Week 15 Reading Notes: Russian Fairy Tales, Part B, "The Soldier and the Vampire"

• "The Soldier and the Vampire"
• a soldier goes to his native village on furlough
• stops at his friend the miller's house to visit
• drinks into the late evening - the sun had set
• the miller begs him to stay the night so that he does not run into trouble on the way to the village in the dark
• the soldier refuses and asks why the miller is so worried
• the miller tells him a great warlock has died and comes back to life after sundown and wreaks havoc
• the soldier leaves anyway
• on the way to the village, he sees the warlock near a fire at the foot of his grave sewing boots
• the soldier stops and asks the warlock what he is doing
• the warlock asks the soldier why he has come
• the soldier says to see what he is doing
• the warlock then invites him to a wedding in the village
• when they arrive at the wedding the warlock revels and is merry
• after a while, the warlock becomes angry and chases everyone away
• he then draws blood into vials from the bride and groom's palms
• they appear dead
• the warlock says only he can bring them back
• explains the process to the soldier
• then explains the only way that he can be killed 
• burned on a pyre of 100 aspen boughs 
• when he is burned he will burst into many creatures such as snakes and maggots
• every creature must be caught and thrown onto the pyre or else he will survive 
• even if one lonely maggot escapes
• the soldier does not forget a word the warlock says
• when the soldier and the warlock return to the grave the warlock says he must now kill the soldier because he knows all of his secrets
• they fight until sunrise
• the warlock drops to the ground "dead"
• the soldier goes to town and revives the wedded couple and is rewarded by their families
• then calls for people to bring 100 boughs of aspen and throws the warlock on the pyre
• the villagers watch the fire and through any creature back on the pyre that escapes from the warlock's body
• the soldier returns to the army with money in his pockets but eventually retires wealthy and happy
• Storytelling notes: I might take this story and turn it into a more well-known type of vampire lore. Instead of a warlock, I may have the creature be a more traditional vampire that feeds on blood and terrorizes the village. Or, I may turn the perspective around and make the vampire a misunderstood hero. 
• Bibliography: Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

(Upir - A Type of Russian Vampire - Warriors of Myth Wiki)