The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

The following tale is from "Jewish Letters"
by Marquis d'Argens (1729). I found it in the "the Vampire Watcher's Handbook" by Constantine Gregory (2003).

"In 1725, a Serbian peasant farmer named Peter Plogojowitz died at the age of 62, only to emerge from his grave three days later. At midnight, he visited his son in search of food, and was duly offered a good plateful. He returned two nights later, at which time the son refused his request for more food. The next day, the son was found dead, and fellow villagers awoke complaining that Plogojowitz had tormented tem in their dreams. Widespread lethargy and anaemia followed, and within a week nine had died. Plogojowitz was clearly a vampire and had to be destroyed.

The body was exhumed and found to be ruddy and plump. Blood oozed from the mouth, and his hair and nails had continued growing. A stake was hammered through his heart, soaking the grave in blood, and a funeral pyre was erected. Plogojowitz was reduced to ash, and his “victims” reburied with protective whitethorn and garlic. Thereafter, the nightly attacks ceased.”


Does anyone else have any other UNIQUE stories or tales to tell? By unique I mean nothing like stories about Dracula or Erzsebet Bathory, that we have all heard many of times.

i actually wonder, what made him a vampyre?

That is a good question, I didn't say in the book I read.

http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/folklore/vampire.html

"Some of the aforementioned British stories echo the more famous tale of Arnold Paole from Austria, which was recorded in an Austrian Army Officers account from the 1700's, and is one of the earliest stories about a supposed vampire. Arnold was attacked by a vampire while walking through a graveyard in the dead of night; he managed to track the vampire to its grave, cut its head off with a spade, and ate some of the grave dirt in an attempt to ward off the vampires curse, namely that he would become a vampire himself.

When he returned to his village all was well for a few years until Arnold broke his neck in a fall from a hay cart. After his interment strange things began to happen, people spoke of seeing Arnold wandering the village in the dark hours, and some of the villagers were discovered dead in the mornings after these sightings, apparently drained of all blood. These incidents could only lead to the speculation that Arnold had succumbed to the vampires curse. The rumours came to the ears of the Austrian army, who were sent to investigate. Arnold body was exhumed and found to be un-decayed, fresh blood was found to be flowing from the mouth, eyes and nose, and fresh skin and nails had grown. They quickly set to the grim task of destroying what they believed to be an undead, and drove a stake through the heart of the corpse, which let out and audible groan and bled from the wound as though it were alive."

Interesting read, it seems that they found him in the grave the same way as they found Plogojowitz.

Interesting stories. Some of the lesser known stories are just as good, if not better than the ones made famous by Hollywood.

i like these storys, i'd be intrested to read somemore...

I actually found a reference that claimes the Pole Vampire story is quite famous:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2853/vampireages.htm

1725-30 - Vampire hysteria lingers in Hungary

1725-32 - The wave of vampire hysteria in Austrain Serbia produces the famous cases of Peter Plogojowitz and Arnold Paul (Paole).

1734 - The word "Vampyre" enters the English language in translations of German accounts of the European waves of vampire hysteria.

1744 - Cardinal Giuseppe Davanzati publishes his treatise, Dissertazione sopre I Vampiri.

1746 - Dom Augustin Calmet publishes his treatise on vampires.

1748 - The first modern vampire poem, Der Vampir, is published by Heinrich August Ossenfelder.

1750 - Another wave of vampire hysteria occurs in East Prussia.

1756 - Vampire hysteria peaks in Wallachia.

1772 - Vampire hysteria occurs in Russia.

stories like this cant be made famous, which is good cause that would make them published and therefore people will follow them like blind herd animals

Most of the "traditional" stories I have read depict the rising of a newly dead body from the grave.

I absolutely feel the old stories are far scarier than some of the blood and guts tales we have now.

Bob Curran, Professor, University of Ulster, Coleraine

Leacht Abhartach
"In the north Derry area, between the towns of Garvagh and Dungiven, a district known as Glenuilin (glen of the eagle) might give us a clue as to Dracula's origins. In the middle of a field in the remote townland of Slaughtaverty, is an area known locally as the 'Giant's Grave' but which may be more properly described as Leacht Abhartach (Abhartach's sepulchre). On the grave itself is a curling thorn bush under which lies a large and heavy stone. Originally there were more stones, the remnants of an old monument, but these have been removed over time by local farmers for building purposes. There is little doubt that the sepulchre was once an imposing place and that it has given the townland its name. But who was Abhartach?

During the fifth and sixth centuries, the Glenullin area was a patchwork of petty kingdoms, each with its own local ruler or 'king'. These kings may have been little more than tribal warlords and there is ample evidence of their rule, for the countryside is dotted with hill forts, ancient raths and early fortifications which marked their respective territories. Abhartach, according to tradition, was one of these chieftains.

