The Unexpected History of Europe: 10 Blood Chilling Historical Examples of Cannibalism and Vampirism

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Perhaps many have at least once read stories about ruthless cannibal serial killers, and in Hollywood films you can often see cannibals who live in the depths of the uncharted jungle. In fact, cannibalism has been encountered in history much more often than one might think. Moreover, cannibalism and vampirism, so terrible for modern man, have been practiced in medicine for centuries.

1. Ashes of a mummy

In the Middle Ages, mummy ashes were a popular "medicine" throughout Europe. This ingredient was imported from Egypt, where ancient corpses were ground into powder. It was believed that if this powder was eaten, a large number of health problems such as rashes, constipation and even paralysis could be cured.

People in the Middle East mixed the ashes of the mummy with oil and used it as a medicine as early as the 1800s. The use of mummies became so widespread that the Egyptian government finally passed legislation banning their sale.

2. Blood of gladiators

Gladiators in ancient Rome lived a brutal and short life. They fought in the arenas to the ridicule and shouts of the crowd, who wanted to see the gruesome death of the gladiators. Nevertheless, some people came to the arena not to watch the bloody spectacle, but to collect the blood of the slain gladiators.

These viewers believed that if they drank the blood of strong people who were killed during the fighting, they would "absorb the life energy of the gladiators and receive part of their strength." Interestingly, according to legends, vampires regained their strength only after drinking human blood.

3. Dead Man's Skull Moss

In addition to eating crushed human skulls, people in medieval times also ate the moss that grew on the skulls of the dead. According to legend, it was necessary to collect the lichen "sleeping" from the skulls of the killed soldiers. The lichen was first scraped off the skulls, then dried and ground into powder.

From this powder, tinctures were made, which were taken as a magical cure for wounds. Much of medicine during the Middle Ages relied on sympathetic magic. For example, the pulverized heart was used to cure heart disease. Blood symbolized life and restoration, so it was used to rejuvenate.

4. Healing meat

According to a recipe written in the 17th century by the German pharmacologist Johann Schroeder, it was necessary to take the body of a red-haired man who died a violent death. The body had to be left in the moonlight for one full day and one night, after which its meat had to be cut from its bones. The meat was then mixed with myrrh and aloe and soaked in wine for several days. After the human flesh was well marinated, it was cut into strips and eaten.

5. Drops of the king

You might think that cannibalism was practiced only by the poor and uneducated people, but in fact it was also practiced by kings. For example, there was an elixir called "drops of the king". It was his English king Charles II who used "for good health." The recipe, which cost the king a whopping £ 6,000, described how to make a tincture from human skulls. The tincture skulls were supplied by gravediggers who excavated the bones in Ireland.

6. Treatment for the elderly

People have always looked for ways to prolong their youth. The desire to be forever young has led to crazy means throughout history. In the 15th century, the Italian priest Marsilio Ficino recommended drinking blood to overcome the effects of old age. He stated that older people can regain their youthfulness by consuming fresh blood from a young man who died healthy.

Moreover, the young man should have been relatively happy throughout his life. Blood had to be collected from people who had died relatively recently. This form of "medical vampirism" has been encountered again and again over the centuries.

7. Skull and molasses

It is quite understandable that a parent will go to any lengths to heal their child. Sometimes this even led to cannibalism. There is a known case when a father fed his daughter a mixture of the crushed skull of a young woman with molasses to cure her of epilepsy. In the end, he reported that this "remedy" did not help. And it happened in 1847.

8. Standing on the scaffold

At first glance, it may seem that people during a public execution should stay away from the scaffold so that they do not get blood. However, things were different in Denmark. Epileptics often stood right next to the scaffold, cups in hand, to collect the blood of the executed. They believed that this blood could cure their epilepsy.

9. Blood of the living

People in the past believed that they could rejuvenate by drinking the blood of young people. That is why the blood of old people was useless for creating "magic healing medicines." For example, when Pope Innocent VIII died in 1492, doctors took the blood of three young boys to save the Pope's life. Both the boys and the Pope died.

10. Powdered human heart

The human heart contains about 722 calories - more than a 285-gram veal steak. For this reason, there are anthropologists who believe that people have turned to cannibalism to satisfy their body's calories. The need to consume certain body parts was based on superstition.

For example, they believed that if a patient eats a human heart, he will receive strength from it. British preacher John Keough wrote a recipe for vertigo in the 1700s, which was a tincture of a powdered human heart. Patients were instructed to take heart medicine in the morning on an empty stomach.

And this is how they look friendly cannibal corpse eaters - ahgori hermits from Varanasi, in a heartfelt series of photographs.