Archaeologists in southern Bulgaria uncovered a body this week that has them puzzled. It’s the body of a 40-year-old man from the 13th century left completely in tact…except for an iron stake stuck through his heart.
Archaeologists believe the man’s corpse is a victim of vampire hysteria. Hopefully he was already dead when they put the stake through. The man’s left leg was also removed after death and placed beside the body in the grave.
Here is the dig site where the body was found.
Vampires were considered a real threat throughout history in Eastern Europe. It was common during periods of hysteria for stakes to be put through the hearts of dead bodies. This was supposed to prevent them from coming back to life as a vampire.
They must have felt really terrified that this guy would come back, to not only stake his corpse, but to remove one of his legs.
H/T: Smithsonian
Fear can do crazy things to people. Unless, of course, this guy actually was a vampire, and the archaeologists have it all wrong. No, no, no. That’s just too scary of a possibility to consider.
