In acknowledging my former letter, you express an eager desire to learn, as you phrase it, “all about Vampyrs, if there ever were such things.” I will not delay satisfying your curiosity, although by so doing I interrupt the logical order of my communications. It is, perhaps, all the better. The proper place of this subject falls in the midst of a philosophical3 disquisition; and it would have been a pity not to present it to you in its pristine4 colouring. But how came your late tutor, Mr. H., to leave you in ignorance upon a point on which, in my time, schoolboys much your juniors entertained decided5 opinions?
Were there ever such things as Vampyrs? Tantamne rem tam negligenter! I turn to the learned pages of Horst for a luminous6 and precise definition of the destructive and mysterious beings whose existence you have ventured to consider problematical.
“A Vampyr is a dead body which continues to live in the grave; which it leaves, however, by night, for the purpose of sucking the blood of the living, whereby it is nourished and preserved in good condition, instead of being decomposed7 like other dead bodies.”
Upon my word, you really deserve, since Mr. George Combe has clearly shown, in his admirable work on the Constitution of Man, and its adaptation to the surrounding world, that ignorance is a statutable crime before nature,31 and punished by the laws of Providence—you deserve, I say, unless you contrive8 to make Mr. H. your substitute, which I think would be just, yourself to be the subject of the nocturnal visit of a Vampyr. Your skepticism will abate9 pretty considerably10 when you see him stealthily entering your room, yet are powerless under the fascination11 of his fixed12 and leaden eye—when you are conscious, as you lie motionless with terror, of his nearer and nearer approach—when you feel his face, fresh with the smell of the grave, bent13 over your throat, while his keen teeth make a fine incision14 in your jugular15, preparatory to his commencing his plain but nutritive repast.
You would look a little paler the next morning, but that would be all for the moment; for Fischer informs us that the bite of a Vampyr leaves in general no mark upon the person. But he fearfully adds, “it (the bite) is nevertheless speedily fatal,” unless the bitten person protect himself by eating some of the earth from the grave of the Vampyr, and smearing16 himself with his blood. Unfortunately, indeed, these measures are seldom, if ever, of more than temporary use. Fischer adds, “if through these precautions the life of the victim be prolonged for a period, sooner or later he ends with becoming a Vampyr himself; that is to say, he dies and is buried, but continues to lead a Vampyr life in the grave, nourishing himself by infecting others, and promiscuously17 propagating Vampyrism.”
This is no romancer’s dream. It is a succinct18 account of a superstition which to this day services in the east of Europe, where little more than a century ago it was frightfully prevalent. At that period Vampyrism spread like a pestilence20 through Servia and Wallachia, causing numerous deaths, and disturbing all the land with fear of32 the mysterious visitation, against which no one felt himself secure.
Here is something like a good, solid, practical popular delusion21. Do I believe it? To be sure I do. The facts are matter of history: the people died like rotted sheep; and the cause and method of their dying was, in their belief, what has just been stated. You suppose, then, they died frightened out of their lives, as men have died whose pardon has been proclaimed when their necks were already on the block, of the belief that they were going to die? Well, if that were all, the subject would still be worth examining. But there is more in it than that, as the following o’er true tale will convince you, the essential points of which are authenticated22 by documentary evidence.
In the spring of 1727, there returned from the Levant to the village of Meduegna, near Belgrade, one Arnod Paole, who, in a few years of military service and varied23 adventure, had amassed24 enough to purchase a cottage and an acre or two of land in his native place, where he gave out that he meant to pass the remainder of his days. He kept his word. Arnod had yet scarcely reached the prime of manhood; and though he must have encountered the rough as well as the smooth of life, and have mingled25 with many a wild and reckless companion, yet his naturally good disposition26 and honest principles had preserved him unscathed in the scenes he had passed through. At all events, such were the thoughts expressed by his neighbours as they discussed his return and settlement among them in the Stube of the village Hof. Nor did the frank and open countenance27 of Arnod, his obliging habits and steady conduct, argue their judgment28 incorrect. Nevertheless, there was something occasionally33 noticeable in his ways—a look and tone that betrayed inward disquiet29. Often would he refuse to join his friends, or on some sudden plea abruptly30 quit their society. And he still more unaccountably, and as it seemed systematically32, avoided meeting his pretty neighbour Nina, whose father occupied the next tenement33 to his own. At the age of seventeen, Nina was as charming a picture of youth, cheerfulness, innocence34, and confidence, as you could have seen in all the world. You could not look into her limpid35 eyes, which steadily36 returned your gaze, without seeing to the bottom of the pure and transparent37 spring of her thoughts. Why, then, did Arnod shrink from meeting her? He was young; had a little property; had health and industry; and he had told his friends he had formed no ties in other lands. Why, then, did he avoid the fascination of the pretty Nina, who seemed a being made to chase from any brow the clouds of gathering38 care? But he did so; yet less and less resolutely39, for he felt the charm of her presence. Who could have done otherwise? And how could he long resist—he didn’t—the impulse of his fondness for the innocent girl who often sought to cheer his fits of depression?
