Vampire stories in Greece and the reinforcement of socio-cultural norms

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship of humans with the supernatural and the function of the latter as a normalizing factor in social organization. The focus is on traditional Greek stories about vampires and the aim is to study the relationship between vampires and the cultural capital of the local community, on the one hand, and, on the other, beliefs about the progress of the soul after its departure from the body upon death. The Greek vampire (vrikolakas) is examined in relation to both the concept of faith in Orthodox Christianity and traditional death rituals, some of them pagan survivals. © 2013 The Folklore Society.