‘Child vampire’ body is found in Poland: 17th century locals feared body of youngster could come back to life, archaeologists say

• A woman with a scythe across her neck was found in the same cemetery 

The remains of a six-year-old child a community feared would come back to life as a vampire have been discovered in Poland partially exhumed and with half the body missing, archaeologists say.

The 17th-century Polish cemetery in the village of Pien has been the focus of historians this week after it was revealed multiple bodies had been unearthed with ‘anti-revenant’ protection methods.

Myths surrounding the undead and vampires date back to as early as the 11th century in eastern Europe, and it is not uncommon for skeletons bearing the marks of these superstitions to be unearthed.

In eastern Europe tales of people who died and then returned to the living world several months later were rife, and were often blamed for sudden deaths, accidents or even just generally making life more difficult – such as being held responsible for a poor harvest.

But the discovery of a tiny child’s skeleton treated this way is believed to be the first of its kind.

The remains of a ‘female vampire’ pinned to the ground by a sickle across her throat and a padlocked toe to ‘prevent her returning from the dead’ were also found in a village in Poland

Researchers discovered the remains during archaeological work at a 17th century cemetery in the village of Pien (pictured)

The child, believed to be around six years old, was discovered buried face-down, so that if they awoke they would bite the ground rather than suck the blood from the people above them, the Times reports.

Its foot was also held in a padlock, which could have been to make its exit from the grave harder, or to symbolise the ‘closing of a stage’ and make it impossible for the child to return.

But archaeologists also discovered that after burial, the body was partially exhumed and the top half removed, presumably to be destroyed. 

Team leader Professor Dariusz Poliński from the Nicholas Copernicus University in the nearby city of Torun told the Times the child was clearly ‘greatly feared’.

He continued: ‘The reason for such a brutal and disgusting burial is unknown.’

The grim discovery was made in the same cemetery as a woman who was buried with a scythe pressing down on her neck – a way to ensure she would decapitate herself if she tried to rise from the dead, experts said.

Professor Poliński previously told MailOnline: ‘Ways to protect against the return of the dead include cutting off the head or legs, placing the deceased face down to bite into the ground, burning them, and smashing them with a stone.

‘The sickle was not laid flat but placed on the neck in such a way that if the deceased had tried to get up most likely the head would have been cut off or injured.’

Researchers also found the skeletal remains had a silk cap on its head, indicating she had held a high social status, and a protruding tooth

Team leader Professor Dariusz Poliński from the Nicholas Copernicus University said: ‘Ways to protect against the return of the dead include cutting off the head or legs, placing the deceased face down to bite into the ground, burning them, and smashing them with a stone’

The grim discovery was made in the same cemetery as a woman who was buried with a scythe pressing down on her neck – a way to ensure she would decapitate herself if she tried to rise from the dead, experts said 

In a similar way to the witch trials, myths surrounding blood-sucking revenants returning to haunt a local populace caused significant hysteria in some areas of Europe – and even led to some executions of innocents thought to be vampires.

Those who died and were deemed to be at risk of returning were often buried in remote graveyards away from major settlements.

Professor Poliński said this could include people who died unbaptised or those who killed themselves.

They could also have had particularly violent deaths or experienced frightening symptoms of mental illness, or serious diseases. 

Methods to ensure they remained dead included placing a scythe over the body, burning it or even staking and decapitating it. 

In 2015, archaeologists in the village of Drewsko 130 miles away found five skeletons buried in a similar manner at a 400-year-old cemetery.

Sickles were found pressed against the throats of an adult man, who was between 35 to 44 years old, and an adult woman around 35 to 39 years old.

An older woman, who was 50 to 60 years old when she died, was buried with a sickle laying across her hips, and a medium sized stone at her throat.

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