Editing Vampire (section)

==== Prevention ====
Cultural practices often arose that were intended to prevent a recently deceased loved one from turning into an undead revenant. Burying a corpse upside-down was widespread, as was placing earthly objects, such as [[scythe]]s or [[sickle]]s,{{sfn|Barber|1988|pp=50–51}} near the grave to satisfy any demons entering the body or to appease the dead so that it would not wish to arise from its coffin. This method resembles the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] practice of placing an [[Charon's obol|obolus in the corpse's mouth]] to pay the toll to cross the [[River Styx]] in the underworld. The coin may have also been intended to ward off any evil spirits from entering the body, and this may have influenced later vampire folklore. This tradition persisted in modern Greek folklore about the ''[[vrykolakas]]'', in which a wax cross and piece of pottery with the inscription "[[Jesus Christ]] conquers" were placed on the corpse to prevent the body from becoming a vampire.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lawson|first=John Cuthbert|title=Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion|url=https://archive.org/details/moderngreekfolkl00laws|pages=[https://archive.org/details/moderngreekfolkl00laws/page/405 405]–06|year=1910|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|oclc=1465746|isbn=978-0-524-02024-1}}</ref>

Other methods commonly practised in Europe included severing the [[patellar ligament|tendons at the knees]] or placing [[poppy]] seeds, [[millet]], or sand on the ground at the grave site of a presumed vampire; this was intended to keep the vampire occupied all night by counting the fallen grains,{{sfn|Barber|1988|p=49}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Abbott |first=George |year=1903 |title=Macedonian Folklore |url=https://archive.org/details/macedonianfolkl01abbogoog/page/n226/mode/2up |page=219|publisher=Cambridge, University press }}</ref> indicating an association of vampires with [[arithmomania]]. Similar Chinese narratives state that if a vampiric being came across a sack of rice, it would have to count every grain; this is a theme encountered in [[Folklore of India|myths from the Indian subcontinent]], as well as in South American tales of witches and other sorts of evil or mischievous spirits or beings.<ref name=Jaramillo>{{cite book|last=Jaramillo Londoño|first=Agustín|title=Testamento del paisa|year=1986|orig-year=1967|edition=7th|publisher=Susaeta Ediciones|location=Medellín|isbn=978-958-95125-0-0|language=es}}</ref>