When vampires weren’t sexy…

When vampires weren’t sexy…

Once upon a time people believed that the dead could rise up and harm the living. This wasn't fiction, not just a scary notion to entertain ourselves with - it was genuine belief. As internal organs of the dead begin to break down, a dark fluid can leak from the nose and mouth. This was assumed to be blood that the dead person had fed on from beyond the grave. Vampires were also blamed for the spread of disease. Various tactics were employed to try and prevent these evil beings from causing more harm, including burying the body with a brick, soil or coin in their mouth. Some anti vampire rituals were still being practiced relatively recently. In Bulgaria it was believed that the body should be stabbed through the heart with an iron or wooden stake in order to pin them to their grave and prevent them from leaving. As recently as only thirty years ago there were people whose job...
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