Woman's body found in ancient tomb with terrifying traces

A woman buried in a medieval cemetery has creepy markings that hint at a terrifying truth behind it.

According to News, just in time for Halloween, archaeologists have released new details about how a 'real vampire' spent her final moments. This so-called ' vampire' woman , who died about 350 years ago, was discovered in 2022 in an ancient cemetery in Pień, Poland.

The body of the woman, named Zosia by researchers , was revealed by reconstructions to have been fair-skinned, with blue eyes, short hair and a protruding fang. She was also buried with a silk cap, a sign of high status.

New illustrations of Zosia's appearance show her as fair-skinned with blue eyes and short hair. (Photo: Miroslaw Blicharski).

However, her high status did not save her from being accused of being a devil. Of the approximately 100 skeletons in the cemetery, only Zosia had a sickle placed across her neck and a padlock fastened to her toes.

Professor Dariusz Polinski, who led the study, told the Daily Mail: 'It can be assumed that for some reason the people who buried her feared that she would rise from the grave. Perhaps they believed she was a vampire.'

Experts believe the large scythe and lock were a 'double protection' measure for the villagers, in case the dead rose from the grave. The scythe would have beheaded her or injured her neck if she tried to sit up.

Scans of Zosia's bones, conducted by Dr Heather Edgar from the University of New Mexico, revealed an abnormality in her sternum, suggesting she may have had a painful deformity, which would have made her appear 'evil' and led to suspicions of being a vampire.

New details have emerged about the skeleton. (Photo: Miroslaw Blicharski).

At that time, the war between Sweden and Poland was going on, researchers believe that Zosia may have been Swedish and was considered unlucky.

About 30 of the 100 graves found showed signs of being tied up, leading to the site being dubbed the 'Vampire Fields .' Polinski said the cemetery was reserved for people 'excluded from the community,' and all of the graves had no headstones or records of identity.

Eastern Europeans began to fear vampires in the 11th century, believing that 'some of the dead would scratch themselves out of the ground to rise as bloodsuckers to terrorize the living,' Smithsonian magazine reported.

By the 17th century, 'unusual burial rituals became common across Poland to deal with reports of vampires' , according to Science Alert.