WWW.SHROUDEATER.COM - Vampire of Stampalia

The Sources:

John Cuthbert Lawson :
"Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion" [1910]
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1910

The Case:

In John Cuthbert Lawson's book (see above) we can find chapter 4, "The Relation of Soul and Body". Paragraph 1 of this chapter is called: "The modern Greek Vampire". Somewhere in this chapter and paragraph Lawson repeats a story that he has found in Francois Richard's "Relation de ce qui s'est passé de plus remarquable a Sant-Erini Isle de l'Archipel, depuis l'establissement des Peres de la compagnie de Jesus en icelle":

"When exorcisms fail, they tear the heart out, cut it to pieces, and then burn the whole body to ashes. At Stampalia (Astypalaea), he proceeds, a short time before my arrival (about the middle of the seventeenth century) five bodies were so treated, those of three married men, a Greek monk, and a girl."

The Date:

The date that we have been given is the middle of the 17th Century.

The Place:

As to the location, Astypalea is a Greek island which is situated somewhere between the islands of Santorini and Kos.

Possible Follow-Up:

Check out Lawson's book and see what else he has to tell. And then go find and read Francois Richard's "Relation de ce qui s'est passé de plus remarquable a Sant-Erini Isle de l'Archipel, depuis l'establissement des Peres de la compagnie de Jesus en icelle".

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