Having arrived on the island of Chios, the place of my birth, on the 17th day of October in the Year of Our Lord 1630, I proceeded directly to the Latin bishopric where I was met by Bishop Marco Giustiniani.  As Vatican librarian I had been sent by Pope Urban VIII at the Bishop"s request to document his annihilation of a monster known as a vrykolakas—a vampire. 

Such a creature was terrorizing the community.  A man by the name of Theodosius Centius had been excommunicated by Bishop Giustiniani in 1621 for abducting a woman with the intent to force her into marriage.  The man died the following year but the corpse of an excommunicated person will not decompose or turn to dust but will remain intact.  The Devil had now taken possession of this body and was sending it forth from its tomb to attack villagers, usually at night, though some people claimed to have seen it even at midday.  It would go up to a house and cry out the name of one of the inhabitants.  If someone opened the door he would be viciously attacked, otherwise the creature would approach another house and try again.  It would not call out the same name a second time.  If, however, it were to come upon some hapless villager outdoors working in a field or travelling on a highway, it would fall immediately upon that person and kill him.  After a number of these murders the people had appealed to the Bishop to rid them of this terrible monster.  Wanting someone to document the proceedings, Bishop Giustiniani had requested my presence. 

Upon my arrival the Bishop called together all ten of the local priests and conferred with them.  It is written that to be rid of such an instrument of the Devil priests must chant an invocation to the All Holy Mother of God, absolution of excommunication must be given, and a memorial service for the dead must be performed complete with a funerary feast.  After this is done, the head must be cut off and the body committed to the flames.  It was agreed that Saturday would be most suitable for this service as it is sacred to the Blessed Virgin Mary due to the steadfastness of her faith on the day after the death of her Son.  Also it is well known that the vampire rests on Saturday and will not leave the grave. 

It being only Thursday, we had to wait until the vampire could be dealt with safely.  People were informed of our intentions and instructed to remain indoors on Friday.  Unfortunately, there was someone who either did not get or did not heed the warning and was indeed attacked and slain on Friday evening as he walked along a lonely road.  His bloodless corpse was discovered the following morning as people came out to accompany us to the burial ground. 

We converged upon the cemetery and proceeded solemnly to the grave of Theodosius Centius.  Gravediggers disinterred the body of the man who was now eight years dead.  When the coffin was opened we beheld what could only be Satan"s work.  The body was not decomposed, but had the look of a healthy being, although bloated.  The skin seemed like leather and was pulled tight over the bones.  The gravediggers referred to it as tumpaniaîos, that is, "drum-like".  It appeared that the joints would only move with difficulty.  The hair and fingernails were exceptionally long.  The eyes were closed.  The corpse had gleaming teeth and a gaping mouth which appeared to be covered with fresh blood undoubtedly from its gruesome feast the night before.  There was no doubt that we had indeed discovered the creature that had been terrorizing the village. 

The priests began the Litany of Loreto, “Lord have mercy,” whereupon the people joined in, “Lord have mercy.”

[Leo Allacius here transcribes the entire litany. It has been omitted for brevity.—eds.]

Bishop Giustiniani finished the invocation, “We beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we Thy servants by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary be delivered from these present evils and from everlasting death.”

The Bishop then proceeded to absolve Theodosius Centius of his excommunication according to the Roman Ritual. “May almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you your sins and lead you to everlasting life.”  He raised his right hand toward the corpse.  “May the almighty and merciful Lord grant you pardon, absolution and remission of your sins.  May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you.  And I by His authority release you from every bond of excommunication and interdict in so far as I am empowered and you have need.  And now I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” As he said these words the Bishop made the sign of the cross over the body. 

The absolution was followed by a memorial mass and a feast at which a portion of food was set aside for the deceased.  This concluded the salvation of Centius" soul.  All that remained was the destruction of his body so that it never again could be used as a tool of Satan. 

A funeral pyre was quickly built and lit.  One of the gravediggers carefully lifted his spade and struck the head from the body whereupon the eyes flew open and the vampire screeched and writhed in pain as blood poured forth from it; a hideous spectacle.  Once the movement had subsided and all was still, the body was cast upon the flames and burned to ashes. 

Thus was the earth purged of this menace and the Devil"s work undone by the Glory of Almighty God. 

Leo Allacius
Cologne, Germany, A.D.1645

*Translated from the original Greek Katastrofy enos Vrykolaka by Leone Allacci.