{"id":253,"date":"2018-11-02T18:09:55","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T18:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/religion\/288-2018f\/?page_id=253"},"modified":"2018-12-18T20:46:46","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T20:46:46","slug":"vampires","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/religion\/288-2018f\/vampires\/","title":{"rendered":"Vampires"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An Examination of Revenant Vampires in Late Modern Greece and South Slavia<\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\"Old
Thirteenth century skeleton found in Bulgaria with an iron rod driven through its ribs. 
(Ovcharov 2014)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“Vampire” is a weighty term, contested in both its meaning and its etymology. As commonly understood, vampires are distinguished from other manifestations of the undead by their desire for blood. However, an examination of vampire folk legends in Greece and South Slavia complicates this understanding. In his 1989 study The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism<\/em>, professor and author Jan L. Perkowski defines the vampire as a \u201cbeing which derives sustenance from a victim, who is weakened by the experience. The sustenance may be physical or emotional in nature.”  This sweeping definition proves useful in the study of Eastern<\/g> European vampire legend, where vampires consume not only blood but flesh and milk. For the purposes of this examination, we will narrow Perkowski’s definition even further. While recognizing that exsaunginator<\/g> spirit being<\/em>s appear frequently in Greek and South Slavic folk legends, our research exclusively considers vampires as resuscitated corpses. We assert that the revenant vampire of Eastern Europe is distinguished from other manifestations of the undead not by its want of blood, but by its tendency to attack those with whom it shared intimate relationships with in life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Story Map<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Historical and cultural contexts prove to alter perceptions of similarly imagined beings. In this StoryMap, you will find information regarding these contexts in terms of Greek and South Slavic vampires. You will find a complex history of the understanding of these beings, as the cultures come into contact.
<\/p>\n\n\n