In 1994, archaeologists accidentally unearthed an ancient burial site that is more than a thousand years old. It consists of only eleven pits, in which the remains of thirteen people were found. The most unusual thing about this burial is that there was an aspen stake in the chest of everyone.
The existence of vampires is legendary, films and even cartoons are made about them, holidays and other themed events are organized. Thanks to the many TV series that show the stories of vampires and werewolves, people can feel like they know almost everything about these characters. But, since there is no scientific evidence for the existence of vampires, then all the conversations are nothing more than mystical tales.
However, this was not always the case. There were times when people sincerely believed that vampires were not the inventions of filmmakers and writers working in the genre of horror and mysticism. Europeans believed that vampires, or as they are also called - ghouls and ghouls - are real-life heroes who drink blood, can turn into bats and die from being hit by an aspen stake.
And not only Europeans, but also representatives of other nations from around the world have similar stories, telling about the dead who drink blood. The Sumerians called them akshars, the Hindus - the vetals, the Chinese - the Chiansh, the Romans - the Strigs. But it is interesting that almost all European stories about vampires and ghouls are of Slavic origin.
According to all these stories and legends, suicides, criminals or sorcerers became vampires. They were afraid of garlic, and they also loved to count grains and sawdust. It was possible to destroy a vampire only with the help of an aspen stake, burning, decapitation or holy water, which had to be sprayed on the body of the alleged ghoul.
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So these are the skeletons that were found in 1994 near the Czech city of Chelyakovitsy at a local cemetery. In each, the same distinctive feature was found - in the right side of the chest there was a hole from the aspen code. In addition, some of the remains had their heads, arms and legs cut off, there were stones in their mouths, and their limbs were tightly wrapped in chains and leather belts. According to research, these remains belong to men who once lived here. At the time of their death, they were all about the same age. What caused them to be killed is still a mystery.
But the fact that they were buried as vampires leaves no doubt. And it is also known for sure that later the graves were dug - the head and limbs were cut off to the dead. This was done in order, as it was believed at that time, to finally protect the local population from possible revenge of the vampires. Only later did the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, after a small personal investigation, issue a decree prohibiting any opening of graves.
Now scientists already know about the existence of a rare disease called porphyria. This disease is also called vampire disease and belongs to rare genetic blood diseases. The first symptoms of the disease are pale skin color and photophobia. Later, the skin begins to rot and become thinner, wounds appear on the human body and in the gums, and the roots of the teeth are exposed. Probably, on these grounds, people ranked patients with porphyria as vampires and werewolves. But, perhaps, the men died from any other disease or epidemic, which happened in those days. But why the inhabitants of the Czech village considered them vampires - this question remains a mystery.