A study of centuries-old skeletons unearthed in Poland has found a handful of bodies buried in a manner to suggest they may have been believed to be demons!
The cadre of suspected demons were discovered buried with sickles lodged across the throat of the body.
One extremely strange skeleton not only had a sickle placed near the waist, but also sported a coin in the mouth and a stone on top of the throat.
Researchers studying the body have proposed that the unique nature of the burials was to ward off a potential, possessed return from the departed individuals.
"Confining the deceased in the grave by means of a sickle may have been a measure to prevent the demonized soul threatening the living," they said in the journal Antiquity.
The unique burial practice differs from 'vampire graves' which have been discovered in the past, in that these potential demons were laid to rest in sacred ground using otherwise traditional burial methods.
While the difference between vampires and demons may be negligible to some, clearly it was something taken into consideration when planning an 18th century Polish funeral.
Source: Discovery News