The people who buried the 5-7 year old child suspected of being a “vampire” used a triangular shackle to keep him in the grave for 400 years .

Researchers unearthed the remains of a “vampire” child buried facedown and shackled to the ground, likely to allay villagers’ fears and ensure death does not come back. The remains of a child about 5 – 7 years old were discovered in an anonymous mass cemetery in the village of Pień, near Ostromecko, Poland.

Also at this cemetery, last year, the research team found the remains of a “vampire” woman shackled at the thumb and with a sickle across her neck to prevent the dead from rising from the grave.

Children’s skeleton buried with shackles in the grave. (Photo: Dariusz Poliński)

Archeology professor Dariusz Poliński from Nicolaus Copernicus University, who directed both excavations, said the two graves were located two meters apart in the cemetery. He and his colleagues believe that this is a temporary cemetery for “deportees” who cannot be buried in Christian cemeteries for many reasons.

Poliński’s team excavated about 100 graves in the cemetery, many of which revealed unusual burial practices , including vampire deterrents such as triangular shackles worn on the feet to immobilize the dead. with the ground. They speculate there are several reasons why a person might be buried in such a cemetery. The individual may exhibit strange behavior while alive that frightens those around them, or they may die from a disease that causes their appearance to become unusual. It is also possible that the person died suddenly in incomprehensible circumstances.

Villagers in the 17th century tended to fear burials of unbaptized children or people who had drowned. According to Poliński, the archaeological team also found a series of bones near the child’s grave and the body of a woman who was about 6 months pregnant.

Matteo Borrini, lecturer in anthropology at John Moore University, Liverpool, the practice of burying vampires has been popular in Europe since the 14th century. People at that time believed that vampires would hunt and kill their members. in the family first, then to neighbors and other people in the village.