Corpse of 'vampire child' with padlocks attached to ankles discovered in cemetery

The child would have been between five and seven years old when he died in the 17th century and was fitted with a padlock in an "anti- vampiric" to prevent souls from returning from the dead

The remains of a so-called "vampire child" have been discovered face down on a grave in Poland (

Image: Institute of Archeology - Nicolaus Copernicus University)

The remains of a 'vampire child' with a padlock around its ankle have been discovered at a grave in Poland.

The child's corpse was discovered face down in a necropolis where hundreds of people have been buried over the centuries. Scientists believe the youngster - whose remains have been dated to the 17th century - was padlocked as part of a superstitious ritual to prevent the deceased from making an uninvited return to the world of the living.

Archaeologists from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland, discovered the disturbing find in the village of Pien in southeastern Poland. The child's remains were discovered alongside those of 30 people at the site.

According to archaeologists, the child was probably around five to seven years old at the time of his death. Dariusz Poliński, who participated in the excavations, said that superstitious families often put security measures on the bodies of deceased relatives for fear that they would come back from the dead.

Archaologists involved in the excavations in Pień, Poland (

Picture:

Institute of Archeology - University of Nicolaus Copernicus)

He said: "The padlock under the foot symbolizes the closing of a stage of life and is intended to protect against the return of the deceased, which was probably feared. Such practices have their origin in popular beliefs and are sometimes referred to as anti-vampiric."

This disturbing practice was not the only one people put in place to protect themselves from the return of the so-called "vampires". Mr. Polinski explains that some bodies would be buried face down so that the deceased would "bite into the ground and not harm the living".

The remains of a...