Archaeologists Suspect Vampire Burial; An Undead Primer

When archaeologists opened an ancient grave at a highway construction site near Gliwice, Poland, they came across a scene from a horror movie: a suspected vampire burial.

Interred in the ground were skeletal remains of humans whose severed heads rested upon their legs—an ancient Slavic burial practice for disposing of suspected vampires, in hopes that decapitated individuals wouldn’t be able to rise from their tombs.

But the recent Polish discovery isn’t the first time that archaeologists have stumbled upon graves of those thought to be undead. Here’s what science has to tell us about a few of history’s famous revenant suspects.

Source: National Geographic