ZombieWiki
Zombie Wiki / All zombies / Folklore and myth
File No. 036 of 446

Johannes Cuntius

Also called: Cuntius of Pentsch, the Pentsch vampire
Folklore and mythUndeadVariesDemons or evil spirits1500 to 1899

Johannes Cuntius was a respected alderman of Pentsch, today Horní Benešov in the Czech Republic, whose corpse was tried and burned in 1582. For half a year after his death townspeople reported violent visits marked by cold and an unbearable smell. When his grave was opened the neighbouring bodies had rotted but his appeared fresh, which settled the verdict. Along with the Breslau shoemaker it is a key Silesian case showing vampire-style proceedings a century and a half before the word 'vampire' reached the West.12

⚔️ Battle it
First recorded
1582
Died February 1582 at Pentsch in Silesia; retold by Henry More in An Antidote against Atheism
Origin
Silesian (German)
Czechia
What causes it
Demons or evil spirits
Rumour held that on his deathbed he confessed to a pact with Satan.
How you become one
A wealthy alderman fatally kicked by one of his own horses.
How it moves
Varies
Comes as a solid, stinking, ice-cold presence, or as a phantom that vanishes when a candle is lit; he was also seen galloping round his yard like a horse.
Intelligence
Some intelligence
Weak spots
  • a judicial hearing and exhumation
  • hacking the body to pieces and burning it to ash

When did it first appear?

Ancient world
Middle Ages
1500 to 1899
1900 to 1967
1968 to 1999
2000 to 2009
2010 to today
1582

Died February 1582 at Pentsch in Silesia; retold by Henry More in An Antidote against Atheism

field notes

What the sources say

1

A black cat was said to have jumped on his bed, or scratched his face, as he died12

2

Visitors reported a 'most grievous stink' and a freezing breath12

3

He was accused of wrestling a man all night, biting another in the foot, sucking cows dry and attacking his widow12

4

Exhumed in July 1582, his skin was ruddy, his joints supple and his hand gripped a staff placed in it12

5

A vein opened in the leg bled as if he were alive, and the body would not burn until it was cut up12

Could you outrun it?

Speed class from how the sources describe it (varies), not a measurement.

You, walking about 5 km/h
You, jogging about 10 km/h
Johannes Cuntius about 10 km/h
A fit adult sprinting about 24 km/h
A fast cyclist about 37 km/h

Sources

  1. 1582: Cuntius, the stinking vampire of Pentsch - Alpha History
  2. Vampire Forensics, chapter 6 (Mark Collins Jenkins) - Erenow

Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at hello@zombiewiki.app.

Folklore from the same lands

UpiórSlavic, 1100FextCzech and central European, 1630Myslata of BlovCzech (Bohemian), 1336PijavicaSlovene and CroatianWoman of LevínCzech (Bohemian), 1344

Same era: 1500 to 1899

JiangshiChinese, 1789Zombi (Haitian)Haitian (Vodou folklore), 1750StrigoiRomanian, 1714Vampir (South Slavic)South Slavic (Serbian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Bosnian), 1725AbhartachIrish, 1870Arnold PaoleSerbian, 1732