Vampire Hysteria
Many accounts of hysteria have developed over periods of time, some of which are still being studied. The causes of these accounts can range anywhere from things people can’t explain or for someone’s own personal motives, like jealousy. During the 18th century, a belief of vampires increased dramatically resulting in what could only be called a mass hysteria throughout most of Europe.
The vampire hysteria spread quickly through Europe reaching places like Serbia, Russia, Transylvania, and even southern Slavic cultures. The frenzy of vampire sightings spread like wildfire, resulting in grave digging and even staking corpses to kill the supposed member of the undead. Two of the oldest, most famous, and best documented cases of the 18th century…show more content… Being under the influence of hysteria an ill person will report being tormented by visions of the deceased before their own death. Then the villagers would get special permission to dig up the grave of one of the dead “victims” or the first to die unexpectedly (Meeg n.p.). Once the grave is dug up, they will notice that the body isn't far along in decomposition, bloated, and they may notice blood coming out of the ears, nose, or mouth. After their discovery, they would then in turn dig up the others that have passed within the same time to discover the same thing. To finish the job, the vampire is staked, burned, or decapitated.
The logical fallacy to best describe this event of hysteria would be Post Hoc Ergo Proctor Hoc. They actually believe that the first death created a vampire who came back to torment and kill the other people who became ill and hysterical. The lack of embalming and removing organs from a corpse was the cause behind the bloating and the blood around the mouth. The lack of knowledge of the human body after death explains their thoughts caused from the supposed fingernail