Skeleton of “Vampire” Found?

Matteo Borrini of the University of Florence was excavating a mass grave site in Venice, Italy, when he made a shocking discovery.  Borrini found the skeleton of a woman with a small brick stuck in her mouth, part of a burial ritual in the Middle Ages for suspected vampires.  In the sixteenth century, many people believed that the Black Death was caused by “vampires” chewing on their shrouds after death.

In order to stop suspected vampires from spreading the plague this way, grave-diggers put bricks in their mouths before burying them.  The find was made at a mass grave site of victims of the disease.  Blood is sometimes expelled from the mouths of the dead which causes the the burial shroud to shrink inwards and tear.  This may be one of the causes of the belief in vampires.

Matteo Borrini says this might be the first vampire to have been forensically examined.  He further states his belief that this is the earliest grave to show “exorcism evidence against vampires”.

People have been fascinated with vampires since the publication of Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” in the late 19th Century.  The play and film version of this book further solidified the popularity of vampires.  One of the most popular novels in this genre was “Salem’s Lot” by Stephen King.  Later turned into a hit television miniseries, “Salem’s Lot” tells the story of a small town in Maine that is overrun by vampires.  Currently, the “Twilight” series of novels by Stephanie Meyer are huge with teenagers.  The first book in the series, “Twilight”, was recently turned into a hit movie.