. In -his _Triumph of Death_, translated by Georgina Harding, we read: “What -have they not done? Candia told of all the different means they had -tried, all the exorcisms they had resorted to. The priest had come and, -after covering the child’s head with the end of his stole, had repeated -verses from the Gospel. The mother had hung up a wax cross, blessed on -Ascension Day, over a door, and had sprinkled the hinges with holy water -and repeated the Creed three times in a loud voice; she had tied up a -handful of salt in a piece of linen and hung it round the neck of her -dying child. The father had ‘done the seven nights’—that is, for seven -nights he had waited in the dark behind a lighted lantern, attentive -to the slightest sound, ready to catch and grapple with the vampire. A -single prick with the pin sufficed to make her visible to the human eye. -But the seven nights’ watch had been fruitless, for the child wasted away -and grew more hopelessly feeble from hour to hour. At last, in despair, -the father had consulted with a wizard, by whose advice he had called a -dog and put the body behind the door. The vampire could not then enter -the house till she counted every hair on its body.” - -Calmet’s explanation of the spectres so much talked of in Hungary, -Moravia, Poland, and elsewhere is that they are nothing but persons that -are still alive in their graves, though without motion or respiration; -and that the freshness and ruddy colour of their blood, the flexibility -of their limbs, and their crying out when their hearts were run through -with a stick, or their heads cut off, were demonstrative proofs of their -being still alive. “But this,” he says, “does not affect the principal -difficulty at which I stick, namely, how they come out of and go into -their graves, without leaving any mark of the earth’s being removed; and -how they appear to carry former clothes. If they are not really dead, -why do they return to their graves again and not stay in the land of the -living? Why do they suck the blood of their relations, and torment and -pester persons that should naturally be true to them and never give them -any offence? On the other hand, if it be nothing but a mere whim of the -persons infested, whence comes it that these carcases are found in their -graves uncorrupted, full of blood, with their limbs pliant and flexible, -and their feet dirty, the next day after they have been patrolling about -and frightening the neighbourhood, whilst nothing of this sort can be -discovered in other carcases that were buried at the same time and in the -same mound? Whence is it that they come no more after they are burned or -impaled?” - -Other writers have accepted the theory that the subjects are not really -dead, but are only in a death-like condition. The Germans express this -condition of apparent death and of the perfect preservation of the -living body by the term _scheintod_, which is, perhaps, better than the -English term “suspended animation.” Dr Herbert Mayo describes the special -condition of vampires as a “death-trance”—a positive status, a period of -repose, the duration of which is sometimes definite and predetermined, -though unknown, and says that the patient sometimes awakes suddenly when -the term of the death-trance has expired. During this trance-period the -action of the heart, breathing, voluntary motion, as well as feeling -and intelligence and the vegetable changes in the body, are said to be -suspended. Two instances of the death-trance are quoted. - -Cardinal Espinosa, prime minister under Philip the Second of Spain, died, -as it was supposed, after a short illness. His rank entitled him to be -embalmed. Accordingly, the body was opened for that purpose. The lungs -and heart had just been brought into view, when the latter was seen to -beat. The cardinal, awakening at the fatal moment, had still strength -enough left to seize with his hand the knife of the anatomist. - -On the 23rd of September 1763, the Abbé Prévost, the French novelist and -compiler of travels, was seized with a fit in the forest of Chantilly. -The body was found and conveyed to the residence of the nearest -clergyman. It was supposed that death had taken place through apoplexy. -But the local authorities, desiring to be satisfied of the fact, ordered -the body to be examined. During the process the poor Abbé uttered a cry -of agony. It was too late. - -Among Theosophists and Continental spiritists a solution to the problem -is found in their teaching concerning the astral body and the astral -plane, as conveyed by Madame Blavatsky in _Isis Unveiled_. - -It is held that so long as the astral form is not entirely separated -from the body there is a liability that it may be forced by magnetic -attraction to re-enter it. Sometimes it will be only half-way out when -the corpse, which presents the appearance of death, is buried. In such -cases the astral body voluntarily re-enters the mortal frame, and then -one