Local descriptions of him vary. Some say that he was a dwarf, others that he was deformed in some way, but most agree that he was a powerful wizard and was extremely evil. So evil, in fact, that those over whom he ruled wished to get rid of him.

However, so terrified of him were they that they would not kill him themselves and so they persuaded another chieftain, Cathán, to perform the deed for them. Cathán slew Abhartach and buried him standing up in an isolated grave. However, the following day Abhartach returned, evil as ever and demanded a bowl of blood, drawn from the veins of his subjects, in order to sustain his vile corpse. In great terror, the people asked Cathán to slay him once more. This Cathán did, burying the corpse as before. But the following day, Abhartach returned again, demanding the same gory tribute from his people.

Cathán was puzzled and, depending upon the variant of the folktale, consulted either a local druid or an early Christian saint, as to why Abhartach could not be killed. There are several 'hermitages' in the area, according to tradition the dwellings of particularly holy men. The most notable is in Gortnamoyagh Forest on the very edge of Glenullin where local people will still point out 'the saint's track'-a series of stations near to a holy well. Close by was said to have been the hermitage of a saint known as Eoghan or John who is credited with founding a place of Christian worship in the area (the site is still known as Churchtown although any related foundation has long since vanished). A 'footprint' on a stony prominence in the forest is also attributed to this saint and it is said that from here he flew from Gortnamoyah to say Mass in his own foundation. His name further appears in several local placenames -Killowen in Coleraine (about fifteen miles away) and Magilligan (about twenty miles away). It was to this saint that Cathán is believed to have gone. The venerable old man listened long and hard to the chieftain's tale.

One of the neamh-mhairbh
'Abhartach is not really alive', he told the astonished Cathán. 'Through his devilish arts he has become one of the neamh-mhairbh [the undead]. Moreover, he is a dearg-dililat, a drinker of human blood. He cannot actually be slain but he can be restrained.' He then proceeded to give Cathán instructions as to how to 'suspend' the vampiric creature. Abhartach must be slain with a sword made from yew wood and must be buried upside down in the earth, thorns and ash twigs must be sprinkled around him and a heavy stone must be placed directly on top of him. Should the stone be lifted, however, the vampire would be free to walk the earth once more.

Cathán returned to Glenullin and did what the holy man told him. Abhartach was slain with a wooden sword and was buried upside down with thorns placed all around the gravesite. On top of the actual grave, Cathán built a great leacht or sepulchre which could be seen for miles around. This has now vanished but the stone remains and a tree, which grew from the scattered thorns, rises above it.

The land on which the grave is sit-uated has acquired a rather sinister reputation over the generations. Locally it is considered to be 'bad ground' and has been the subject of a number of family disagreements over the years. In 1997, attempts were made to clear the land and if local tradition is to be believed workmen who attempted to cut down the tree found that their brand-new chain-saw stopped without reason on three occasions. When attempting to lift the great stone, a steel chain suddenly snapped, cutting the hand of one of the labourers and, significantly, allowing blood to soak into the ground. Although legends still abound in the locality of the 'man who was buried three times' and of a fantastic treasure which was buried with him, few local people will approach the grave, especially after dark! The current writer suffered a severe and inexplicable fall after visiting the site."

Interesting stories...

Loving to read them.

I love reading these things. Thanks for starting this thread.

The Blood-Drawing Ghost" collected and published by Jeremiah Curtin in 1882. It tells the story of a young woman named Kate.

"A man from Cork County was thinking of marrying one of three women, one of whom was Kate. As a test, he placed his cane at the entrance to the tomb of a recently deceased person, and challenged each of the women to retrieve it. Kate was the only one who accepted the challenge.

When she reached the tomb, she encountered the dead man, and he forced her to take him into town. There he drew the blood from three young men, each of whom died as a result. The "vampire" then forced Kate to make him some oatmeal, and he mixed the blood of the men into it. While he was eating his portion, Kate secretly hid hers. Unaware that she had not eaten her portion of the bloody oatmeal, the "vampire" told her that the blood-oatmeal mixture would have brought the men back to life. As they were returning to his tomb, the "vampire" told Kate of a fortune in gold to be found in a nearby field.

The next day, the bodies of the three young men were found. Kate arranged a bargain with their parents. She offered to bring them back to life, but under two conditions. The first was that she be allowed to marry the eldest of the three men. The second was that the parcel of land (where she secretly knew the gold to be located) be deeded to her.

The parents of the young men agreed, and deed in hand, Kate took the oatmeal she had hidden and put some in the mouth of each man. They all quickly recovered from the vampire's attack. With her future husband, Kate dug up the gold, and the wealthy couple lived a long life and passed their wealth on to their children."

nope, tell ye if i find one

SIOBHAN

I really enjoyed that story!!!

