The woman was nicknamed ‘The Pień Vampiress,’ but now has a new name. Researchers have dubbed her Zosia (Sophie) and recreated her image using state-of-the art genetic technology.

The gruesome discovery was made in 2022 in the north-eastern village of Pień by archeologists from Poland’s Nicolas Copernicus University. The unconsecrated and unmarked site revealed bodies with padlocks on their feet and the remains of Zosia with a sickle across her neck. Such practices are indicative of so-called ‘vampire burials’ say archeologists who have unearthed other similar burials in Poland.

It is believed the deceased buried in such a way were feared by the living. Some may have had a disease considered threatening, or perhaps were simply different from others at the time. Whatever the reason, it was believed such people could return from the grave.

Bringing history to life

The man behind the reconstruction was Swedish archeologist and sculptor Oscar Nilsson, who specializes in bringing history back to life.

“Seeing the remains of Zosia with my own eyes was emotional, it's such a sad story,” Nilsson wrote on his Facebook page. “It led me to the insight that Zosia must be depicted as a human being, and not as the monster she was buried as.”

“Seventeenth-century people did everything to forget about her...” reads a post on a special Facebook page about the discovery. “We will do everything to remember her – Zosia.”

A documentary about the burial site, titled ‘a Field of Vampires,’ premiered in Sweden, the U.S. and U.K. in October and will air in Poland early in the new year.