05-04-2004, 06:38
>Romanian villagers decry police investigation into vampire slaying
>by MATTHEW SCHOFIELD
>Knight Ridder Newspapers
>
>MAROTINU DE SUS, Romania -- Before Toma Petre's relatives pulled his
>body from the grave, ripped out his heart, burned it to ashes, mixed it
>with water and drank it, he hadn't been in the news much.
>
>That's often the way here with vampires. Quiet lives, active deaths.
>
>Villagers here aren't up in arms about the undead -- they're pretty
>common -- but they are outraged that the police are involved in a simple
>vampire slaying. After all, vampire slaying is an accepted, though
>hidden, bit of national heritage, even if illegal.
>
>"What did we do?" pleaded Flora Marinescu, Petre's sister and the wife
>of the man accused of re-killing him. "If they're right, he was already
>dead. If we're right, we killed a vampire and saved three lives. ... Is
>that so wrong?"
>
>Yes, according to the Romanian State Police. Its view, expressed by
>Constantin Ghindeano, the chief agent for the region, is that vampires
>aren't real, and dead bodies in graves aren't to be dug out and killed
>again, even by relatives.
>
>He doesn't really have much more to say on this case, other than noting
>that Petre had been removed from his grave, his heart had been cut out
>and it was presumed to have been consumed by his relatives. Ghindeano
>added that police were expanding the investigation, which began in
>mid-January, to include the after-deaths of others in area.
>
>"The investigation is ongoing, and we expect to file charges later," he
>said, referring to possible charges of disturbing the peace of the dead,
>which could carry a three-year jail term. "We are determining whether
>this was an isolated case or whether there is a pattern in the village."
>
>Romania has been filled with news of the vampire-slaying investigation,
>and villagers admit there's a pattern, but they argue that that's the
>reason these matters shouldn't make it to court. There's too much of it
>going on, and too few complain about the practice.
>
>Vampire slaying is a custom that's been passed down from mother to
>daughter, father to son, for generations beyond memory, not just in this
>tiny village of 300 huts astride a dirt cart path about 100 miles
>southwest of Bucharest, but in scores of villages throughout southern
>Romania.
>
>Little has changed since the days that Turkish invaders rolled through
>500 years ago, seeking the mineral riches of Transylvania just to the
>north. By day, the people are Roman Catholics. At night, they fear the
>strigoi, or vampires.
>
>On a recent afternoon, the village's single store, which also serves as
>its lone bar, was filled with men drinking hard, as they explained the
>vampire facts to a stranger. Most had at least one vampire in their
>family histories, and many were related to vampire victims. Most had
>learned to kill a vampire while still children.
>
>Theirs is not a Hollywood tale, and they laugh at Hollywood conventions:
>that vampires can be warded off by crosses or cloves of garlic, or that
>they can't be seen in mirrors. Utter nonsense. Vampires were once
>Catholics, were they not? And if a vampire can be seen, the mirror can
>see him. And why would you wear garlic around your neck? Are you adding
>taste?
>
>No, vampires are humans who have died, commonly babies before baptism or
>people unfortunate enough to have black cats jump over their coffins.
>Vampires occur everywhere, but in busy cities no one notices, the men said.
>
>Vampires are obvious when dug up because while they will have been laid
>to rest on their backs, arms folded neatly across their chests, they
>will be found on their sides or even their stomachs. They will not have
>decomposed. Beards will have continued to grow. Their arms will be at
>their sides, as if they are clawing out of their coffins. And they will
>have blood -- sometimes dried, sometimes fresh -- around their mouths.
>
>But the biggest tip-off that a vampire is near is his or her family, for
>vampires always prey on their families. If family members fall ill after
>a death, odds are a vampire is draining their blood at night, looking
>for company.
>
>"That's the problem with vampires," said Doru Morinescu, a 30-year-old
>shepherd who, like many in the village, has a family connection to the
>current case. "They'd be all right if you could set them after your
>enemies. But they only kill loved ones. I can understand why, but they
>have to be stopped."
