Christians would bury the dead, pagans would cremate. As Christianity expanded, people wouldn’t know whether they could trust burial as a proper way to keep the

Christians would bury the dead, pagans would cremate. As Christianity expanded, people wouldn’t know whether they could trust burial as a proper way to keep the dead from monstrously reanimating, think revenants or vampires. So for a couple of generations as the practice of burial took hold, many dead would be buried with a stake through the heart for good measure. And thats one of the origins for the whole staking the dracula comes from in the modern folklore.