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Serbians told Vampire is on the loose


Stonecoldvampzy

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My thought's on this story:

- Sava Savanovic, the name sounds a bit unoriginal.

- How do they know he/she is a bad vampire? Famous isn't Infamous.

That is all.

It does sound a bit unoriginal or even fake, but Sava Savanović really existed. As a person before his death, not as a vampire after his death.

And it sure is a little funny to give your child the first name that is basically the root of his last name (Savanović is “descendant of Sava”), but it was popular in some periods.

“Sava” in Serbian tradition is usually male name, and quite popular, after Saint Sava. (I will not slip into political rant. I will not. :D )

So there was a man with that name and apparently his neighbours had a reason to believe he was a vampire. I guess it’s the provincial dark I mentioned before combined with Sava being not liked during his official human life, and the legend was born.

There are no good vampires in folk tales of this neighbourhood. If it’s a vampire, it’s bad. Period. Vampire grave must be opened, stake driven through his heart, his head chopped off with an axe, since Christianity has rooted in, bring the priest too to splash some holy water over the whole mess and then rebury.

Unlike vampires from modern scenarios, the vampires of the old exhibited no emotions matching to living human emotions. And that’s what was freaking people out, more than occasional blood sucking. Stories of being bitten by vampire are rare, stories of seeing a vampire grinning like an idiot outside your window or vampire child singing happily inside their grave are far more numerous.

Giure Grand is kinda the most "famous" vampire in Croatia. What's little known is the supposed existence of "kršnik's"

They're the people who are born during a bad weather. And they're something like vampire hunters. But in their case, they don't fight the vampire as a human but instead their souls leave their body and go to fight vampires. In Medveđe, by Beograd(Serbia) a 50.-year old woman named Milica in the year of 1731/1732 was suspected to have killed 18 people, that was the official report of the village mayor.

It's really quite interesting when you really get into it :)

Krsniks (or kršnik, kresnik, also zduhač, zdihač) should have been given the attention those pesky vampires hogged for themselves.

Krsnik is a shapeshifter, a being more than human. They are not just born during bad weather, they – according to folk belief, of course – can control the weather, the outcome of battles, the outbreaks of diseases and more.

They are the physical manifestations of forces of nature, avatars in modern vocabulary, and they are not good or bad by default. Each krsnik chooses their way, will they be benevolent or destructive, and chooses what group of people will they favour or won’t favour anyone. Most krsniks were actually good and chose to protect those people among whom they were born...

Yes, definitely interesting if you ask me :yes:

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It does sound a bit unoriginal or even fake, but Sava Savanović really existed. As a person before his death, not as a vampire after his death.

And it sure is a little funny to give your child the first name that is basically the root of his last name (Savanović is “descendant of Sava”), but it was popular in some periods.

“Sava” in Serbian tradition is usually male name, and quite popular, after Saint Sava. (I will not slip into political rant. I will not. :D )

So there was a man with that name and apparently his neighbours had a reason to believe he was a vampire. I guess it’s the provincial dark I mentioned before combined with Sava being not liked during his official human life, and the legend was born.

There are no good vampires in folk tales of this neighbourhood. If it’s a vampire, it’s bad. Period. Vampire grave must be opened, stake driven through his heart, his head chopped off with an axe, since Christianity has rooted in, bring the priest too to splash some holy water over the whole mess and then rebury.

Unlike vampires from modern scenarios, the vampires of the old exhibited no emotions matching to living human emotions. And that’s what was freaking people out, more than occasional blood sucking. Stories of being bitten by vampire are rare, stories of seeing a vampire grinning like an idiot outside your window or vampire child singing happily inside their grave are far more numerous.

Krsniks (or kršnik, kresnik, also zduhač, zdihač) should have been given the attention those pesky vampires hogged for themselves.

Krsnik is a shapeshifter, a being more than human. They are not just born during bad weather, they – according to folk belief, of course – can control the weather, the outcome of battles, the outbreaks of diseases and more.

