Vampires - Myth Or Reality? Part 2

The vampire origin was mainly associated with theobjective was to frighten the people, which led to
Hungarian Kingdom because most of the popularpanic and series of investigations. The testimonies of
cases of vampirism that occurred during the 18ththe witnesses made the town officials decide to
century happened near the territory of the Hungariandestroy the merchant's corpse despite the wife's
Kingdom. In 1706, Karl Ferdinand Scherz wrote andresistance. The first attempts proved to be
published the widely read De magia postuma bookunsuccessful. However, in the end of the story, the
about vampires that accurately described thetown people successfully burned the corpse. In 1720,
Moravian-Hungarian border several vampire cases. Inthe reports of the vampire epidemic spread across
1707, the Ruzomberok studied and made a lengthythe areas of north Hungary and Transylvania.
discussion about the exhuming, beheading, and thenIn 1730, a peasant soldier complained of a Turkish
burning of corpses practices. In 1709, the Hungarianvampire tormenting him. He lived in the village of
doctor Samuel Koleseri gave a shocking accountMedvegia near Belgrade. He attempted to treat his
about a certain illness that plagues Transylvania. Theillness but instead died from an accident. He then
shocking story narrated of several corpses dug upbecame a vampire. The people exhumed the
by the community and then either beheaded orsuspected corpse of Arnold Paul, the soldier, forty
pierced by a pole. The community believed that thedays after his death. The people found blood in his
corpses were responsible for the spread of theveins, which made them decide to destroy his corpse
deadly plague.by a pole. The people heard and saw Paul gave a
In 1718, the strangest story of Kaszparek shockedterrifying shriek when they pierced him with a pole.
the town of Lublo, which was located on theThe people heard other witnesses accounted the
Hungarian-Polish border. Kaszparek, a merchant, stolesame vampire epidemic cases from the same place
his Polish customer's fortune. The story narrated thatand from the same relevant period. In 1740's,
he died shortly after the incident and then came backvampire cases from Transylvania, Moravia, and Serbia
from the grave to unite with his wife. The othercontinued to draw public interest.