Bulgaria is a focus point for vampiric activity in the middle ages, just as Romania and other countries in the Balkans are. The stories vary but the end result is always the same: the dead are inspected for the specific signs and in many cases the remains are desecrated.
This story is different because the people condemned a person for vampirism despite him being still alive.
The events took place around 1839, in the village of Derekuoi. It is no longer featured on maps but it is believed that it was a Christian village near Varna.
The situation seems to be a mix of vampire and warlock superstitions on the part of the villagers towards a man who had settled in the community some decades ago [supposedly around 30 years].
He had taken up roots and married a local woman to make a life for himself, however the woman complained that he never shared the conjugal bed.
It just so happens that many farmers complained that their cattle started to drop dead at regular intervals and that when the carcasses were examined it was found that they had been drained of blood.
Our man was the only one that couldn`t be accounted for during night time so he was examined, found to have only one nostril, and upon this irrefragable evidence was condemned to death.
The method of execution was burning on the stake on a hill outside the limits of Derekuoi.
๑۞๑ Related: ๑۞๑
† Vampire Accounts
† Legends
Scarlett Memories 