They are the physical manifestations of forces of nature, avatars in modern vocabulary, and they are not good or bad by default. Each krsnik chooses their way, will they be benevolent or destructive, and chooses what group of people will they favour or won’t favour anyone. Most krsniks were actually good and chose to protect those people among whom they were born...

Yes, definitely interesting if you ask me :yes:

Wow i did not know that. Interesting. Is there a book i can read about "krsnik's"?

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I saw the story has come from the Sun online. Says it all really.

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Send it to the UK . It`ll be given another house .

Maybe, but more likely 1300 (at least) Serbs are on their way here instead, because they fear for their lives. :rolleyes:

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It's obviously Count Dracula looking for new real estate down the road and decided to go for a quick feed.

Edited by BlackRedLittleDevil
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Well, all they have to do is not invite the vampire into their homes. So simple. :)

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Wow i did not know that. Interesting. Is there a book i can read about "krsnik's"?

Not really, as far as I know, but you can find bits and pieces about them in books and articles about old Slavic belief, ethnography, various collections of folk tales and so on.

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Militarily; the EU, NATO, and the Serbian military would not consider this a threat at all...unless it turns out the threat is real and by then it maybe too late.

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Militarily; the EU, NATO, and the Serbian military would not consider this a threat at all...unless it turns out the threat is real and by then it maybe too late.

*deep, deep sigh*

Militarily, the chances of vampires being real are greater than the chance of Serbia joining NATO. At the moment. Times do change, even for vampires.

I promised myself I won’t abuse this thread for politics, so instead of explaining the reality of political vampirism in this part of the world, I’ll go back in time again:

During Austro-Hungarian rule, in 1732, military doctors were sent to investigate the outbreak of vampirism in village Medveđa near Belgrade in Serbia. Fifteen graves of suspected vampires were opened and only three of all inspected bodies were decomposed. Others were found full of fresh blood, with no signs of decomposition, some even smiling at people that came to investigate them.

Military commission kind of panicked and instead of further investigation, decapitated and burnt all suspicious bodies, so we will never know if they were more dead or alive at the time they roamed their village, trying to suck blood of their neighbours.

Locals didn’t mind the abrupt end of the official investigation, because they had no doubts if these were vampires and apparently, the vampire epidemics was over after the vampires were quite radically promoted from the undead into very dead.

Austrian empress Maria Theresa (technically, Archduchess of Austria, Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, not that it matters, I'm just pre-emptivelly shutting nit-pickers up) was not impressed and she banned further desecration of graves, suggesting rising of sanitary standards to fight diseases, which were then as they are today, the explanation given for vampirism.

Vampirism in my country, Croatia, was often reported at times of Cholera (and similar infective diseases) outbreaks. I can’t see why, ****ting yourself to death doesn’t make you crave blood or fear daylight.

But it’s amusing to think of a vampire asking you if he can use your bathroom before trying to bite your neck.

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Heard this tonight on Coast to Coast. I know that Serbia and the Balkans are rich in vampire lore, but is it really still taken seriously there? Travel warning: Make sure you obtain garlic and bring your crucifix. :o

Edited by Ghostdancer
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Heard this tonight on Coast to Coast. I know that Serbia and the Balkans are rich in vampire lore, but is it really still taken seriously there? Travel warning: Make sure you obtain garlic and bring your crucifix. :o

Truth be told, I often think people are not that backward and they – almost equally often – prove me wrong.

Maybe believing in literal vampires is not that common anymore (I still refuse to believe the vampire warning was anything but at least semi-joke) but superstitions are rooted deeper than average IQ might suggest.

I mentioned folk magic few posts earlier.

While there’s great ethnographic (objectively) and spiritual (my opinion) value in it, the way it’s practiced even today by some people is... retarded.

I remember amusing article about two Serbian women riding a bus with venomous snake trapped in a bottle. They wanted to use poor snake for magic ritual and, of course, since buses are on average 40 or so years old, which guarantees bumpy ride even on smooth roads, and the roads are mostly not smooth there, the one that was holding the bottle managed to drop it on the floor. Bottle broke, snake slithered under the seats, passengers started screaming, driver hit the brakes, people started falling, thus screaming even louder because no one knew where the **** snake is at the moment... Balkan fest at its best.

