Tales of vampires have been found in nearly every culture around the world, dating back centuries. In 17th and 18th century Poland, belief in such legends was rife.

Rumours of vampire sightings and attacks led to public executions.

Professional vampire hunters traversed towns carrying kits stocked with crucifixes, holy water, rope, mallets, and stakes.

When word of the vampire epidemic reached Empress Maria Theresa, she sent her personal physician to investigate the claims.

Stories of the dead rising were quickly attributed to premature burials. Savage and blood-thirsty attacks were likely the result of persons suffering from rabies.

Numerous localised deaths were merely coincidental, possibly due to the spread of disease. Signs of vampirism in corpses was linked to misinterpretation and ignorance of decomposition.

The physician of Empress Maria Theresa concluded that vampires were not real. Following this revelation, the Empress passed laws prohibiting the opening of graves and desecration of bodies – heralding the end of the vampire hysteria.

Vampires returned to the status of horror folklore, with people accepting that such monsters never have, and never could, exist…