The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-04-16

blood from living persons, especially
Its own relatives, and thus to nourish
itself and prevent the usual decay.
The persons attacked, 1t Is said,
sometime feel themselves in a dream
caught by the neck and almost
strangled or unable to keep off the
fearful visitant who lies on
their breast, they decline very rapidly
and after death become themselves
vampires, and so on without end,
until by fOrcible measures, the fearful
terror Is dispelled.
According to this superstition,
which prevails in Poland and West
ern Prussia, the ability to become
vampire Is given with the sO-called
Fortunatus' cap, which In all ages
and among all people has been re-
garded as an emblem of prosperity.
Such vampire candidates are said to
be somewhat dictatorial and avari-
ciOus. The principal sign, 1t is be-
lieved, is to be found in the corpse.
The face retains its color; the blood
flows freely; the stiffness and often
siveness of dead bodies are entirely
absent, as though the person were in
q trance.
There are various methods adopted
by these superstitious people for dis
troying the vampires; some mild,
others more severe. One is to turn
the dead body in the coffin with the
face downward. Another is to drive
wooden stake through the breast,
and further, to cut off the head and
lay it face downward, between the
legs. While the body is thus horri-
J bly, treated, the people declare that
grOans are heard and wild laughter
, from the mouth of the vampire. In
some cases the dead body is burned
to ashes.
, After Anton Won POblocki's, death,
, and his mother and sister were taken
, sick, the family determined to resort
to the severest measures of relief, the
| execution of which devOlved on the
second son, Joseph, who was now the
| head of the family. The head of the
J dead brother was cut off and laid be-
tween his feet, as already described
, The same operation was to be per
formed on the night before the som,
{ funeral. Joseph Van Pollock, will
: this view, went the day befOr to thu
? grave-digger of the place, and Offered
= him round sum OF money ii III
? would dig the grave for his brother
SO near to the fathers that they could
2 without much trouble, break through
the separating earth and open tn,
3 coffin of the supposed vampire. Thu
1 grave-digger consented to do this, bu
first consulted the pastor of the vii
2 lage church. The worthy clergyman
f forbade his taking any part in such :
: dissertation and ordered him to dig
| the grave as usual. He also set +,
watch on the night before the funeral
3 The Waterman was, however, care
: less, and the men were not disturbed
3 until they had accomplished thei
Q purpose. Joseph and his assistance
Y were tried for their act of desecratiOn
and were found guilty by the distric
s court. This sentence was revered b.
4 the Courts of Appeals, but the Yer
1 dict was set aside by the Superio
n Court, and the case sent back to b.
t tried again by the tribunal of tn,
district. The trial was prOtractet
0 through two years, but all the partie
t were finally acquitted, on the insult
, ficient ground that they meant NJ
l wrong.
If we now ask for the origin O
Q this strange and horrible superstition
s we shall probably find it in the an
4 cient dOctrin that the souls of tn
f dead pass into the bodies of Othe
e anlmals-a doctrine still held by tn
HindoOs. There is Il hat In Soutl
t America which sometimes sucks tn
s blood of other animals, and if thi
4 species once existed in Europe, i
l may have given rise to the belief tina
I the dead sometimes rise from thei
graves and nOurish themselve
: on the blood of the living. Th'
wonder is that the superstition SHOULD
+ maintain its ground in this age of al
most universal education and of sci
: entific inquiry.