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The concept of vampires has been around for centuries. Modern society is more familiar with the undead being popularized in the form of films or role-playing games. Despite our modern familiarity with vampires in fiction, the concept of these creatures originally came from folklore, which was based on common beliefs held by many people in European nations during the middle ages. However, the origins of the folklore vampire could possibly come from people of that time not having the knowledge that would later be explained by science: the science of human decomposition.
Like with most aspects of life explained by science, there were times in history when reasons behind unexplainable phenomena were taken from folklore, legends, myths, and religion. Such was the case with vampires.
Many might point to Bram Stoker's "Dracula" or perhaps Vlad the Impaler upon which the tale was based, as the starting point for the folklore of vampirism. In fact, there is much evidence to indicate that undead bloodsuckers were quite a significant part of the folklore and beliefs of ancient cultures also. For example, in Ancient Sumerian mythology, the female demon Akhkharu would meander through the night, feeding on the blood of pregnant women and newborn infants - a tale that could have been present as early as 5000 BC.
It wasn't until a few millennia later, however, that vampirism folklore took a turn that would rival tales of witch hunts. The vampire hunts during medieval times, in which numerous corpses would be exhumed, were almost obsessive in nature; and also had been known to spread panic in small communities. In fact, the concept of vampires existing was seemingly common knowledge in this era.
This common knowledge was spread even further when, in 1215, the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized the "reality" of vampires - an announcement most likely made to consolidate the power of the church through the use of people's fear of legends and folklore. In doing so, the Church effectively established itself as the only power effective enough to destroy vampires; which may explain why Dracula fears a crucifix, yet the Star of David or Islamic symbols seem to have no effect!
The Catholic announcement was effectively an endorsement that acknowledged European folklore - an endorsement that would later come in handy during the 1300's when millions died from bubonic plague. Without scientific knowledge to indicate it was a biological cause, supernatural causes began to become the "real cause" for people of the period - and the Church themselves blamed the deaths on vampires!
It was later on during this period of history, that the Church began documenting "known vampire cases", in which they began recording certain physical key characteristics that would indicate whether an exhumed corpse was a vampire.
During the time period in question, these key indicators would have seemed like common sense characteristics to the vampire hunters. In our eyes however, most of these can be explained by science. In their eyes, the exhumed body did not look the way a decomposed body should have.
According to the church, an exhumed corpse was identified as a vampire if:
- New facial hair has grown
- Fingernails and toenails have continued growing
- Old skin has fallen away to reveal fresh new skin
- The body appears to be plump and very well fed
- The skin is warm to the touch
- Fresh blood is in or on the mouth
- The body bleeds profusely when staked
- The corpse / vampire screams or groans out loud when staked
- The body is sexually aroused
- Some or all teeth had grown in length
- The corpse has clearly moved since burial
- The casket, if present, shows indication of escape
- If cut, the body bleeds as if were alive
Let's take a look at each of these indicators and examine how modern science can explain them.
New facial hair has grown:
While it's easy to understand why people of the time period would believe this to be an indication of a "dead body still alive", it is actually impossible for hair to continue growth after death. The skin, however, begins to lose its fluid and begins to contract. As it does so, roots of hair can be exposed and it does make facial hair more visible - which would provide the illusion that the corpse has actually grown hair.
Fingernails and toenails have continued growing:
As depicted in the old film "Nosferatu", vampires were known in folklore to have long nails. If a body was exhumed and shown to have significant nail growth, this was a sure sign that the corpse was in fact, a vampire. However, as mentioned with the indication of hair above, the skin loses its fluids and contracts. This gives the illusion of significant nail growth. In addition, nails do fall away during decomposition, and the nail beds - the exposed skin beneath - can also give the illusion that new nails have grown.
Old skin has fallen away to reveal fresh new skin:
As the body decomposes, so does the skin darken, and eventually begins to fall away, caused by putrefaction. It is the epidermis layer of the skin that does this, and as it does so, the paler and fresher looking dermis of the skin is exposed. To the medieval eye, this would have looked like new skin growing in preparation to replace the old.
The body appears to be plump and very well fed:
This characteristic was a key indication that the "vampire" in question had indeed been feeding on blood. In fact, the characteristic was nothing more than the natural build-up of gases within the body after death. Decomposition produces gases, which is trapped by the body and is gathered in the torso. This in turn, makes the body swell, which in turn makes it appear to be "plump" and "well-fed".
The skin is warm to the touch:
While it well known that a body after death feels cold to touch, during decomposition the opposite is actually true. During putrefaction, the body would actually be warm to the touch, as decomposition produces heat. To the vampire hunters of the time period, knowing that "dead bodies should be cold", it was a sure indicator that they were dealing with a vampire.
Fresh blood is in or on the mouth:
Any sign of blood oozing from the nose or mouth, or if blood was found inside the mouth, was a sure indication that you had come across the vampire. What the hunters didn't realize was most of the time this wasn't actually 100% blood. In actual fact, as organs and body parts decompose, some aspects of the body are liquefied and accumulate in areas, such as in the mouth and the sinus cavity. The liquids are usually blood-stained, and any sign of this is a natural part of the decomposition process.
The body bleeds profusely when staked:
Again, this is due to the build up of bloodstained fluids within the decomposing body. Forensic science research has shown that blood is also known to have restored to a liquid state from a coagulated state (particularly in deaths involving the sudden removal of oxygen) in some bodies after death.
The corpse / vampire will scream or groan out loud when staked:
Staking a decomposing body actually allows the gases that have made it swollen, to escape. As the gases move, they will often pass by the vocal chords and glottis, causing the corpse to literally moan out loud. Interestingly enough, the gases can also escape via the anus - which means that after you die, your body continues flatulence as it did in life.
The body is sexually aroused:
To the people in the time-frame, this would have been a sure sign of an undead being. You can't be sexually aroused when you're dead, can you? Obviously not, but as decomposition progresses, blood and fluids can move to the genital area, gorging them with the fluids. It is not an uncommon effect after death; and is actually known to happy earlier in some cases of death, particularly if the person was hanged.
Some or all teeth had grown in length:
A good vampire has got to have good fangs. It's part of the old legends, so the indicators provided by the church would obviously have to account for the teeth factor. Like the skin, however, the gums eventually lose their fluids and contract, which reveal more surfaces of the teeth. It would provide the illusion that the teeth have grown longer to help with some good old blood sucking.
The corpse has clearly moved since burial:
By this indication, it was assumed that the corpse had risen from the grave to undertake vampire tasks (as all good vampires do), and then return to its place of rest - but would lay in a position that was not the same at burial. This indicator could also probably have been the precursor to the image of a vampire sleeping in his or her coffin during daylight hours as depicted in modern fiction. The moved body is actually another indication of decomposition. As decomposition is taking place, it causes the body to shift slightly from its original position after burial. If the corpse moves after exhumation, this isn't a sign of vampirism - instead it is actually the body's limbs growing soft again as rigor mortis wears off.
The casket, if present, shows indication of escape:
The presence of fingernail scratch marks and blood stains on the inside of coffins was also often an indication of vampirism. However, many researchers have since hypothesized that these incidents may have been times when people have been buried alive...
Forensic science has explained the process of decomposition; though the absence of this knowledge during the middle ages would explain why some exhumed bodies were identified by hunters as vampires. Despite our modern understanding of these factors, the legends of vampires live on in our modern media - and will continue to be popularized in centuries to come, as it has been in centuries past.
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