Tag Archives: myth

Blog, Folklore

Folklore: The Botched Destruction of a Vampire on Mykonos

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When I was a kid, I had a book about vampires that explored a host of different undead lore. Also, how to stop vampires in their tracks. This book also mentioned some real-life examples of vampire slayings. As with many types of folkloric creatures, the monster in the following tale may inform us about more than the horror of the undead. Here is an interesting tale of one such re-killing that involves a vampire on Mykonos.

The Botanist Versus the Vampire on Mykonos

Our story begins in 1701 with Joseph Pitton de Tournefort. As a botanist, he took to traveling often, researching the world around him. It was on the Greek islands and Constantinople when he happened upon the story of an unruly, late-night vampire on Mykonos. Keep in mind: Tournefort was a rational man who just happened upon some events that were currently unfolding. These events would probably damage his view of humans for the rest of his life.

The body in question belonged to a local peasant citizens saw wandering the town in the evenings. They claimed he walked in an unusual way. That is to say, he had been alive, but had recently taken to performing actions that only living people normally take.

“In his writings, the botanist (Tournefort) describes that at first the man turned (undead) was nothing more than a nuisance, sneaking up on people from behind, stealing their alcohol and overturning furniture,” wrote Anna Wichmann for the Greek Reporter. Wichmann further states that after one of the townsfolk were attacked by the vampire, they fell into “shock and fear.”

The Ritual of the Vrykolakas

In response to this undead pain in the neck, the townspeople and the local butcher all got together. They decided that they had to do something about it. Their solution: cut open the body and tear out the heart and then have a nice religious mass afterward. One problem arose, however, when the butcher revealed his “clumsy” talent by not knowing where a human heart was in the body. Due to his negligence, splashed a generous amount of blood and entrails about the scene. Tournefort, knowing that he should stay in his place lest he be burned as a witch for heresy. Thus, he merely stood by and recorded the entire ordeal as a faithful observer.

As stated, the dissection and investigation of the vampire on Mykonos created horrific smells. To mask this olfactory ilk, the townsfolk burned candles and incense. The two competing smells created an near unavoidable nauseum. Meanwhile, the hysteria of the crowd caused the spectators to take note of signs of vampirism on the corpse. These signs did not in fact exist. However, the nausea from the sweltering corpse and stinky, smelly incense swept over the attendees and caused mass hallucinations. In fear, they took the heart to the beach and burned it.

Yet, things only became more aggressive when the corpse allegedly returned to life as a vrykolakas. The vrykolakas were an unholy creature of folklore that brought fear and terror to Greek citizens. As written by D. Demetracopoulou Lee in “Greek Accounts of the Vrykolakas,”: “The vrykolakas is the animated corpse which can leave its grave every day except Saturday … he starts out as a dead human body, he can change his form, or even enter the body of an animal.”

In this way, the corpse of the man born anew, and he meant to cause harm.

An Ongoing Issue and a Solution

Afterward, the angry, heartless vrykolakas committed further harassment of the townsfolk as recourse, as the creature “took to beating people, breaking doors, windows and roofs, tearing clothes and, worst of all, emptying all the bottles and vessels around.”

The vampire’s annoyances forced the townspeople to stabbing the creature’s grave with Christian swords. Though, as noted by Tournefort, this idea came from a visiting man who insisted that the cross made by the hilts holy. He told them that the swords “hindered the Devil from coming out of the Body.” Remember, that the vrykolakas was already a folkloric monster. So, there was all sorts of homespun wisdom generated around the metaphorical campfire.

The End of the Vampire on Mykonos

All of this hysteria eventually led the men to deduce that there had been a small mistake when the ritual had been completed, as it had been done a little backwards. In other words, they burned the heart at the wrong time–that particular action should have come before the religious mass instead of after. The mistake in the ritual, according to the superstitious locals caused the already ornery undead peasant to become far ornerier.

The peasants, realizing their error, took to splashing the doors in their town with holy water. Similarly, they poured it into the vampire’s mouth when given a chance. On top of that, stabbing swords into the grave did little. By the time their patience had finally ran out, they decided to burn the corpse of the creature.

The townspeople then allegedly took the vampire on Mykonos to the sea and burned its entire corpse. As for Tournefort’s estimation: “After such an instance of folly, can we refuse to own that the present Greeks are no great Grecians; and that there is nothing but ignorance and superstition among them.”