And they were to be united—were betrothed40; yet still an anxious gloom would fitfully overcast41 his countenance, even in the sunshine of those hours.
“What is it, dear Arnod, that makes you sad? It cannot be on my account, I know, for you were sad before you ever noticed me; and that, I think,” (and you should have seen the deepening rose upon her cheeks,) “surely first made me notice you.”
“Nina,” he answered,34 “I have done, I fear, a great wrong in trying to gain your affections. Nina, I have a fixed impression that I shall not live; yet, knowing this, I have selfishly made my existence necessary to your happiness.”
“How strangely you talk, dear Arnod! Who in the village is stronger and healthier than you? You feared no danger when you were a soldier. What danger do you fear as a villager of Meduegna?”
“It haunts me, Nina.”
“But, Arnod, you were sad before you thought of me. Did you then fear to die?”
“Ah, Nina, it is something worse than death.” And his vigorous frame shook with agony.
“Arnod, I conjure42 you, tell me.”
“It was in Cossova this fate befell me. Here you have hitherto escaped the terrible scourge43. But there they died, and the dead visited the living. I experienced the first frightful19 visitation, and I fled; but not till I had sought his grave, and exacted the dread44 expiation45 from the Vampyr.”
Nina’s blood ran cold. She stood horror-stricken. But her young heart soon mastered her first despair. With a touching46 voice she spoke—
“Fear not, dear Arnod; fear not now. I will be your shield, or I will die with you!”
And she encircled his neck with her gentle arms, and returning hope shone, Iris-like, amid her falling tears. Afterwards they found a reasonable ground for banishing47 or allaying49 their apprehension50 in the length of time which had elapsed since Arnod left Cossova, during which no fearful visitant had again approached him; and they fondly trusted that gave them security.
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It is a strange world. The ills we fear are commonly not those which overwhelm us. The blows that reach us are for the most part unforeseen. One day, about a week after this conversation, Arnod missed his footing when on the top of a loaded hay-wagon, and fell from it to the ground. He was picked up insensible, and carried home, where, after lingering a short time, he died. His interment, as usual, followed immediately. His fate was sad and premature. But what pencil could paint Nina’s grief!
Twenty or thirty days after his decease, says the perfectly52 authenticated report of these transactions, several of the neighbourhood complained that they were haunted by the deceased Arnod; and, what was more to the purpose, four of them died. The evil, looked at skeptically, was bad enough, but aggravated53 by the suggestions of superstition, it spread a panic through the whole district. To allay48 the popular terror, and if possible to get at the root of the evil, a determination was come to publicly to disinter the body of Arnod, with the view of ascertaining54 whether he really was a Vampyr, and, in that event, of treating him conformably. The day fixed for this proceeding55 was the fortieth after his burial.
It was on a gray morning in early August that the commission visited the quiet cemetery56 of Meduegna, which, surrounded with a wall of unhewn stone, lies sheltered by the mountain that, rising in undulating green slopes, irregularly planted with fruit trees, ends in an abrupt31 craggy ridge57, feathered with underwood. The graves were, for the most part, neatly58 kept, with borders of box, or something like it, and flowers between; and at the head of most a small wooden cross, painted black, bear36ing the name of the tenant59. Here and there a stone had been raised. One of considerable height, a single narrow slab60, ornamented61 with grotesque62 Gothic carvings63, dominated over the rest. Near this lay the grave of Arnod Paole, towards which the party moved. The work of throwing out the earth was begun by the gray, crooked64 old sexton, who lived in the Leichenhaus, beyond the great crucifix. He seemed unconcerned enough; no Vampyr would think of extracting a supper out of him. Nearest the grave stood two military surgeons, or feldscherers, from Belgrade, and a drummer-boy, who held their case of instruments. The boy looked on with keen interest; and when the coffin65 was exposed and rather roughly drawn66 out of the grave, his pale face and bright intent eye showed how the scene moved him. The sexton lifted the lid of the coffin: the body had become inclined to one side. Then turning it straight, “Ha! ha!” said he, pointing to fresh blood upon the lips—“Ha! ha! What! Your mouth not wiped since last night’s work?” The spectators shuddered67; the drummer-boy sank forward, fainting, and upset the instrument-case, scattering68 its contents; the senior surgeon, infected with the horror of the scene, repressed a hasty exclamation69, and simply crossed himself. They threw water on the drummer-boy, and he recovered, but would not leave the spot. Then they inspected the body of Arnod. It looked as if it had not been dead a day. On handling it, the scarf-skin came off, but below were new skin and new nails! How could they have come there but from its foul70 feeding! The case was clear enough; there lay before them the thing they dreaded—the Vampyr. So, without more ado, they simply drove a stake through poor Arno37d’s chest, whereupon a quantity of blood gushed71 forth72, and the corpse73 uttered an audible groan74. “Murder! oh, murder!” shrieked75 the drummer-boy, as he rushed wildly, with convulsed gestures, from the cemetery.
