Vampires Exhumed From Polish Graveyard

A graveyard containing the remains of four vampires has been excavated by a team of archaeologists in Poland, Polskie Radio reports.

The archaeologists were excavating ahead of the construction of a new road in Gliwice, southern Poland, when they discovered four skeletons with their skulls placed between their legs. This was a common folk practice in the region to keep the dead from walking the earth. The four individuals were buried without any objects, making them difficult to date, but the archaeologists believe they’re from the early modern era. The last burial recorded of this kind in Poland was in 1914, when the corpse of a suspected vampire was dug up, its head cut off and placed between its legs.

The team is awaiting radiocarbon dates to know precisely when the individuals were buried.

Last year, vampires were dug up in Bulgaria and later put on display at a local museum. In keeping with Bulgarian folk practice, the corpses had been pinned to the ground with large iron stakes. Hopefully Poland will put on its own vampire exhibition. In the meantime, vampire fans can visit Dracula’s Castle in Romania, the Vampire Museum in Paris and Highgate Cemetery in London, scene of a wave of vampire sightings in the 1970s.