GMF May 1850

GMF May 1850 A Modern Vampyre

## Print Info

* Green-Mountain Freeman
* Montpelier, Washington, Vermont, USA
* 2 May 1850, Thu · Page 1
* Relevant To: Arnold Paole, Jean Grenier, Sergeant Bertrand
* Other Editions: reprinted from Chambers Edinburgh Journal, Scotland, 1850

## Article Text

NOTE: spelling errors caused by a rushed typesetter during orig. printing have been corrected but period-genuine errors in names and the like have been left intact.

Select Miscellany

### A MODERN VAMPYRE

FROM CHAMBER'S EDINBURGH JOURNAL

Whoever had read the "Arabian Night' Entertainments," will be acquainted with the words ghoul and vampyre. A ghoul was believed to be a being in the human form, who frequented graveyards and cemeteries, where it disinterred, tore to pieces, and devoured the bodies buried there. A vampyre was a dead person, who came out of his grave at night to suck the blood of the living and whoever was so sucked became a vampyre in his turn when he died. -- Both these persuasions have been rejected by the modern scientific world as altogether unworthy of credence or inquiry, although unworthy of credence or inquiry, although about a century ago, the exploits of vampyres created such a sensation in Hungary, that they reached the ears of Louis XV., who directed his Minister a Vienna to report upon them. In a newspaper of that period there appeared a paragraph to the effect that Arnold Paul, a native of Madveiga being crushed to death by a wagon, and buried, had since become a vampyre, and that he had himself been previously bitten by one. The authorities being informed of the terror his visits were occasioning, and several persons having died with all the symptoms of vampirism, his grave was solemnly opened; and, although he had been in in it forty days, the body was like that of a living man. To cure his roving propensities, a stake was driven into it, whereupon he uttered a cry; after which his head was cut off, and the body burnt. Four other bodies, which had died from the consequences of his bites, and which were found in the same perfectly healthy condition, were serves in a similar manner; and it was hoped that these vigorous measures would extinguish the mischief. But no such thing; the evil continued, more or less, and five years afterwards was so rife, that the authorities determined to make through clearance of these troublesome individuals. On this occasion a vast number of graves were opened of persons of all ages and both sexes; and strange to say, the bodies of those accused of plaguing he living by their nocturnal visits, were found in the vampyre state- full of blood, and free from every symptom of death. The documents which record these transactions, bare the date of June 7, 1732, and are signed and witnessed by three surgeons and other creditable persons. The facts, in short, are indubitable, though what interpretation to put upon then remains extremely difficult. One that has been suggested, is, that all these fallen into a state of catalepsy or trance, and been buried alive. However this may be, the mystery is sufficiently perplexing; and the more so, that through the whole of Eastern Europe innumerable instances of the same kind of thing have occurred, whilst each language has an especial word to designate it.

That which in the East is called “goulism” has in the West been denominated “lycanthropy” or wolformania; and this phenomenon, as well as vampirism has been treated of by numerous ancient authors and though lately utterly denied and scouted was once very generally believed.

There are various shades and degrees of lycanthropy. In some cases the lycanthrope declares that he has the power of transforming himself into a wolf, in which disguise – his tastes corresponding to his form- he delights in feeding on human flesh; and in the public examinations of these unhappy individuals there was no scarcity of witnesses to corroborate their confessions. In other instances there was no transformation and the lycanthrope appears more closely to resemble a ghoul.

In the year 1603 a case of lycanthropy was brought before the Parliament of Bordeaux – the person accused was a boy of fourteen called Jean Grenier, who herded cattle. Several witnesses chiefly young girls came forward as his accusers, declaring that he had attacked and wounded them in the disguise of a wolf and would have killed them but for the vigorous defense they made with sticks. Jean Grenier himself avowed the crime, confessing to having killed and eaten several children and the father of the children confirmed all he said. Jean Grenier, however, appears to have been little removed from an idiot.