The drummer-boy was not far from the mark. But, quitting the romancing vein76, which had led me to try and restore the original colours of the picture, let me confine myself, in describing the rest of the scene and what followed, to the words of my authority.
The body of Arnod was then burnt to ashes, which were returned to the grave. The authorities further staked and burnt the bodies of the four others which were supposed to have been infected by Arnod. No mention is made of the state in which they were found. The adoption77 of these decisive measures failed, however, entirely78 to extinguish the evil, which continued still to hang about the village. About five years afterwards it had again become very rife79, and many died through it; whereupon the authorities determined80 to make another and a complete clearance81 of the Vampyrs in the cemetery, and with that object they had all the graves, to which present suspicion attached, opened, and their contents officially anatomized, of which procedure the following is the medical report, here and there abridged82 only:—
1. A woman of the name of Stana, twenty years of age, who had died three months before of a three days’ illness following her confinement83. She had before her death avowed84 that she had anointed herself with the blood of a Vampyr, to liberate85 herself from his persecution86. Nevertheless, she, as well as her infant, whose body through careless interment had been half eaten by the38 dogs, had died. Her body was entirely free from decomposition87. On opening it, the chest was found full of recently effused blood, and the bowels88 had exactly the appearances of sound health. The skin and nails of her hands and feet were loose and came off, but underneath89 lay new skin and nails.
2. A woman of the name of Miliza, who had died at the end of a three months’ illness. The body had been buried ninety and odd days. In the chest was liquid blood. The viscera were as in the former instance. The body was declared by a heyduk, who recognised it, to be in better condition, and fatter, than it had been in the woman’s legitimate90 lifetime.
3. The body of a child eight years old, that had likewise been buried ninety days: it was in the Vampyr condition.
4. The son of a heyduk named Milloc, sixteen years old. The body had lain in the grave nine weeks. He had died after three days’ indisposition, and was in the condition of a Vampyr.
5. Joachim, likewise son of a heyduk, seventeen years old. He had died after three days’ illness; had been buried eight weeks and some days; was found in the Vampyr state.
6. A woman of the name of Rusha, who had died of an illness of ten days’ duration, and had been six weeks buried, in whom likewise fresh blood was found in the chest.
(The reader will understand, that to see blood in the chest, it is first necessary to cut the chest open.)
7. The body of a girl of ten years of age, who had died two months before. It was likewise in the Vampyr state, perfectly undecomposed, with blood in the chest.
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8. The body of the wife of one Hadnuck, buried seven weeks before; and that of her infant, eight weeks old, buried only twenty-one days. They were both in a state of decomposition, though buried in the same ground, and closely adjoining the others.
9. A servant, by name Rhade, twenty-three years of age; he had died after an illness of three months’ duration, and the body had been buried five weeks. It was in a state of decomposition.
10. The body of the heyduk Stanco, sixty years of age, who had died six weeks previously91. There was much blood and other fluid in the chest and abdomen92, and the body was in the Vampyr condition.
11. Millac, a heyduk, twenty-five years old. The body had been in the earth six weeks. It was perfectly in the Vampyr condition.
12. Stanjoika, the wife of a heyduk, twenty years old; had died after an illness of three days, and had been buried eighteen. The countenance was florid. There was blood in the chest and in the heart. The viscera were perfectly sound; the skin remarkably93 fresh.
