Vampire In Venice

National Geographic has released a pic and story on a discovery from a plague burial on the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo near Venice, which suggests that one of the plague victims was considered to be a vampire / undead and was neutralised by a large brick in the mouth (very much in the same way that Jack Straw could be neutralised by a large brick in the mouth I guess)… apparently an age-old exorcism technique aimed at preventing the undead from ‘shroud-chewing’ which was how they were perceived to spread pestilence.

Fascinating stuff and a striking photo. Full info here…