*Shakes head and grins*

I agree Siobhan, the older ones are the best.

what was the book u read called?

That was amazing, thanks for the great reads.

*smiles at everyone*

Thank you all. I am very glad that you are enjoying these old stories.

The name of the book I read escapes me right now, but I will find a few good print sources and list them here.

Thanks for the fantastic thread and great stories...Really enjoyed the reads.

barnes and noble sells good books on vampyries and stories like that

another good story of a vampire most do not know about is Varney the Vampire. It is a pretty good story written in the 1800's I do believe.

Oh another old vampire tale. I like it, different form others I've read, but still good. I'd love to read more.
Kiara

good read, i too would like to read more stories like this. if anyone would like to reccomend some, please message me. much appriciated.

that is all just a bunch of fuckin bullshit k so just fuck off if u think that!

Wow someone has an attitude problem.

Entertaining stories : )

that is some nice reserch and good stories smile

Good stories Siobhan, thankyou for adding them to the thread. I will post another shortly.

As for deadprincess, what was that all about.

Old tales always seem better because they have an historical feel to them.

none that i can put into correct wording

You're very welcome VladDrakul; they are stories that I haven't visited in years and it was nice to read them again.

Hopefully I will have a few more soon!

My.. this is what I call great stories!! Vampires really have a way to arouse our curiosity :)

If you are looking for books containing information on some of the old tales and folklore regarding vampires here are a few of the many out there that are worth checking out. While not everything in the may appeal to you they do have a nice selection of stories and lore from around the globe.

Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead by J. Gordon Melton

Vampires, Burial, and Death : Folklore and Reality by Paul Barber

The Vampire in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers

In Search of Dracula : The History of Dracula and Vampires by Radu Florescu, Raymond T. McNally

While the last one deals more with the historical Vlad and his life and the possible influence his story had on Bram Stoker's novel, it's still a great read for anyone interested in the true story of Vlad Tepes.

I agree with Alvens, they do arouse out curiousity hehe ^_^

Interesting read

Here’s a short history about a man named Peter Kürten, also known as
“The Vampire of Düsseldorf” (1929)

“Peter Kürten, strangled, raped and slit the throats of his victims, craving their blood just as - in his own words - an alcoholic craves liquor. “You cannot understand me,” Kürten stated before losing his head at a guillotine”No one can understand me. “ (Constantine Gregory, 2003)

What is interesting about this guy, is that he was labeled a serial killer by the media of his time then given a Vampire name.

Crimelibrary.com has articles on Peter Kürten, Elizabeth Bathory, Gilles de Rais and Vlad Tepes, all of whom could be counted as serial killers and all of whom have been saddled with the lable of "Vampire" over the years.

it is interesting how we view vampirism in genearl, it's almost as if a vampire was simply the dark most suppress

Here is another site that has info on serial killers and other cool topics.

http://carpenoctem.tv/killers/

I don't have a unique story, but I truly loved all of yours..some of them are unusual.

Hmmm... I don't actually know and old vampire tales.... i'll look it up though..

Hmm... all those are very intresting but the first one reminds me of the old tales from the Trans.

The Devil's Bridge, Yorkshire, England

The highway between Pateley Bridge and Grassington crosses, in the parish of Burnsall, the deep dell in which runs the small river Dibb, or Dibble, by a bridge known in legend as the Devil's Bridge. It might reasonably be supposed that Deep-Dell Bridge, or Dibble Bridge, was the correct and desirable designation, but legend and local tradition will by no means have it so, and account for the less pleasant name in the following manner.

In the days when Fountain's Abbey was in its prime, a shoemaker and small tenant of part of the abbey lands, named Ralph Calvert, resided at Thorp-sub-Montem, and journeyed twice a year along this road to pay his rent to the abbot, dispose of the fruits of his six months' handiwork, and return the shoes entrusted to him on his previous visit for repair, and bring back with him, on his return, a bag well filled with others that needed his attention.

The night before setting out on one of these occasions, he had a fearful dream, in which he struggled with the devil, who, in this wild, rocky ravine, amid unpleasant surroundings, endeavored to thrust Ralph into a bag, similar to the one in which he carried his stock-in-trade. This he and his wife feared boded no good. In the morning, however, he started on his journey, and duly reached the abbey, assisted at the service, did his business with the abbot and brethren, and then started, with his well filled bag, on his return homewards.

