In a letter by Augustin Calmet dated 1751, we are told the tale of a regiment of austro-hungarian soldiers camped in the Banat region of Romania close to the city of Timisoara.
Because the soldiers seem to be dying as a resul of a strange epidemic the noblemen send the imperial doctor, Gerhard van Swieten, to investigate the matter and appease folk superstitions pertaining to vampiric activity in the area.
Far from calming the spirits the medic noted that, before passing away, soldiers are officers alike presented the signs of being vampire victims:
– excessive fatigue
– lack of hunger
– extreme weight loss
The men would fade away in a matter of days without the signs of an obvious disease so the locals [aka romanian paesants] took matters into their own hands and proceeded to the normal way of identifying the vampire`s grave.
The took a virgin boy and asked him to ride a white horse through the cemetery; the grave that it refused to pass was opened.
They found a nearly presteen body; so well preserved that van Swieten noted it as being “similar to a living person that was actually sleeping”.
They proceeded to staking the corpse through the heart and it is said that the vampire attacks ceased.
๑۞๑ Related: ๑۞๑
† Vampire Accounts
† Legends
