Apotropaic observances-traditional practices intended to prevent evil-were not uncommon in post-medieval Poland, and included specific treatment of the dead for those considered at risk for becoming vampires.
Let’s get our Science on, y’all! Today we’re gonna talk about vampire burials and apotropaic rituals. “Apotropaic” means, roughly, some action taken in order to prevent or inhibit evil, thus an apotropaic burial means something was done to the corpse before, during or after interment to stop it from becoming a menace to the living—usually by the body in question refusing to stay buried and act dead. By running around and making a general nuisance of itself, the revenant would spread pestilence and cause the cemeteries to swell. Misery loves company, after all. Sometimes, but far from always, the vampire was said to drink blood from living victims, or in some other way to drain them of vitality. However it chose to make its presence known, the vampire was a communal problem, and stopping it from getting out of its grave in the first place was preferential to having to destroy it later.
Graves showing evidence of apotropaic tampering show us how this was affected. Sickles were placed across the necks of the deceased, so that they’d decapitate themselves if they tried to sit up. Rocks were shoved underneath their chins. Coins were stuffed in their mouths. Hey, an ounce of prevention and all that, right?