The earliest accounts of vampires in the territory known back then as Silesiago back to the late 16’th century. It is the account of a shoemaker who killed himself in the year 1591 in the town of Breslau. His family covered up this disgrace and so he was given a proper Christian burial – in accordance to the rituals of the day.
Even thou rumors about the true circumstances of his death broke out, the family stood by the original story and the body remained in ground for 8 full months.
But then the specter of the shoemaker began to appear during mid-day and at night and things got out of control. At night, it appeared to those who had been sleeping and terrified them: he would lie close to the sleeper, nearly suffocate him, and pinch him, leaving not only bruises but the impression of his fingers on the sleeper’s body. The terror grew so strong that people would gather together in candle-lit rooms at night and took turns sleeping.
The corpse was exhumed on April 15, 1592. It was found to have not suffered any signs of decay and it had a magical mark in the form of a rose on the right big toe. The corpse was kept out of the earth for 3 days and since there were no signs that it was decaying, it was reburied under the gallows… but not even this measure could stop him from his nightly visits.
It was at that point that the widow went before the local magistrate and confessed the true circumstances of her husband’s death. On May 7, the corpse was then exhumed again. This time, the arms, legs, and head of the corpse were cut off. The heart was removed from the body and all the pieces were cremated. The ashes were gathered together and poured in a river.
The shoemaker was never seen again.
* The tale was written down by Henry More in his “An Antidote to Atheism”
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† Vampire Accounts
