Vampires: a story of origin, legends

Behind the mystical aura surrounding the evil name of vampires, there are often true stories, full of pain and suffering. Terrible crimes committed in the distant past, have taken the form of a legend or story told by the fire. Who are the vampires? History tells us about various events related to them. Some events remained unchanged, while others lost their former appearance forever. And that's why it's so hard to tell the truth from fiction.

Vampires of Ancient Egypt

Who are the vampires? The history of Ancient Egypt tells of the return of dead people from the world, whose death was so shameful that they could not enter the Eternal World. One of them, dated to the 3rd century. BC. E., Tells of a young man named Azenet, who fled the battlefield, leaving his post. The enemies overtook him and slaughtered the body, leaving it to rot in the sands. After a while, Azeteth began to appear to his relatives, demanding that he be allowed into the house. The victim of this spirit was the bride of the traitor, who herself went out to him. This story archaeologists found on the walls of the tomb of a poor girl, on the skull of which was missing the lower jaw.

Daughters of the Dark Moon

If you look closely at the past, stories about thirsty blood are traced from the most ancient Greece. In Greek, the word "vampire" sounds like "empusa". The mention of these creatures can be found in the writings of some philosophers. So, for example, Philostratus in his work "Life of Apollonius from Tiana" describes the story that happened with the Lycian Menippus.

According to this narrative, during the journey the young man met a beautiful stranger, who so mastered his fantasies that Menippus was ready to marry her. Every night the disciple of the philosopher began to spend on the ruins, in which, as he claimed, there are the chambers of his beloved. Only the intervention of his teacher saved the Lycian. Apollonius expelled the ghost, and described everything that happened in his works.
The history of vampires could occur in reality.

It is known that from the 5th to the 3rd centuries BC. E. On the territory of Greece and Rome there was a cult of admirers of Hecate. To this day, protocols of investigations have survived, with references to bloody rituals in which the priestesses drank blood. Perhaps it was these stories that became part of the legends of vampirism.

Legends of Ancient Europe

Europeans sincerely believed in the existence of vampires. Often this belief was based on the fear of medieval residents over a variety of diseases that distorted the body. The raging epidemics not only carried away thousands of lives, they filled the mind with facts about non-decomposing fast remains, tetanus and external deformities.

Probably, for this reason, modern scientists find so many graves with evidence of ritual burial culled in vampirism. Thus, strange ritual burials were found at excavations in the county of Dorset, among them was the corpse of a woman, the body rested on the remains of animals repeating the contours of her body. The cervical vertebrae were broken, and the head was separated from the body, legs resting on animal finitenesses. According to the results of the research, scientists came to the conclusion that the woman was killed in the period when the residents left the village.

Vampirism is the product of the plague

Who are the vampires? The story tells that in 2009 Italian archaeologist Matteo Borrini discovered the burial of a vampire in the vicinity of the city of Venice. In the historical period, to which the remains are attributed, the epidemic of plague has fallen. The terrible events of that time were reflected in many sources. On the basis of mass hysteria, the belief in otherworldly evil forces pushed people to desperate deeds. An elderly woman was buried in a mass burial ground. She put a piece of brick in her mouth, which, according to the beliefs, did not allow the vampire to attack the living.

One of the legends of that period tells of a wealthy lady who lived in the XVI century. Her name was Beatrice Dandolo, she led her married life in a family estate near Pisa. The woman was famous for its beauty, her husband did not spare money for dresses and decorations to show off to neighbors. When the plague began to take lives, Beatrice's husband became one of the first victims. The woman, afraid of losing beauty and health, locked herself in one of the wings of the castle. She gave the order to immerse the entrance. Her voluntary reclusion gave birth to many legends that in fact the woman associated with dark magic and performed rites on the blood, wishing to save herself.

Subsequently, the story of Beatrice Dandolo was used to create the storyline of the movie The Brothers Grimm. While creating an outfit for the image of the Mirror Queen, the costumers relied in part on the portraits of Beatrice.

Vampire from Würzburg

Who are the vampires? The history of the legend of the 30s of the XIX century tells that in Bavaria too there were inexplicable phenomena connected with vampires. The city of Würzburg was home to Dr. Heinrich Spatz. It was all a respected and worthy person. As a practicing physician, he published several works on medicine, which were included in the world practice. But here are some facts of his biography that suggest that he was involved in the genus Nosferatu.

According to the data, the doctor had his medical practice and was in charge of the hospital for the poor. For a long time, Spatz's family did not attract much attention. But after the doctor turned down the work and left the city, the police received alarming news about the missing people. The former doctor's assistants said they could prove the doctor's involvement in the loss of Yohim Feber, the former doorman in the hospital. After the search of the former clinic, many bodies were found, one of which had a characteristic feature that identified the missing Feber. It was not possible to find a doctor. But, according to the protocols, one of the assistants who reported on him died under mysterious circumstances.

Bloody secrets of Bulgaria

Who are the vampires? The history of the Bulgarians, their beliefs are also no less interesting. According to folk legends, a very evil person becomes a vampire. And this superstition concerned exclusively men suspected of witchcraft. After death, such a person pierced the heart with a steel rod or an aspen stake.

Who are the vampires? The history of origin suggests that they really existed. This is evidenced by excavations conducted by scientists near the church "St. Nicholas the Wonderworker." In the stone tomb found the skeletons of two men, whose chest cells were permeated with steel rods. Such strange graves were found before, but in this case it was possible to restore the whole picture more fully due to the good preservation of the remains.

Myths about vampires of Siberia

Who are the vampires? The history of the origin of these creatures is also relevant in the Siberian lands. In 1725 the peasant Pyotr Plogoevits died suddenly and was buried in his native village of Kizilov. After a while, Peter's fellow-villagers began to die. The local authorities were alarmed by the fact that on the pre-death confession they all told that the constant visits to the Siberian vampire were the reason for their illness.

Because of pressure from the villagers, it was decided to open the grave of the peasant. Imagine the surprise of the inspector, who came to follow the procedure of exhumation, when it turned out that the body of the deceased had not undergone any changes. These facts were set out in the Inspector's report. Residents of the village took measures, stabbing in the heart of Peter, and his body betrayed the fire.

Curse of the Black Continent

The history of vampires is the product of not only European mythology. Residents of Africa, too, store in their epic many analogues. In their folklore there is a creature called "fifole." It is a rejected soul that wanders around the world of people, attacking the weak and babies. Many of the tribes of Africa keep a legend about how a witch cursed a man for his misdeeds, forcing to drink the blood of loved ones. These superstitions they took with them to America, being slaves.

Who are the vampires? The story of the appearance speaks of one of the documentary references to such a created vampire, which refers to 1729. The incident occurred in the state of Virginia in the villa of Gregory Wottock, a wealthy landowner. By order of his wife, one of the young servants was heavily flogged for spoiling the property. Due to the severity of punishment, the child died. His mother was known as a powerful witch among black slaves. Allegedly, she imposed a curse on the entire plantation family.

At that time, a widespread disease was consumption, which soon took the life of Mrs. Watts. After some time, her eldest daughter died mysteriously. And the younger son complained to the priest that before their death the sister was visited by their deceased mother. After this statement, relatives visited the cemetery and burned the corpses, which was documented by the Reverend Father.

Who are the vampires? The history of the creation is very interesting and exciting. But in the modern world, the image of a vampire has changed a lot. He was given a note of piquancy and gloss. But do not forget that behind the whole tinsel is completely unattractive content.