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The traditional vampire story has its origins in the folk beliefs of the Slavic Orthodox Christians. It was believed that any Orthodox who converted to Catholicism or any heresy was cursed. The sign of this curse could be observed after death if the body refused to be decomposed. This belief is still very popular in traditional Orthodox countries, but it has gone even further to a belief in actual vampires who would rise from their graves at night to steal the life blood and energy from people. One way villagers dealt with this issue was by driving a stake through the heart of the suspected vampire and decapitating it, among other things. This extreme ritual is still a fairly common practice in one of the largest Orthodox countries in the world - Romania.
Two American filmmakers went to Transylvania to collect stories of vampires (strigoi in Romanian), werewolves and ghosts. They find that belief in these creatures still exist in the small villages of the Carpathian mountains. This video showcases interviews with Romanian villagers who share their experiences about vampires.
Two American filmmakers went to Transylvania to collect stories of vampires (strigoi in Romanian), werewolves and ghosts. They find that belief in these creatures still exist in the small villages of the Carpathian mountains. This video showcases interviews with Romanian villagers who share their experiences about vampires.
This is a really amazing little video! Where did you find it?
ReplyDeleteIt is an amazing video and I've been looking for the full documentary myself. If you click on the title of this posting, it is linked to the source that I found it in. I believe the two film makers based their expedition on the famous Romanian children's book titled "Ghosts, Vampires, and Werewolves: Eerie Tales from Transylvania"
ReplyDeleteby Mihai I. Spariosu. Its a topic I've been fascinated in for years so it just came about in my research. It makes you wonder what these people are actually experiencing.
Specifically I found it when I was looking for connections between Stoker's novel, New England vampires and Transylvania vampires. Being from New England myself, I thought it was interesting that a newspaper clipping of the Mercy Brown vampire tale of Exeter, Rhode Island (a cemetary I like to visit once in a while) was found among the research material of Stoker for "Dracula". And of course I looked to the source of these New England vampire stories if they came from Greece or Romania or Bulgaria or any other Orthodox country where these stories are still part of the folk beliefs of the people. The video popped up in my research .
Hello, I am Matthew Vincent, one of the filmmakers who made that documentary. What you have posted is a pod that Justin Blair (the other filmmaker) and I made for current tv. It is just a small portion of a larger film called 'Across the Forest'. You can learn more about the film as well as purchase it from www.acrossheforest.com Hope this helps your research : )
ReplyDeletewww.acrosstheforest.com rather
ReplyDeleteMatthew, thank you for contacting me and for the information. I will purchase a copy of your documentary today. It looks fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI sent it out today. It should be there by the end of the week. Thanks for the support.
ReplyDeleteIve been interested in Transylvania ever since i read Dracula. It sounded so interesting and i do believe in vampires and this docmumentary helped.
ReplyDelete