Works Cited

Kolasa-Sikiaridi. “The Haunting Legend of the Walking Dead Vrykolakas on Mykonos.” Greek Reporter. Sept. 14, 2016. Web.

Lee, D. Demetracopoulou. “Greek Accounts of the Vrykolakas.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 55, no. 217, 1942, pp. 126–32. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/535250. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.

Blog, Folklore

Myth vs Legend vs Tall Tale: What Sets Them Apart?

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Zeus, The Headless Horseman, Paul Bunyan, and Bigfoot all share some commonalities. Clearly, there are supernatural and fantastical elements in each of their stories, but how do myths, legends, and tall tales differ? And, how can we distinguish between them? It becomes much easier to understand these differences if you consider the context and typical usage of each term. In this post we will understand how each of these terms share similarities and differences.

What is a Folklore?

Folklore is an umbrella term that encompasses all oral tradition. If you can think of a story that you’ve heard passed down from your great-grandfather, to your grandfather, to your father, and now down to you, then you have encountered folklore. The titans, King Arthur, Nessie, and the Slender Man are all forms of folklore. They are cultural, they are stories, and they are passed down. It’s as simple as that.

What is a Myth?

The word “myth” is derived from the Greek word “mythos.” This means “story.” Mythological stories are rooted in religion or folkloric beliefs and they help define the origin of a culture.

As one source states: “… myths can be used to demystify a supernatural or unresolved event. Myths present reality in a sensational way, often using creatures and gods.” For instance, if one hears a story about the origin of a holiday tradition—say, the story of Old St. Nick—they are probably hearing a myth because Santa Claus is a “sensational,” god-like creature who surreptitiously visits homes on Christmas Eve and leaves gifts for children. This explanation clarifies Christmas for younger folks and is passed down from parents as well.

Mythic stories reflect society’s attempts to understand how things in the world came to exist, even though they incorporate supernatural elements. That’s why they typically feature nonhuman characters doing things that could be construed as supernatural. For a better understanding, think about the Greek gods and all the stories and movies you’ve heard or watched that detail their exploits and existence. Myths = Mt. Olympus.

What is a Legend?

Much of people’s confusion between myths and legends come from their similarities. Legends share the same qualities as myths. These include supernatural elements, unbelievable characters or monsters, first-hand accounts, etc. Yet, the major difference is that they come from the recent past, have historical roots, and are passed from one generation to the next.

Robin Hood and King Arthur fit the mold of a legend because they come from the semi-recent past. They aren’t some far off idea that is foggy in time. We can see them and their relationship to our own lives. Legends also have historical connections (they could be real), and they people have passed them down through oral, visual, and textual mediums. It should go without saying, but legends often walk a careful balance between reality and fiction.

To better understand this, think about Bigfoot, or more accurately, think about The Legend of Bigfoot. We aren’t entirely sure what the cryptid looks like (its big and hairy at least), and it only gained popularity relatively recently in the late ’60s or early ’70s. However, the Bigfoot story is now very popular. As such, people still pass their own stories down from one generation to the next.

What are Tall Tales?

Tall Tales are those wacky stories you remember form when you were a kid. They tell something about an immediate culture’s history or how something came to be in the world. Likewise, cultures preserve these stories through cultural traditions like music, pictures, interpretations, and more.

When you think about the stories of Pecos Bill and Johnny Appleseed, then you have some idea of a Tall Tale. They are like sagas that feature protagonists completing tasks that shape the world as we know it. Did they really do the things those stories said they did? Well, probably not, but those stories do help us understand the world around us.

Moreover, much like legends and myths, society passes down tall tales from generation to generation through a variety of mediums. Tall tales often feature conflicts resolved in some extraordinary way. For instance, Johnny Appleseed saw a lack of apple trees, therefore he spread them across the entire country on foot. either through strength, ingenuity, or sheer gumption. Paul Bunyan battling Babe the Big Blue Ox is one of these stories. At first, they are enemies, but this changes after they exhaust each other with their fighting. As it relates to tall tales, both are supernatural, and their giant sizes are responsible for shaping parts of U.S. geography, at least according to the story.

Remembering Folklore, Myth, Legend, and Tall Tales

The easiest thing to remember is that folklore is an umbrella term. Therefore, myths, legends, and tall tales form underneath this term and have their own nuances. Regardless of their differences, myths, legends, and tall tales serve a continued purpose of understanding. Myths, legends, and tall tales (all of folklore for that matter) continue to be important to society for their ability to help show us the world we live in through different lenses.