Vampire Legend

In Hollywood, vampires are often depicted as charming and sexy, if also a bit dangerous. In the medieval world, however, vampires were regarded as objects of fear, arousing one of humanity's deepest primal dreads: the notion that the undead returned to prey on loved ones and spread pestilence—including leprosy and the Black Death. Directed by Kate Thomas-Couth, Tobey Fenn, and Nick Head, this documentary from the PBS-aired Secrets of the Dead series looks at vampire legends, some of which are still believed in remote parts of Europe. Archaeological digs at Anglo-Saxon gravesites reveal evidence of "deviant burials” in which corpses have been mutilated, staked to the ground, or weighted down with large rocks. In some cases, legs have been broken, and heads or hearts removed—sometimes placed on top of the body, with the obvious goal of preventing the dead from walking. Historically, dark mutterings claimed that some corpses were "shroud eaters," with distended bellies from drinking blood and fresh sanguine flecks seen around the mouth. Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula fixed the modern image of an urbane Count who was capable of shape-shifting at will—a notion that has been reinforced by innumerable Hollywood films. Contrary to popular belief, vampire slayings are not quite a thing of the past; recounted here is an incident that occurred in rural Romania as recently as 2004. The film dispels some myths along the way (swollen bellies and blood on the dead can be explained by bacterial activity), while also serving up insightful interviews (including comments from one of Stoker's descendants). Offering a tantalizing mix of fact, legend, and superstition—suggesting that vampire legends, like vampires themselves, never truly die—this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)