>
>Ion Balasa, 64, explained that there are two ways to stop a vampire, but
>only one after he or she has risen to feed.
>
>"Before the burial, you can insert a long sewing needle, just into the
>bellybutton," he said. "That will stop them from becoming a vampire."
>
>But once they've become vampires, all that's left is to dig them up, use
>a curved haying sickle to remove the heart, burn the heart to ashes on
>an iron plate, then have the ill relatives drink the ashes mixed with water.
>
>"The heart of a vampire, while you burn it, will squeak like a mouse and
>try to escape," Balasa said. "It's best to take a wooden stake and pin
>it to the pan, so it won't get away."
>
>Which is exactly what happened with Petre, according to Gheorghe
>Marinescu, a cheery, aging vampire slayer who was Petre's brother-in-law.
>
>Marinescu's story goes like this: After Petre died, Marinescu's son,
>daughter-in-law and granddaughter fell ill. Marinescu knew the cause was
>his dead brother-in-law. So he had to go out to the cemetery.
>
>The first time, he was frightened, so he had a little graveside drink,
>for courage. He ended up with a little too much courage and couldn't use
>the shovel. So the next night he returned, and with a proper amount of
>courage, was successful.
>
>Marinescu said he found Petre on his side, his mouth bloody. His heart
>squeaked and jumped as it was burned. When it was mixed with water and
>taken to those who were sick, it worked.
>
>His wife, Petre's sister, interrupted his story with a broom, swinging
>it at him and a stranger. She was worried that he would incur the wrath
>of the police, who would jail him.
>
>But then his son Costel called what happened next a miracle. After weeks
>in bed, Costel got up to walk. His head wasn't pounding. His chest
>wasn't aching. His stomach felt fine.
>
>"We were all saved," he said. "We had been saved from a vampire."
>
>But how could he be sure his illness came from a vampire?
>
>"What other explanation is possible?" he asked.
>
>by MATTHEW SCHOFIELD
>Knight Ridder Newspapers
>
>MAROTINU DE SUS, Romania -- Before Toma Petre's relatives pulled his
>body from the grave, ripped out his heart, burned it to ashes, mixed it
>with water and drank it, he hadn't been in the news much.
>
>That's often the way here with vampires. Quiet lives, active deaths.
>
>Villagers here aren't up in arms about the undead -- they're pretty
>common -- but they are outraged that the police are involved in a simple
>vampire slaying. After all, vampire slaying is an accepted, though
>hidden, bit of national heritage, even if illegal.
>
>"What did we do?" pleaded Flora Marinescu, Petre's sister and the wife
>of the man accused of re-killing him. "If they're right, he was already
>dead. If we're right, we killed a vampire and saved three lives. ... Is
>that so wrong?"
>
>Yes, according to the Romanian State Police. Its view, expressed by
>Constantin Ghindeano, the chief agent for the region, is that vampires
>aren't real, and dead bodies in graves aren't to be dug out and killed
>again, even by relatives.
>
>He doesn't really have much more to say on this case, other than noting
>that Petre had been removed from his grave, his heart had been cut out
>and it was presumed to have been consumed by his relatives. Ghindeano
>added that police were expanding the investigation, which began in
>mid-January, to include the after-deaths of others in area.
>
>"The investigation is ongoing, and we expect to file charges later," he
>said, referring to possible charges of disturbing the peace of the dead,
>which could carry a three-year jail term. "We are determining whether
>this was an isolated case or whether there is a pattern in the village."
>
>Romania has been filled with news of the vampire-slaying investigation,
>and villagers admit there's a pattern, but they argue that that's the
>reason these matters shouldn't make it to court. There's too much of it
>going on, and too few complain about the practice.