In the fifteenth century lycanthropy prevailed extensively among the Vaudois and many persons suffered death for it. But as no similar case seems to have been heard of for a long while, lycanthropy and goulism were set down among the superstitions of the East and the follies and fables of the dark ages. A circumstance, however, has just now come to light in France that throws a strange and unexpected light upon this curious subject. The account we are going to give is drawn from a report of the investigation before a council of war, held on the 10th of July, 1849. Colonel Manselon {acting} President. It is remarked that the Court was extremely crowded and that many ladies were present.

The facts to this mysterious affair as they came to light in the examinations are as follows: For some months past the cemeteries in and around Paris have been the scenes of a frightful profanation, the authors of which had succeeded to eluding all the vigilance that was exhorted to detect them. At one time the guardians or keepers of these places of burial were themselves suspected; at others, the odium was thrown on the surviving relations of the dead.

The cemetery of Pere la Chaise was the first field of the horrible operations. It appears that for a considerable time the guardians had observed a mysterious figure flitting about by night among the tombs on whom they could never lay their hands. As they approached he disappeared like a phantom and even the dogs that were let loose and urged to seize him stopped short and ceased to bark, as if they were transfixed by a charm. When morning broke the ravages of this strange visitant were but too visible. Graves had been opened, coffins forced, and the remains of the dead, frightfully torn and mutilated, lay scattered upon the earth. Could the surgeons be the guilty parties? No. A member of the profession being brought to the spot declared that no scientific knife had been there; but certain parts of the human body might be requires for anatomical studies and the grave-diggers might have violated the tombs to obtain money by the sale of them.

The watch was doubled but to no purpose. A young soldier was one night seized in a tomb, but he declared he had gone there to meet his sweetheart and had fallen asleep and as he evinced no trepidation, they let him go.

At length these profanations ceased in Pere la Chaise, but it was not long before they were renewed in another quarter. A suburban cemetery was the new theater of operations. A little girl, aged seven years, and much loved by her parents died. With their own hands they laid her in her coffin, attired in the frock she delighted to ware on fete days and with her playthings beside her; and accompanied by numerous relatives and friends, they saw her laid in the earth. On the following morning it was discovered that the grave had been violated, the body torn from the coffin, frightfully mutilated and the heart extracted. There was no robbery. The sensation in the neighborhood was tremendous and in the general terror and perplexity, suspicion fell on the brokenhearted father, whose innocence, however, was easily proved. Every means were taken to discover the criminal, but the only result of the increased surveillance was that the scene of the profanation was removed to the cemetery of Mont Parnasse, where the exhumations were carried to such an extent that the authorities were at their wits’ end. Considering, by the way, that all these cemeteries are surrounded by walls and have iron gates, which are kept closed, it certainly seems strange that any ghoul or vampyre of solid flesh and blood should have been able to pursue his vocation so long undiscovered. However, so it was. And it was not till they bethought themselves of laying a snare for this mysterious visitor that he was detected. Having remarked a spot where the wall, though nine feet high, appeared to have been frequently scaled an old officer contrived a sort infernal machine with a wire attached to it, which he so arranged that it would explode if anyone attempted to enter the cemetery at that point. This done,  and a watch being set, they thought themselves now secure of their purpose. Accordingly, at midnight an explosion aroused the guardians who perceived a man already in the cemetery; but before they could seize him, he had leaped the wall with an agility that confounded them and although they fired their pieces at him, he succeeded in making his escape. But his footsteps were marked by the blood that had flowed from his wounds and several scraps of military attire were picked up on the spot. Nevertheless, they seem to have been still uncertain where to seek the offender. Until one of the grave-diggers of Mont Parnasse, whilst preparing the last resting place of two criminals about to be executed, chanced to overhear sappers of the 74th regiment remarking that one of their sergeants had returned on the proceeding night cruelly wounded, nobody knew how, and had been conveyed to the Val de Grace, which is a military hospital. A little inquiry now soon cleared up the mystery and it was ascertained that Sergeant Bertrand was the author of all these profanations, and of many others of the same description previous to his arrival in Paris.

