FORTEAN TIMES UNCONVENTION 1996
2. POST-MORTEM MOVEMENTS AND THE RISE OF THE VAMPIRE (David Taylor-Pescod, The
Vampire Society).
In this lecture we see how various diseases, and ignorance about the fate of the body after death, may
have contributed to undead legends.
How the undead came into existence
(1) Predisposition (troublesome and awkward people, suicides, treacherous barmaids etc)
(2) Predestination (people born with a defect, being a seventh child, having an extra nipple, born covered
in hair, having hair on the spine etc)
(3) Events (things done to people, things people do, things that happen to people)
(4) Things left undone
Vampires
Folklore: from peasants
poor, plump and short
vampire a loner
sex not important
sleep in graveyards
Fiction: from nobility
wealthy, tall and thin
vampire a leader
sexually active
sallow
suck blood
sleep in coffins
Two cases of 'vampires':
(1) Breslau Shoemaker died by suicide 1591/2
(2) Serbia, Peter Plogojowitz died after a short illness, 1795
The experiences felt by those 'visited' in both cases were on going to sleep, in dreams, a feeling of terror
and suffocation. No blood was sucked from anybody.
State of corpse on exhumation:
Shoemaker After 5 months:
body intact
no smell
new skin
hair and nails growing
body fuller than in life
corpse groaned
Peter After 10 weeks
body intact
no smell
new skin
hair and nails growing
body fuller than in life
fresh blood
erect penis
corpse groaned
The methods used to kill the 'vampires' ended the experiences.
Methods:
Shoemaker
head cut off
dismembered
heart removed
burned
ashes in river
Peter
sharpened stake through heart
body burned
Examples of diseases associated with vampires in the living (Mr Taylor-Pescod showed us photographs of
each):
Teeth: hypohyrodtic ectodermal dysphasia, pointed canine teeth
Bites: lesions appear close by tumours (fungoides)
Hair: diseases that produce peculiar hairgrowths e.g. on shoulder, over eyes, over mouth
Skin: sensitivity to light (leaving blisters, ulceration or scars), or scales on skin, or a disease that involves
light sensitivity with pigmentation to skin, while urine is red and the digits of the fingers decay and
shorten, or a skin condition that causes a red rash if skin is exposed to the sun, or L’Homme Rouge, In
which the whole body turns red, or , worst of all, a condition where a child is born with is eyelids growing
out instead of in.
The fate of a body after death:
The body can be either naturally mummify, be cremated, go through apidocere or go through putrefaction.
Only fossilization stops complete dissolution.
Putrefaction:
(1) greenish colour over right iliac fossa
(2) extension of greenish colour over the whole of the abdomen and other parts
(3) discolouration and swelling of the face
(4) swelling of vulva, scrotum, penis
(5) distension of abdomen with gases
(6) brownish colouration of surface veins giving pattern to skin
(7) development of blisters over skin
(8) bursting of blisters and shedding of large irregular areas of epidermis
(9) escape of fluids from mouth and nostrils
(10) liquification of the eyeballs
(11) increasing discolouration of body generally (body goes black)
(12) greater and progressive abdominal distension
(13) fluids discharge, sometimes with violence, from anus and other orifices
(14) masses of maggots cover exposed skin (skin slippage)
(15) shedding of nails
(16) loosening of hair
(17) facial features unrecognizable
(18) conversion of tissues into a semi-fluid mass
(19) bursting of abdominal and thoracic cavities
(20) progressive dissolution of body (skeletalization)
Interesting points: gravity causes the blood to settle. If the body is resting on its back then the blood settles
in that area. The top part of the body is therefore pale. However, a body on its back can be
pale/exsanguinated if the person died of a peptic ulcer because of internal bleeding.
The first sign of decay is a slight discolouration. Greeny-white bacteria starts to spread through blood
vessels beneath the skin. Marbling occurs on the shoulders. Eyeballs protrude a lot. The surface skin slides
off and reveals fresh skin below. Marbling travels down the legs - the scrotum distends with gas. The
abdomen becomes swollen and skin slips, so the body appears larger. The skin slips on the feet, amking
them look muddy., and on the hands, which makes them look like muddy rubber gloves. The skin beneath
the 'gloves' looks better. It is not unusual for bodies to 'groan'.
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