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This is a guest contribution from Dusty Davis. Learn more about him in the About section below.
In modern times, the term vampire is looked upon as a hoax or a joke, but in previous centuries they took it very seriously.
Vampire hysteria has been reported all over the world, throughout all time periods. It first came to Europe in the village of Istria, modern day Croatia, in the year 1656 after the death of Jure Grando Alilovic.
Jure Grando was a villager born in 1579. He was married and had two children, a daughter, and son, Ana and Nikola Alilovic.
Grando died of an illness in 1656. That is when the legend of Jure Grando begins.
It is reported that he would rise from his earthly tomb at night and terrorise the villagers. Each night, he would pick a house of one of the townspeople and knock on the door. Within three days that person would be found dead.
The Vampire’s widow also claimed that he would visit her. She first saw him standing outside their bedroom window smiling and gasping for breath. Legend has it that he would also sexually assault her.
This went on for nearly sixteen years, until Father Giorgio, the man who had buried Jure Grando, decided to end the reign of terror.
The Priest confronted Grando, invoking the name of Jesus Christ, driving the Vampire, (Strigon) back to the cemetery where he was interred.
Shortly thereafter, Father Giorgio led a mob of nine men to the cemetery where they dug up his grave. What they found would haunt their nightmares for the rest of their days on earth.
Jure Grando’s body was inside the tomb, perfectly preserved. A smile is even said to have been on his face.
After many attempts to pierce the flesh of the Strigon with a Hawthorne Stick, the mob finally gave up when one of the villagers, Stipan Milasic, sawed off Grando’s head. As soon as the teeth of the saw bit into his flesh, Jure screamed and blood flowed freely from the cut.
From that day forward, Jure Grando’s reign of terror had ended. Peace returned to the village.
Today the town celebrates its macabre history with restaurants and tourist attractions in the name of Jure Grando, Europe’s first Vampire.
About
Dusty Davis is a horror writer living in East Liverpool, Ohio. When he is not frightening his readers, he can be found at home hanging out with his wife and two children. Readers can follow Dusty at facebook.com/dustydavis21 or @dustydavis21 on Instagram and Twitter. Most of his work can be found at www.amazon.com/author/dustydavis.
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