'Vampire' skeletons found in Bulgaria

Bulgaria's history museum has an unusual display on show: a "vampire" skeleton, discovered after the unearthing of the 800-year-old remains of two skeletons stabbed through the chest with iron rods.

Archaeologists, excavating a monastery near the Black Sea city of Sozopol, discovered the skeletons which were buried in a pagan ritual that they said was aimed at keeping the men from turning into vampires.

"To prevent suspected would-be-vampires from turning into vampires, a group of brave men reopened their graves and pierced the corpses with iron or wooden rods. Iron rod was used for the richer vampires," National History Museum head Bozhidar Dimitrov said.

Mr Dimitrov explained that these people would have been considered bad during their lifetime and therefore, according to pagan beliefs, could become vampires after death.

The men, who were buried over 800 years ago, were stabbed in the chest and the stomach, as people feared that they would rise from the dead as vampires.