Vampires Suck Tourists Into Bulgaria

With the spike of "zombie" stories spreading across the world, it seems like people were starting to get over the whole vampire craze. However a recent discovery has shown that vampires will never die, or at least the trend won't. Eager vampire enthusiasts are flocking to Bulgaria for vampire tours

Experts have claimed that they found "vampire" remains in Sozopol, Bulgaria. Archaeologists were conducting excavations of a monastery when they discovered two skeletons that had iron rods through the chest cavity. This practice was once believed to keep the dead from rising from graves so that they couldn't seek the blood of the living.

"This was (the) customary way (in) Bulgarian medieval tradition to deal with people which were presumed to be vampires," Bulgaria's National Museum of History website says.

Much like the witch trials, in which people were hung because they were thought to be witches, people 700 years ago would stab those who they presumed to be a vampire with iron rods.

Museum director Bozhidar Dimitrov told the Sofia News Agency that more than 100 such "vampire" burials have been discovered in Bulgaria over the years. However, this is the first discovery in Sozopol.

The recent news of the latest discovery has piqued interest around the world. Bulgarian tour operators have reported an increase in inquiries about "vampire vacations." Those in Germany, Asia, and the UK have expressed the most interest, but interest among Americans and Russians are also expected to increase. Lines at the Saint Nicholas Wonderworker monastery, where the skeletons were discovered, are already forming and growing.

One of the skeletons has a name, Krivich (The Crooked). Archaeologists believe that the skeleton may have belonged to a legendary pirate who was knowledgeable about the sea, the stars and herbs. This may have led people to believe that he practiced witchcraft, which lead to his death.

The skeletons may also be those of an intellectual or a medic, roles that raised suspicions in the Middle Ages. The location of the grave suggested that the skeleton was an aristocrat.

To accommodate the increased tourism at the site, historians plan to put the remains on display in a glass case at the national museum in Sophia.