The document which gives the above particulars is signed by three regimental surgeons, and formally countersigned94 by a lieutenant-colonel and sub-lieutenant. It bears the date of “June 7, 1732, Meduegna near Belgrade.” No doubt can be entertained of its authenticity95, or of its general fidelity96; the less that it does not stand alone, but is supported by a mass of evidence to the same effect. It appears to establish, beyond question, that where the fear of Vampyrism prevails, and there occur several deaths, in the popular belief connected with it, the bodies, when disinterred weeks after burial, present40 the appearance of corpses98 from which life has only recently departed.
What inference shall we draw from this fact?—that Vampyrism is true in the popular sense?—and that these fresh-looking and well-conditioned corpses had some mysterious source of preternatural nourishment99? That would be to adopt, not to solve the superstition. Let us content ourselves with a notion not so monstrous100, but still startling enough: that the bodies, which were found in the so-called Vampyr state, instead of being in a new or mystical condition, were simply alive in the common way, or had been so for some time subsequent to their interment; that, in short, they were the bodies of persons who had been buried alive, and whose life, where it yet lingered, was finally extinguished through the ignorance and barbarity of those who disinterred them. In the following sketch101 of a similar scene to that above described, the correctness of this inference comes out with terrific force.
Erasmus Francisci, in his remarks upon the description of the Dukedom of Krain by Valvasor, speaks of a man of the name of Grando, in the district of Kring, who died, was buried, and became a Vampyr, and as such was exhumed102 for the purpose of having a stake thrust through him.
“When they opened his grave, after he had been long buried, his face was found with a colour, and his features made natural sorts of movements, as if the dead man smiled. He even opened his mouth as if he would inhale103 fresh air. They held the crucifix before him, and called in a loud voice, ‘See, this is Jesus Christ who redeemed104 your soul from hell, and died for you.’ After the sound41 had acted on his organs of hearing, and he had connected perhaps some ideas with it, tears began to flow from the dead man’s eyes. Finally, when after a short prayer for his poor soul, they proceeded to hack105 off his head, the corpse uttered a screech106, and turned and rolled just as if it had been alive—and the grave was full of blood.”
We have thus succeeded in interpreting one of the unknown terms in the Vampyr theorem. The suspicious character, who had some dark way of nourishing himself in the grave, turns out to be an unfortunate gentleman (or lady) whom his friends had buried under a mistake while he was still alive, and who, if they afterwards mercifully let him alone, died sooner or later either naturally or of the premature interment—in either case, it is to be hoped, with no interval107 of restored consciousness. The state which thus passed for death and led to such fatal consequences, apart from superstition, deserves our serious consideration; for, although of very rare, it is of continual occurrence, and society is not sufficiently108 on its guard against a contingency109 so dreadful when overlooked. When the nurse or the doctor has announced that all is over—that the valued friend or relative has breathed his last—no doubt crosses any one’s mind of the reality of the sad event. Disease is now so well understood—every step in its march laid down and foreseen—the approach of danger accurately110 estimated—the liability of the patient, according to his powers of resisting it, to succumb111 earlier or to hold out longer—all is theoretically so clear that a wholesome112 suspicion of error in the verdict of the attendants seldom suggests itself. The evil I am considering ought not, however, to be attributed to redundance of knowledge: it arises from its partial lack—from a too42 general neglect of one very important section in pathological science. The laity113, if not the doctors too, constantly lose sight of the fact, that there exists an alternative to the fatal event of ordinary disease; that a patient is liable at any period of illness to deviate114, or, as it were, to slide off, from the customary line of disease into another and a deceptive115 route—instead of death, to encounter apparent death.
The Germans express this condition of the living body by the term “scheintod,” which signifies exactly apparent death; and it is perhaps a better term than our English equivalent, “suspended animation116.” But both these expressions are generic117 terms, and a specific term is still wanted to denote the present class of instances. To meet this exigency118, I propose, for reasons which will afterwards appear, to employ the term “death-trance” to designate the cases we are investigating.
Death-trance is, then, one of the forms of suspended animation: there are several others. After incomplete poisoning, after suffocation119 in either of its various ways, after exposure to cold in infants newly born, a state is occasionally met with, of which (however each may still differ from the rest) the common feature is an apparent suspension of the vital actions. But all of these so-cited instances agree in another important respect, which second inter-agreement separates them as a class from death-trance. They represent, each and all, a period of conflict between the effects of certain deleterious impressions and the vital principle, the latter struggling against the weight and force of the former. Such is not the case in death-trance.
