The Vampire: A Casebook

The Romanian Folkloric Vampire

JAN LOUIS PERKOWSKI The Romanian Folkloric Vampire Among the numerous scholars who have studied the vampire, there are only a handfulwho have achievedeminence. One ofthese isJan LouisPerkowski, aprofessorofslaviclanguagesandliteraturesat the University ofVirginia. Not only hashe written agreat deal on the subject, buthe hasalso regularly offeredapopularcollege course, "Vampires ofthe Slavs," which attracts hundreds ofinterested students. An important contribution to vampirology is hisVampires ofthe Slavs (Cambridge , Mass.: Slavica Publishers, 1976), which consists ofa dozen essays or extracts , several ofwhich were translated by Profossor Perkowski and three ofwhich were written by him. (None ofthe essays in that volume have been included in this one, because they are readily available to readerswith access to majorlibraries.) But perhaps his major work is The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism (Columbus, Ohio: Slavica Publishers, 1989). Although mostofProfossorPerkowski'spublishedinvestigations ofvampiresconcern Slavic data, thefollowing essay analyzingRomanian reportswaschosenfor this volume because ofits obvious advance over the earlier anecdotal treatment ofthe Romanian vampire. After presenting translations of nineteen authentic fieldcollected texts, he classifies the elements of the texts in an orderly way, thereby facilitating theformulation ofhypotheses and the articulation oftentative generalizations or conclusions about the nature ofthe Romanian vampire. For the reader ofEnglish literature even a passing reference to the Romanian province ofTransylvania is sure to evoke frightening images of vampirism , but most especially Bram Stoker's literary vampire, Count Dracula. Stoker's hero is not solely a creature ofhis imagination. In fact, he patterned Count Dracula after an actual fifteenth-century Romanian prince, known variously as Voivode Dracula and Vlad Tepe§. Essential to keep in mind, however, is the fact that there is no historical evidence ofany sort to support the notion that Vlad Tepe§ was a vampire. Without any doubt this imputation originated in Stoker's creative imagination.! Reprinted from East European Quarterly 16 (1982): 311-322. 35 Jan Louis Perkowski The fact that Vlad Tepe§ was not a vampire does not mean, however, that vampire cult practices have never existed in Romania. Over the years various Romanian folklorists have collected bits and pieces ofvampire data. During the early 1930s Emil Petrovici, the eminent Romanian linguist, collected dialect samples throughout Romania in preparation for a Romanian dialect atlas. A selection ofthese texts was eventually published in 1943 as a supplement to the atlas.2 Among them are several texts dealing with vampire beliefs . With the assistance of Professor Emil Vrabie, professor of Romance and Slavic linguistics at the University of Bucharest, I have been able to translate these dialect vampire accounts, which I will attempt to classify and analyze. An interesting introduction to the study of Romanian vampires is Agnes Murgoci's article "The Vampire in Roumania."3 She states, "The most typical vampire is therefore the reanimated corpse. We may call this the deadvampire type." Further on she says, "As regards the names used for vampires , dead and alive, strigoi (fern. strigoica) is the most common Roumanian term, and moroii is perhaps the next most usual. Moroii is less often used than strigoi. Usually we have strigoi and moroii consorting together, but the moroii are subject to the strigoi. We find also strigoi, moroii, and varcolaci, and strigoi and pricolici used as if all were birds of the same feather."4 Professor Petrovici's vampire texts, which were collected from the four corners of Romania, and, in one case (Text XVI), from across the border in Yugoslavia, are nineteen in number, fifteen of which concern the strigoi, three the moroi, and one the pricolici, thereby affirming Dr. Murgoci's observation that strigoi is the most common vampire designation. The following are English translations of these nineteen dialect texts: TEXT I Strigoi-pp. 18-19 (village of Ohaba, Severin District) A man died and he turned into a strigoi. Now he comes to torment the women in the house where he used to live. The police even went to his grave. They dug him up and saw that he was bloated and ruddy. They tried to impale him with a pitchforkthrough the stomach, but they could not implant it. Then a soldier tried to strike him with his rifle, but he could not do it. He struck himself instead. So it was necessary to summon a special woman who knew incantations, but she would perform them only when she was alone with the dead body. Afterwards she stuck a knife into the stomach of the corpse. I do not know what has happened since then. I have not heard anything for about two weeks. (recorded 8/3/1932) 36...