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Peter Plogojowitz

Peter Plogojowitz, the alleged vampire, died and was buried. He was in his grave for about ten weeks when the villagers reported seeing him at night. They claimed that he came to them while they were in their bed and attacked them. Some victims indicated that the vampire suffocated them. Overall, nine people died within a week.
The general panic worsened when Plogojowitz's wife claimed to have seen her husband. She said that he came to her asking for his shoes(it was a common belief in Europe that vampires desired certain earthly possessions). The woman was so terrified by the encounter that she left the village. After that, the people decided to exhume Plogojowitz's body to dispose of him as a threat once and for all.
The Imperial Provisor who reported the incident was at first against the idea fo the vampire hunt, but he saw that the people could not be discouraged. So he and the parish priest went to the graveyard. When the body was exhumed, the first thing they noticed was that it was odor-free. They also noticed that the body was not decomposed and was whole, except for the nose, which had fallen away. Also, Plogojowitz's skin had fallen away, and new skin was growing. The same was true for his nails. Finally, there was blood flowing from his mouth.
To destroy the body, the traditional stake was used. When it was driven through the 'vampire', plenty of what was believed to be fresh blood spilled from the body. The body also displayed some 'wild signs' which were not made clear in the report. After the staking, the body was burned and the village was no longer troubled.


Aswid and Asmund

From Book 2 of the Eyrbyggia Saga, Icelandic-- There were once two great Icelandic warriors, Aswid and Asmund. They were not only the greatest of generals, but they were also blood brothers. One of them suggested, as they grew older, that they should make a death pact-- that when one of them died, the other would go to the grave with his friend. They both agreed to this and swore on their blood.

It came to pass that Aswid grew ill and died. All of the people mourned, and there was many days of funeral rites and feasting, to commemerate the fallen hero. True to his oath, Asmund followed his friend to the grave, despite the protests of other close friends and advisors. Asmund was sealed alive in the tomb with the body of his friend and many other tributes to entertain the dead in the afterlife, such as food, horses, Aswid's favorite dog and weapons.

Before Asmund had decided how best to kill himself, Aswid awoke from his death sleep. Rising as a vampire, he first consumed the body of his dog, then of the horses. He then turned his attention on his friend, and attacked him with a demonic fury. Taking up a sword, Aswid fought off his former friend.

Some three hundred years later, several daring young men set off to the tomb of the famous warriors. Despite warnings of the tomb being haunted, and of the religious implications of disturbing the dead, the brave young men went to the grave and opened it. Hearing sounds of struggle, one man volunteered to go down into the tomb. Lowering him on a rope, he went down to investigate. The friends called to him after several minutes, then were met by a great tug on the rope. They pulled the rope up, only to find an old-fashioned armored warrior at the end of it. Trying to catch his breath, Asmund told them of the story of Aswid rising as a vampire and trying to kill him. He had been fighting for his life for three hundred years, and had succeded only when the young man had appeared, offering a distraction. With that, he fell over dead. The young men, realizing the bravery of the warrior Asmund, buried him in the tomb with full honor, their companion beside him. They took the decapitated body of Aswid out and burned it, scattering his ashes to the wind.


The Shepherd of Blow
In the village of Blow, there was once a shepherd, who died for unknown reasons. Several days after his burial, he took to reappearing in his village and tormenting the people there. Anyone on whom he visited would die within 8 days. His case would be unremarkable, but for what happened next. Tired of his nightly ravishes, the villagers took the body from the grave-- finding it, of course, to be in a vampire state-- and they staked it through the heart and put it back in the grave. That night, the shepherd was again seen, and even angrier and more vicious than before. He now carried the stake in his hand, and he taunted that the stake made a good weapon to defend himself against the village dogs. The frightened people disinterred the body again and had it burned, finally ending the shepherd's deadly spree.