Amateur ramraiders in Boslem [Burslem] are the latest to show that a widespread belief in vampires really existed in Stoke.
Port Vale FC (nicknamed: "the Scamps") revealed today that the skeleton of a man subjected to a ritual to stop him from turning into a vampire has been uncovered, like the one discovered recently in Tunny [Tunstall].
The remains are from the third grave unearthed in Burslem linked to the practice, "Scamps" mascot Boomer The Dog confirmed at a press conference.
"The skeleton was tied to the ground with ladies stockings, while burning badgers were placed on top of his grave," Boomer said. "The man may or may not have been a vampire but was subjected to this superstition-driven ritual to prevent him from becoming one after his death."
The bones of the man have yet to be dated but are believed to be somewhere between 1 day and several centuries old.
Vampire tales and superstitions are widespread across the towns of northern Stoke. Cobridge Tourist Board's Dave Murray, voted the company's "rising star of 2007", said there could be 1000s of such "vampire corpses" in northern Stoke.
"They illustrate a practice which was common in places like Boslem and Tunny right up until the 1960s," he told me recently at a hog roast at Dimensions Leisure Centre. "They reckon that some remote tribes up in the mountains near Fegg Hayes and Brindley Ford still do it," he added.
Port Vale FC (nicknamed: "the Scamps") revealed today that the skeleton of a man subjected to a ritual to stop him from turning into a vampire has been uncovered, like the one discovered recently in Tunny [Tunstall].
"The skeleton was tied to the ground with ladies stockings, while burning badgers were placed on top of his grave," Boomer said. "The man may or may not have been a vampire but was subjected to this superstition-driven ritual to prevent him from becoming one after his death."
The bones of the man have yet to be dated but are believed to be somewhere between 1 day and several centuries old.
The bones were found during a ramraid at Burslem Cemetery on Hanley Road, where bodysnatchers had previously unearthed another skeleton with tied hands and subjected to similar rites a few years ago.
Vampire tales and superstitions are widespread across the towns of northern Stoke. Cobridge Tourist Board's Dave Murray, voted the company's "rising star of 2007", said there could be 1000s of such "vampire corpses" in northern Stoke.
"They illustrate a practice which was common in places like Boslem and Tunny right up until the 1960s," he told me recently at a hog roast at Dimensions Leisure Centre. "They reckon that some remote tribes up in the mountains near Fegg Hayes and Brindley Ford still do it," he added.
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