Death-trance is a positive status—a period of repose43 —the duration of which is sometimes definite and predetermined, though unknown. Thus the patient, the term of the death-trance having expired, occasionally suddenly wakes, entirely and at once restored. Oftener, however, the machinery120 which has been stopped seems to require to be jogged—then it goes on again.
The basis of death-trance is suspension of the action of the heart, and of the breathing, and of voluntary motion; generally likewise feeling and intelligence, and the vegetative changes in the body, are suspended. With these phenomena121 is joined loss of external warmth; so that the usual evidence of life is gone. But there have occurred varieties of this condition, in which occasional slight manifestations122 of one or other of the vital actions have been observed.
Death-trance may occur as a primary affection, suddenly or gradually. The diseases the course of which it is liable, as it were, to bifurcate123, or to graft124 itself upon, are first and principally all disorders125 of the nervous system. But in any form of disease, when the body is brought to a certain degree of debility, death-trance may supervene. Age and sex have to do with its occurrence; which is more frequent in the young than in the old, in women than in men—differences evidently connected with greater irritability126 of the nervous system. Accordingly, women in labour are among the most liable to death-trance, and it is from such a case that I will give a first instance of the affection as portrayed127 by a medical witness. (Journal des Savans, 1749.)
M. Rigaudeaux, surgeon to the military hospital, and licensed128 accoucher at Douai, was sent for on the 8th of September, 1745, to attend the wife of Francis Dumont,44 residing two leagues from the town. He was late in getting there; it was half-past eight, A. M.—too late, it seemed; the patient was declared to have died at six o’clock, after eighteen hours of ineffectual labour-pains. M. Rigaudeaux inspected the body; there was no pulse or breath; the mouth was full of froth, the abdomen tumid. He brought away the infant, which he committed to the care of the nurses, who, after trying to reanimate it for three hours, gave up the attempt, and prepared to lay it out, when it opened its mouth. They then gave it wine, and it was speedily recovered. M. Rigaudeaux, who returned to the house as this occurred, inspected again the body of the mother. (It had been already nailed down in a coffin.) He examined it with the utmost care; but he came to the conclusion that it was certainly dead. Nevertheless, as the joints129 of the limbs were still flexible, although seven hours had elapsed since its apparent death, he left the strictest injunctions to watch the body carefully, to apply stimulants130 to the nostrils131 from time to time, to slap the palms of the hands, and the like. At half-past three o’clock symptoms of returning animation showed themselves, and the patient recovered.
The period during which every ordinary sign of life may be absent, without the prevention of their return, is unknown, but in well-authenticated cases it has much exceeded the period observed in the above instance. Here is an example borrowed from the Journal des Savans, 1741.
There was a Colonel Russell, whose wife, to whom he was affectionately attached, died, or appeared to do so. But he would not allow the body to be buried; and45 threatened to shoot any one who should interfere132 to remove it for that purpose. His conduct was guided by reason as well as by affection and instinct. He said he would not part from the body till its decomposition had begun. Eight days had passed, during which the body of his wife gave no sign of life: when, as he sat bedewing her hand with his tears, the church-bell tolled133, and, to his unspeakable amazement134, his wife sat up and said—“That is the last bell; we shall be too late.” She recovered.
There are cases on record of persons, who could spontaneously fall into death-trance. Monti, in a letter to Haller, adverts135 to several; and mentions, in particular, a peasant upon whom, when he assumed this state, the flies would settle; breathing, the pulse, and all ordinary signs of life disappeared. A priest of the name of C?lius Rhodaginus had the same faculty137. But the most celebrated138 instance is that of Colonel Townshend, mentioned in the surgical139 works of Gooch, by whom and by Dr. Cheyne and Dr. Baynard, and by Mr. Shrine140, an apothecary141, the performance of Colonel Townshend was seen and attested142. They had long attended him, for he was an habitual143 invalid144, and he had often invited them to witness the phenomenon of his dying and coming to life again; but they had hitherto refused, from fear of the consequences to himself: at last they assented145. Accordingly, in their presence, Colonel Townshend laid himself down on his back, and Dr. Cheyne undertook to observe his pulse; Dr. Baynard laid his hand on his heart, and Mr. Shrine had a looking-glass to hold to his mouth. After a few seconds, pulse, breathing, and the action of the heart, were no longer to be observed. Each of the46 witnesses satisfied himself of the entire cessation of these phenomena. When the death-trance had lasted half-an-hour, the doctors began to fear that their patient had pushed the experiment too far, and was dead in earnest; and they were preparing to leave the house, when a slight movement of the body attracted their attention. They renewed their routine of observation; when the pulse and sensible motion of the heart gradually returned, and breathing, and consciousness. The tale ends abruptly. Colonel Townshend, on recovering, sent for his attorney, made his will, and died, for good and all, six hours afterwards.
