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Pień padlocked burial

Also called: Pień vampire, vampire of Pień

The Pień burial is a 17th-century Polish grave in which a woman was interred with a sickle across her throat and a padlock on her foot. Archaeologists interpret both as measures to keep the dead from rising. It gives physical form to the precautions that folklore prescribes against the upiór and strzyga. The find was reported in 2022 and is usually described as a 'vampire' burial.12

⚔️ Battle it
First recorded
1650
A 17th-century grave at Pień, reported in September 2022
Origin
Polish
Poland
What causes it
Never explained
Nothing is known of why the woman was feared.
Weak spots
  • a sickle laid across the neck so that it would cut the throat if the body sat up
  • a padlock fastened round a toe

When did it first appear?

Ancient world
Middle Ages
1500 to 1899
1900 to 1967
1968 to 1999
2000 to 2009
2010 to today
1650

A 17th-century grave at Pień, reported in September 2022

field notes

What the sources say

1

The burial is of a woman12

2

The blade was positioned edge-down over the throat12

3

The padlock is understood as 'locking' the dead in place12

4

It is one of several Polish graves with sickles, including a group at Drawsko whose vampire interpretation has been contested12

5

Polish practice against the walking dead also included aspen stakes, stones on the body and burial face down12

Sources

  1. Vampire burial - Wikipedia
  2. Upi%C3%B3r - Wikipedia

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

Same era: 1500 to 1899