When he arrived near home, in the deep ravine, where on previous occasions he had found but a small brook which he could easily ford, he now found a mountain torrent, through which he only with difficulty and some danger made his way. Having accomplished the passage, he sat down to rest and to dry his wetted garments. As he sat and contemplated the place, he could not but recall how exactly it corresponded with the spot seen in his dream, and at which the author of evil had tried to bag him. Dwelling on this brought anything but pleasant thoughts, and to drive them away, and to divert his mind, he struck up a familiar song, in which the name of the enemy finds frequent mention, and the refrain of which was:

Sing luck-a-down, heigh down,
Ho, down derry.
He was unaware of any presence but his own. But, to his alarm, another voice than his added a further line:

Tol lol derol, darel dol, dolde derry.
Ralph thought of his dream. Then he fancied he saw the shadow of a man on the road. Then from a projecting corner of a rock he heard a voice reading over a list of delinquents in the neighborhood, with whom he must remonstrate -- Ralph's own name among the rest. Not to be caught eavesdropping, Ralph feigned sleep. But after a time was aroused by the stranger, and a long conversation ensued, the upshot of which was, after they had entered into a compact of friendship, that Satan informed the shoemaker who he was and inquired of the alarmed man if there was anything that he could do for him.

Ralph looked at the swollen torrent and thought of the danger he had lately incurred in crossing it, and of his future journeys that way to the abbey. And then he said, "I have heard that you are an able architect. I should wish you to build a bridge across this stream. I know you can do it."

At nightfall Ralph reached his home at Thorpe, and related his adventure to his wife, and added, "In spite of all that is said against him, the Evil One is an honest gentleman, and I have made him promise to build a bridge at the Gill Ford on the road to Pateley. If he fulfils his promise, St. Crispin bless him."

The news of Ralph's adventure and of the promise soon spread among the neighbors, and he had no small amount of village chaff and ridicule to meet before the eventful Saturday -- the fourth day -- arrived. At last it came.

Accompanied by thirty or forty of the villagers, Ralph made his way to the dell, where, on arrival, picture their astonishment at the sight! Lo, a beautiful and substantial bridge spanned the abyss! Surveyor, and mason, and priest pronounced it to be perfect. The latter sprinkled it with holy water, caused a cross to be placed at each approach to it, and then declared it to be safe for all Christian people to use. So it remained until the Puritan Minister of Pateley, in the time of the Commonwealth, discerning the story to be a Popish legend, caused the protecting crosses to be removed as idolatrous.

After that time, neither the original builder nor any other person seems to have thought fit to keep the bridge in "good and tenantable" repair, and in time it fell into so disreputable and dangerous a condition, that the liberal and almost magic-working native of the parish -- Sir William Craven, Lord Mayor of London in the reign of the 1st James -- took the matter in hand and built upon the old foundations a more terrestrial, but not less substantial and enduring, structure.

Still men call it the Devil's Bridge.

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 stand-still 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 lying there some time. Suddenly the grave began to open beneath him: he felt the movement and sprang to his feet. The grave opened, and out of it came a corpse -- wrapped in a white shroud, and holding a coffin lid -- came out and 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?" answers 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, now tell me how they can be brought back to life."

The corpse reluctantly made answer:

"Cut off the left skirt of my shroud, and take it with you. 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 hadn't time to get properly covered over. One end of the coffin-lid remained sticking 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," says he, "I can bring them to life!"

"Do bring them to life, kinsman," say 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 knew 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 during the night. Well, they spread the news through the village; the whole population assembled and swarmed into the graveyard. They found out 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 richly, and sent him away home with great honor.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: W. R. S. Ralston, Russian Folk-Tales (London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1873), pp. 309-311.

Beyond stories of old succubus and the like I really have nothing to offer, sorry.

nice

Great stories Siobhan :)

Indeed

Thank you sister :)

I really enjoyed reading all of these stories and if I run across any to add I will be sure to post them...Thank you for the very interesting reading

hmm...interesting stories. i don't have any at the moment. but if i find one i will let you know about it for sure

Tis a great wonder how many true legends and tales have been lost through the passage of time.

One can only wonder.

I like the stories that don't have happy endings.

Great stories...thanks.

*smiles* favourite kinda thread, so imformative.

these are very interesting stories i like them

Great stories! Thanks for sharing.

I bought this book last week at a small store in down town Lexington. and it is a very great read for people who beleive they are vampires and vampire hunters. It gives you a history of Vampires, ways of spotting one, ways of killing one, and species of Vampire, How you become one, and how they are mainly daywalkers. So if you beleive you are a vampire buy this book and it will tell you how you are not because you are alive and I hope you dont eat shit because that is part of the vampire's diet.

very nice story must go find more stories thanks for the share~NFA

I loved reading these stories very muchly so the old stories are the best by far..

Sounds like something I need to read thanx for the headup.

I love all of the stories, thankyou for posting them.

Thank you all for your interest in this thread. And thankyou again Siobhan for your additions.

Now it is time to close this thread, and start another one.