Although many have recovered from death-trance, and there seems to be in each case a definite period to its duration, yet its event is not always so fortunate. The patient sometimes really dies during its continuance, either unavoidably, or in consequence of adequate measures not being taken to stimulate146 him to waken, or to support life. The following very good instance rests on the authority of Dr. Schmidt, a physician of the hospital of Paderborn, where it occurred, (Rheinisch-Westph?lischer Anzeiger, 1835, No. 57 and 58.)
A young man of the name of Caspar Kreite, from Berne, died in the hospital of Paderborn, but his body could not be interred97 for three weeks, for the following reasons. During the first twenty-four hours after drawing its last breath, the corpse opened its eyes, and the pulse could be felt, for a few minutes, beating feebly and irregularly. On the third and fourth day, points of the skin, which had been burned to test the reality of his death, suppurated. On the fifth day the corpse changed the position of one hand: on the ninth day a vesicular47 eruption147 appeared on the back. For nine days there was a vertical148 fold of the skin of the forehead—a sort of frown—and the features had not the character of death. The lips remained red till the eighteenth day; and the joints preserved their flexibility149 from first to last. He lay in this state in a warm room for nineteen days, without any farther alteration150 than a sensible wasting in flesh. Till after the nineteenth day no discoloration of the body, or odour of putrefaction151, was observed. He had been cured of ague, and laboured under a slight chest affection; but there had been no adequate cause for his death. It is evident that this person was much more alive than many are in the death-trance; and one half suspects that stimulants and nourishment, properly introduced, might have entirely reanimated him.
I might exemplify death-trance by many a well authenticated romantic story.—A noise heard in a vault152; the people, instead of breaking open the door, go for the keys, and for authority to act, and return too late; the unfortunate person is found dead, having previously gnawn153 her hand and arm in agony.—A lady is buried with a jewel of value on her finger; thieves open the vault to possess themselves of the treasure; the ring cannot be drawn from the finger, and the thieves proceed to cut the finger off; the lady, wakening from her trance, scares the thieves away, and recovers.—A young married lady dies and is buried; a former admirer, to whom her parents had refused her hand, bribes154 the sexton to let him see once more the form he loved. The body opportunely155 comes to life at this moment, and flies from Paris with its first lover to England, where they are married. Venturing to return to France, the lady is recognised,48 and is reclaimed156 by her previous husband through a suit at law; her counsel demurs157, on the ground of the desertion and burial; but the law not admitting this plea, she flies again to England with her preserver, to avoid the judgment of the parliament of Paris, in the acts of which the case stands recorded. There are one or two other cases that I dare not cite, the particulars of which transcend158 the wildest flights of imagination.
It may be thought that these are all tales of the olden time; and that the very case I have given from the hospital at Paderborn shows that now medical men are sufficiently circumspect159, and the public really on its guard to prevent a living person being interred as one dead. And I grant that in England, among all but the poorest class, the danger is practically inconsiderable of being buried alive. But that it still exists for every class, and that for the poor the danger is great and serious, I am afraid there is too much reason for believing. It is stated in Froriep’s Notizen, 1829, No. 522, that, agreeably to a then recent ordinance160 in New York, coffins161 presented for burial were kept above ground eight days, open at the head, and so arranged, that the least movement of the body would ring a bell, through strings162 attached to the hands and feet. It will hardly be credited, that out of twelve hundred whose interment had been thus postponed163, six returned to life—one in every two hundred! The arrangement thus beneficently adopted at New York is, however, imperfect, as it makes time the criterion for interment. The time is not known during which a body in death-trance may remain alive. Nothing but one positive condition of the body, which I will presently mention, authenticates164 death. It is frightful to think49 how, in the south of Europe, within twenty-four hours after the last breath bodies are shovelled165 into pits among heaped corpses; and to imagine what fearful agonies of despair must sometimes be encountered by unhappy beings, who wake amid the unutterable horrors of such a grave. But it is enough to look at home, and to make no delay in providing there for the careful watching of the bodies of the poor, till life has certainly departed. Many do not dream how barbarous and backward the vaunted nineteenth century will appear to posterity166!
But there is another danger to which society is obnoxious167 through not making sufficient account of the contingency of death-trance, that appears to me more urgent and menacing than even the risk of being buried alive.