I bet at least half of that bus was more than mad at superstition that almost got them bitten by venomous snake, but I suspect the other half feared “the witches” more than the snake.

I believe the vampire warning was not serious, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if it was. People are able to see whatever they want to see, especially in the dark. Thick, countryside dark. *now imagine you can hear howling and is it a wonder if you wonder if these are the dogs, wolves or werewolves*

Edit: I must be fair and add that snake in the bottle incident could have happened in any other country in the neighbourhood.

Edited by Helen of Annoy
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Heard this tonight on Coast to Coast. I know that Serbia and the Balkans are rich in vampire lore, but is it really still taken seriously there? Travel warning: Make sure you obtain garlic and bring your crucifix. :o

Heh, i'm going to refer to the younger generation again. Most of the youth just listen to "turbofolk"(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo-folk) and don't really care about the old myths or legends. The rest of us who care about that stuff and really enjoy talking about it or listening about it, is considered to be weird :)

So, it would be better to bring a pair of headphones to ignore all the crap you will have to listen to when you and if you come here :)

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Maybe these vampires dont have to be invited in

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Heh, i'm going to refer to the younger generation again. Most of the youth just listen to "turbofolk"(http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Turbo-folk) and don't really care about the old myths or legends. The rest of us who care about that stuff and really enjoy talking about it or listening about it, is considered to be weird :)

Much less some of us who try to explain the psychological aspects within an occult flavor . . . we are usually condemned! :devil:
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Since I'm slavic, I may be able to help. Yes, many of our people are indeed superstitous. We don't like to go out on the full moon in case any strange creatures are looming. We also believe things like the even number of flowers as a problem, or spirits. However, most of us don't believe everything.

Accodrding to folklore, vampires can hypnotize you into inviting them in. So if that ever were to happen, you'd be screwed. I think it's the older generations that still believe that garlic and faith alone can repel vampires. If vampires do indeed exist, that stuff is not going to help you at all. Somebody would have to be head it or set it on fire. Those are the true methods to kill a vampire if they were to exist. The younger generations tend to believe there is a possibility for this stuff to exist, but many don't really dwell on it. I'm from a mountain village in Romanian with Russian parents. (I know that's odd.)Anyway, they take vampires and werewolves very seriously, but it's not like we're stupid or that backwards.

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Since I'm slavic, I may be able to help. Yes, many of our people are indeed superstitous. We don't like to go out on the full moon in case any strange creatures are looming. We also believe things like the even number of flowers as a problem, or spirits. However, most of us don't believe everything.

Even number of flowers goes only on graves, so it’s bad taste or even like wishing someone to die if you bring them even number of flowers... that reminds me, the flowers or any plants brought from graveyards are considered to bring utterly bad luck. I have two. Because I like to test beliefs experimentally. And I can tell you, it’s safe to replant shrubbery from a grave into your garden, as long as you had no ill intentions and the departed didn’t see it as stealing from them.

Accodrding to folklore, vampires can hypnotize you into inviting them in. So if that ever were to happen, you'd be screwed. I think it's the older generations that still believe that garlic and faith alone can repel vampires. If vampires do indeed exist, that stuff is not going to help you at all. Somebody would have to be head it or set it on fire. Those are the true methods to kill a vampire if they were to exist. The younger generations tend to believe there is a possibility for this stuff to exist, but many don't really dwell on it. I'm from a mountain village in Romanian with Russian parents. (I know that's odd.)Anyway, they take vampires and werewolves very seriously, but it's not like we're stupid or that backwards.

Well, you know, I have never, ever heard of a (old fashioned, Slavic) vampire in an urban environment. No one ever claimed they were attacked by a vampire in their – say – apartment on the 12th floor of a building situated in an actual town.

Old fashioned folk vampires and werewolves don’t thrive in artificial light, or in the crowd. They need seclusion and countryside atmosphere, apparently.

Energy or emotional vampires are something else. It’s crawling with them, everywhere. The upside is that they are easily repelled by simply refusing to play their game by their rules.

