The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-10

ually dying away as education invades the
remoter recesses of the land Even in
Athens one sun sometimes hears: May
the vampire take your-a curse of dla-
boicai nature. But the belief in YAM
pres Is now confined TO the .ower classes.
ana perhaps chiefly TO the Albanians, o.
Whom Won Hahn relates that they enter
tam many other absurd supersutions. such
as Dehef in the existence of men with
tails-no doubt "reminiscences OF the Satyr
OF classical mythology. Among us most
people nave but a vague and indefinite
idea in regard to the vampire, his raison
q etre his haunts and habits. 1t seems
mat after death some people do not rest
quietly in their graves, but come forth al
night when the moon shines. They live
by sucking the blood of men. and return
10 thelr tombs at the approach of dawn
| AFTER gorging themselves with human
blood. There are two kinds of vampires:
the o!ood-sucking and a less malignant
variety. 1t is of the malignant vampire
t4dt byron speaks when he writes:
But first, on earth, as vampire sent.
my corpse shall from its tomb be rent:
then ghastly haunt thy native place.
Ana suck the blood Of all thy race"
The best evidence that death has been
caused oy a vampire IS the mark of the
blte on the nape of the neck though sud
work The fear of sudden death is said
10 De very great among the peoples with
Whom the vampire lives to dwell, for the
reason that he who has been killed by a
vampire himself becomes one Allauus
tells us that the vampire is not the soul
or the deceased, but an evil spirit which
enters the body of the dead person He
SAYS:
The corpse Is entered by demon which
IS the source of ruin to unhappy men For
frequently emerging from the tomb in the
FORM or That body, and roaming about the
CITY ana other inhabited places especially
ny night, II betakes itself 10 any house It
I'lhcleS' and after knocking at the door
actresses one of its inmates i'm a loud tone
II the person answers he is done for. If
ne does not answer he is safe. In conse-
quence OF this. the people of the Island of
Chlos never reply the first time II any
one calls them by night
FIRE is the surest protection against
vampires. Behold. then the key to the
treatment 10 which we We're subjected bv
the Albanian peasant. The poor creature
mad mistaken us for vampires We did
not discover this fact until after our re-
turn TO Athens, when some friends. to
whom we recounted our strange adven-
ture' opened our eyes. We had not seen a
vampire ourselves, but the Albanian saw
two, and trembled.
du Levant a., 13l fl, gives an amazing
account of the laying of a vampire-demon
by cremation in the Island of Myconos A
quarrelsome peasant had been murdered in
the fields. Two days after his burial ~
was known that he had appeared at night
and played tricks on people. The priests
sedulously spread the report for II
meant that masses would he said. on the
tenth day after burial, solemn mass was
said, the body was exhumed, and the heart
was cut out by the village butcher-an op
GRAFTON attended by the escape of such
noxious gases that the abundant use of
incense was necessary. Every one was cry
ing, vampire, vampirew Some said that
the blood was red; the butcher averred
that the body was warm, others that the
corpse was not stiff when carried out for
burial-A sure sign that 1t was a genuine
vampire. The heart of the corpse was
burned on the seashore. But all this had
no effect on the vampire, who continued
his FRANKS as before; every one had some
big tale TO tell of his doings. II came FIN
ally, to such a pitch that people abandoned
their houses and encamped in the squares,
and all were terrified at the approach of
/ night. The priests reaped a rich harvest.
/ All day long men were busy plunglng
swords into the grave, until a wise Alba
nian discovered that the hits of the
swords resembed a cross and of all thines
I til' feihl'iAN iteiA9 tic NlOSH must btGduSe
he can never leave his tomb as long as a
cross is on it. He suggested the use of
Turkish swords. But all was i'm vain the
campre continued his wicked ways; the
people were beside themselves with ter
ror, and so many families emgrated TO the
neghboring islands that Myconos was
threatened with depopulation. A great fu-
neral pyre. consisting of wood, pitch and
tar. was erected on jutung promonotory
of The island and on 1t the remnants of the
corpse were burned to ashes. The YAM
pire was laid; Myconos had peace, and
many ballads were composed in honor OF
the event.