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They mention the coin placed in mouths - but as far as I know, this has nothing to do with protection against vampires. It's to pay Charon to cross the river :)

They mention the coin placed in mouths - but as far as I know, this has nothing to do with protection against vampires. It's to pay Charon to cross the river :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon%27s_obol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon%27s_obol

etiam 3y ago
Not that I know the details of medieval vampire lore, but doesn't it sort of follow that if the deceased has crossed to far side of Styx they'd be much less eligible for walking/flying/crawling/whatever around as one of the restless dead? It seems like the practice could well share inheritance with ancient Greece, but I'd be surprised if the motivating mythology would be quite the same. Wonder what the story was in ancient Poland..
- smcl 3y ago
  You probably want to cover your bases, IMO. If they're a vampire, ok no worries we have the little sickle over their neck. If they're not - a couple of złoty to help them on their journey in the afterlife.
  - Cthulhu_ 3y ago
    It's like anticonception; more measures means a lower chance of the undead running amok. I mean they're already consecrated and buried, it won't hurt to also add padlocks, stakes, coins, sickles, and (another thing I haven't seen in the article) a cage around the grave.
    - TeMPOraL 3y ago
      > a cage around the grave I suspect this one may have more to do with countering external threats.
- Timon3 3y ago
  As far as I'm aware, the common understanding is that a vampire doesn't have a soul anymore, they are undead. This is why they supposedly can't see themselves in mirrors. https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/38468 https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/38468 This would imply that helping the soul cross the river doesn't prevent "vampirification".
  - akomtu 3y ago
    Addressing a vampire as "they" may be in fact dangerous, for most of the vampires are from the pre-internet age.
    - Cthulhu_ 3y ago
      What are you trying to say here? Can you elaborate? As far as I'm aware English predates the internet.
      - alexeldeib 3y ago
        I think it’s alluding to “they” being non binary/woke to refer to a single person
        r2_pilot 3y ago
        Using "they" to denote genderless singular has been common in English for more than a century.
        alexeldeib 3y ago
        I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, just answering the question as I saw it :)
        chc 3y ago
        The singular "they" is in fact about as old as the singular "you" (which was also strictly a plural before then).
    - 3y ago
H8crilA 3y ago
It seems that this practice didn't spread to Slavic Europe, with the possible exception of Ukraine around the Black Sea. This region had been under Greek/Byzantine influences for millennia. Also, back then this area was partly Turkish, for example Crimea was controlled by the Crimean Khanate. The wild steppes of Zaporizhia separated it from "proper Slavic civilization". Ironically this is exactly where the current ruso-ukrainian frontline is.
- TheAlchemist 3y ago
  Not sure if it was really practiced, but I definitely heard about it when I was a kid (in Poland).
- Cthulhu_ 3y ago
  > Ironically this is exactly where the current ruso-ukrainian frontline is. I think it's quite common to see front lines and new borders form around ethnic or cultural borders, instead of existing / established country borders. Or that there's clear cultural differences on old borders, like for example where the Roman empire's borders were, or the borders between England, Wales and Scotland in the UK.
  - eigenket 3y ago
    Wallsend (where Hadrian's Wall stopped) is about 100km South-East of Berwick-upon-Tweed where the border between England and Scotland has been for a long time. There has been a lot of history since the days Roman empire.
seabass-labrax 3y ago
If you haven't already, listen to Chris de Burgh's sublime Don't Pay the Ferryman: 3 minutes and 44 seconds of sublime high-octane pop-rock music which conjures up images of this very nugget of folklore.
- at_a_remove 3y ago
  To bring it full circle, that low-spoken bit from The Tempest? Some of that is Anthony Head, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
tptacek 3y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachzehrer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachzehrer
btbuildem 3y ago
Charon didn't get as far north, his jurisdiction was mostly in the Mediterranean

etiam 3y ago

Not that I know the details of medieval vampire lore, but doesn't it sort of follow that if the deceased has crossed to far side of Styx they'd be much less eligible for walking/flying/crawling/whatever around as one of the restless dead? It seems like the practice could well share inheritance with ancient Greece, but I'd be surprised if the motivating mythology would be quite the same. Wonder what the story was in ancient Poland..

smcl 3y ago
You probably want to cover your bases, IMO. If they're a vampire, ok no worries we have the little sickle over their neck. If they're not - a couple of złoty to help them on their journey in the afterlife.
- Cthulhu_ 3y ago
  It's like anticonception; more measures means a lower chance of the undead running amok. I mean they're already consecrated and buried, it won't hurt to also add padlocks, stakes, coins, sickles, and (another thing I haven't seen in the article) a cage around the grave.
  - TeMPOraL 3y ago
    > a cage around the grave I suspect this one may have more to do with countering external threats.
Timon3 3y ago
As far as I'm aware, the common understanding is that a vampire doesn't have a soul anymore, they are undead. This is why they supposedly can't see themselves in mirrors. https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/38468 https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/38468 This would imply that helping the soul cross the river doesn't prevent "vampirification".
- akomtu 3y ago
  Addressing a vampire as "they" may be in fact dangerous, for most of the vampires are from the pre-internet age.
  - Cthulhu_ 3y ago
    What are you trying to say here? Can you elaborate? As far as I'm aware English predates the internet.
    - alexeldeib 3y ago
      I think it’s alluding to “they” being non binary/woke to refer to a single person
      - r2_pilot 3y ago
        Using "they" to denote genderless singular has been common in English for more than a century.
        alexeldeib 3y ago
        I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, just answering the question as I saw it :)
        chc 3y ago
        The singular "they" is in fact about as old as the singular "you" (which was also strictly a plural before then).
  - 3y ago

H8crilA 3y ago

It seems that this practice didn't spread to Slavic Europe, with the possible exception of Ukraine around the Black Sea. This region had been under Greek/Byzantine influences for millennia. Also, back then this area was partly Turkish, for example Crimea was controlled by the Crimean Khanate. The wild steppes of Zaporizhia separated it from "proper Slavic civilization". Ironically this is exactly where the current ruso-ukrainian frontline is.

TheAlchemist 3y ago
Not sure if it was really practiced, but I definitely heard about it when I was a kid (in Poland).
Cthulhu_ 3y ago
> Ironically this is exactly where the current ruso-ukrainian frontline is. I think it's quite common to see front lines and new borders form around ethnic or cultural borders, instead of existing / established country borders. Or that there's clear cultural differences on old borders, like for example where the Roman empire's borders were, or the borders between England, Wales and Scotland in the UK.
- eigenket 3y ago
  Wallsend (where Hadrian's Wall stopped) is about 100km South-East of Berwick-upon-Tweed where the border between England and Scotland has been for a long time. There has been a lot of history since the days Roman empire.

seabass-labrax 3y ago

If you haven't already, listen to Chris de Burgh's sublime Don't Pay the Ferryman: 3 minutes and 44 seconds of sublime high-octane pop-rock music which conjures up images of this very nugget of folklore.

at_a_remove 3y ago
To bring it full circle, that low-spoken bit from The Tempest? Some of that is Anthony Head, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

tptacek 3y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachzehrer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachzehrer

btbuildem 3y ago

Charon didn't get as far north, his jurisdiction was mostly in the Mediterranean