>
>Vampire slaying is a custom that's been passed down from mother to
>daughter, father to son, for generations beyond memory, not just in this
>tiny village of 300 huts astride a dirt cart path about 100 miles
>southwest of Bucharest, but in scores of villages throughout southern
>Romania.
>
>Little has changed since the days that Turkish invaders rolled through
>500 years ago, seeking the mineral riches of Transylvania just to the
>north. By day, the people are Roman Catholics. At night, they fear the
>strigoi, or vampires.
>
>On a recent afternoon, the village's single store, which also serves as
>its lone bar, was filled with men drinking hard, as they explained the
>vampire facts to a stranger. Most had at least one vampire in their
>family histories, and many were related to vampire victims. Most had
>learned to kill a vampire while still children.
>
>Theirs is not a Hollywood tale, and they laugh at Hollywood conventions:
>that vampires can be warded off by crosses or cloves of garlic, or that
>they can't be seen in mirrors. Utter nonsense. Vampires were once
>Catholics, were they not? And if a vampire can be seen, the mirror can
>see him. And why would you wear garlic around your neck? Are you adding
>taste?
>
>No, vampires are humans who have died, commonly babies before baptism or
>people unfortunate enough to have black cats jump over their coffins.
>Vampires occur everywhere, but in busy cities no one notices, the men said.
>
>Vampires are obvious when dug up because while they will have been laid
>to rest on their backs, arms folded neatly across their chests, they
>will be found on their sides or even their stomachs. They will not have
>decomposed. Beards will have continued to grow. Their arms will be at
>their sides, as if they are clawing out of their coffins. And they will
>have blood -- sometimes dried, sometimes fresh -- around their mouths.
>
>But the biggest tip-off that a vampire is near is his or her family, for
>vampires always prey on their families. If family members fall ill after
>a death, odds are a vampire is draining their blood at night, looking
>for company.
>
>"That's the problem with vampires," said Doru Morinescu, a 30-year-old
>shepherd who, like many in the village, has a family connection to the
>current case. "They'd be all right if you could set them after your
>enemies. But they only kill loved ones. I can understand why, but they
>have to be stopped."
>
>Ion Balasa, 64, explained that there are two ways to stop a vampire, but
>only one after he or she has risen to feed.
>
>"Before the burial, you can insert a long sewing needle, just into the
>bellybutton," he said. "That will stop them from becoming a vampire."
>
>But once they've become vampires, all that's left is to dig them up, use
>a curved haying sickle to remove the heart, burn the heart to ashes on
>an iron plate, then have the ill relatives drink the ashes mixed with water.
>
>"The heart of a vampire, while you burn it, will squeak like a mouse and
>try to escape," Balasa said. "It's best to take a wooden stake and pin
>it to the pan, so it won't get away."
>
>Which is exactly what happened with Petre, according to Gheorghe
>Marinescu, a cheery, aging vampire slayer who was Petre's brother-in-law.
>
>Marinescu's story goes like this: After Petre died, Marinescu's son,
>daughter-in-law and granddaughter fell ill. Marinescu knew the cause was
>his dead brother-in-law. So he had to go out to the cemetery.
>
>The first time, he was frightened, so he had a little graveside drink,
>for courage. He ended up with a little too much courage and couldn't use
>the shovel. So the next night he returned, and with a proper amount of
>courage, was successful.
>
>Marinescu said he found Petre on his side, his mouth bloody. His heart
>squeaked and jumped as it was burned. When it was mixed with water and
>taken to those who were sick, it worked.
>
>His wife, Petre's sister, interrupted his story with a broom, swinging
>it at him and a stranger. She was worried that he would incur the wrath
>of the police, who would jail him.
>
>But then his son Costel called what happened next a miracle. After weeks
>in bed, Costel got up to walk. His head wasn't pounding. His chest
>wasn't aching. His stomach felt fine.
>
>"We were all saved," he said. "We had been saved from a vampire."
>
>But how could he be sure his illness came from a vampire?
>
>"What other explanation is possible?" he asked.
>