Real Vampire Burial?
This discovery happened in
2006 in Italy. It is now making the headlines. I’m sure you’ve read something on it. The remains
of a 16th-century woman were discovered during an archeological dig in Venice. What made this discovery different was
the brick stuck between her jaws. Experts believe this was done because she was believed to be a vampire. There
were many vampire slaying rituals in the 16th century, and this was one of them.
Experts believe the brick
was inserted into the mouth after the woman had been dead for a while. During this time period many people died from
the plague and other diseases-en masse. Expansive pits were dug and the bodies dumped. As more people died, these
pits were opened to dump more bodies. You can imagine what the locals found when they opened the pit; bloated bodies
with perhaps blood seeping from the mouth and nose. The grave diggers would have interpreted a bloated body as having
been full of blood, hence, a vampire plump from a recent feeding. So, what was their answer to this? Well, to
stick a brick in the corpse’s mouth of course.
Naturally, the locals of the time had more proof of
vampirism. One of the most common beliefs was that of the Shroud Eaters. What is a Shroud Eater you ask?
Well my friend, read on...
Shroud Eaters were believed to be vampires who fed on the burial cloth and cast
spells that would spread pestilence throughout the town and claim more victims. And, you know, with the plague running
rampant throughout Europe, it’s not a wonder why they believed this. In order to stop this spell, an inedible
object had to be placed within the mouth of the vampire and that, more often than not, was a tasty brick.
Now,
because of the decomposition process, the human body does a lot of strange things that in medieval times would have been interpreted
with suspicion and superstition. In the case of the shroud eaters, the burial shrouds that covered the faces of the
dead were often decayed significantly around the mouth, nose, and chin because of the bacteria in the mouth and chemicals
in the bodily fluids that would seep through the nose. And, also, at this point, the gums would have receded considerably,
exposing the teeth making them look larger and longer. In the eyes of the grave diggers it all pointed to one fact-this
was a vampire; brick time.
by Corbin Silverthorn
