The Vampire Epidemic of Medveđa

In 1731, Austrian military authorities conducted what may be the most famous official vampire investigation in history. The case of Arnod Paole (also spelled Arnold Paole) and the subsequent “epidemic” in the Serbian village of Medveđa produced detailed military reports that spread across Europe, fueling the vampire hysteria of the 18th century.

Background

The First Death

Arnod Paole was a Serbian soldier who settled in the village of Medveđa (in present-day Serbia, then part of the Austrian Empire) around 1727. He told villagers that while serving in the army in Greece, he had been attacked by a vampire.

To save himself, Paole claimed he had:

• Found the vampire’s grave
• Eaten soil from the grave
• Smeared himself with the vampire’s blood

These were traditional remedies believed to prevent vampiric transformation.

Paole’s Death

In 1727, Paole died in a hay wagon accident. Within weeks, villagers began reporting:

• Seeing Paole walking through the village at night
• Being attacked by something in the dark
• Four people claimed Paole had visited them - all four died within days

The First Exhumation

40 Days After Burial

Village authorities, following folk tradition, exhumed Paole’s corpse. According to witnesses:

• The body was largely undecayed
• Fresh blood flowed from the eyes, nose, and ears
• The shroud was bloody and partly consumed
• New skin had grown beneath the old
• Nails and hair appeared to have grown

The villagers drove a stake through Paole’s heart. The corpse reportedly groaned and bled profusely. The body was then burned and the ashes scattered.

The “Victims”

The four villagers Paole allegedly attacked were also exhumed and “killed” as suspected vampires.

The Second Epidemic (1731)

New Deaths

Four years later, in 1731-1732, a new wave of deaths struck Medveđa. Within three months, 17 villagers died of an unknown wasting illness. Survivors claimed to have been visited by the dead.

The connection to Paole: he had allegedly attacked cattle while a vampire. People who ate meat from those cattle were believed to have become infected.

Imperial Investigation

This time, the deaths attracted official attention. The Austrian military sent a formal commission to investigate, led by regimental field surgeon Johannes Flückinger.

The Flückinger Report

Official Documentation

Flückinger and his team conducted examinations and produced the “Visum et Repertum” (Seen and Discovered), an official medical and legal report dated January 7, 1732.

The commission exhumed and examined 17 bodies. Their findings:

Bodies Showing “Vampire” Signs:

• Stana: Body undecayed, chest full of fresh blood
• Miliza: Fresh and undecayed after 90 days
• Stanko: Entirely decomposed (ruled not a vampire)
• Milloe: Body showed fresh blood
• And ten others with varying conditions

Total Finding: Of 17 exhumed, 12 were declared vampires and “killed” (staked and burned). Five were found adequately decomposed and returned to their graves.

Distribution of the Report

The Visum et Repertum was submitted to the Austrian court and subsequently published. It spread throughout Europe, appearing in:

• Academic journals
• Popular newspapers
• Scientific discussions
• Literary works

The detailed, clinical tone of an official military report gave the vampire phenomenon unprecedented credibility.

The Vampire Debate

Medical Community

The report sparked intense debate among scholars:

Believers in Vampires

• The fresh blood and preserved bodies were evidence
• The correlation between reported attacks and deaths was significant
• Traditional remedies (staking, burning) seemed to stop outbreaks

Skeptics

• Natural decomposition varies based on soil, temperature, and other factors
• Bodies produce gases that can expel blood and cause movement
• Mass hysteria could explain correlated deaths

Empress Maria Theresa

In 1755, the Empress commissioned her personal physician, Gerard van Swieten, to investigate vampirism. His report concluded that vampires did not exist and that the phenomena could be explained naturally:

• Premature burial
• Natural decomposition processes
• Superstition and fear

The Empress subsequently banned the desecration of graves for vampire hunting.

Modern Analysis

Medical Explanations

Modern science offers explanations for “vampire” signs:

Bloating and Blood Decomposition produces gases that can:

• Cause bloating (appearing as “freshness”)
• Force blood from orifices
• Create sounds when the body is pierced (the “groan”)

Slow Decomposition Factors that slow decay:

• Cold temperatures
• Certain soil compositions
• Reduced oxygen in sealed coffins
• Individual body chemistry

Disease The 17 deaths could be explained by:

• Tuberculosis (causes wasting, pale skin, blood coughing)
• Rabies (causes bite wounds, behavioral changes, fear of water)
• Porphyria (causes sensitivity to light, skin problems)

Psychological Explanations

• Grief and fear can cause hallucinations
• Confirmation bias leads to interpreting events as supernatural
• Social contagion spreads belief and symptoms

Legacy

The Medveđa vampire case is historically significant:

Cultural Impact

• Contributed to the 18th-century vampire craze
• Influenced vampire fiction (including eventually Bram Stoker)
• Established many vampire tropes still used today

Scientific Impact

• Prompted genuine scientific inquiry into death and decomposition
• Led to reforms in burial practices
• Contributed to the eventual ban on grave desecration

Historical Record

• The Visum et Repertum remains one of the best-documented “supernatural” investigations from pre-modern Europe
• It provides insight into folk beliefs, medicine, and governance of the period

The Mystery

While modern science can explain the physical phenomena, the Medveđa case retains elements of mystery:

• Why did the deaths cluster so specifically?
• Were the “vampires” really connected to the victims?
• What did witnesses actually experience?

The village believed it faced a vampire plague. The Austrian military documented apparent evidence of the undead. And across Europe, readers were convinced that something dark stalked the Serbian countryside.

Whether mass delusion, medical mystery, or something else entirely, the vampires of Medveđa earned their place in history - and in nightmare.