The danger I advert136 to is not this; but this is something—
The Cardinal168 Espinosa, prime minister under Philip the Second of Spain, died, as it was supposed, after a short illness. His rank entitled him to be embalmed169. Accordingly, the body was opened for that purpose. The lungs and heart had just been brought into view, when the latter was seen to beat. The cardinal awakening170 at the fatal moment, had still strength enough left to seize with his hand the knife of the anatomist!
But it is this—
On the 23d of September, 1763, the Abbé Prevost, the French novelist and compiler of travels, was seized with a fit in the forest of Chantilly. The body was found, and conveyed to the residence of the nearest clergyman. It was supposed that death had taken place through apoplexy. But the local authorities, desiring to be satis50fied of the fact, ordered the body to be examined. During the process, the poor abbé uttered a cry of agony.—It was too late.
It is to be observed that cases of sudden and unexplained death are, on the one hand, the cases most likely to furnish a large percentage of death-trance; and, on the other, are just those in which the anxiety of friends or the over-zealousness of a coroner is liable to lead to premature anatomization. Nor does it even follow that, because the body happily did not wake while being dissected171, the spark of life was therefore extinct. This view, however, is too painful to be followed out in reference to the past. But it imperatively172 suggests the necessity of forbidding necroscopic examinations, before there is perfect evidence that life has departed—that is, of extending to this practice the rule which ought to be made absolute in reference to interment.
Thus comes out the practical importance of the question, how is it to be known that the body is no longer alive?
The entire absence of the ordinary signs of life is insufficient173 to prove the absence of life. The body may be externally cold; the pulse not be felt; breathing may have ceased; no bodily motion may occur; the limbs may be stiff (through spasm); the sphincter muscles relaxed; no blood may flow from an opened vein; the eyes may have become glassy; there may be partial mortification174 to offend the sense with the smell of death; and yet the body may be alive.
The only security we at present know of, that life has left the body, is the supervention of chemical decomposition, shown in commencing change of colour of the integu51ments of the abdomen and throat to blue and green, and an attendant cadaverous fetor.
To return from this important digression to the former subject of the Vampyr superstition. The second element which we have yet to explain is the Vampyr visit and its consequence—the lapse51 of the party visited into death-trance. There are two ways of dealing175 with this knot; one is to cut it, the other to untie176 it.
It may be cut, by denying the supposed connexion between the Vampyr visit and the supervention of death-trance in the second party. Nor is the explanation thus obtained devoid177 of plausibility178. There is no reason why death-trance should not, in certain seasons and places, be epidemic179. Then the persons most liable to it would be those of weak and irritable180 nervous systems. Again, a first effect of the epidemic might be further to shake the nerves of weaker subjects. These are exactly the persons who are likely to be infected with imaginary terrors, and to dream, or even to fancy, they have seen Mr. or Mrs. such a one, the last victims of the epidemic. The dream or impression upon the senses might again recur181, and the sickening patient have already talked of it to his neighbours, before he himself was seized with death-trance. On this supposition, the Vampyr visit would sink into the subordinate rank of a mere182 premonitory symptom.
To myself, I must confess, this explanation, the best I am yet in a position to offer, appears barren and jejune183; and not at all to do justice to the force and frequency, or, as tradition represents the matter, the universality of the Vampyr visit as a precursor184 of the victim’s fate. Imagine how strong must have been the52 conviction of the reality of the apparition185, how common a feature it must have been, to have led to the laying down of the unnatural186 and repulsive187 process customarily followed at the Vampyr’s grave, as the regular and proper preventive of ulterior consequences.
I am disposed, therefore, rather to try and untie this knot, and with that object to wait, hoping that something may turn up in the progress of these inquiries188 to assist me in its solution. In the mean time, I would beg leave to consider this second half of the problem a compound phenomenon, the solutions of the two parts of which may not emerge simultaneously189. The Vampyr visit is one thing; its presumed contagious190 effect another.
The Vampyr visit! Well, it is clear the Vampyr could not have left his grave bodily—or, at all events, if he could, he never could have buried himself again. Yet in his grave they always found him. So the body could not have been the visitant. Then, in popular language, it was the ghost of the Vampyr that haunted its future victim. The ghostly nature of the visitant could not have been identified at a luckier moment. The very subject which I next propose to undertake is the analysis of ghosts. I have, therefore, only to throw the Vampyr ghost into the crucible191 with the rest; and to-morrow I may perhaps be able to report the rational composition of the whole batch192.