Supported on crutches, wrapped in a grey cloak, pale and feeble, Bertrand was now brought forward for examination; nor was there anything in the countenance or appearance of the young man indicative of the fearful monomania of which he is the victim. For the whole tenor of his confession proves that in no other light is his horrible propensity to be considered.

In the first place, he freely acknowledged himself the author of these violation of the dead both in Paris and elsewhere.

“What object did you propose to yourself in committing these acts?” Inquired the President

“I can’t tell,’ replied Bertrand; ‘it was a horrible impulse. I was driven to it against my own will; nothing could stop or deter me. I cannot describe nor understand myself what my sensation were in tearing and rending these bodies.”

President – And what did you do after one of these visits to a cemetery?

Bertrand – I withdrew, trembling convulsively, feeling a great desire for repose. I fell asleep, no matter where, ans slept for several hours; but during this sleep I heard everything that passed around me! I have sometimes exhumed ten to fifteen bodies in a night. I dug them up with my hands, which were often torn and bleeding with the labor I underwent; but I minded nothing, so that I could get at them. The guardians fired at me one night and wounded me, but that not prevent my returning the next. This desire seized me generally about once a fortnight.

He added that had no access of this propensity since he was in the hospital, but that he would not be sure it might not return when his wounds were healed. Still he hope not. “I think I am cured,” said he, “I had never seen anyone die, in the hospital I have seen several of my comrades expire by my side. I believe I am cured for now I fear the dead.”

The surgeons who attended him were them examined, and one of them read a sort of memoir he had received from Bertrand, which contained the history of his malady as far as his memory served him.

From these noted, it appeared that there had been something singular and abnormal about him from the time he was seven or eight years old. It was not so much in acts, as in his love of solitude and his profound melancholy that the aberration was exhibited; and it was not till two years ago that his frightful peculiarity fully developed itself. Passing a cemetery one day, where grave diggers were covering a body that had just been interred, he entered to observe them. A violent shower of rain interrupted their labors, which they left unfinished. “At this sight,’ says Bertrand, ‘horrible desires seized me; my head throbbed, my heart palpitated violently, I excused myself, my companions, and returned hastily into town. No sooner did I find myself alone than I procured a spade and returned to the cemetery. I had just succeeded in exhuming the body when I saw a peasant watching me at the gate. Whilst he went to inform the authorities of what he had seen, I withdrew, and running into a neighboring wood, I laid myself down and in spite of the torrents of rain that were falling; I remained there in a state of profound insensibility for several hours.”

From this period he appears to have given free course to his inclinations as he generally covered the mutilated remains with earth again, it was some time before his proceedings excited observation. He had many narrow escaped of being taken or killed by the pistols of the guardians; but his agility seems to have been almost superhuman.

To the living he was gentle and kind, and was especially beloved in his regiment for his frankness and gaiety!

The medical men interrogated unanimously gave it as their opinion that, although in all other respects perfectly sane, Bertrand was not responsible for these acts. He was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment, during which time measures will doubtless be taken to complete his cure.

In relating this curious case of the Vampire, as he is called in Paris, were the affair has excited considerable attention, especially in the medical world, we have omitted several painful and disgusting particulars; but we have said enough to prove that beyond a doubt, there has been some good foundation for the ancient belief in ghoulism and lycanthropy ; and that the books of Dr. Weir and other, in which the existence of this malady is contemptuously denied, have been put forth without due investigation of the subject.

## Citations

* **APA:** Unknown. (1850, May 02). A Modern Vampyre. Green-Mountain Freeman, p. 1. reprinted from Chambers Edinburgh Journal, Scotland, 1850
* **MLA:** Unknown. “A Modern Vampyre.” Green-Mountain Freeman, 2 May 1850, p. 1. reprinted from Chambers Edinburgh Journal, Scotland, 1850
* **Chicago:** Unknown. "A Modern Vampyre." Green-Mountain Freeman (Montpelier, Washington, Vermont, USA), May 02, 1850. reprinted from Chambers Edinburgh Journal, Scotland, 1850