of two things happens—either the unhappy victim will writhe in the -agonising torture of suffocation, or if he has been grossly material he -becomes a vampire. It is held that this ethereal form can go wherever -it pleases, and that it is possible for this astral body to feed on -human victims and carry the sustenance to the corpus lying within the -tomb by means of an invisible cord of connection, the nature of which -is at present unknown; but psychical researchers—and these number many -eminent scientists—have of late years devoted their efforts towards the -elucidation of the phenomenon known as the projection of the double; and -this, if scientifically and satisfactorily explained, will give the clue -to many of the phenomena of vampirism. - -This “double” may sometimes during life be projected unconsciously, and -sometimes purposely, by means of hypnotism or provoked somnambulism. An -example of the former appeared in the _Journal du Magnétisme_ for October -1909, and the translation of the account was published in the _Annals of -Psychical Science_ for January-March 1910, and is here reproduced. The -narrator is M. Antonio Salazar of Mexico. - - -“_A Romantic Case of Projection of the Double_ - -“In 1889 I lived at Juatlahuaca, in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. For a -long time I passionately loved the woman who afterwards became my wife. - -“At the beginning of 1890, through one of those unfortunate disagreements -which occasionally arise between parents and their children, those of my -beloved one, wishing to put an end to our mutual love, separated us by -taking her to the mountains; but this only increased our love, because of -the difficulties and our desire to see each other. - -“Several months passed after our separation, and though the distance -between us was not great, we had to take into account the vigilance -with which she was surrounded, and which was a greater obstacle than the -difficulties of the road. - -“One night, when I was feeling, as usual, very sad and gloomy, the -thought came to me to say to my servant: ‘Jeanette, if any morning you -come into my room and do not find me, do not look for me; take the keys -and open the shop. If at midday I have not arrived, you can seek for me -in the mountains.’ - -“‘Ah, sir,’ she replied, ‘I would never oppose myself to your commands, -if what you tell me did not concern persons whom I love and respect, -because you will never thereby accomplish your object.’ - -“I knew that she was right, and I thought that the best thing I could -do was to go to sleep and try to calm my imagination. She also retired, -much distressed, and imploring all the saints, to whom she prayed, to -prevent any unfortunate incident which would threaten the lives of three -persons—my _fiancée_, her father, and myself. - -“The following day I awoke with the same project in my mind, but before -carrying it out I wished to inform my _fiancée_ as to the day and hour at -which I hoped to speak to her. She replied by showing me the rashness of -my project, and offering to do all she could to overcome the obstacles -which prevented her from returning to live in the town, which she hoped -to do in a few days, and which came to pass as she had predicted. I -reckoned, however, on my sagacity and youthful ardour to realise my -project before my _fiancée_ was able to return. - -“One day, when my mind was indulging itself in all kinds of fancies, I -thought it would be quite easy to elude the vigilance of all those who -were around my _fiancée_, and who were opposed to our meeting. When night -came on I continued to think of my project, and I resolved to lie down -and try to sleep. - -“I passed a very disturbed night, waking frequently, and when the day -began to break, the servant came to my room to bid me ‘good morning,’ and -to ask for the keys of the shop. - -“‘How have you passed the night, sir?’ she asked. - -“‘Rather badly, Jeanette. I have dreamed continually, and it is -impossible for me to give you an idea of all the dangers and precipices -which I thought I overcame and crossed; it seems to me that I went over -the mountain road which leads to the farm, but it was a very different -road. I dreamed that our interview was prevented, I do not know how, and -that I had a long walk home again. What can it all mean?’ - -“‘It is only the result of your wishes and preoccupation in regard to the -young lady. She will soon return, and then these follies will disappear.’ - -“I very soon forgot all about what I have just described, and so did my -servant, for neither of us attached any importance to a dream; but, after -a short time, a messenger from the farm handed me a letter, in which my -_fiancée_ reproached me for my violence, my bad conduct and disobedience -in going there in defiance of the commands and wishes of her father. - -“‘What? I? No. Never! Tell your mistress that, although I have thought of -going to see her, I have never carried out my desires; if I have not done -so, it has not been through lack of courage and will on my part, but only -because of my desire to please her and not to oppose her wishes.’ - -“‘But we saw you.’ - -“‘Me?’ - -“‘Yes, sir—you.’ - -“‘You are telling an untruth. I have not been out. My servant can -corroborate that; and, further, I have nothing to lose by telling the -truth.’ - -“‘That may be as you please, but it is true that you spoke to me; you -questioned me on the subject of Mademoiselle—desired me to tell her that -you were there and wished to speak to her.’ - -“‘These are illusions on your part; you have been dreaming.’ - -“‘That is possible; but there were two, three, all the servants, who also -saw you. You did not arrive until nearly midnight; you were dressed as -you are now, and riding a white horse, which you fastened to the gnarled -oak. We could all recognise you by the moonlight, and you were going -towards the side door when I stopped you from entering. - -“‘Hearing our voices, the dogs began to bark, which caused all the -servants to get up. You were recognised by my master and the young lady, -who fell on her knees before her father, beseeching him not to fire on -you. Without showing any fear, you returned step by step to your horse -and went down the mountain again. My master was much annoyed with you, -called his confidential servant Marino, ordered him to follow you and -not to be afraid, but to fire on you two or three times, as he would be -responsible. Marino set out, and, although he walked quickly and tried -all he could to catch you up, he could not do so. A curious phenomenon -aroused his attention, which was that he always saw you going at the same -pace, and he had not the courage to fire his rifle. - -“‘You arrived at the entrance to the town about five o’clock in the -morning; the moon was setting and the day commencing to break. Before you -arrived at the first crossing of the streets you began to run, and turned -quickly along the first street in the town; and though Marino ran after -you, he lost sight of you at the next crossing.’ - -“My persecutor, frightened by what he had seen, returned immediately to -the farm to inform his master of what had taken place, and which seemed -very extraordinary and supernormal. - -“For a long time this adventure, of which I was the unconscious hero, -made a great stir in the town.” - -Colonel de Rochas, a distinguished French savant, has made this -question of the externalisation or projection of the double and of the -motricity and sensibility of the subject his special and patient study, -and has embodied the results of many of his experiments in separate -works. Some have also been published in the pages of the _Annals of -Psychical Science_, so that the reader who is particularly interested -in the question will have no difficulty in finding material for further -consideration and study. - -The Société Magnétique de France has also conducted extensive experiments -in this field of research, particulars of which are published from -time to time in the _Journal du Magnétisme_. The following theoretical -explanation given at the conclusion of the report of a series of these -experiments is reprinted from the _Annals_ for July-September 1910:— - -“We know that the phantom is the psychical body projected from the -physical body. It is that which enjoys or suffers, thinks, wishes, -judges, and perceives all sensations. It is constantly animated by -extremely rapid vibratory movements which are certainly the same as when -it is within the body. This principle being admitted, we understand that, -when it animates the body, its vibratory movements are not projected -outside, and that it exercises no appreciable action on other organisms -in its neighbourhood. But when it is outside the body its movements are -easily externalised. Then the phantom and another person, vibrating in -unison, represent two stringed instruments which sound at the same time -when one only is touched. If I can obtain this transmission at great -distances, we can explain this strange and unexpected phenomenon by the -theory of wireless telegraphy or telephony.” - -The results of the many experiments conducted by and under the auspices -of French scientists in particular tend to indicate that in the near -future an explanation of the phenomena of vampirism will be forthcoming. - - - - -BIBLIOGRAPHY - - -Abercromby’s _Finns_. - -Leo Allatius. - -Barth’s _The Religions of India_. - -Bartholin’s _de Causa contemptûs mortis_. - -Beaumont’s _Treatise on Spirits_. - -Blavatsky’s _Isis Unveiled_. - -Calmet’s _Dissertation upon Apparitions_. - -Calmet’s _The Phantom World_. - -Hugh Clifford’s _In Court and Kampong_. - -Codrington’s _Melanesians_. - -Conway’s _Demonology and Folk-lore_. - -William Crooke’s _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_. - -Gabriele D’Annunzio’s _The Triumph of Death_. - -De Schartz, _Magia Postuma_. - -C. M. Doughty’s _Arabia Deserta_. - -Eaves’ _Modern Vampirism_. - -_Encyclopædia Britannica._ - -Eyre’s _Discoveries in Central Australia_. - -Farrer’s _Primitive Manners and Customs_. - -Fornari’s _History of Sorcerers_. - -Fortis’ _Travels into Dalmatia_. - -Frazer’s _Golden Bough_. - -Goethe’s _Bride of Corinth_. - -Baring Gould’s _Book of Were Wolves_. - -Grimm’s _Teutonic Mythology_. - -J. J. Morgan de Groot’s _Religious System of China_. - -Baron von Haxthausen’s _Transcaucasia_. - -Hikayat Abdullah. - -Reginald Hodder’s _The Vampire_. - -_Jewish Encyclopædia._ - -Keightley’s _Fairy Mythology_. - -T. S. Knowlson’s _Origin of Popular Superstitions_. - -Leake’s _Travels in Northern Greece_. - -Liddell’s _The Vampire Bride_. - -Mackenzie and Irby’s _Travels in the Slavonic Provinces of Turkey in -Europe_. - -Mayo’s _On the Truths contained in Popular Superstitions_. - -_Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border_ (vol. ii.). - -More’s _Antidote against Atheism_. - -Nider’s _Formicarius_. - -Laurence Oliphant’s _Scientific Religion_. - -Pashley’s _Crete_ (vol. ii.). - -Polidori’s _The Vampyre_. - -Michael Psellus’ _Dialogus de Operationibus Dæmonum_. - -Ralston’s _Russian Folk Tales_. - -Ralston’s _Songs of the Russian People_. - -Roussel’s _Transfusion of Human Blood_. - -Rycaut’s _The Present State of the Greek and Armenian Churches_. - -Rymer’s _Varney the Vampire_. - -St Clair and Brophy’s _Bulgaria_. - -Saxo Grammaticus’ _Danish History_. - -Sayce’s _Ancient Empires of the East_. - -Scoffern’s _Stray Leaves of Science and Folk-lore_. - -Sir Walter Scott’s translation of _Eyrbyggia Saga_. - -Siegbert’s _Chronicle_. - -W. W. Skeat’s _Malay Magic_. - -Skeat and Blagden’s _Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula_. - -Southey’s _Thalaba the Destroyer_. - -Bram Stoker’s _Dracula_. - -R. Campbell Thompson’s _The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia_. - -J. Pitton de Tournefort’s _A Voyage into the Levant_. - -Tozer’s _Researches in the Highlands of Turkey_. - -Trumbull’s _Blood Covenant_. - -Turner’s _Nineteen Years in Polynesia_. - -Tylor’s _Primitive Culture_. - -Voltaire’s _Dictionnaire Philosophique_. - -Horace Walpole’s _Reminiscences_. - -Westermarck’s _Origin and Development of Moral Ideas_. - -William of Newbury. - - -PERIODICAL LITERATURE - -_All the Year Round_ (vol. xxv.). - -_Annals of Psychical Science._ - -_Blackwood’s Magazine_ (vol. lxi.). - -_Borderland._ - -_Chambers’s Journal_ (vol. lxxiii.). - -_Colburn’s Magazine_ (vol. vii.). - -_Contemporary Review_ (July 1885). - -_Gentleman’s Magazine_ (July 1851). - -_Household Words_ (vol. xi.). - -_Journal du Magnétisme._ - -_Journal Indian Archipelago_ (vol. i.). - -_Lippincott’s Magazine_ (vol. xlvii.). - -_London Journal_ (March 1732). - -_New Monthly Magazine_ (1st April 1819). - -_Nineteenth Century_ (September 1885). - -_Notes and Queries._ - -_Occult Review._ - -_Open Court_ (vol. vii.). - -_Revue Spiritualiste_ (vol. iv.). - -_St James’s Magazine_ (vol. x.). - -_Wonderful Magazine_ (1764). - - -PRINTED BY NEILL AND CO., LTD., EDINBURGH - - - - -THE VAMPIRE - -A ROMANCE OF THE UNCANNY - -6/= - -BY REGINALD HODDER - -AUTHOR OF “A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE,” ETC. - -_Crown 8vo, Cloth Gilt, Coloured Frontispiece_ - - -“The story is really exciting, and the ordinary reader who merely wishes -to be thrilled will gain his desire and find Mr Hodder’s pages most -engrossing. To occultists the author presents a new theory and a novel -treatment of an ancient subject, both of which merit their attention and -consideration.”—_Times._ - -“Readers who enjoy fierce mystery of the supernatural order will discover -a most thrilling experience in ‘The Vampire.’”—_Glasgow Herald._ - -“For the first few pages we attempted to employ a critical mind, but the -narrative soon held us in a grip of terror, and we could do no more than -sit at the author’s feet and abandon ourselves to fearful joy.”—_The -Standard._ - -“Horror succeeds horror, and mystery is piled upon mystery. It is -a blood-curdling, hair-raising story of the black art and of evil -spirits.”—_Sheffield Independent._ - -“It is one of the most sensationally weird stories ever written—a -marvellous excursion into the realms of the occult.”—_Hampshire -Independent._ - -“An astounding story.”—_The New Statesman._ - -“Mr Hodder’s story is full of thrills and uncanny excitements.... -As thrilling an experience as one could wish for in the pages of -fiction.”—_The Globe._ - -“Those who enjoy grim fantasies such as the late Mr Bram Stoker used to -give us will appreciate Mr Hodder’s clever essay in the same class of -fiction.... Events move so quickly and are so startling that there is -little inclination for criticism.”—_Western Morning News._ - - LONDON: - WILLIAM RIDER & SON, LIMITED, - 8-11 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. - - - - -RIDER’S NEW SERIES OF SHILLING NOVELS - -_Crown 8vo. 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