The Vampire of the Carpathian Mountains

Posted on Thursday December, 17 2009 | 14 Comments

The breathtaking Carpathian Mountains are home to many old vampire stories, including today’s. Today you’ll learn about a case of supposedly real vampirism that was reported in the early 1900s, so get comfortable and prepare yourself for a tale of horrible death and fear.

June 10, 1909 was when the vampire of the Carpathian Mountains was first reported in the Neues Wiener Journal in Vienna. The article chronicled in detail how terrified villagers in a town in the mountains were suffering the loss of their children at an alarming rate. Many of the villages’ beloved children were dying at a rate that was far beyond normal. The villagers decided that it was their Count, who had recently died, that was responsible for the deaths. They believed that the man had turned into a vampire and was hiding somewhere in his massive castle, a fortress that was originally built in defense against the Turks.

But then the story changed later - in the Occult Review of September 1909 they published an article titled “An Authenticated Vampire Story,” which included a theory by a noted German vampirologist by the name of Franz Hartmann. Hartmann, who was also a physician, theosophist, geomancer and astrologer, theorized that it wasn’t the Count that was the vampire, but his daughter, Countess Elga, who had been killed in a horse riding accident shortly before her father’s death.

Hartmann’s theory was eventually supported by a story from an occultist journal editor who visited the castle. This editor said that while in the castle he experienced several episodes of hauntings and apparitions that centered around a painting of the Countess Elga.

Shortly after all of this went public, the petrified villagers’ fear took over and they burned the Count’s castle to the ground. There were no more unusual deaths reported after the castle was destroyed.

- Moonlight

About the Author

Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to vampires. She writes for top genre sites like vampires.com and werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of vampire folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and she may bite you (and not in the fun way). You can stalk her via her Twitter http://twitter.com/deaaqua

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