In the movies, one of the most popular ways to identify a vampire is to see if the suspected casts a reflection in a mirror. If they did not, then they are viewed a creature of the night. In this article, you will learn about ways that people identified vampires
In the past, some believed that you could find the grave of a vampire by leading a virgin boy through a graveyard or church grounds on a virgin stallion. The horse would feel uneasy in the cemetery. Black horses were used for this test, although Albanians were known to use a white horse. If holes were seen in the ground over a grave, it was seen as a sign of Vampirism.
The way a vampire was identified varied from culture to culture. Nature also played a role in keeping vampires away, such as the branches of wild rose, the hawthorn plant, and hanging the aloe vera plant backwards behind a door (according to a South American superstition). Roman Catholics believed that true vampires could not enter a church or holy place because they were servants of the devil. Someone who had an aversion to church and religion was a suspect for being a vampire.
People would dig up graves to prove their theories. Typically, the dead body belonging to a vampire was described as having a healthier appearance than it should , give the rate of discomposure. Sometimes, fresh blood was thought to have been covering the face of the suspected vampire. Villagers would suspect the handiwork of a vampire when the number of deaths among cattle, sheep, relatives and neighbors increased. Some believed that vampires were also connected to activity often associated with poltergeists. If objects moved on their own in a home or if someone felt their skin being touched or pressed in the middle of the night, a vampire could have been behind the actions.
How Can You Kill a Vampire?
One of the most commonly seen ways to kill a vampire is to drive a wooden stake or something similarly sharp through the heart. It has been a long-held belief that you can protect yourself from a vampire by wearing garlic, splashing holy water on the creature, using crosses, and carrying around a Bible. In many books and movies, the home is a safe haven, as vampires need an invitation to enter. It is when a victim unwittingly gives the OK for one to come in that they are placed in danger.
The need to kill a vampire was believed avoided if they were kept from rising from a grave. Some people buried suspected corpses upside down. Some severed the tendons at the knees to keep them from moving. Others placed poppy seeds on the ground around the gravesite so that the vampire would spend all night counting the seeds and find they were helpless against the rising sun. Many believed that vampires had a preoccupation with counting small grains, seeds, or sawdust.