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As much as Romania, particularly Transylvania is associated with vampire lore I understand Serbia and the other Balkan nations to be even richer with it. It was in Serbia where Arnod Paole, a supposed real life vampire lived.

Edited by Ghostdancer
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Wow people, stereotypical much? Just because someone is superstitious that doesn't mean they're uneducated! How shameful. The American founding fathers were superstitious when it came to their businesses. Did anyone ridicule them? No. They were seen as intelligent and wise for following the some of the old tales. Every country has their own superstitions, not just the Eastern Europeans. Many of you need to quit stereotyping as it is offensive. (Regardless if you say "No offense".) I could say that the British have bad teeth and that Americans are fat. Is this true? No! For some people yes, but not for the majority of the population!

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Well, you know, I have never, ever heard of a (old fashioned, Slavic) vampire in an urban environment. No one ever claimed they were attacked by a vampire in their – say – apartment on the 12th floor of a building situated in an actual town.

Old fashioned folk vampires and werewolves don’t thrive in artificial light, or in the crowd. They need seclusion and countryside atmosphere, apparently.

Energy or emotional vampires are something else. It’s crawling with them, everywhere. The upside is that they are easily repelled by simply refusing to play their game by their rules.

Just letting you all know, I was getting angry at the people before hand, not those who just wrote. So, sorry for any confusion there. Well, you'd be surprised really. There are people in other portions of the world that claim that vampires can live in the city and deal with the artificial light. Look at New Orleans, it is considered to be a Vampire Mecca there. I've also heard rumors and stories of large cities having their own vampire. Paris had their own for a while, North East of the US had a "vampire" and Poland also had a vampire. They were all in large towns as well. So, I guess every culture is different that way.

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Darkwings, funny thing is, I cherish our old belief, complete with vampires.

But there comes the time in life of a man and in life of a nation when we must grow up and see our archetypes as what they are, archetypes, not actual undead grandpas climbing out of their shallow graves.

Getting all offended is easy but useless, and our culture never cared for useless stuff.

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It doesn't matter. There still is no reason to call someone uneducated because of their beliefs. I don't see a problem with cultures believing in vampires and such either, but I think many people believe in more or something different than Good Ole Gramps getting the munchies. I'm a little offended because I hear this junk all the time. Most times I let it slide, but seeing so much of it concentrated, I though I might as well voice my opinion. It's only fair.

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Well this is a nice way to boost garlic sales! :w00t:

With everyone reeking of garlic it's also a sure way to ruin every snogging-session in the country.

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It doesn't matter. There still is no reason to call someone uneducated because of their beliefs. I don't see a problem with cultures believing in vampires and such either, but I think many people believe in more or something different than Good Ole Gramps getting the munchies. I'm a little offended because I hear this junk all the time. Most times I let it slide, but seeing so much of it concentrated, I though I might as well voice my opinion. It's only fair.

Absolutely.

Everyone is entitled to their own belief, and heritage should be preserved.

Now, how about you tell UMers a story or two about vampires? I’d love to hear it. Something your grandparents told you, maybe? Something they saw themselves or some local legend from your old country?

I’m always looking forward to hear a good folk story. I promise I won’t judge, I’ll simply read and enjoy.

With everyone reeking of garlic it's also a sure way to ruin every snogging-session in the country.

No, it's not. The problem occurs only if some traitor is not reeking of garlic. As long as everyone reeks, no one notices :D

Edited by Helen of Annoy
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Absolutely.

Everyone is entitled to their own belief, and heritage should be preserved.

Now, how about you tell UMers a story or two about vampires? I’d love to hear it. Something your grandparents told you, maybe? Something they saw themselves or some local legend from your old country?

I’m always looking forward to hear a good folk story. I promise I won’t judge, I’ll simply read and enjoy.

No, it's not. The problem occurs only if some traitor is not reeking of garlic. As long as everyone reeks, no one notices :D

That would probably be a good way to flush a vampire out, If everybodys reeking of garlic but one person may not be it might be odd

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