BETWEEN SUPERSTITION AND SCIENCE

BY LOREDANA PREDA

In the Romanian Banat, a historical region of central Europe, these tales still terrify the collective imagination of the old, as well as of the young.

The most important and reliable evidence comes from the chronicles of the early nineteenth century, when, after the end of the Ottoman rule, in 1718, Banat became a territory incorporated into the Hapsburg Empire.

The rigor of the Austrian imperial house did not take long to make itself felt even among the populations of those lands who lived suspended between myth and superstition, between archaic beliefs, religion, and a world that made science a marginal aspect of its existence. It seems that it all began in the year 1725, when, in one of the reports of a Viennese official, the first case of vampirism linked to those territories was recorded and reported.

The story refers to the death of a farmer, Peter Blogovici, after whose death a series of “anomalous” events begins to appear in the village of Kisolova.

Why was the man cataloged as a vampire? Why these accusations?

Immediately after his death, both in the country and in his family, nine deaths occurred for nine consecutive nights, unexpected, deaths. As if that were not enough, Peter’s son began to tell that every night, at the time of his father’s death, he (or a being in his likeness) would show up in the house, asking for food and drink.

The young man, who had refused to please the starving creature, reported that his father had sucked blood from his neck, and then disappeared into the darkness. The boy began to suffer from fever, chills, hatred in the face and lack of appetite.

The villagers put the events head to head and came to the conclusion that the culprit of the nine deaths and of having drained the vital energies of the orphan boy was none other than Peter.

Since they had to have proof of what was alleged, the peasants claimed the events from the Habsburg authorities, and asked for permission to unearth the body.

In the report, delivered in writing to the Viennese court, the following was recorded: “In the mouth of the deceased I noted, to my immense amazement, the presence of fresh blood. Surely it was the blood drunk from the bodies of the nine people

Peter killed. “

Peter’s body will be pierced by a sharp pole, which will cross his heart, considered to be the seat of life. To ensure that they have definitely sent not only the body but also the soul of man to the afterlife, the peasants, in agreement with the ecclesiastical authorities, decide to completely burn the corpse.

This 1725 report will appear in the European press and will initiate a series of phenomena of collective hysteria concerning the creatures of the night, including vampires. The written chronicles and the stories spread orally speak, later, of hundreds of deceased “denounced” as vampires. The Habsburg representatives will be terrified of the local people. Empress Maria Theresa will send doctors to investigate these unprecedented phenomena.

By questioning relatives and acquaintances of the suspected deceased, scientists note and record some common characteristics among them; these are mainly the similarities regarding the symptoms that preceded death: excruciating pain in the stomach, intestines, nausea and vomiting, unbearable pains in the head, tachycardia, irregular pulse.

Often, before leaving this world, so-called vampires were haunted by nightmares, where they told of seeing monstrous creatures vampirizing those left alive. A kind of premonitory dream.

These details aroused the attention of the members of the community, who, once the deceased was buried, according to customs that are lost in the darkness of history, brought a white horse led by a young child to the cemetery at midnight. If the horse refused to pass over the grave of the deceased, that was an unmistakable sign that the dead man was a vampire. Then they passed to the exhumation and proceeded by piercing the heart and burning the corpse.

Given the multiplication of cases of vampirism, the peasants had also developed methods to defend themselves from any vampires. In the folkloristic handbook we find: a box containing two guns or two long and sharp nails (sometimes replaced by wooden stakes), to kill and pierce the vampire; garlic powder or other exorcistic plants, to remove it or not bring it close to the home; Saints icons.

These events, disseminated by Viennese, German and French publications, brought curious people from all over Europe to Banat. The French Academy sent delegations to investigate. The doctors turned their attention to the cemeteries of this “wild East”, the lands where vampires, the Stigoi Roamed.

Maria Teresa condemned the pagan customs and sanctioned, through the officials, with fines and even imprisonment, the desecrators of tombs.

As for the latter, it is said that, despite the measures taken to combat the phenomenon, one day, angry with one of her court ladies, she hit the young girl on her face so hard that she made a nosebleed spurt. of the young woman. Since she could not wash her hand immediately, the Empress must wait for a few hours, time in which the blood dried on the back of her palm. Once she arrived at the Castle, cleaned with water, the empress noticed that between the hand where her blood had been there was a notable difference. The skin of the bloody hand was visibly firmer, more turgid, younger looking. It is said that, by virtue of this set of events, the Empress, underneath, began to believe in the lifegiving and rejuvenating power of blood and that, every month, she performed real beauty rituals, where the ingredient chief was the blood of virgin maidens.

Clinical psychologist, integrated strategic psychotherapist, EMDR therapist, expert in juvenile distress, in support for parenting and in eating disorders.

Romanian by origin and Italian by adoption, I live in a province of Bologna. I am consultant and life coach, dedicating myself, to esoteric, spiritual, religious and cultural issues.

Painter, musician, author of theatre and writer. The artist has exhibited his works in Paris, Lausanne, Milan, Czestechowa, Turin, Lyon, Kaiserslautern, HongKong (Affordable Art Fair 2015), Cannes (Festival International du Film 2008) and participated in December 2018 with three works at the "Prima Biennale della Street Art e Delle Visioni Metropolitane" in the Piacenza Expo.

Italian entrepreneur in the musical industry, living in New York since 2017. He actively promotes Italian culture in the U.S. and supports associations in the Italian community by bringing artists, new content and a fresh vision of Italy to the Italian events that he supports..

Book writer author, native of New Jersey who currently A master of science in clinical mental health counseling, therapist by trade and a social activist by nature .

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Trained in the humanities, her studies began with the “Alfieri” high school in Asti, to continue with a degree in Philosophy and a PhD and Postdoctoral degree at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, which led her to live in Turin, in the city of Pisa. in which she graduated in 1994 with honors, in Naples (essential for the study of G. Vico), and in Paris