WWW.SHROUDEATER.COM - Vampires of Rusanestii

The Source:

Adrien Cremene :
"Mythologie du Vampire en Roumanie"
Editions du Rocher, Monaco, 1981.

The Case:

In 1837, correspondence took place between the protopope of the Romanian village Plasii de Jos and his bishop. A number of these letters, fell into the hands of C. N. Matescu, who published them in the magazine "Luminatorul". They were reprinted in Ciauseanu's "Superstitiile Poporului Român". Which is where Adrien Cremene found them.

In his first letters the protopope complains about the people from his parish, who are accursed sinners. Again and again they dig up his churchyard to hammer stakes through corpses, despite the fact that they have been warned that this is a most wicked and un-Christian sin in the eyes of the Church. Despite his threats and warnings, they also leave the disinterred corpses out in the open. The bishop asks for more precise details. In his reply, the protopope comes up with the following accusations:

In the village of Ocolestii de Jos no less than 5 graves had been opened.

Also, in the village of Rusanestii, the following had happened: Anuta, the wife of Radu Sparleacu, had opened the grave of Mãrina, the late wife of Pãtru Tsircu.

The protopope once again complains in the strongest terms about those "wicked sinners" who do not listen to a word he says, who "just get themselves drunk and then come to his churchyard with spades and stakes" to do their destructive deeds. And the case in Rusanestii is even worse, since the evil deed was done by a woman.

The bishop in turn now complains to the authorities. The sinners are all arrested and put in jail for three days, "on water and bread". As to others who had assisted with these crimes, all men were beaten with a cane for 50 times, whereas the woman (being less strong) only received 25 blows. Everyone was warned that they'd receive double that punishment if they were ever caught again.

The Date:

The protopope's first letter is dated 10 September 1837.

The Place:

The Rusanesti that we are looking for can be found in the mountain area between Craiova and Ramnicu Valcea.

Possible Follow-Up:

Try to get copies of Adrien Cremene's sources: 1. Ciauseanu's "Superstitiile Poporului Român". 2. The magazine "Luminatorul". 3. The letters (which may still be in some archive or library or something).

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