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1
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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pristine
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| adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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decomposed
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| 已分解的，已腐烂的 | |
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contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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incision
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| n．切口，切开 | |
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jugular
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| n.颈静脉 | |
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smearing
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| 污点，拖尾效应 | |
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promiscuously
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| adv.杂乱地，混杂地 | |
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succinct
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| adj.简明的，简洁的 | |
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19
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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authenticated
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| v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 )；鉴定，使生效 | |
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23
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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amassed
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| v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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disquiet
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| n.担心，焦虑 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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systematically
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| adv.有系统地 | |
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tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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34
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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limpid
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| adj.清澈的，透明的 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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38
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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40
betrothed
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| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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42
conjure
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| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
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43
scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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44
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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45
expiation
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| n.赎罪，补偿 | |
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46
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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47
banishing
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的现在分词 ) | |
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48
allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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allaying
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| v.减轻，缓和( allay的现在分词 ) | |
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50
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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51
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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52
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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53
aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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54
ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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55
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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56
cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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60
slab
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| n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上 | |
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61
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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carvings
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| n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物 | |
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64
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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67
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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68
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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69
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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70
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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71
gushed
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| v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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76
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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rife
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| adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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clearance
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| n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理 | |
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abridged
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| 削减的，删节的 | |
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83
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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85
liberate
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| v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由 | |
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persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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87
decomposition
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| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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88
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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abdomen
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| n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分) | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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countersigned
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| v.连署，副署，会签 （文件）( countersign的过去式 ) | |
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authenticity
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| n.真实性 | |
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fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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interred
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| v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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99
nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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102
exhumed
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| v.挖出，发掘出( exhume的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
inhale
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| v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟) | |
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redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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hack
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| n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳 | |
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screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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succumb
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| v.屈服，屈从；死 | |
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wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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laity
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| n.俗人；门外汉 | |
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114
deviate
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| v.(from)背离，偏离 | |
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deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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116
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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generic
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| adj.一般的，普通的，共有的 | |
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118
exigency
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| n.紧急；迫切需要 | |
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119
suffocation
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| n.窒息 | |
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120
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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121
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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122
manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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123
bifurcate
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| adj.二叉的，双峰的 | |
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graft
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| n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接 | |
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disorders
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| n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调 | |
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irritability
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| n.易怒 | |
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127
portrayed
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| v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
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licensed
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| adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词) | |
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joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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130
stimulants
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| n.兴奋剂( stimulant的名词复数 )；含兴奋剂的饮料；刺激物；激励物 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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tolled
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| 鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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134
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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135
adverts
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| advertisements 广告，做广告 | |
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advert
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| vi.注意，留意，言及；n.广告 | |
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137
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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surgical
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| adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的 | |
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shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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apothecary
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| n.药剂师 | |
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142
attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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143
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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eruption
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| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
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vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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flexibility
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| n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性 | |
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alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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151
putrefaction
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| n.腐坏，腐败 | |
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152
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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153
gnawn
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| 咬( gnaw的过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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154
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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opportunely
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| adv.恰好地，适时地 | |
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reclaimed
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| adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救 | |
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demurs
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的第三人称单数 ) | |
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transcend
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| vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围 | |
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159
circumspect
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| adj.慎重的，谨慎的 | |
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160
ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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161
coffins
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| n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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163
postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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authenticates
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| n.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的名词复数 )；鉴定，使生效v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的第三人称单数 )；鉴定，使生效 | |
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165
shovelled
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| v.铲子( shovel的过去式和过去分词 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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166
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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167
obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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168
cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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169
embalmed
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| adj.用防腐药物保存（尸体）的v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的过去式和过去分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气 | |
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170
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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171
dissected
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| adj.切开的，分割的，（叶子）多裂的v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的过去式和过去分词 )；仔细分析或研究 | |
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172
imperatively
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| adv.命令式地 | |
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173
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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174
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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175
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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176
untie
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| vt.解开，松开；解放 | |
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177
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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178
plausibility
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| n. 似有道理, 能言善辩 | |
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179
epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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180
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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181
recur
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| vi.复发，重现，再发生 | |
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182
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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183
jejune
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| adj.枯燥无味的，贫瘠的 | |
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184
precursor
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| n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆 | |
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185
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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186
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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187
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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188
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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189
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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190
contagious
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| adj.传染性的，有感染力的 | |
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191
crucible
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| n.坩锅，严酷的考验 | |
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192
batch
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| n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量 | |
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