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TB and Vampires in 1970s Poland

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 8:19 pm
by auntiebi0tic
On 5 Feb 1970 Franz von Poblocki in the Polish town of Kantrzyno, was buried in the local graveyard. Two weeks later, his son Anton also died, while other members of the family experienced debilitating illness and terrifying nightmares.

To the locals, the answer was clear. Even in the late 20th century, Franz had become a vampire, and was feeding on the souls of his family.

The family brought in a vampire hunter who beheaded Anton?s corpse and headed to the graveyard to exhume Franz. The undertaker immediately went to the priest, who tried to stop them, but that night, Franz was dug up and beheaded. The obvious cause of the deaths was TB, and the family and hunter were put on trial and found guilty. Though a court of appeal dropped the charges.

Today we are generally less superstitious of illness. But in the past we can say vampires existed in a sick society in more ways than one.

Published with kind permission of? Anthony North, November 2007. For more scary, interesting and puzzling facts please visit Beyond the blog, Vampires and Sickness