My source for my views on zombies and vampires is
a very informative book in my collection called
"Vampires, Burials, and Death"
by Paul Barber.
It goes right back to the root of the folklore of revenants of this kind.
He quotes events in Silesia, Serbia, and Walachia (Romania)
E.g the case of Peter Plogojowitz.
"a subject by the name of Peter Plogojowitz had died, ten weeks past,.....
And since with such people ( which they call vampires) various signs are to be seen
- that is, the body undecomposed, the skin hair, beard and nails growing -"
The writer was the imperial provisor of the Gradisk district in Serbia.
"...and viewed the body.....".
"I did not detect the slightest odour that is otherwise characteristic of the dead,
and the body, except for the nose, which was somewhat fallen away,
was completely fresh. The hair and the beard - even the nails,
of which the old ones had fallen away - had grown on him.
The old skin which was somewhat whitish,
had peeled away, and a new fresh one had appeared underneath
....Not without astonishment i saw some fresh blood in his mouth."
This account comes from 1725.
It is obvious that the dead man was suspected of being a returning spirit,
which attacked the living at night. The folklore vampire
is not a creature with fangs, nor a bat like cloak.
In effect there would be very little to distinguish him from modern cinema's
impression of the zombie, apart from the idea of cannibalism
Associated with them now.....
To be continued.
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